Uranus stood in front of a tall mirror in her chamber, trying to fix her indigo tunic to look presentable. She fastened the leather knee-high boots, and buckled her belt along with her sword. She was making an attempt to tie her platinum-golden hair with a string, when she heard the knock on the door.
"The door's open." Upon the opening of the mahogany door, it revealed a young man, who was almost a carbon-copy of Uranus, except for his height and the hair length. He welcomed himself inside the chamber, clad in a dark green military suit, which complemented his eyes.
"You should learn to ask who it is before you let them in," his voice ran throughout the room. Uranus continued to ignore him, as she threw the string down on the floor frustratingly.
"I knew it was going to be you anyways Oberon: I know what your footsteps sound like," Uranus lazily picked the string off the floor, attempting again to tie her tousled hair, which fell slightly beneath her shoulder blades. "Help me, will you?"
Oberon, walked over to his younger sister, taking a brush from the side table. He neatly combed her hair into one, and tied it tightly with a string, Uranus handed to him. "Why don't you cut it if you are acting like you are going to pull them out every time?"
"Mind your own business…I like it how the wind goes through my hair when I run. Besides, it's the only way the people can tell the difference between you and I."
"Then wear dresses or something," Oberon patted his sister on the back.
"You know I don't wear those frilly dresses mother wants me to wear," Uranus headed out to the door, followed by Oberon. "Why don't you wear a dress for a change?" They both erupted into laughter as they glided throughout the hallway, and out to the gate. "Oberon, remind me, what are we doing today?"
"Uranus, do you ever listen to what your family has to say?" Oberon looked over to his sister despairingly, who shook her head carelessly. "Alright, my fiancée and her brother is coming today. Does that ring a bell?"
Uranus stopped and thought for a moment, going over her little memories that she had of the last few days. "Oh, I think so." She thought her brother told something about marriage, but never bothered. She was only 20, and did not bother to find a husband anytime soon, nor in the future. She found men to be too…boring. No men in the solar system could keep up with her, with some exceptions, on whatever she did—whether it be sword fighting or racing. They did keep good company: most, if not all, of Uranus's friends were men. However, many were too incompetent.
"I personally wanted you to meet my fiancée. She's three years younger than you. I thought it would make her feel better to have someone near her age close. Plus, you are going to be her sister-in-law, so…" Oberon was cut off by Uranus.
"Don't expect me to get along with girls!! I'm sure she won't like me anyways, since I don't wear pretty dresses like them…" it was Oberon's turn to cut off.
"Uranus, she's a respectable princess of her planet, just like you are. I'm sure you would like her, and she might have some good influence on you too." Uranus just stood there unhappily crossing her arms. "She'll be staying at our planet so we could plan our wedding. She's charming. Just make sure you don't steal her away from me!" Oberon winked, and then dashed out of the castle to the gate, where they were supposed to pick the guests up.
"What? Hey, wait for me!"
It wasn't long before Uranus and Oberon reached to the gate, just in time to see a large carriage flown by two Pegasus a mile or so away.
"So, what's her name? You've never told me much about her." Uranus asked her brother, who was smiling more as the carriage came closer.
"Princess Neptune. She's Proteus's younger sister: you remember Proteus, from Kaiousei?" Uranus did remember Proteus, when Oberon and she went to Kaiousei for a joint military training at the Triton Castle. She remembered how on the first day she met Proteus two years ago—his sapphire blue eyes and the seemingly odd hair color, along with his pale skin; too pale for men, in her opinion. He had similar stature as Oberon—tall and lean—yet he was somewhat more delicate. However, his swordsmanship amazed Uranus, as well as Oberon during the training. Proteus became one of the few men Uranus had come to like, and one of the exceptions.
"How come you've never told me that Proteus had a sister? I don't recall seeing her. And how come you know her?"
"I did tell you, dear sister, but it seems like you weren't listening to me at all that time, too. The reasons why you don't recall seeing her, is because you didn't see her. She was sick. She's not the healthiest of the people I know…not all girls are strong like you, Uranus," Oberon sighed at his boyish sister. How many times he had wondered, as to why Uranus was born a girl, not a boy. "As to how I came to know her, let's just say I've been to Kaiousei a lot more frequently than you have."
The carriage finally landed in front of them, and Uranus anxiously waited besides Oberon. She was happy to see Proteus again…it has been two years since she had seen her. At the same time, she was having butterflies in her stomach, of meeting another princess. Her last several encounters of meeting younger princesses of other planets have not gone so well. Princess Mercury were not so terrible, but too quiet for Uranus. Princess Jupiter, she has come to like, but not someone who she would want to spend hours and hours with. On the other hand, the meeting with Princess Mars and Venus was even more terrible. Girls in dresses drove Uranus insane, along with their perky voices and attitudes. Let's just hope she's descent, Uranus thought, and crossed her fingers behind her back.
The driver of the carriage stepped down from his seat, and opened the door. A tall man in a navy cloak stepped outside the carriage first, helping the smaller woman clad in the same cloak from the carriage. Uranus was sure, that at that moment, her heart has skipped. 'Beautiful' might not have been a good enough word to express what she saw—the same sapphire eyes as Proteus, and the same unusual hair color. Her wavy hair fell behind her cloak, and accentuated her delicate face. Uranus couldn't believe that this woman was three years younger than her.
"Uranus, you haven't changed a bit!" Uranus was brought back down to the world as Proteus took her hand and friendly shook it. "Although I have to say, you must have grown another few inches."
"How can I stop her from growing, Proteus? The tailors are always complaining about how they have to keep continue measuring her every time they see her," Oberon laughed, and kissed the smaller woman lightly on the forehead. "Uranus, I want you to meet Princess Neptune," Neptune politely curtsied.
"It's my pleasure to meet you, Princess Neptune," Uranus took her hands, and then placed a kiss on the back of her hand.
"It's my pleasure to meet you, too, Princess Uranus," Neptune smiled at Uranus, who was at loss of words. She wasn't exactly expecting the calm and mature voice.
"Now, that I think all formalities are over, why don't Uranus and I invite you inside the castle," Oberon kindly took Neptune by her shoulder, and headed towards the castle. Just then, one of the men from the army came running up to Oberon.
"Prince, the King is asking for your presence in the meeting right now. He wishes Prince Proteus to be there as well," the soldier kneeled in front of them.
"Uranus, take Neptune to your room. We'll be right back," Oberon and Proteus followed the soldier, leaving Uranus and Neptune on the marble road headed to the castle.
"Shall we go then?" Uranus was starting to feel awkward around Neptune, who did not say much since they first exchanged words.
"I do not mean to be rude, Princess Neptune, but isn't it a little bit hot for you to be wearing the cloak?" Uranus faced Neptune, who was wearing a heavy wool traveling cloak, compared to Uranus's light, cotton tunic.
"Yes, it is. I was not expecting your planet to be this hot. I would have dressed lighter…" Neptune untied the ribbon at her neck, taking the cloak by her arms, revealing a pale purple dress that reached the floor.
"Here, let me take that for you," Uranus took the cloak from Neptune, and continued to walk past the doors through the hallway, few steps ahead of Neptune. She made sure she wasn't going too fast, so Neptune was not falling too behind. Once she reached to her room, she opened the door for Neptune. Just before she closed the door, she made sure that the maid who happened to walk by brought them something to drink. Then, Uranus hanged Neptune's cloak on one of the nearby chairs. For a moment, Uranus thought she had lost sight of Neptune, but found her standing near the tall window, staring outside.
"Tenousei is such a beautiful planet," Uranus heard her sigh as she stepped closer. From the window, they could see the guards and the servants roaming inside the castle wall. Outside the wall, city people were seen bustling in the streets. Further ahead were spread the endless desert and the forever ongoing trails that led to someplace else. "It is so much different from mine."
"Well princess, you better get used to it, since you're going to be our queen pretty soon…aren't you?" Uranus turned to her side to look at the younger girl, who continued to stare outside, both her hands pressing against the window. Uranus noticed that she was nearly a head taller than the girl, who seemed very fragile and delicate like Proteus. "I personally like Mokusei—it's much cooler than our planet. Plus, it's fun climbing their trees."
"What is it like?" Neptune looked up, to see Uranus was staring at her, not the outside.
"You've never been to Mokusei before?" Neptune shook her head. "The land's mostly covered with trees…there're different types, of course. I like how the leaves change color during different seasons. They're green one season, and turn to red and orange in another. Which planet do you like?" Uranus asked to Neptune, who listened to her story like a child who is listening to bedtime stories.
"I am not sure," she tipped her head to the side, as Uranus gave her strange looks.
"What do you mean you aren't sure? You must have one planet out of all the solar system that you like. Or do you like all of them?"
"I have never been to any other planets other than Kaiousei until I came here today," Uranus helped her sit on the couch, seeing her face become even more pale. Just then, the maid finally brought them the drinks. Uranus quickly grabbed the drinks from the tray the maid was carrying, and handed over to Neptune, who took it in gladly.
"Are you feeling alright?" Uranus asked her, as Neptune placed the cup down back on the table.
"This is exactly the reason why my people would not allow me to go anywhere else outside the castle. They all think that I am too weak," Neptune turned to Uranus, who now sat besides her on the couch. "Proteus and Oberon were luckily able to convince my parents and doctors that the winds in Tenousei would be good for me," Neptune giggled, and took Uranus's hand, and cupped it in her own. "I envy you, Princess Uranus."
"Me?" Uranus was startled. She noticed how Neptune's hands were softer and smaller than hers. Neptune nodded her head, and stared at Uranus, who felt as though her mind was being read through her eyes.
"You may have not seen me, but I have seen you from the window when you came to Kaiousei. I somehow knew you were a woman, even if you were training with men. Oberon has told me stories about you, too, about how you would go with him to different planets. I have always wished that I could do the same with Proteus," Neptune continued. "Now that I have met you in person, I even more so wish that I was like you," Neptune took Uranus's hand and pressed it to her cheek. Uranus took her other hand, and cupped Neptune's hands that were holding hers.
"I am I, and you are you. We're all different; we have to accept that. If you were me, Oberon would have never fallen for you, and you certainly would not have fallen for him." This was something that Uranus had accepted through her life. She knew that even if she tried, she would never be the girly princess the others might have wanted her to be. It was more natural for her to do masculine activities, and dress that way, rather than try to be feminine. She had received complements for her looks from other princesses, but not for her abilities.
"Princess Uranus…" Neptune let go of Uranus's hands.
"You know what, call me Uranus. I don't want to have my little sister calling me princess, knowing that I don't look like one," Uranus scratched her head. "Mind if I call you Neptune?" The younger girl smiled and nodded. "Neptune, do a favor for me."
"A favor?"
"Yes, a favor. Be a little stronger," Uranus patted Neptune's head lightly. "Then, I might show you around town sometimes and even teach you to run a little," at her words, Neptune's face lit up. Uranus was caught off guard again, when Neptune embraced her around the neck. This was certainly something that Uranus was not expecting, yet she didn't mind. It was not lustful, compared to the forceful ones she had encountered with the other girls she has met before—rather, it was like a sisterly love. It made her feel that she needed to protect the younger girl, and the future queen of the planet—Uranus was sure this was how her brother must have felt.