Chapter One
My name is Andrew Foreman. I am a man of little consequence. I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten…ok, so I stole that line from a movie, but I am not the best with words, so bear with me. In any case, I find myself writing these words in an effort to convey the events of the past two decades. So much has happened, not the least of which being your birth. You were my first, my only daughter, and I dedicate this to you. You are now eighteen, and the spitting image of your mother. I never entertained the idea of being a father, or even a husband, but as fate would have it, I have become that and so much more. On a typical rainy day in Tokyo, I met the most beautiful woman known to man. She was ill that day, and I had the unexpected privilege of taking care of her. She had been a stranger up until that point, someone I would have passed on the street, but in the blink of an eye, she became my whole world. Time seemed to stop that day as we talked over Ramen noodles about our aspirations. Your mother was closed off at first, but she eventually warmed up to me. There were moments between us where I could barely breathe and I was certain she felt the same way. Call me a sentimental fool, but I fell in love with her right then and there. When she left the apartment that day, I cursed myself for not telling her what I felt. That's when I knew. That's when I was sure I couldn't live without her. So I went after her, and the rest, they say, is history.
It was not an easy road for us, however. It seemed the second we declared our love for each other our world fell apart. Her mother, enraged that her daughter had fallen in love with the likes of me, gave her an ultimatum. Either she never see me again, or she would be cast out. Even to this day, what happened next still leaves me breathless. She chose me. She turned her back on everything she knew and took a new path with me at her side. Our trials were far from over, but at least we knew that as long as we were together, we could conquer any obstacle. Someday (though I pray that day is still a long way off) you will find someone you can love with the same courage and drive. Love is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, and you will have to work at it, but the reward is as sweet as it is enduring. Trust me, I should know.
The calamity of our relationship did not end there. In fact, things only got weirder. As you are well aware, we are not normal by any standard. Not long after I met your mother, I began having some pretty vivid dreams. I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say they left me visibly shaken. So I did what any common man would do; I spilled my guts to my best friend. Your uncle Darien was of little help to me, but there were more serious things afoot that day. Rei was dying. A fever had spread all across Tokyo, and she had been overcome by it. I went to the hospital that night with a heavy heart, all the while completely unaware of what was about to happen. I had been checking on her when I felt it, a tingling sensation that lanced up my legs and spine, and I blacked out. It was a feeling I had had before, and it terrified me. When I awoke, I was on the other side of the hospital, bewildered and sick to my stomach, but I had a job to do. Rei came very close to death that night, but I saved her. Yes, you heard right. Your old man saved a young girl, but not having the slightest clue how. See, I had a hand in your godmother's recovery, though I had no idea at the time. During my apparent blackout, I had donned the mysterious persona of Kaitou Ace (your mother can describe him better than I, I'm sure) and I, or rather he, found the cure for the fever. It was a flower called the Valerian blossom, and it is only known to grow on Venus. While its thorns supplied the poison, its nectar served as the anti-venom (this you also know, if you remember your lessons). Our enemies had also discovered its lethal properties, and planned to destroy the Earth with it. There were two of them; Prince Diamond, lord of the Dark Moon clan, and his partner, Cassandra. Their schemes were the stuff of legends, and your dad was the one who thwarted their plans. Ok, so I had help, but Kaitou Ace would never admit that. Anyhow, thousands were saved and everything returned to normal, or so I thought.
As you can suspect, our devilish duo did not take defeat well, and they set a trap for me. As much as I'd like to say I beat them at their own game and sent them packing, I had no such luck. Cassandra threatened me with your mother's life, and as I raced to her rescue, I became aware that I had been Kaitou Ace all along, and it was my duty to save her. What an arrogant fool I was! I should have known to keep my guard up, lest my enemies catch me unawares, but all I cared about was getting Mina to safety. As such, when they forfeited the challenge and let her go, I gave it no second thought. I realized my mistake too late, and if it weren't for the Sailor Scouts, I would have died right then and there. I have no shame in admitting it now, but lying there in the dirt, I felt nothing but my own stupid pride. Even when Darien moved to cut me from my bonds, I refused his help. Grudgingly, I came to the realization that I couldn't free myself, and when he released me, my heart softened. Take notice, dear daughter. Never be too proud to accept someone's help, or it will surely bite you in the end. I found out that lesson the hard way. As Darien left to aid his companions, Diamond cornered me and caught me in a sword fight. I fought him as though I'd done this before, and I matched him step for step. I defeated him, but not before he landed a nasty blow to my torso. Mina tried to stop me as I walked away, but wounded and blinded by my own arrogance, I ignored her. The sounds of battle faded, and I found myself alone in a patch of dark woods. My body felt cold and each breath sent daggers along my side, but I walked on, desperately hoping she had not followed me. I didn't want her to see me like this, for I had admired her from a distance and wanted the image of her valiant hero to remain untarnished. At last, I stopped at a clearing, blood seeping through my shirt. The world spun around me and I dropped to my knees, and then I knew no more.
The next thing I remember is a pair of warm lips on mine, cold tears splashing onto my face. I was confused, but I kissed her anyway, relishing the warmth that flowed into my frozen limbs. It was always like that when Mina kissed me. Like liquid fire, but as sweet as a butterscotch latte (you know I'm a sucker for sweets; your uncle is just as bad), so when I heard her voice above me, I fought the urge to sink back into darkness and opened my eyes. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, but the sorrow in her eyes broke my heart. I felt dizzy and weak, and I could barely form a coherent thought, but when I saw the jewel on her forehead, everything fell into place and I think I smiled.
"Venus," I breathed. "You're…Sailor Venus."
She nodded, and told me that our friends were the Sailor Scouts, then her gaze shifted to Darien and I followed it. I wished with all I had that I could take away the pained look on his face; I had seen it before, when her had broken up with Serena, and I ached to see it. It broke me to know that I had caused his grief. He blamed himself, as I knew he would. Darien internalized everything, and he took the responsibility of what happened when it wasn't his to bear. I had been the product of my own undoing, and I accepted that. I knew I had mere moments left, for it became harder to breathe and darkness crept at the edge of my vision. I fought against it, and gazed into my lover's eyes for what I believed to be the last time.
"I have loved you ever since I can remember, maybe even longer. Promise me you'll carry on without me, marry some nice guy, and go on with your life. You have so much love to give, and I want you to be happy."
She protested, but I pressed on.
"Listen to me," I whispered fervently. "This isn't the end for us. I know I'll see you again one day, somewhere far away from this place. I'm sure there'll be angels in Heaven, but none will be as beautiful as you."
I told her I loved her, and with her name still on my lips, I slipped into oblivion.
I remember drifting. I was content to float there, in the void between worlds. I did not know where I was, nor did I care. Velvet darkness surrounded me, and I imagined I saw clusters of stars and planets passing by, but I paid no attention to them. There was no sorrow here, and the pain I felt had become a distant memory. I sighed, and let the current take me. I can hardly explain this to you, what it feels like to die, but your uncle can. He has died more times than I can count, but this was all new to me. It seemed an eternity had passed, but at one point I began to descend, and as happy as I was, I was curious to see what awaited me on the other side. The heavens suddenly brightened and I shielded my eyes as everything went white.
The first thing I became aware of was the warmth. It spread throughout my body, bringing life along with it. As feeling began to return, I gasped. My side burned and throbbed, and I longed for the darkness, if only to escape the fire. Surely this was hell, for nothing in all of creation could hurt this much. A moan escaped my lips, a plea to make it stop, when I became aware of two voices talking above me.
"Will he live?" a female voice asked; she sounded concerned.
A gruff voice answered her. "That will be up to him," he said. "The amulet responds to him, but we won't know anything until the fever breaks."
I wanted to open my eyes, to ask them where I was and what had happened, but the painful fire kept me from both. At the height of my misery, I felt cool fingers on my closed eyes, and the pain eased.
"Sleep," the woman soothed, and I sank back into blissful darkness.
I awoke to the sound of bird's song somewhere nearby. To my immense relief, the pain and unbearable heat was gone, and strength flowed into me like a river. I breathed deeply and wondered if I had finally past into the next life. I felt whole and felt no pain, but something was still missing.
"Mina."
I spoke her name with such clarity, and I opened my eyes at last. I was in a spacious bedroom with great arched windows. The smell of the sea drifted from the open balcony, and golden light splashed onto the white marble floor. A canary sang from a gilded cage in the corner, and it soothed my anxious heart. On the table beside it was an assortment of herbs, filling the room with their sharp scents. Still disoriented, I looked about, searching for the people who had tended to me. I had begun to rise from bed when a voice floated into existence.
"Rest easy, prince."
It came from across the room, from a man with dark hair and warm brown eyes. Taking his advice, I laid back as he approached me, suddenly wary.
"Who are you?"
He sat down beside me. "My name is Stefan, and I am the chief healer of this place. Don't be afraid. You are safe here."
He examined me then, and when he leaned away, he seemed satisfied. "You are very lucky to be alive," he said. "The wound you received was a grievous one, and for a moment I thought we were too late. But you pulled through, and I must say you've healed quite nicely."
I half-smiled at him, but proceeded to bombard him with questions. He displayed a great deal of patience and told me that not only was I alive, but Mina and the others had arrived after me and were also in the palace. My heart quickened and I leapt from bed, only to stagger as Stefan caught me.
"Still stubborn as ever," he muttered under his breath. "You are on the mend, but I didn't spend half the day nursing you back to health just so you could overexert yourself."
I smiled sheepishly as I sat down next to him. "Sorry."
He sighed. "It's quite all right. I shouldn't have expected any less from you. Your friends are here, and after you've rested a bit, you may see them. Agreed?"
Once I had regained my bearings, I was washed and dressed in a soft white tunic and leggings. A gold amulet hung from my neck adorned with strange symbols. When I asked Stefan about it, he only said that it was made for me and I would draw strength from it. When he finally deemed me healthy enough to leave, he pointed me in the direction of the garden, I nearly ran from the room, taking the stairs two at a time. At the bottom ran a wide hallway with a pair of doors at the end. A myriad of scents assailed me when I opened them; flowers of every color bloomed along a winding path. It appeared I was alone, so I wandered the stone walkways until I came to an ivory gazebo. I inhaled deeply, rejoicing in the sweet air that filed my lungs. I had never been so glad to be alive, and I knew a greater joy awaited me. It seemed I had been standing there forever and a day when I heard delicate footsteps behind me, and I turned. Besides our wedding day, I have never seen her look so beautiful. Her orange gown shown in the sunlight, and her tear-filled gaze met mine. She but breathed my name, and a wide grin broke over my face. She flew into my arms and my soul rejoiced. I kissed her and answered her breathless questions as best as I could. Our friends joined us then, and I had come to learn that we were not on Earth at all, but rather on its identical neighbor. Venus. My mind was whirling at this point, for I had thought the planet to be nothing but a gaseous wasteland. But the vision in front of my eyes was far from that, and I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. The pain was real enough, so I decided that I was neither dead nor dying and the presence of my loved ones was not a figment of my imagination. But I would come to find out that my whirlwind of discovery was far from over.
Once we had all gathered, a youth approached us and led us to the throne room where Ann, the Queen of Venus, and your grandmother, awaited us. The splendor and glory of this woman filled the room, and we all knelt before her. She acknowledged Mina first, proclaiming her as her daughter and sole heir to the throne. I listened in awed silence as she raised Serena and the others, keeping my eyes to the floor. She came at last to Darien and I.
"Rise, Prince of Earth," I heard her say. She paused, and my heart began to race.
"Both of you."
I finally met her penetrating gaze. Did she really say what I think she said? The Queen of Venus had acknowledged the two of us together, which could only mean one thing.
"Excuse me?" I blurted, the impossibility of the situation making me frank. I rose on unsteady legs and your uncle and I exchanged the same disbelieving glance.
Needles to say, it was a shock. I thought back to all the times we spent together, the uncanny similarities between us. The tilt of the head when we would listen to people, the way we raked our hands through our hair when we were stressed out; even the women we fell in love with turned out to be best friends. These random happenings were not mere coincidence, or even the result of a strong friendship; it was a sign of something that went much deeper.
The Queen then regaled us of the tale of our past, and revealed that the ones who had destroyed this beautiful kingdom were the very same ones we were fighting against at that moment. She bequeathed the Scepter she held to her daughter, and we each took a vow that no matter what it took, we would see them defeated, just as she had done centuries ago.
The first battle of my life was a fierce one. Now equipped with a power I could scarcely understand, I aided my beloved as she fought the forces of darkness. I can tell you now, with all the confidence in the world, the likes of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas had NOTHING on the things I beheld that night. You seriously cannot make this stuff up. We were fighting for our lives, and each of us knew it. That was the first time I saw your mother's wings. We were in the thick of it, and for a wild moment, I thought we were going to lose. Then suddenly, Mina began to glow with a radiant gold light, and I stepped back. Two enormous wings burst from her back, white feathers tinged with gold and sparkling like the noonday sun. In the years that followed that night, I have learned that this is; excuse the mild term, 'normal', at least among those of Venusian blood. Upon the age of eighteen (your mother seemed to be the only exception since she was just shy of that age) a man or woman of royal blood receives their wings. The ritual is a gruesome one, or so I'm told, but the pain is brief and the aftereffects are minimal. I write this to comfort you, for this is meant to be a celebration, and I hope you will think of it as such.
Anyway, the battle was won, but not without a causality. This may strike you as unbelievable, as did we all, but the prince of the Dark Moon lunged in front of the column of magic that was certain to kill the woman we had been fighting. He had fallen in love with her, and he paid the ultimate price. All was not lost, however, for Serena stepped forward and offered them a chance at redemption. They took it willingly, and from that point forward they were known as Cassie and Dimitri. They have become like family to us, and it goes to show that anyone, no matter how dark and twisted they are, can and should deserve a second chance.
A few months went by, and I was a changed man. I had gone from being an ordinary guy to a boyfriend, a brother, and even a prince. Through it all, I had found the love of my life, and I wasn't going to live another day without her. Darien nearly broke my ribs when he found out I was going to propose and, being the genius that he is, began to cultivate the perfect plan. Now I will be the first to admit that I am no Josh Groban, but under the rigorous coaching of your uncle I came pretty damn close. With the additional help of our own motley crew (a.k.a your godfathers), I was ready to make Mina my fiance. It was a beautiful night, the night of your mother's eighteenth birthday, and we all sat down for what she thought was a celebration for the victory we had just won. That was true enough, be we wouldn't have prevailed if it weren't for her. When Darien took the cue from the 'frantic' waiter across the lawn, my palms began to sweat and my heart raced. He murmured an apology to the girls and the boys and I followed him to help the staff with some heavy loads in the back. It was all a ruse, of course, but it took all of my strength to walk calmly behind Darien towards the kitchen doors. Once we were inside, we rushed backstage and changed as fast as we could. My hands trembled and I fumbled with the tie at my neck. Sighing, Darien came to lend a hand.
"Breathe," he reminded me for the hundredth time. "You'll do fine."
I gave him a shaky smile and with a wink, he turned and disappeared beyond the curtain. I heard enthusiastic applause and shrieks of delight, and then came the soft notes of a piano. I grasped the curtain and took a deep breath.
Here goes everything.
Your mother can remember the details of what came next, but the majority of it was a blur to me. It seemed mere moments before I knelt before her, my heart in my eyes, and opened the box in my trembling hands. I uttered those four little words 'will you marry me?' and of course, she said yes. I placed the delicate band on her finger, claiming her for my own, and we shared a passionate kiss as fireworks lit up the sky. In my mind, nothing could possibly top the feelings I had at that moment.
Except, perhaps, the day of our wedding.
