Kinsei Hime
A Sailor Moon Fanfiction
Written by: Ikasu Gami

Book 1 Chapter 1

The young prince prowled the corridors of the moonlit palace. This was the third night in a row that he had been too restless to sleep. His mind seemed to be teaming with thoughts and visions of the future. There was this unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach that something bad was going to happen, and there was every reason for him to worry. He knew his kingdom was at peace, and the principalities around the galaxy had reported no disturbance to their peace either. Yet, how long would this last?

He was only the crowned Prince, and he knew that there were things his mother kept from him, things that she thought he would not be able to handle. That had been the root of most of their fights. Not many in the palace knew about these periodic spats they had, though the ones who did were loyal beyond a shadow of a doubt. What she did tell him, she told him in spades, to the point where the kingdom's well being fell to him despite being at the tender age of sixteen. And yet, she had kept the legend of the Princess hidden from him, though she held the entire realm's well being in the palm of her hand.

Clenching his jaw, he headed for the gardens. He wasn't aware of it yet, but that was the source of his listlessness.

She was called Kinsei Hime, the divine overseer of the balance between good and evil, light and dark. She was the being that started wars when they were needed, ended lives when those lives were not necessary, and destroyed evil when it had gotten out of control. Whenever she would appear, no one knew if it was for destruction or protection. The purpose of her incarnation was unknown until the final moment when she carried out her task. They all feared her and her limitless power.

And yet, they had kept the knowledge of her existence in the here and now from him!

In a spurt of anger, he pushed open the door leading to the rose garden with more force than was necessary. It flung open, hitting the wall it was mounted on hard enough to cause him to flinch at the noise. He caught the door as it swung back towards him, calming down in the process. He took another moment to sooth his temper before stepping out into the moonlit garden, closing the door behind him with more gentleness than he had shown it in opening.

Slowly, he walked among the fragrant blossoms, brooding on the subject of the Princess. He had found out about her by accident by walking in on his mother and their two wisest advisors discussing the further training of the Princess. They had tried to cover up what they were talking about when they spotted him, but it was too late. He had heard enough.

When he had asked of his mother for an explanation, she would give him none. When he demanded it from the advisors, they had deferred to his mother. At that moment, he had felt betrayed. He had stormed out, returning to his sword training. He fought out his anger and by the time night had fallen, he had been calm enough to think rationally. He began to see the reasoning behind his mother's thinking and could no longer fault her from keeping that bit of information from him. When he had gone back to her, she had revealed to him the legend of the Princess, though she would not go into detail about her most recent incarnation.

He did not know what she looked like, how old she was, or even the name she went by. All he was able to glean from his mother's explanation was that the Princess was in the palace.

He stopped and looked up at the moon, feeling the usual pull of the celestial body. It had such a calming property on him that he had come out here many a night to think. This was when he was the most alert. His attention snapped back to the garden around him at the sound of rustling fabric. Scanning the immediate area, his deep blue eyes met eyes the color of pure gold.

There, standing at the other side of a small clearing in the garden, was a slip of a girl. She stood in a simple nightgown that left her shoulders and arms bare. Her golden hair a shade deeper than her eyes cascaded down her back, wisps of it being picked up in the slight wind. She showed no modesty, despite the fact that the moonlight streamed through the thin fabric, illuminating the outline of her body perfectly. She seemed to be about his age, though most likely a year or two older. Despite this, the gaze with which she watched him seemed to hold an infinite amount of wisdom, staring into his eyes with no fear or reverence in her eyes, as if she did not recognize him.

When he remained in his stunned silence, she smiled gently, her pale pink lips parting slightly, making her look years younger. "You must be Endymion." He could only gaped at her in shock as she dipped down into a formal curtsey, allowing some of her hair to fall over her left shoulder. "I am called Calliope; sister to your brother in arms, Jadeite; guardian of all that you see; and the keeper of the balance." Her smiled broadened as she took in his complete shock. "I am at the age of fourteen, though my soul is as old as time itself. I possess the knowledge of what was, what is, and what could ever be. I am here to correct the balance of powers before it can be tipped, to remove the threat before it could be conceived. So is my purpose in this life."

He managed to recover from his shock as she spoke. "Why are you telling me this?"

Her expression softened. "Because your mother could not. Because you demanded answers when it was not hers to tell." Her smile faded from her lips. "Sleep well, dear prince. The time for sleepless nights will come in due time." She turned and started walking away.

"Wait!" He tried to go after her, but she seemed to disappear through the garden. He stood there, standing in the spot she had once occupied, staring off into the distance. He could still see her perfectly in his mind's eye. A wistful smile played on his lips as he headed back to his bedchamber. It felt like he was floating on air, and if this fateful meeting turned out to be a dream, then so be it. He had fallen in love with this dream.

- - - - -

Months passed and Endymion had wandered the darkened halls every night since he had met her, and every night, he had returned to bed exhausted and disappointed. Fortunately, his role in the governing of the country was not as strenuous as it was bound to be when he became king. What was even more frustrating was that he couldn't even send her messages. The day after the meeting, Jadeite had been called home, and Endymion assumed, so had his sister.

Since that day, he had not caught his mother or any of the advisors speaking of her. Even his request to visit Jadeite had been denied. His mother had made up the excuse of peasants revolting in that region. He was slowly going mad with the desire to just see her again. She was all he could think of. Even while he slept, he dreamt of her. The only time he seemed to forget was when he was in the garden again, staring up at the moon.

With a sigh, he pushed away from his desk and the stack of correspondences. He wasn't focused enough to read them. He stared sightlessly out the window behind him, wondering not for the first time, where she was. He wondered if she ever thought of him, if she ever dreamt of him at night. Could she replay their meeting in the garden with perfect clarity and detail?

Endymion shook his head and laughed at himself. He sounded like a love-struck fool. When the knock came, he straightened and smoothed out his expression. "Enter." The door opened and Jadeite strode in with a smile. Smiling himself, Endymion stood up and walked around his desk to greet his friend. "You've been gone a long while. When did you get back?"

Jadeite laughed at Endymion's tone. "Just now." They sat down and a small cloud of dust rose from Jadeite's clothes and Endymion winced good naturedly. "I probably should have changed before coming here." Then Jadeite's smile faded. "Endymion, did you run into Calliope the night before I left?" Endymion nodded slowly, wary of where this line of questioning was headed. "What did you say to her?"

Endymion frowned. "Nothing." He took a moment to think back to that night. "I didn't say anything. She told me that she was the Princess and that she was your sister." Endymion refocused his attention on Jadeite. "Why? What did she say?"

Jadeite shook his head. "You'll have to ask her yourself." Suddenly, a smile broke out on Jadeite's face. He was once more the friend, rather than the brother as he started to describe the various women he had seen on the way home and then back to the palace.

Endymion, however, was only listening with half an ear. His mind had wandered back to the golden-eyed princess.

- - - - -

That night, Endymion wandered out into the garden again. He went to the spot where they first met. Sure enough, he found her there. She stood where she had been the other time, wearing a full gown this time, her hands now clasped behind her back. She watched him as he approached. There seemed to be an air of sadness surrounding her. He stopped on the other side of the circle again. "Hello."

She stared up at him. "You must stop searching for me."

He smiled slightly as he shook his head. "I will not. As long as you hide from me, as long as you stay away from me, I will come find you." He walked to her, causing her to tilt her head back to keep the eye contact. "I have thought of you every minute of every day since the night we met." He brought his hand up to caress the soft skin of her face. "You are all I think about, all I've wished for."

"You must forget me." Her voice came out breathier than she had intended. She had to fight the urge to lean her cheek into his warm hand, to close her eyes and just allow her emotions to rule. "You can not fall in love with me." However, looking into his clear blue eyes, she saw that it was already too late. Closing her eyes, she bowed her head and stepped back. "Good bye, young prince. We shall never meet again." She started to turn away, but he caught her by the wrist.

"No." He pulled her against him and brought his lips down in a hard, passionate kiss. She fought against him initially, but under the heat of his desire, she melted against him. His arms wrapped around her frail body as his kiss gentled. She smelled faintly of vanilla and tasted like honey. He sank deeper and deeper into her until it felt like they were one. When finally he drew away from her, he smiled down gently at her. "Now that I have you, I will never let go of you."

She stared up into his eyes, seeing her face reflected in their depths. "Then you are fool." She pushed away from him and out of his arms. With a barely audible sob, she fled from him. Though she had said the words to him, they haunted her all the way back to her room. She, too, had foolishly lost her heart to the young prince.

- - - - -

Author's Notes
Typos and clumsy grammar abound!
So they're mostly fixed now… though I'm not entire sure if I'll ever get to Chapter 2, let alone the end of the story…

I hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far :o)