Author's Note: When starting this story I didn't want to use their name from the series and calling them Princess something or Sailor something would get tedious and repetitive so I gave them name:
Akai = Princess Mars
Mizuiro = Princess Mercury
Midori = Princess Jupiter
Kiiro = Princess Venus
Aiiro = Princess Uranus
Hukamidori = Princess Neptune
Makkuro = Princess Pluto
The names are the Japanese words for the colours red, blue, green, yellow, deep blue, deep green and black. Colours in the order as the names. Translation for Japanese word used in the story at the end of each chapter.
The Tranquillity of Love
He felt the tip of Jadeite sword against his throat and threw his own to the ground as a sign that Jadeite had won. The sword disappeared and a sigh escaped the young blond man.
"What's with you today?" he asked him and Zoisite looked up at his friend through a sweaty mess of long blond curls. "How can one expects to win over you in an honest fight if you don't do your best?"
"I'm sorry I guess my heart is not in this today," he said and rose from the ground and dusted the sand of his clothes.
"Neither is your head, my friend," Jadeite said and graced his cheek with the tip of his sword and a thin line of blood trickled down it before the healing crystal that surrounded the training ground got to work and healed the cut without a trace.
Zoisite looked at Jadeite in surprise it was a very long time since anyone had given him a reminder. Gracing someone's cheek with the tip of a sword or a knife was known as a reminder and given to someone to make them remember to do their best in battle exercises.
They looked at each other assessing the other, they were both wearing the traditional training clothes, lose fitting pants and shirts that was parted down to the waist leaving the chest bare. No protective armour was used, the soldiers were trained until they didn't suffer any lacerations, and the crystals in this area took care of any wound.
Zoisite held out his sword arm and the sword came flying to his hand and he made a lunge for Jadeite and knocked the sword out of his hand, then with a blow of the hilt he sent the younger man sprawling on the ground. He put the tip of the sword to his cheek and graced it.
Jadeite looked at him with a dazed gaze, groggy after the blow, the cut healed quickly.
They looked up when they heard someone clapping and saw Nephrite standing at the door with a sword in his hand.
"Good move Zoisite," he said, "let's see if you can repeat it."
"Still looking for revenge?" he asked him with a smile.
"Always, Zoisite, always," the younger man said also smiling.
"I hate to interrupt your little fun," Kunzite said and emerged from behind one of the pillars, "but you really should get ready for the banquet tonight."
"How long have you been standing there?" Jadeite asked the white haired man.
"Long enough," he answered and left them.
"Another time then," Nephrite said to Zoisite with a friendly grin.
"Sure," he said smiling amiably back at him.
"Next time bring you heart and your head," Jadeite said and looked at him over the blade of his sword.
"I will," Zoisite said and left the training grounds with a smile on his face.
"Kunzite-sama, matte," Kunzite heard Jadeite calling behind him and stopped and allowed the younger man to catch up.
"You sure are in a hurry," Kunzite said to him as he caught up with him barely out of breath.
"I wanted to talk to you," he said treading his finger through his short blond hair, "I noticed that Zoisite has been acting weird ever since the Prince told us about the banquet."
"I have also noticed it," Kunzite said, "he never acts like this and he never lets you win a fight."
"Exactly," Jadeite said, "something sure is wrong."
"Maybe I should talk to him," Kunzite said.
"Maybe, you should?" Jadeite asked him and crossed his arms over his chest and a frown on his face.
"I will," he said.
"I was just going to say that," Jadeite said with a smile.
"Yes in your own subtle I-will-kill-you-if you-don't-way," Kunzite said also with a smile.
"You know me so well."
"After fifteen years of friendship what would you expect?"
"Nothing less," Jadeite said and took of, "matte ne, Kunzite-sama."
Kunzite shook his head with a smile the young man was really bursting with energy. He continued his walk but with a new destination.
Zoisite looked out of the window in his quarters when he entered it. Being in the Prince's bodyguard had its upsides and downsides, the downsides were that you had to attended a lot of boring official meetings and even more boring parties and events, the upsides were that you lived more comfortably than anyone else.
He could still remember the day that he had been chosen to come to the court to be trained as a member of the royal guard. He had been five at the time and was of a good and highly respected family so naturally he had been chosen for it, but he was also very good with a sword and had a strong sense of loyalty, even as a child.
The first day he had felt lost and lonely, but then he had met Kunzite, and they had soon become good friends. Kunzite, who was the same age as he, had like him been chosen to come to the court to be trained.
Kunzite had been chosen because he had been good with sword and bow, loyal and had good leader instinct. Nephrite and Jadeite had joined them the following year, after that they had started their training. A training that turned them into the Prince elite bodyguard and earned them all the title Shitennou, the four kings of heaven, a very honourable title.
He woke up from the past and returned to the present, he poured himself a glass of water from the crystal carafe and went out of the balcony. It was a beautiful autumn day the sun was shining and the sky was blue, it would have been a perfect day but the gentle breeze brought a sad and gagging odour with it. The stench of burnt flesh lay heavy both night and day since the funeral pyre never seemed to cease, many lives had been lost during the resent war, a strange war, were human was fighting youma. An alliance with the moon kingdom had saved them all from falling in the clutches of the darkness.
He thought back to that day when the treaty was signed the day the war turned to their favour. It was the same day he had lost his heart to the most beautiful girl in the whole solar system. He had noticed her the moment she had walked into the room with the moon princess and some other girls. The girls short hair had the same blue colour as the lake near his childhood home and eyes to match, she had been wearing a blue long dress and hidden in the folds of her dress was a book. He had felt as if he hadn't lived until the moment he saw her, although he had thought himself being in love many times, but the peacock brained girls at the earth court was beautiful on the outside and had only air inside. No wonder he preferred battle practice to talking to those peebrains.
Anyway he knew that a romance with someone at the moon court would be difficult to maintain since they both had their duties at separate places, but the real blow came when the queen introduced them to the girl that had arrived together with her daughter. She had introduced the girl as the Princess of Mercury, Sailor Mercury one of the inner senshi. He felt at that point how his heart sank down into his boots.
That was five months ago and he hadn't thought about it with the war and all until two days ago when the Prince informed them of the traditionally celebration of the victory of the war, the moon queen, her daughter and the senshi were all invited, which meant that he would see her again.
He sighed and went inside and closed the door to keep the smell of fire outside. He put down the glass on the table and began to strip out of his sweaty clothes and walked into the bathroom. He sat down on the side of the bathtub and touched the water that was cold as ice by now but it raised to a higher temperature as he touched it, it was an ability he had obtained with the title of Shitennou.
He undid his long braid and stepped into the bath and relaxed his aching muscles, Jadeite had been pretty rough today. Since he hadn't been fully concentrating Jadeite had taken the opportunity to pay back all the hard times Zoisite had given him. He had been the one training both Nephrite and Jadeite in sword technique and they had never been able to defeat him except the few times he had been distracted like today, but he always made it up by being ten times rougher with them the next practice.
He sank down under the surface and stayed there until he could no longer hold his breath and then he broke the surface gasping for air, his long hair covering his face like a curtain and he pushed it back. He seldom let his long hair flow free, as it annoyingly fell into his face obstructing his vision so he always tied it in a lose ponytail unless he had battle practise then he wore it in a tight braid.
He grabbed the soap and used it to clean of the smell of sweat and dirt from his body. The soap had a faint but sweet fragrance of lemon, a smell he had always enjoyed ever since he was a child.
He reached for a bucket of water that was standing beside the bathtub and poured it over him to rinse of the soap, a yelp escaped him as the icy water poured over him, he'd forgotten to warm it. He rattled his teeth as he wrapped a towel around himself and stepped out in the living room he froze as he saw Kunzite sitting in a chair obviously waiting for him.
"Kunzite-sama?"
"I noticed that you weren't doing your best at the battle practise today," the man said and rose from the chair, "why?"
"I was distracted," he answered.
"What was the distraction?"
"Nothing in particular," he said, "I can't seem to get by that we lost so many in the war, so many friends and loved ones."
"It's sad yes," Kunzite said with a nod, "but that is the nature of war as a solider you should know that and not let it distract you."
"I'll try to banish such thoughts during practise and concentrate better," he said.
"That's good," he said and the stern face of the leader disappeared and was replaced with his friends mocking smile, "and now the truth."
Zoisite looked at him with a surprised look on his face.
"I don't understand..." he began but Kunzite cut him off.
"We've known each other too long to keep secrets from one another," he said, "tell me what's bothering you?"
"Unrequited love," he said and the smile vanished from Kunzite's lips.
"Anyone of the court?" he asked.
"No," he said and looked out the window, "it's someone I can never get, or tell how I feel."
"I hope this isn't going to reflect on your duties?" Kunzite said.
"Believe me when I say that work is the best way to forget this inconvenient affection," he said.
"I believe that you won't let it affect you responsibilities, but it will tear at you," Kunzite said, "perhaps it would be better to tell this girl how you feel."
"And have her laugh in my face, or worse, pity me," he said turned to Kunzite.
"You have it your way," Kunzite said and turned and walked out the door, "don't be late."
'Now why would I be late to my own personal hell', he thought as he went over to the mirror and picked up the brush to comb through the wet tangles of his hair.
His mind started to drift and of course they drifted to the one thing he could never have. In the mirror he saw the sweet innocent face with the blue eyes and blue hair. Princess Mercury, Sailor Mercury, guarded by the innermost planet of the solar system and have the power to control water.
He thought back to the first time he saw her fight and remembered her attack at that time. A group of soldiers together with her had been trapped by some youma and his group was coming to the rescue. He had seen her raise her hands to the chest, sparks of water flying around her as she twirled around and raising her hands over her head and she throw away strong beams of water immobilising the enemy letting them take care of the rest.
He had heard her shout out 'Shine Aqua Illusion' as she formed the attack. She had the grace and calmness of water, and she was truly beautiful and from what he had heard very intelligent.
He knew many men that didn't like girls that were intelligent, just as long as they had a beautiful body and face they were happy, sure he liked that too but he wanted something to exist behind the beautiful exterior.
She was everything he wanted but they where from different worlds, literally. Suddenly his legs could no longer support him and he fell down on the floor to his knees. His hair flowing free around his face and tears came bursting and he buried his face in his hands and cried, he hadn't cried in years but now they came like they were never going to stop.
She was nervous as she reached the transport area, she looked at the crystals that came from the nine planets of the system.
If she could she would have transported home to Mercury but she couldn't, she was nervous about meeting the third of the Shitennou again. Just the thought of him made her heart beat faster and she got trouble breathing normally.
She saw that the mark for earth was drawn on the ground in the middle of the transport circle and the blue crystal form Earth was placed in the centre.
She looked around but the threes green leaves reminded her of his green eyes, those eyes she had tried very hard to forget but couldn't.
She couldn't for her life understand why she had fallen so for a man from earth. When the others had been talking about the Shitennou and the crown Prince she had left the room with an excuse and fled out into the gardens to be alone with her sorrow. They knew that the Prince wasn't married but they suspected that the others were, although they had never heard anything about them being married.
She thought back to the first time she had seen him when the Prince had come to ask for help in the war. She had entered the room with the others and seen him, as soon as she saw him it was like he was the only one who existed in the room everyone else had become air and they were the only once to remain solid. They had been in the Chamber of Winds at the time and his long hair tied in a loose ponytail had blown dramatically in the wind. As she studied him she noticed that his skin was flawless and seemed to be very smooth.
"There you are," she heard a voice say and turned and saw Princess Mars approaching and a few feet behind she saw the queen and her daughter together with the rest of the inner senshi.
"Are you feeling okay?" Akai asked her and she nodded.
"I'm fine," she said, "just a little nervous, that's all."
"I almost forgot that you didn't like big banquet's," she said, "you would rather be home on Mercury locked in the library I guess."
"At least its quiet and less crowded," she said and Akai nodded.
"That I admit," she said.
The other reached the transport area and they all stepped into the circle joining hands, concentrating their thoughts on the blue planet a wind blew up and when it ceased the sounds and smells were quite different. The smell of burnt flesh was heavy in the air, they saw the sun setting and the heaven seemed to be afire.
Five men approached them.
"Welcome to Earth Queen Serenity," the Prince said and bowed and the other did the same.
Mizuiro saw Zoisite and felt her heart increase in speed. He looked sad for some reason and she wondered why. For a fraction of a minute she wanted to walk over to him and kiss that sadness away.
"Lets return to the palace, your highness," the white haired man, Kunzite, said and the Prince nodded.
It was cold outside, she hadn't notice the cold outside when they first had arrived, but then again her mind was preoccupied with other things.
Kiiro on the other hand shuddered and Kunzite took of his cape and draped it over her shoulders.
"It gets cold in the evenings when its autumn," he said to her and she pulled the cape more closely around her and smiled faintly at him a smile that he returned.
"It was warmer when we were here earlier," Akai said.
"That's two months ago," Zoisite said, "as the Earth rotate the season changes and it gets colder or warmer depending on how close the Earth is to the sun."
They all looked at him and he blushed.
"Gomen," he said and the Prince laughed.
"No need to apologise, my friend," he said, "just warn us before you dazzle us with your intelligence again."
Zoisite nodded and she looked at him, she felt as though her heart would break.
'He is everything I want in a man', she thought, it wasn't often she had thought about what kind of man she wanted but it had happened and he was everything she wanted.
"Can we please go inside before I turn to ice?" Kiiro asked and they continued their walk toward the palace.
The dining room was big and was lit up by huge chandeliers that hung from the ceiling the prisms cast rainbow-coloured spots over the room as they reflected the candles. The room was in marble like the rest of the palace.
They were sitting at the table upon the podium as it was reserved for the high court and its guest. She was sitting between Akai and Midori so she couldn't see him but she could hear him and it sent shivers down her spine ever time he said something.
"What did that awful smell outside come from?" the princess suddenly asked.
"It came from the funeral pyre," Jadeite said.
"You burn your dead?" she asked and she sounded horrified.
"Yes, in order for the soul to be freed from its earthly prison the body most be destroyed and its ashes returned to the very earth that created it," he said.
"Sounds a little barbaric, but at the same time poetic," the queen said.
"Well, it's tradition," the Prince said.
"I was thinking that it would be a great idea for the senshi to learn a little about earth," she said.
"Well, you need only to ask," the Prince said, "now is a good opportunity since Zoisite seems to have memorised everything he has ever been taught, so if anyone knows the answer to your question its him."
Question was something they had and they practically hailed over the long blond man as the dinner proceeded in a slow tempo.
She was standing outside on the large balcony listening to the music that were played inside the ball room, she was not much for parties and preferred the silence of an empty room rather then the multitude of voices in a crowded one.
"Be careful so you don't catch a cold," a voice said and a warm cape was placed over her shoulders. She looked up and saw Zoisite standing there, suddenly her voice disappeared and she could only look at him.
"Not much for social gatherings?" he asked her and she nodded still unable to answer.
"Me neither," he said and looked at her. "Come with me," he said and placed an arm around her shoulder and guided her down the steps and away from the palace toward the gardens.
They stepped through a stone portal and she found that the air was much warmer, she gazed surprised at her surroundings; the place was filled with tropical flowers and plants, and she could even hear birds signing, even though it was dark outside there was a soft light in here.
"Its beautiful," she whispered.
"I thought you'd like it," he said, "I usually come here every time I want to be alone, study or just think."
"So you like to read," she said and looked at him and he nodded.
"I have found that reading is very relaxing and after a whole day of battle practice one needs to relax but I would like to study instead of wielding a sword," he said and she nodded with a smile.
"I too prefer studying to doing battle practice," she said sitting down on a stone bench and he sat down next to her.
"It would be nice if there wouldn't be any war," she said and felt a blush spread over her cheeks as she felt heat from his body that was so close to hers.
"I think that this last war was the last forever," he said and she looked up at him, "people has lost too much and Earth has suffered to many casualties, to start a new war would be devastating."
"So peace is reigning now?" she said and he nodded. She looked around at the many different flowers in the garden. "I've never seen any of these flowers and don't know any of their names?"
"I can show you around and tell you their names if you're interested?" he said and she looked at him with a smile.
"I'd like that."
He rose from the bench and held out his hand toward her and she took it.
Jadeite spotted Kunzite standing by one of the huge windows talking to Princess Venus, he had been looking for Princess Mars but he couldn't find her in the crowd and began to look for Zoisite it was something he wanted to talk to him about but he couldn't find him either.
"Kunzite-sama," he said tapping the older man on the shoulder and Kunzite turned to him, "have you seen Zoisite?"
"No I haven't," Kunzite said, "isn't he here?"
"I can't find him and Nephrite hasn't seen him either since dinner although the only thing he has seen this night is the bottom of his glass, he is getting a bit tipsy," he said.
"How many glasses has he had?" Kunzite asked with a frown.
"Two," Jadeite said, "that man can't hold his liquor that's for sure, but I wouldn't worry Princess Jupiter was with him and that lady sure emits a protective aura."
"Have you checked the library?" Kunzite asked.
"He wouldn't," he said and remembered who they were talking about, "he would, wouldn't he."
Kunzite nodded.
"I saw him talking to Mercury outside on the balcony awhile ago," Princess Venus said and they both turned and looked at her, "they talked for a few seconds and than they headed that direction."
She pointed in the direction of the gardens and they both relaxed. Seemed like they didn't want to spend the rest of the night in a crowded and noise room.
"No need to alert the palace guard then," Kunzite said and they both laughed and Venus looked questioningly at them.
"You don't have to worry about your friend Princess," Kunzite said, "if nothing else he will probably bore her to death."
Now it was their time to look surprised as Venus laughed and for the first time they both heard a royal lady laugh with real mirth and not some faked giggle.
"Bore her to death," she said after awhile and with laughter still in her eyes, "not likely, her idea of a good time is sitting in the library solving mathematics calculations."
"Funny," Jadeite said that was the first to recover from Princess Venus revelation, "it seems like she just described our Zoisite, although his idea of a good time is studying ancient languages."
"Then it seems like we have a match made in heaven there," she said and both men smiled, she was probably right.
He was just about to say something when the music stopped and silence lowered itself over the room. The crowd parted and he saw the Prince standing in the middle of the room waiting until he was sure he had everyone's attention.
"Nearly a year ago the Earth was plagued by youma and we all feared annihilation," he said, "five months ago that turned as we asked the Moon Kingdom for help that we thankfully received."
He turned to the Moon Queen and bowed as a sign of gratitude and she accepted it with a nod.
"The war has been over for nearly two months now and still though the Earth is healed, the scars in our hearts run deep and the fires outside is a constant reminder to all that is lost to us forever," he said, "however though we will mourn our loved ones for a long time to come we have to keep in mind that they didn't die in vain since everything has a meaning."
"The war brought the Earth out of her one-thousand year long isolation and out back among the stars and so as proof of our gratitude and my personal admiration and deep affection, likewise, to strengthen our alliance with the Moon Kingdom I, Endymion, Prince of the Earth ask you, Serenity, with all my heart, Princess of the Moon Kingdom for your hand in marriage."
At the end of the sentence he got down on one knee and looked at the Moon Princess that blushed so hard she looked like she had a fever.
Slowly she stepped out on the floor and over to him.
"I, Serenity, Princess of the Moon Kingdom," she said with a strong voice though she was trembling, "accept your, Endymion's, Prince of the Earth, proposal."
Endymion rose and pulled her into an embrace and all the court applauded and Jadeite saw Endymion whisper something to Serenity and her eyes widen and she hugged him more fiercely.
"True love," Princess Venus sighed and they turned and looked at her.
"Really, boys," she said and they both startled it was a long time since someone had called them boys, "I'm the Princess of Venus, the planet of Love, don't you think I would know real love if I saw it."
Jadeite caught a glimpse of black and red in the corner of his eye and turned and saw Princess Mars disappeared out on the balcony and he was not going to miss her this time.
"Excuse me but I just saw someone that I need to talk to," he said and excused himself.
Kunzite looked out the window and saw Jadeite approaching Princess Mars.
'I wonder...' he thought but his thought was cut off by Princess Venus voice chirping something.
"What did you say?" he asked and she pointed to something at the back of the room and saw that Nephrite was in the process of making a total fool of himself. He sighed and shook his head, it didn't seem that bad though since Princess Jupiter was trying to hold him in check.
"Aren't you gonna do something?" she asked him.
"Nobody cares," he said, "we are all used to him getting this way."
"But still," she said.
"Don't worry, Princess," he said putting a comforting hand on her thin shoulder. He looked at her, she sure was pretty, but she was still a little girl.
'A girl that fought along side me in a war that was not her own', he thought, 'cried the tears I didn't dare to cry.'
She wore a light yellow dress in some light material that was too thin fore the temperature outside. The dress left her arms bare and reached her down to her knees, a little cape was attached to it fastened in the front with a brooch in the form of the mark of their planet. The clothes looked similar to their solider outfits.
She wore sandals with straps that were laced high up on her legs.
'Kunzite,' he heard Endymion's telepathic voice say.
'Hai,' he answered.
'Take Nephrite to his room,' he said.
'Right away,' he said. "Excuse me Princess but I think my friend has had enough fun tonight."
"Now you care for him," she said with a smile and he bowed and left to deal with his drunken friend.
They walked for hours, she listening to him telling her about the different plants in the garden and she asked questions when there was something she didn't fully understood, but mostly he did the talking.
"What's that?" she asked and pointed at a big white flower resting on the surface of a pond only slightly jostled by the ripples caused by the waterfall at the far end of the pond.
"That's a water lily," he said, "very common in the northern region were it grows free."
"It's beautiful," she said, "it looks so peaceful where it rests upon the surface of the water."
"You're right," he said, "it looks peaceful, never thought of it before."
"I envy things that are peaceful," she said as she watched the flower, "I have little time to myself and when I'm alone I read, and so I don't have much of a social life and then some people tend to distance themselves from you."
"I understand what you are saying," he said and she looked at him, "I was five when I was chosen to come to the court and has been training daily since I was seven, a training that didn't leave much room for social encounters or childhood. As a result I read or just come the gardens to sit and think when I'm off duty."
"Do you ever fell lonely?" she asked him and he looked straight into her eyes when he answered her.
"Everyday."
Without a conscious thought she put her arms around him and put her head against his chest listing to his steady heartbeats. She felt his arms encircle her and he put his cheek against her hair.
She didn't know how long they stood there, two lonely spirits seeking solace in each other's company.
"It will soon be dawn," he said and she looked up and saw that he was right, the sky had become lighter and a small brim of pink was visible at the horizon.
"Seems like it," she said and looked up at him.
"You're so beautiful," he said and she felt her cheeks turning red, soft hands cupped her head and he kissed her ever so softly on the lips. Almost afraid to continue and even more afraid it would end she tightened her grip around him and intensified the kiss.
When the kiss ended she looked into his green eyes that were huge in surprise and amazement, and also something else. She felt courage return to her by his obvious surprise.
"Dai suki," she whispered softly against his lips.
"I love you too," he said and he kissed her again and she felt as though she was truly alive, as if his words alone had opened up her eyes to the world, a world filled with love.
As they broke away she saw that the sky had become much brighter.
"I must be going," she said and he nodded.
"Wait just a minute," he said and walked over to the pond and picked up a white water lily, he cut the long tough steam off with a silver knife and then walked back to her gently cutting a lock from her hair and one from his own. With a frown he concentrated on the three items floating in the air in front of him. A water droplet materialised out of the moist air and joined the others in their dance. The water droplet extended itself as did her hair lock and his shortened and they started to twine themselves into a braid. When he deemed it long enough he placed it around her neck and turned his attention toward the lily and it began to shrink. When it was about two centimetres in diameter he moved it toward the lose end of the braid and they coalesced with the water lily right on top of the seamless seam.
She touched it carefully expecting it to be cold and hard but it was soft and warm. Small water beads were still on the flower petals.
"They have the texture of their original matter but will be more durable than diamond. You can remove it at any given time just imagine you hold it in your hands and you will, the same when you put it on, just imagine it around your neck and it will be there."
She noticed a small shin of perspiration over his forehead and he looked tired, she couldn't even begin to comprehend the amount of energy he must have used in the creation of the necklace.
"Arigatou gozaimasu," she said and kissed him again and he gave her a weak smile as she broke away. "I must go before they come looking for me."
"I understand," he said, "I hope we meet again soon."
"So do I," she said and turned toward the exit and remembered she was still wearing his cape. She retraced her steps and gave it back to him. "Matte ne."
She turned and walked out of the greenhouse, and when she was outside she spread her arms wide and took a deep breath of fresh air, the wind was coming from behind her and so didn't bring the horrible smell of the funeral pyre with it. With a smile of joy on her lips she broke into a run towards the assembly place and saw that the others were also gathered there. The queen looked relieved when the spotted her.
"Where were you?" the queen asked her.
"I was talking to the third of the Shitennou," she answered and the queen relaxed even more.
"Thank the Moon," she said, "next time warn me before you wander off like that I don't want to have to inform your mother and father that their precious daughter got lost during a banquet on Earth."
"Can we go before I freeze my butt off," Kiiro said and the queen smiled at the ill placed words of bluntness from the princess of Venus.
"I assure you my queen that nothing could have happened to her as long as she hadn't left the palace premises," the Prince said, "and she wouldn't have been able to leave either without an escort."
"I trust the inhabitants of your planet but she is in my care," the queen said, "and thus her safety is my concern."
"Yes, my queen," the Prince said and bowed.
They formed a circle by joining hands and as before they thought now on the moon a wind blew up and then they stood in the transport area.
"Now I want you all to return to your chambers and rest, we will be busy," the queen said and they all began moving toward the palace.
"You missed something absolutely wonderful," Kiiro said as she caught up beside her.
"Nani?" she asked.
"Endymion proposed to Serenity," she said.
"Masaka!"
"You better believe it," Kiiro said with a happy sigh, "and she accepted."
"Yokatta," Mizuiro said.
"So am I," Kiiro said, "I wish the man of my dream could do something like that but he is a solider and as we all know they are as thick as bricks, except the man you talked to all night."
"He is quite different from all the other men at the court," she agreed.
"Well I got to go," she said and quickened her steps, "Oyasumi Nasai, Mizuiro."
"Oyasumi Nasai, Kiiro," she said to the back off a departing Kiiro.
'Zoisite', she thought, 'for the first time in months I can sleep with peace in my heart and be glad to wake up, because you have made so me happy.'
She turned to watch the Earth rise and smiled as she knew her loved one was down there feeling as happy as he was.
Zoisite stayed in the greenhouse until he had regained enough strength to walk back to the palace. He was met by a steel eyed Kunzite.
"Where have you been all night?" he asked with a stern tone.
"Out getting my heart mended," he said.
"So the girl return your feelings," he said.
"She does," he said with a smile and Kunzite raised a questioning eyebrow that indicated he wanted details.
"Get your mind out of the gutter," he said, "nothing like that happened, I just made her a necklace to remember me by."
"I believe you," he said, "but you missed the main event of the evening, the Prince proposed to the moon princess and she said yes."
"I'm truly happy for him," Zoisite said, "and if I can get a few hours of sleep I will mean it."
"Can you walk or should I carry you?" Kunzite asked him with a smile on his lips.
"I can walk if you help me," he said and Kunzite put a strong arm around him and helped him to his room.
The last thought before he fell into a dreamless sleep was:
'I won't regret waking up in the morning and that is all thanks to you my sweet princess.'
In another chamber Jadeite stood before a roaring fire seeing in the flame the graceful figure of a raven hair goddess of fire.
Translation of Japanese words
-sama = its an honorific used for royals and gods, and to people that is of higer status than you
matte = wait
matte ne = see you later (rather informal)
Shitennou = this is what the four general of the Dark Kingdom is called in the manga, meaning something like The Four Heavenly Kings
youma = monster or demon
gomen = sorry
dai suki = I like (love) you
arigatou gozaimasu = thank you very much
nani = what
masaka = can't be
yokatta = I'm glad; thank goodness
oyasumi nasai = good night
hime = means princess
Iie/Iya = no, the other is also no but to an action
mizu = water