"Daddy doesn't have to find out," the little girl whispered as she and two older children made their way in to a dark room. "I-I'm brave."

The boy and girl, twins, exchanged looks and smiled. As the younger made her way in to the dark room, the boy closed the door behind them which snuffed out any remaining light. "Are you sure you don't want to go hide with mummy?" the boy asked.

She shook her head and stood her full height, which, considering she was only five, wasn't that tall.

"I'm not afraid!"

The older girl laughed and went over to the large cloth and ripped it from its resting place. The three coughed as dust billowed and when the youngest looked again, she could see a mirror. It was set in a vanity and looked very old.

"What is it, Nethanel?" she whispered to the boy.

Nethanel ran his hand down the glass, getting dust and dirt on his white glove. "It's a mirror, silly girl."

"I know THAT! I mean… why?"

"Because it's SUPPOSED to be a surprise," a new voice chided. The three turned in fear to see two more entering the room. "Honestly, Nethan, don't you know what 'surprise gift' is supposed to mean?"

"We're just showing her. And my name is Nethanel. NOT 'Nethan'!"

The girl giggled in to her hand and walked in to lift the smallest child up. "Do you like it? We found it in the castle."

She reached out to put her hands on it. "It's pretty, Serenity."

Princess Serenity, the older child of Neo Queen Serenity, smiled. "I'm glad you like it, Miyu. Alexi and I had it set for you."

It had been nearly twenty years since the defeat of Chaos, and the empire was enjoying peace and harmony. Princess Serenity and her brother Prince Alexi had been given a peaceful childhood of laughter, music and parties. Their three distant cousins, Miyu, Nethanel and Harmony, never had to know the horrors of the Thousand Year War.

"So WHY did you both bring her here to ruin my gift?" Serenity demanded. The twins looked down.

"We wanted to scare her. She's always with her mummy, we wanted to give her a scare," Harmony finally explained.

"Harmony!"

"Shut up, Nethanel."

Serenity sighed and carried Miyu out of the room and sat her on the ground. "Go to the ballroom and find your parents. I will speak with Lady Venus about her twins."

Miyu looked back to the mirror and blinked as a strange shadow crossed over it. It was gone a moment later and she ran off.

Prince Hirokazu was scratching at the claw marks on his back as he spoke to one of the soldiers who had been given the day off. It was his daughter's fifth birthday and he had invited everyone to celebrate. Much to his delighted surprise the Neo Queen had offered them the Crystal Ball Room, the largest in her castle for the event.

It wasn't time for the celebration to begin as guests were still filtering in and he caught sight of his brother talking to Sailor Mars. Walking over he got his arm around Yukio's neck and pulled him back. "Brother! So good of you and the Lady Venus to attend! I was beginning to wonder if I would have to drag you from one another!"

Mars laughed as Yukio went red in the face. "Unhand me!" He slipped free and straightened his jacket. "I would not miss Miyu's party, I have attended each year."

"Yes, yes, and each year you find reason to excuse yourself early. Not this year!" Hirokazu laughed and pat his back. "Still, it is good to see you. How have you been? How are the twins?"

Yukio went to answer when the doors to the ball room opened once more to allow the children to enter. Princess Serenity was carrying Miyu in while her younger brother had Harmony and Nethanel by the ears. "Son of a whore."

"General, I do believe these belong to you." Alexi let the two go and stood to his full height. He was nearly eye level with Yukio, even at the age of fifteen. "We caught them trying to scare Princess Miyu. Again."

Yukio got between his errant twins and his younger brother. "You both know damn well to leave Miyu alone. Do you never learn?"

Harmony winced at the angry face of her uncle. "It was just some fun, father."

Nethanel nodded. "No harm."

"Yes, and your last round of 'just fun' had Miyu wetting the bed for weeks. Where is your mother?" Yukio dragged the two off to find his wife.

Serenity passed the little girl to her father. "Many pardons on it, majesty."

"No need for the formalities. I still have trouble getting used to being the ruling king on Saturn. 'Prince' is just fine." Hirokazu held his tiny girl on his hip. "Thank you for looking out for her."

"I am afraid they spoiled my gift. I had a vanity prepared for her with a beautiful mirror set. It took a years' allowance, for both myself and my brother," she explained. "I shall ask for it to be moved later this evening."

Hirokazu nodded and finally put Miyu down. "You're getting old, and heavy," he told her.

"I am NOT old, daddy! I'm still a little princess!" she insisted.

"I will have to speak to the Neo Queen about keeping you from getting older. Perhaps a large rock placed upon your head?"

Miyu screeched and put her hands on the top of her head, mussing it from its tidy place. "No, daddy! No! Mummy!"

He laughed as he straightened. "I'll be sleeping in a guest chamber for the next fortnight for that. Serenity, what's this about a vanity?"

The princess straightened. "Oh, just an old mirror I found in one of the rooms, Prince Hirokazu. No one had seen to it in quite a long time. I had it reframed and placed."

"You'll forgive me if I shudder. I am not fond of mirrors."

More and more guests had begun to filter in by the time Hirokazu was moving away from the blows of his angry wife. Miyu was hiding behind her skirt and was terrified of the idea her father would put a rock on her head to keep her small forever.

"You apologize to her, now!"

With a laugh he knelt down to look the terrified child in the eye. "I won't put a rock on your head, Miyu. You have to grow up big and strong, so you can become the next Sailor Saturn." He ran his thumb over the mark of Saturn on her forehead.

With a sniff, she hugged him and he lifted her back up to present her to the Neo Queen. "Cousin, thank you for allowing us to celebrate here, in your Crystal Ball Room. Such a kind gesture." He bowed as well as he could while Miyu pulled on his tie.

Endymion stood next to his wife, helping her stand as she slowly moved about the room. "Your mother allowed my wedding in her castle and it made Endymion unbelievably happy. This was the least I could do in return," the Neo Queen explained.

"And you, Miyu, are you enjoying it?" she asked.

Miyu just turned and buried her face against her father. He laughed and gave her a pat on the head.

"She loves it. I think your white hair scares her a bit. Reminds her too much of Grandmother's."

He wandered off with her as the presents were being brought in and piled on top one another. The largest of which was the vanity. Hirokazu plopped her on the small seat and knelt behind her. He played with her hair and smiled. "I like this. This mirror is… a little familiar. Perhaps I've seen it when I was younger than you."

Miyu tilted her head. "Daddy, there's a lady in the mirror."

He continued messing with her hair and laughed. "Silly child, that's you." He stood to greet his sister as Miyu continued to stare at the woman in the mirror who was now laughing.

Once all the gifts had been moved, Hirokazu returned to Elysion Castle. Miyu was to spend the week with the Lady Earth at the child's own request. The vanity had been placed in her room and she was standing before it, staring.

"Do you not plan to eat, child?" Demetrious asked. He stooped down and groaned as his knees creaked. "Snacks have been prepared for you. If you tarry about much longer, I shall have to eat them myself."

Normally that would have terrified the child and forced her to run to the dining hall, but today she remained in place.

"Perhaps you are not hungry? Ah, yes, I would assume too much cake and too many sugary treats would do that to a young stomach." He lifted her up from behind. "Then we shall have you dressed and presented to your grandmother."

Miyu reacted violently. She struggled and squirmed and kicked until Demetrious had to drop her. She was screaming and crying. He backed away so the nanny could enter and see to the child.

"What did you do?" the young woman demanded.

"What did I do? What did SHE do? I merely told her we would visit the Lady Earth!" he shouted. Miyu sniffled and hiccupped as her tantrum subsided. "Let her nap, then. I will inform the Lady."

Demetrious walked out of the room and ran his hand down his face. "I spent years tending to orphaned children, yet this one vexes me so."

He made his way in to the throne room and was given a confused look by the small assembly. "Demetrious, may I ask why you are present without Princess Miyu?"

"The young Lady of Saturn requires a nap from the festivities. And I, my lady, require an ice pack for my eye." His left eye was beginning to turn black from where he'd been struck by the child. "She made her tiredness known quite dramatically."

The Lady Earth looked a little sad but instead gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Very well, then."

Demetrious bowed and went to retrieve the ice for his bruised eye. He passed Miyu's room and stopped. There was the sound of whispering, both voices female.

"Miyu? I was under the belief you planned to rest, child," Demetrious explained as he popped the door open. "Do you require a glass of water? Where is your nanny?"

The voices stopped at once as the door creaked open. Miyu was sprawled across her bed and snoring lightly. The advisor was confused but shrugged it off as sleep deprivation. He'd heard his share of voices in the past two decades.

After setting Miyu right and covering her back up, he walked out of the room and rubbed his neck. He never saw the figure clinging to the corner of the room against the ceiling.

Harmony knocked on the door to Miyu's room a week after her birthday. She and Nethanel had come to apologize to Miyu under threat from their angry father. Nethanel looked up and down the hallway before turning back.

"We can't go back to mother and father if we don't apologize," he whined. "I'll not be locked in the room again, I'll go mad!"

"Not being one to state the obvious, brother, but you were mad to begin with." Harmony pulled a pin out of her hair and began to work the lock. It turned after a moment and she stepped inside with him to see Miyu sitting before the vanity mirror.

"Greetings, cousin. Nethan and I would like to apologize for our behavior." Harmony put her hands on her hips. "If you'd be so kind to accept it, we'll be on our way."

Miyu didn't turn to look at them. She continued to stare at her reflection. Nethanel hit Harmony on the arm and hissed that his name wasn't 'Nethan', but said no more of it. He was looking around the rather unkempt room. Toys were strewn about.

"Miyu, did you hear me?" Harmony demanded. She pushed her white-gold hair back and went to put a hand on the child's shoulder. Nethan turned at once when he felt pain in his chest. Harmony was on the floor quicker than he could blink and was curling in on herself as though something had struck her in the chest.

"Harmony! S-someone call a medic!" he called out. "Miyu, what happened?!"

Miyu said nothing and gave no indication that she knew anything had happened. Nethanel looked up to see the medics rush in. They began to work on Harmony.

"Miyu, WHAT HAPPENED?!" Nethanel demanded. He grabbed her shoulder and held on. He felt his chest seize and though that his heart had stopped. He let go with a violent jerk and began to cough. He felt like he was drowning and his lungs burned. He vaguely heard someone call for help before nothingness.

Yukio stormed in to the med room three hours after he'd been alerted that his children had been injured. The doors crashed open and startled everyone inside.

"HEART ATTACKS?!" he screamed as loud as he could. The nurses who did not know him very well moved away quickly. "They are ELEVEN YEARS OLD, how can it be a HEART ATTACK?!"

"Good general, please, not so loud," Demetrious begged. His eyes were dark from the lack of sleep over the past several days. "We have ill who need rest. Come, come, I will take you to the children."

He was taken to a separate room where Nethanel was already up.

"Father!" The boy jumped to his feet at once and ran over. "We tried to offer apologies to Miyu as you insisted, but something happened!"

Yukio walked past his son and stopped over Harmony. She was still resting.

"Nethanel, tell her to wake."

The boy looked up at him. "But…? Father, she was hurt and needs rest."

"I said 'wake her'," he growled. Rather than anger the general further, Nethanel closed his eyes for a long moment. As he opened them again, Harmony did as well. "What happened to you?"

"It was Miyu," Harmony said with a groan. "When I touched her shoulder to alert her to our presence, my heart seized."

Yukio grit his teeth and balled his hand to a fist. It was that unfortunate moment that his brother came in to the room to check on the children as well. Yukio turned and punched Hirokazu in the teeth and knocked him back. Harmony shrieked at the sudden violence and Demetrious had to usher the woozy children out of the room. Yukio landed another hit on his brother and continued hitting him until several soldiers had to run in and pull him off.

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT! I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU TO NOT SIRE ANY ABOMINATIONS!" Yukio shrieked. He broke free and grabbed Hirokazu by the front of the shirt. "Now my children were injured by her! Control your monster, brother, or I will have it put down!"

He tried to punch him again and was struck himself. Hirokazu hissed in pain from hitting his older brother and got back up. Blood ran from his mouth and nose and he wiped it up with his sleeve. "Shut up. Don't say things like that about my daughter. She is sweet and innocent. Those terrors of yours will not leave her be."

Yukio went to hit him again but instead he screamed in pain. The Lady Earth had been summoned and she had taken his wrist and snapped it. "I thought I had made it clear, General Yukio, there is to be no fighting in my castle. What is going on?"

In the throne room, soldiers surrounded the brothers to keep them from one another. A nurse was setting Yukio's wrist while the queen screamed at the both of them.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" she finally huffed as she paced back and forth in front of her throne.

"Apologies," they chimed as one.

She sat down and glared at them. "Next time I catch either of you fighting, it will be a week tending to Demetrious' nightmares."

"I take offense to that!"

"Shut up." She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Miyu injured her cousins, you said? Unfortunate. Return her to Saturn, perhaps she is angry at them at unwittingly using her inherited powers."

A low vibration rumbled softly through the throne room, unnoticed by most. The queen, however, stood at once. The brothers looked confused as she shoved past them to the door and threw it open. The remains of a shriek came over them and Hirokazu was the first out the room. He followed the sound until his heart seized.

It had come from Miyu's room.

Miyu was gone.