I'm back with another story. I can hear the groans. Lol.
I won't bore anyone with author's notes except to say that
this kind of takes place in the R season (with the break-up;
I know, I know overused, right? But read it anyways,
please?!) and I don't own Sailor Moon at all.
Collision
By Appearances
Tsukino Usagi took a long look at her surroundings
and sighed. For the past fifteen minutes, the blonde had
been trying to figure out where she was, with no luck.
Somehow, she had awoken in the middle of a very dense
forest, with no clue as to how she had gotten there. The
last thing she remembered was falling asleep at the airport.
The previous night, there had been a youma fight and the
senshi and her had gotten into a fight. She had decided some
time away would be good and had proceeded to pack a duffel
bag and a suitcase, then headed to the airport. When she had
awoken from her nap, she had looked around only to find no
traces of any kind of civilization. She sighed again as she felt
the beginnings of a horrible headache.
She rummaged through her duffel bag for a bottle
of painkillers. Her search was halted by a bright light blinding
her. She looked up when it died down to find a green-haired
woman dressed in a short skirt and holding a staff.
"Puu-chan!" Usagi exclaimed. "Oh, thank goodness
you're here! I was so scared! I don't know where I am or how
I got here."
Pluto smiled. "Well, Usa-hime-chan, I don't exactly
know how to tell you this, but I don't know what happened
either."
Usagi stared in shock. "What?"
"I don't know what happened either," Pluto repeated.
"I'm going to have to go back to the Time Gate and try and
figure it out. Whatever happened, it wasn't supposed to."
Pluto stared at her for a moment. "What happened to your
hair?"
Usagi reached out and touched her now shoulder
length hair. "I got sick of it being so long." She paused. "Can
you get me out of this forest?"
Pluto smiled mysteriously. "Help is already on the way."
Before Usagi could ask any more questions, Pluto had
disappeared. Usagi stared for a moment at the place where she had
been.
"Pluto! Don't just leave me here like this!" Usagi called
after the mysterious senshi. "Pluto? Pluto! I order you to get back
here!" No one appeared. "Plutooo!!!"
"Stop that!" Usagi turned to face four familiar faces.
"The entire kingdom can hear you!"
"Kunzite! Jaedite! Zoicite! Neph!" Usagi exclaimed.
"Where's Pluto?"
The four man sat on horses surrounding her and looked
at her confused before Kunzite replied, "Well, Pluto is the ninth
planet from the sun, a few billion miles away."
Usagi glared at him. "I meant Sailor Pluto."
"I would assume she is at the Time Gate," Zoicite
replied. "How do you know our names, Lady?"
Usagi put a hand to her head and didn't bother answering
his question. Her headache had steadily grown worse since her
encounter with Sailor Pluto and now her hopes of getting
somewhere familiar were plummeting downwards. "Where am I,
by the way?"
The four men looked at her strangely. "On Earth,
of course," Jaedite replied.
"Well, duh, but where on Earth?" Usagi countered.
"About a mile from the Earth's palace."
Usagi had an urge to throw-up. Earth palace?
Meaning Silver Millennium? Meaning there's not supposed
to be a Sailor Moon or Tsukino Usagi? 'So I'm in the past,'
she thought to herself. "Can you tell me how to reach
Queen Serenity? It's important that I talk to my moth -
I mean to the queen."
The men looked at each other, trying to decide whether
or not to tell her something. It was Nephlyte that finally made
the decision. "The stars have predicted you're importance to the
queen. We will take you to her."
"Thank you," she whispered. Kunzite offered her his hand
and pulled her up behind him on his horse as Jaedite and Nephlyte
grabbed her suitcases.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It didn't take long to arrive at the palace. The group
descended from their horses and headed into the palace as the
horses were led away by stable boys. Nephlyte and Jaedite still
carried Usagi's suitcases, although she had offered to carry
them on her own.
Usagi stared in awe at her surroundings while they
walked. A flood of memories overwhelmed her. She couldn't
help but cry a little at the thoughts. Jaedite noticed her tears
and asked, "What's wrong, Lady?" Usagi merely shook her
head and continued to follow the four.
"You still haven't told us your name," Zoicite stated.
"Nor told us how you know ours. I am also quite interested in
your choice of clothing. I have never seen anything like it."
"My name is Tsukino Usagi," she replied, again
ignoring the question of how she knew their names. She
then glanced down to see what was so weird about her
clothes. She was wearing a knee-length jean skirt and a
pink button-up shirt. 'Hardly medieval apparel, I suppose,'
she thought.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsukino-san," Nephlyte
said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Please," she replied, "call me Usagi-chan."
"Hai, Usagi-chan."
They stopped finally in front of a large pair of
wooden doors. Kunzite turned to her and said, "Wait here,"
as he entered the room.
She stood staring at the doors for a little while the
other three men talked amongst themselves. The doors had
a design on them that she knew well. The designs told a
story that she had learned upon her first visit to the Earth
Kingdom. On that visit, she had been staring at the doors
when the same four generals that had helped her get to the
palace had walked by and told her the story of Atlantis and
it's doomed fate that was recorded on the doors. "Such a pity,"
she whispered to herself. "I would've liked to visit such a
beautiful place…"
"As would many others," a new voice said from behind
her. She turned. "Though I think maybe it's better this way. The
people of Atlantis might be taken advantage of otherwise."
Usagi stared in shock at the prince, the man she had
been pining after for quite some time now. She curtsied, quickly
trying to think of something to say, but came up empty handed.
She was saved when the doors opened once again, revealing
Kunzite.
"She's in a conference right now, but she might be
able to talk to you later," he told her.
"No way," Usagi whispered, though Kunzite could hear
the edge in her voice. "I need to see her now." She stormed
past Kunzite and into the room before anyone could stop her.
She had to pass through another door to get to where Queen
Serenity was. She stopped in front of a table filled with people,
including the queen sitting towards the head. All eyes were on
Usagi as she curtsied and said, "Excuse me, Queen Serenity,
but I have something to discuss with you that I think you will
find extremely interesting."
Serenity stared in shock. "Usagi? What are you doing
here?"
Usagi was also shocked. "You mean, you know me?"
The queen smiled. "I watch over you every day." She
stood and walked over to Usagi. She leaned over and whispered,
"You've turned out quite well, my daughter."
A tear fell down Usagi's cheek. She hugged her mother
and said, "I'm so scared. I don't understand what's going on."
"Neither do I, dear," Serenity replied. She let go of
Usagi and said, "Come, let's go somewhere private to discuss
this." The queen turned to the group that had been watching the
scene unfold, including all four generals and the prince who
had come in after Usagi. "I am terribly sorry for the interruption,
but something that requires my immediate attention has come up.
I suggest we continue this tomorrow." She didn't wait for any
responses before walking gracefully out of the room, Usagi
trailing after her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The queen led Usagi to the chambers that she had been
granted use of during her stay at the Earth Palace. After motioning
for Usagi to sit and taking a seat herself, the queen called out,
"Pluto, I believe your services are needed please."
A moment later, Pluto stood in front of the two. Usagi
glared at her. "So, you'll appear when she calls, but not me?"
Pluto grinned. "I told you help was on the way."
The queen interrupted before Usagi could retort. "Pluto,
do you know what has happened?"
"Yes," she replied. "Usagi-hime-chan, do you remember
what happened at the last youma fight?"
Usagi looked at the ground. "How could I forget? The
senshi said they were sick and tired of my idiocy and wished I
had learned responsibility while I was a princess."
"Well, your heart wanted to grant their wish. So, the
ginzoushou sent you to the past," Pluto explained.
"So then, send me back," Usagi said.
"If only it were that easy, but in your heart, you want
to grant their wish and so as soon as the wish is granted is
when you can go back. The ginzoushou will prevent anything
else happening," Pluto said. "I've already talked to the outer
senshi and they have agreed to train you to make you stronger
as well as teach you responsibility. They understand everything
and will not speak of this to anyone else. It is important that no
one else know you are the reincarnated princess. It could ruin
the timeline. The outers have taken a vow of silence and will
help to make sure the future turns out as it is supposed to."
Usagi and the queen were both silent as they
contemplated what Pluto had told them. "Where will I stay?"
"I suggest, my queen, that you introduce her to the court
as a distant relative from Kinmoku and then she can stay here
with the other senshi," Pluto responded.
"I agree, Pluto," the queen said. "A wonderful idea."
"Are all the senshi here?" Usagi asked. Serenity nodded.
"Is…Am I…Is the princess here?"
"If you remember correctly, my dear, you will remember
that you were sick on my first visit to the palace and so had to
remain on the moon with Luna and Artemis watching over you,"
Serenity replied. She stood and put a hand on her daughter's
shoulder. "I do believe the best option right now would be for
you to get some rest and tomorrow start your training."
Pluto smiled at her princess. "Uranus has offered to
train you in your fighting techniques while from Neptune, you
will be learning the proper etiquettes required of a princess
and Saturn will make sure you continue learning your studies.
It will definitely be a full day."
Usagi smiled. It would be a challenge, but she was
willing to do her best.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Serenity had asked for a room for Usagi to stay in
after introducing her to King Terran and Queen Gaia of Earth
as a relative from a distant star. The king had been more than
happy to have a room prepared immediately for Usagi. After
being shown to her room, Usagi was happy to find that her
things had already been brought as well. She rummaged
through the suitcases until she finally found the pain killers
she was desperately in need of. Her headache had refused to
leave her the entire day and it was a relief to finally take
something for it.
She took the next few moments to look around the
room that she had been granted. It was huge! The bed in the
middle was twice the size of her one at home and was topped
off by a beautiful canopy made of what looked like silk. The
room itself was about as big as her backyard, she figured. On
one side were chairs and a fireplace for if she wanted to have
visitors, she guessed. She wasn't supposed to know anyone
here, though, since she was from a "distant star" so she doubted
she'd be using that area very much. There was also a balcony
with a spectacular view of a garden. She watched as a few
people tended to the many different flowers that were growing.
Turning to the inside of the room once again, she spotted a door
near the head of the bed. She walked over to it to find a bathroom.
"A bath would be wonderful," she whispered to herself,
wondering if they had had plumbing in whatever century she
was in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A dark-haired prince walked quickly down the hallway
in the palace, briefly considering if he should go through with
his parents' wishes. The Queen of the Moon had a relative
visiting from some star and his parents had insisted he go and
introduce himself, out of courtesy. They didn't want to offend
the Moon Royalty. It seemed to him that his parents were
extremely worried about any actions that could be considered
offensive when it came to the Moon. It was no secret that the
Earth wanted to establish an alliance with the Moon. Endymion
only hoped that all the kindness would not be in vain and the
alliance would be forged.
Endymion finally stopped in front of a large wooden
door and raised his hand to knock when he heard singing from
within. He tried to make out the words, but was having trouble
with the door in between him and the mysterious singer. He
knocked, but no reply came. The singing continued. He knocked
again. Still no reply. Endymion opened the door after a moment
and stood in shock at the sight before him. A woman with
shoulder-length golden hair was jumping on the bed that was
in the middle of the room. She had something over her ears
and her eyes were closed as she sang.
He could finally make out the words she was saying
and understood them to be:
"So the girls bought some land and a roadside stand
Out on Highway 109
They sell Tennessee ham and strawberry jam
And they don't lose any sleep at night
'Cause Earl had to die (nanana...)
Goodbye Earl We need a break.......(naaaa...)
Let's go out to the lake, Earl
We'll pack a lunch (nanana...)
And stuff you in the trunk, Earl
Well is that all right? (nanana...)
Good! Let's go for a ride, Earl
Hey! (nanana...)
Oh, hey hey hey! (nanana...)
Aww, hey hey hey! (nanana...)
Well,hey hey hey (nanana...)"
Endymion smirked at the song. What a weird thing
to sing about. He shook his head as the woman on the bed
opened her eyes. She saw him and looked embarrassed. She
took the devices off of her ears and whispered, "Uhm, hello."
Endymion watched her jump off of the bed and stand
before him as he bowed. "Good evening, I am Prince Endymion
and I have come to welcome you to the Earth Palace." As he
straightened, he looked at the clothing she was wearing: dark
blue workout pants and a sports bra. She blushed as she noticed
what she had on.
"Excuse me, your highness, I wasn't expecting company,"
she said as she grabbed another shirt and threw it on. She curtsied
afterwards, remembering some of her manners. "Thank you very
much for the welcome, Prince Endymion. I am Tsukino Usagi
and it is an honor to be staying here."
"If I may ask, what was that song you were singing? I have
never heard anything like it."
Usagi blushed. "Oh that was just some country song by
The Dixie Chicks. Minako got me the CD for my birthday. I don't
usually listen to country, I'm more of a rock kind of girl. And oldies
too, sometimes. It depends, though. I mean, I, of course, love Frank
Sinatra and Harry Connick Jr, even the Chordettes, but then there's
those oldies that are just blah." He looked at her confused as she
stopped talking, realizing she was babbling in her nervousness.
"And of course you have no clue what I'm talking about at all."
He shook his head to confirm her suspicions. "It's called, 'Goodbye,
Earl' by a group called The Dixie Chicks." She paused. "From
my home star," she added as an afterthought.
"Well, it sounds quite different from the music around
here."
"You have no idea," she whispered quietly. He heard
her and was about to question her response when she put the
devices that had been on her ears earlier onto the bed.
"What are those?" he asked, her remark temporarily
forgotten.
"Headphones," Usagi replied. "To listen to my music."
She pulled a gray oval-looking thing out of her pocket. "And
this is a CD player to play my music."
He took the item from her and examined it. "Interesting.
I've never seen anything like this."
'And you won't for another thousand years,' she thought,
smiling slightly to herself. Endymion saw the amusement in her
smile and asked, "What, may I ask, is amusing?"
"Oh, uhm, nothing," she replied quickly. "I'm kind of
tired so I'd really like to sleep now. Do you mind?" Usagi gave
him no chance to answer as she retrieved the CD player and
then forcefully escorted him to the door. "It was nice meeting
you. I'll see you around!" She closed the door in his face.
Endymion stared at the door for quite some time before
smiling and shaking his head. "What a strange girl," he muttered
to himself as he walked to his room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And there…is Chapter One.
I won't bore anyone with author's notes except to say that
this kind of takes place in the R season (with the break-up;
I know, I know overused, right? But read it anyways,
please?!) and I don't own Sailor Moon at all.
Collision
By Appearances
Tsukino Usagi took a long look at her surroundings
and sighed. For the past fifteen minutes, the blonde had
been trying to figure out where she was, with no luck.
Somehow, she had awoken in the middle of a very dense
forest, with no clue as to how she had gotten there. The
last thing she remembered was falling asleep at the airport.
The previous night, there had been a youma fight and the
senshi and her had gotten into a fight. She had decided some
time away would be good and had proceeded to pack a duffel
bag and a suitcase, then headed to the airport. When she had
awoken from her nap, she had looked around only to find no
traces of any kind of civilization. She sighed again as she felt
the beginnings of a horrible headache.
She rummaged through her duffel bag for a bottle
of painkillers. Her search was halted by a bright light blinding
her. She looked up when it died down to find a green-haired
woman dressed in a short skirt and holding a staff.
"Puu-chan!" Usagi exclaimed. "Oh, thank goodness
you're here! I was so scared! I don't know where I am or how
I got here."
Pluto smiled. "Well, Usa-hime-chan, I don't exactly
know how to tell you this, but I don't know what happened
either."
Usagi stared in shock. "What?"
"I don't know what happened either," Pluto repeated.
"I'm going to have to go back to the Time Gate and try and
figure it out. Whatever happened, it wasn't supposed to."
Pluto stared at her for a moment. "What happened to your
hair?"
Usagi reached out and touched her now shoulder
length hair. "I got sick of it being so long." She paused. "Can
you get me out of this forest?"
Pluto smiled mysteriously. "Help is already on the way."
Before Usagi could ask any more questions, Pluto had
disappeared. Usagi stared for a moment at the place where she had
been.
"Pluto! Don't just leave me here like this!" Usagi called
after the mysterious senshi. "Pluto? Pluto! I order you to get back
here!" No one appeared. "Plutooo!!!"
"Stop that!" Usagi turned to face four familiar faces.
"The entire kingdom can hear you!"
"Kunzite! Jaedite! Zoicite! Neph!" Usagi exclaimed.
"Where's Pluto?"
The four man sat on horses surrounding her and looked
at her confused before Kunzite replied, "Well, Pluto is the ninth
planet from the sun, a few billion miles away."
Usagi glared at him. "I meant Sailor Pluto."
"I would assume she is at the Time Gate," Zoicite
replied. "How do you know our names, Lady?"
Usagi put a hand to her head and didn't bother answering
his question. Her headache had steadily grown worse since her
encounter with Sailor Pluto and now her hopes of getting
somewhere familiar were plummeting downwards. "Where am I,
by the way?"
The four men looked at her strangely. "On Earth,
of course," Jaedite replied.
"Well, duh, but where on Earth?" Usagi countered.
"About a mile from the Earth's palace."
Usagi had an urge to throw-up. Earth palace?
Meaning Silver Millennium? Meaning there's not supposed
to be a Sailor Moon or Tsukino Usagi? 'So I'm in the past,'
she thought to herself. "Can you tell me how to reach
Queen Serenity? It's important that I talk to my moth -
I mean to the queen."
The men looked at each other, trying to decide whether
or not to tell her something. It was Nephlyte that finally made
the decision. "The stars have predicted you're importance to the
queen. We will take you to her."
"Thank you," she whispered. Kunzite offered her his hand
and pulled her up behind him on his horse as Jaedite and Nephlyte
grabbed her suitcases.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It didn't take long to arrive at the palace. The group
descended from their horses and headed into the palace as the
horses were led away by stable boys. Nephlyte and Jaedite still
carried Usagi's suitcases, although she had offered to carry
them on her own.
Usagi stared in awe at her surroundings while they
walked. A flood of memories overwhelmed her. She couldn't
help but cry a little at the thoughts. Jaedite noticed her tears
and asked, "What's wrong, Lady?" Usagi merely shook her
head and continued to follow the four.
"You still haven't told us your name," Zoicite stated.
"Nor told us how you know ours. I am also quite interested in
your choice of clothing. I have never seen anything like it."
"My name is Tsukino Usagi," she replied, again
ignoring the question of how she knew their names. She
then glanced down to see what was so weird about her
clothes. She was wearing a knee-length jean skirt and a
pink button-up shirt. 'Hardly medieval apparel, I suppose,'
she thought.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsukino-san," Nephlyte
said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Please," she replied, "call me Usagi-chan."
"Hai, Usagi-chan."
They stopped finally in front of a large pair of
wooden doors. Kunzite turned to her and said, "Wait here,"
as he entered the room.
She stood staring at the doors for a little while the
other three men talked amongst themselves. The doors had
a design on them that she knew well. The designs told a
story that she had learned upon her first visit to the Earth
Kingdom. On that visit, she had been staring at the doors
when the same four generals that had helped her get to the
palace had walked by and told her the story of Atlantis and
it's doomed fate that was recorded on the doors. "Such a pity,"
she whispered to herself. "I would've liked to visit such a
beautiful place…"
"As would many others," a new voice said from behind
her. She turned. "Though I think maybe it's better this way. The
people of Atlantis might be taken advantage of otherwise."
Usagi stared in shock at the prince, the man she had
been pining after for quite some time now. She curtsied, quickly
trying to think of something to say, but came up empty handed.
She was saved when the doors opened once again, revealing
Kunzite.
"She's in a conference right now, but she might be
able to talk to you later," he told her.
"No way," Usagi whispered, though Kunzite could hear
the edge in her voice. "I need to see her now." She stormed
past Kunzite and into the room before anyone could stop her.
She had to pass through another door to get to where Queen
Serenity was. She stopped in front of a table filled with people,
including the queen sitting towards the head. All eyes were on
Usagi as she curtsied and said, "Excuse me, Queen Serenity,
but I have something to discuss with you that I think you will
find extremely interesting."
Serenity stared in shock. "Usagi? What are you doing
here?"
Usagi was also shocked. "You mean, you know me?"
The queen smiled. "I watch over you every day." She
stood and walked over to Usagi. She leaned over and whispered,
"You've turned out quite well, my daughter."
A tear fell down Usagi's cheek. She hugged her mother
and said, "I'm so scared. I don't understand what's going on."
"Neither do I, dear," Serenity replied. She let go of
Usagi and said, "Come, let's go somewhere private to discuss
this." The queen turned to the group that had been watching the
scene unfold, including all four generals and the prince who
had come in after Usagi. "I am terribly sorry for the interruption,
but something that requires my immediate attention has come up.
I suggest we continue this tomorrow." She didn't wait for any
responses before walking gracefully out of the room, Usagi
trailing after her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The queen led Usagi to the chambers that she had been
granted use of during her stay at the Earth Palace. After motioning
for Usagi to sit and taking a seat herself, the queen called out,
"Pluto, I believe your services are needed please."
A moment later, Pluto stood in front of the two. Usagi
glared at her. "So, you'll appear when she calls, but not me?"
Pluto grinned. "I told you help was on the way."
The queen interrupted before Usagi could retort. "Pluto,
do you know what has happened?"
"Yes," she replied. "Usagi-hime-chan, do you remember
what happened at the last youma fight?"
Usagi looked at the ground. "How could I forget? The
senshi said they were sick and tired of my idiocy and wished I
had learned responsibility while I was a princess."
"Well, your heart wanted to grant their wish. So, the
ginzoushou sent you to the past," Pluto explained.
"So then, send me back," Usagi said.
"If only it were that easy, but in your heart, you want
to grant their wish and so as soon as the wish is granted is
when you can go back. The ginzoushou will prevent anything
else happening," Pluto said. "I've already talked to the outer
senshi and they have agreed to train you to make you stronger
as well as teach you responsibility. They understand everything
and will not speak of this to anyone else. It is important that no
one else know you are the reincarnated princess. It could ruin
the timeline. The outers have taken a vow of silence and will
help to make sure the future turns out as it is supposed to."
Usagi and the queen were both silent as they
contemplated what Pluto had told them. "Where will I stay?"
"I suggest, my queen, that you introduce her to the court
as a distant relative from Kinmoku and then she can stay here
with the other senshi," Pluto responded.
"I agree, Pluto," the queen said. "A wonderful idea."
"Are all the senshi here?" Usagi asked. Serenity nodded.
"Is…Am I…Is the princess here?"
"If you remember correctly, my dear, you will remember
that you were sick on my first visit to the palace and so had to
remain on the moon with Luna and Artemis watching over you,"
Serenity replied. She stood and put a hand on her daughter's
shoulder. "I do believe the best option right now would be for
you to get some rest and tomorrow start your training."
Pluto smiled at her princess. "Uranus has offered to
train you in your fighting techniques while from Neptune, you
will be learning the proper etiquettes required of a princess
and Saturn will make sure you continue learning your studies.
It will definitely be a full day."
Usagi smiled. It would be a challenge, but she was
willing to do her best.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Serenity had asked for a room for Usagi to stay in
after introducing her to King Terran and Queen Gaia of Earth
as a relative from a distant star. The king had been more than
happy to have a room prepared immediately for Usagi. After
being shown to her room, Usagi was happy to find that her
things had already been brought as well. She rummaged
through the suitcases until she finally found the pain killers
she was desperately in need of. Her headache had refused to
leave her the entire day and it was a relief to finally take
something for it.
She took the next few moments to look around the
room that she had been granted. It was huge! The bed in the
middle was twice the size of her one at home and was topped
off by a beautiful canopy made of what looked like silk. The
room itself was about as big as her backyard, she figured. On
one side were chairs and a fireplace for if she wanted to have
visitors, she guessed. She wasn't supposed to know anyone
here, though, since she was from a "distant star" so she doubted
she'd be using that area very much. There was also a balcony
with a spectacular view of a garden. She watched as a few
people tended to the many different flowers that were growing.
Turning to the inside of the room once again, she spotted a door
near the head of the bed. She walked over to it to find a bathroom.
"A bath would be wonderful," she whispered to herself,
wondering if they had had plumbing in whatever century she
was in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A dark-haired prince walked quickly down the hallway
in the palace, briefly considering if he should go through with
his parents' wishes. The Queen of the Moon had a relative
visiting from some star and his parents had insisted he go and
introduce himself, out of courtesy. They didn't want to offend
the Moon Royalty. It seemed to him that his parents were
extremely worried about any actions that could be considered
offensive when it came to the Moon. It was no secret that the
Earth wanted to establish an alliance with the Moon. Endymion
only hoped that all the kindness would not be in vain and the
alliance would be forged.
Endymion finally stopped in front of a large wooden
door and raised his hand to knock when he heard singing from
within. He tried to make out the words, but was having trouble
with the door in between him and the mysterious singer. He
knocked, but no reply came. The singing continued. He knocked
again. Still no reply. Endymion opened the door after a moment
and stood in shock at the sight before him. A woman with
shoulder-length golden hair was jumping on the bed that was
in the middle of the room. She had something over her ears
and her eyes were closed as she sang.
He could finally make out the words she was saying
and understood them to be:
"So the girls bought some land and a roadside stand
Out on Highway 109
They sell Tennessee ham and strawberry jam
And they don't lose any sleep at night
'Cause Earl had to die (nanana...)
Goodbye Earl We need a break.......(naaaa...)
Let's go out to the lake, Earl
We'll pack a lunch (nanana...)
And stuff you in the trunk, Earl
Well is that all right? (nanana...)
Good! Let's go for a ride, Earl
Hey! (nanana...)
Oh, hey hey hey! (nanana...)
Aww, hey hey hey! (nanana...)
Well,hey hey hey (nanana...)"
Endymion smirked at the song. What a weird thing
to sing about. He shook his head as the woman on the bed
opened her eyes. She saw him and looked embarrassed. She
took the devices off of her ears and whispered, "Uhm, hello."
Endymion watched her jump off of the bed and stand
before him as he bowed. "Good evening, I am Prince Endymion
and I have come to welcome you to the Earth Palace." As he
straightened, he looked at the clothing she was wearing: dark
blue workout pants and a sports bra. She blushed as she noticed
what she had on.
"Excuse me, your highness, I wasn't expecting company,"
she said as she grabbed another shirt and threw it on. She curtsied
afterwards, remembering some of her manners. "Thank you very
much for the welcome, Prince Endymion. I am Tsukino Usagi
and it is an honor to be staying here."
"If I may ask, what was that song you were singing? I have
never heard anything like it."
Usagi blushed. "Oh that was just some country song by
The Dixie Chicks. Minako got me the CD for my birthday. I don't
usually listen to country, I'm more of a rock kind of girl. And oldies
too, sometimes. It depends, though. I mean, I, of course, love Frank
Sinatra and Harry Connick Jr, even the Chordettes, but then there's
those oldies that are just blah." He looked at her confused as she
stopped talking, realizing she was babbling in her nervousness.
"And of course you have no clue what I'm talking about at all."
He shook his head to confirm her suspicions. "It's called, 'Goodbye,
Earl' by a group called The Dixie Chicks." She paused. "From
my home star," she added as an afterthought.
"Well, it sounds quite different from the music around
here."
"You have no idea," she whispered quietly. He heard
her and was about to question her response when she put the
devices that had been on her ears earlier onto the bed.
"What are those?" he asked, her remark temporarily
forgotten.
"Headphones," Usagi replied. "To listen to my music."
She pulled a gray oval-looking thing out of her pocket. "And
this is a CD player to play my music."
He took the item from her and examined it. "Interesting.
I've never seen anything like this."
'And you won't for another thousand years,' she thought,
smiling slightly to herself. Endymion saw the amusement in her
smile and asked, "What, may I ask, is amusing?"
"Oh, uhm, nothing," she replied quickly. "I'm kind of
tired so I'd really like to sleep now. Do you mind?" Usagi gave
him no chance to answer as she retrieved the CD player and
then forcefully escorted him to the door. "It was nice meeting
you. I'll see you around!" She closed the door in his face.
Endymion stared at the door for quite some time before
smiling and shaking his head. "What a strange girl," he muttered
to himself as he walked to his room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And there…is Chapter One.