Prologue
I hate being trapped here, in the Terrain Palace. I long to go back to my palace in the East, where all the bamboo grow, and the cherry blossoms bloom. But, I have a duty here. For the moment, I have to be present as the Prince of the Earth is coroneted as the heir to the Throne of the Earth Terrain Kingdom. I, as second in line to the throne, have to be present, along with my guardians, the Zodiac Senshi. As I walked down the aisle that leads to the balcony, I looked around at my family.
Endymion was upfront, with my mother and father, King Admetus and Queen Rhea. I was trailing behind with my Zodiac Senshi. I felt the chill I get every time Lord Cronus, one of my father's advisors, was nearby. I begged him to dismiss him from court, but he would not listen to me.
I have to admit, however, Endymion did look more handsome today than on other days. As it was the tradition of the royal family, it was the son of the family that becomes heir.
I, however, a lowly princess, will never rule. Almost everyday, I hear the servants talk about how my parents tried to have a second son but instead had me. Rumors had it that many festivals and ceremonies were planned when the stars revealed that the queen was to have a second son. When I was born, all were cancelled except the ball that was to be put on no matter what.
After I was born, I was raised quietly in the confinements of the inner palace. As I grew older, and my natural sense of adventure got me more into trouble here, my father thought it was best that I was sent to the Terrain Palace in the eastern part of our kingdom, with Endymion accompanying me.
From there, I became the Mistress of the Bamboo Palace, for the palace was surrounded by bamboo. At first I hated it there, but then the season where the cherry blossoms bloomed came and I fell in love with the place.
Endymion stayed with me for the first three years I lived there, but then was called back to the main palace, where the court was, to begin his training as a soldier and a ruler of the kingdom. I was left behind to begin my training as a lady of the court under the watchful eye of Sailor Aquarius.
The horns pulled me out of my thoughts. My family and I approached the balcony where the people of our kingdom give their loud cheers of congratulations to Prince Endymion. Soon, the hunt for a bride would start, and I will be seeing less and less of my brother.
He assures me that he will come and see me whenever he gets the chance.
But, I wanted him near me all the time, for deep in my gut, I knew something terrible was going to happen and I'll never see Endymion again.
In Princess Elara's Chamber
"I'm so happy that that ceremony is over!" Elara said, stuffing her trunk sloppily and landing on her bed nearby.
Sailor Aquarius, a tall slender young woman with a blue sailor fuku with lavender bows and ballerina like strap heels, pushed her long light blue wavy hair back, re arranged the mess that the princess made.
"First thing we are doing when we get back is to teach the princess how to pack and how to unpack." Aquarius said to Sailor Libra, a strong, yet delicate woman in a brown sailor fuku, with dark red bows, long brown boots and long light brown hair. She also had a black crow's feather in her tiara, just in case she had to transform into her crow form.
"I heard that, Aquarius!" Elara said in a playful like annoyance.
"Aw… I don't want to go back to the eastern palace, there's absolutely nothing to do there and I'm running out of ideas how to prank Aries." Sailor Leo, a young girl the same age as Elara, in a yellow sailor fuku, with black bows, with hair to match that was fashioned so it resembled cat ears with long braids coming out of the tips. Her yellow eyes sparkled as she just came up with an idea for a prank.
"Don't you even think about it…" Sailor Aries, another girl Elara's age with long black hair that covers her left eye, wearing a dark pink sailor fuku with purple bows and long boots that matched her skirt, said.
"I'm mostly happy to be going back is because I don't have to deal with 'him' anymore." Elara said, before Leo and Aries got into a major fight.
"What did Endymion do to you this time?" Libra asked.
"Not him! Lord Cronus. Every time he's around I get this weird vibe about him!" Elara said, getting a bit frustrated that none of her guardians hadn't gotten down the fact about when she said him, she's usually referring to Cronus.
"Honestly Elara, you have to have more respect for him." Aquarius said. "He's been doing a lot for the kingdom lately a…"
"Just so he can make a hostel take over later." Elara interrupted
The Senshi groaned. There was absolutely no getting pass the princess.
"Am I interrupting something?"
As usual, Endymion was stopping by the princess's room to say goodbye before she left.
"Endymion! You weren't interrupting. I… we were just finishing packing." Elara said to her older brother.
"I could tell, as the place is a bigger mess than usual. No wonder mom is so worried that you won't find a husband."
"Shut up. It's not like I'm getting married anytime soon. I'm only 16 years old for crying out loud!"
"Geez, no need to get defensive, Elara. I was just joking."
They both laughed. It was the usual conversation they always had.
"Princess, the king would like an audience with you." a girl's voice said. Elara looked down and saw her cat advisor, Kiki, waiting for her.
"I wonder what dad wants." Elara said to Endymion before she took off with Kiki.