A/N: This story is dedicated to my lovely, hard-working editor, Ellourrah, who took the time out of her busy schedule to edit this story to what it has become.
Clarification: This story primarily deals with Queen Selene the mother of Usagi/Sailor Moon/Princess Serenity. Please don't get them confused.
Birth of a Kingdom
Queen Selene sat elegantly upon her throne, back straight, her beautifully cascading silver hair covering the floor, her expression regal, her emotions contained. It was as she always looked, almost as if nothing had ever changed, as if she had not spent the previous night holding her young daughter and crying herself to sleep.
"Jupiter is prepared to offer half of our planet…" a stuffy faced man began.
Selene tuned out the aristocrat before her, he made the same offer, as had all the planets. It is not that she didn't appreciate it, but she couldn't have her new home shared with these worlds, what did that say about her rule?
She fidgeted with her gleaming silver scepter, feeling uncomfortable in this make-shift Mercurian Court. The blue stone hall echoed loudly, reminding her how alone she was amongst the hundreds of people attending her court.
It wasn't the blue stone, the hundreds of people, the court, nor was it the height of her throne. Rather, it was the fact none of it belong to her.
The Queen glanced to her right. An elegant white marble throne, stood ominously empty and cold. She had reached for his hand several times over the past several weeks without thinking, surprised each time when the realization dawned that he wasn't there to support her anymore. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, but opened them again quickly. Whenever her eyes were shut, she only saw that day. A bright pulsing ball of blinding light with the black dot of a planet fading as the fiery tendrils engulfed her one and only love…
Whenever remembering the image that haunted her so, the Queen's beautiful lips would begin to quiver. Her galaxy had been in danger and she had made the hardest decision of her generation, the only option that would suffice. Her planet had been the only one possessing the artificial propulsion system, thus making it the only planet capable of independent motion. She had been young when it was installed, its initial purpose was to save the planet from its disintegrating orbit. But what had once been their champion, had become the object of their doom, allowing the planet to dive into the dying sun, giving it enough fuel to revive its core.
A single tear dropped from her cheek, darkening her shimmering silvery gown.
No doubt, the courtiers noticed, but none dared say a word. It was a common occurrence, and the people allowed her to grieve for the King who had been much loved, his charity and warm heart had represented the throne better than her regal one had. She felt a pang of regret and loss. Selene had declared a week of mourning after the tragedy, privately doubting her ability to live or rule without him. She continued to be plagued by doubt, but this lack of self-confidence was fading thanks to the small blonde child who stood impatiently by her side, the child uncomprehending her mother's inner torment. She touched her daughter's white-blonde hair, running her fingers through its silky strands. It would one day turn the same silvery luster as her own and her mother before her.
"A silver head means a silver crown," Selene's mother always told her.
The Queen sighed, almost wishing hers would revert to its original blonde color long before she met the King. Perhaps then, it wouldn't hurt so much. Perhaps then the kingdom would move on without her. She immediately rescinded the thought, brushing away more tears.
The Queen guiltily cast a glance at the Martian Queen, her long-time best friend and advisor, whose own pain and empathy shone through. Selene noticed for the first time, similar looks coming from various members of the court. She was strangely comforted to know that she wasn't alone. She wished this sinking, hopeless feeling would stop. If only he had lived, he would be able to heal the entire Kingdom.
Another aristocrat stepped forward, heals clicking on the stone floor, "Venus, too, is willing to offer…"
She thought it should be obvious to the court by now that she didn't want to share a planet after sacrificing her own. The sun had been dying, slowly dimming as its gravitational field had become unstable. Those had been days of panic that had spread throughout her solar system. Many had brought new ideas, but each attempt had failed. She remembered the look on her love's face the day they knew what must be done. He had looked so sad, and by then, he had already been planning the one strategy she could not afford. Even after she had called for a volunteer to move the planet into the sun, she didn't know the full extent of his plan.
She had received a dozen applications, which had been a dozen more than she had expected. But, she hadn't anticipated her husband, the King of the Milky Way, to interrupt. She had begged him not to pursue his plan in front of the court, but he insisted. There was nobody better qualified to save the galaxy than its king, he had said. She refused, tears flowing down her face, as they shared their last sweet kiss before their subjects. However, nobody understood the planet's propulsion system better than the King. And so, he had gone, driving the planet into the sun, extending the system's future another two centuries, and extinguishing hers: the heart-warming smile, the arms that held her, the shoulder that comforted her, the mind who made the best decisions, the voice that teased and encouraged her, gone, all gone in seconds. Damn him for his damnable nobility, his stupid pride, his wonderful legacy!
The air inside her lungs felt heavy, as the lump in her throat swelled. Why did he have to leave her? Didn't he think of the chaos he would leave in his wake, or the daughter he left behind? Selene's vision blurred, eyes welling with tears. She was forced to admit she couldn't be mad at him. He loved her, she knew. A quick look around the court made her realize, it couldn't have happened any other way. Perhaps it had been his destiny; she just hoped it was worth it. When the light engulfed the planet, there had been a gigantic burst of flame, then darkness. During that time of shadow -- lasting only several minutes -- she envied his fate. He had the easier decision of the two, for he was allowed to die, but she had to remain behind to pull the pieces of the galaxy back together. It all seemed too big a burden to bear, especially without him
The solar system had recovered faster than had its queen, and immediately she had called a meeting to propose ideas for the new court representing the system. It was a big job to decide where to put an entire planet's population. But this wasn't just any population; it was the ruling planet, it had to be perfect, strong and powerful. The only way to regain a robust solar system was to start with its head. Yet, no proposal seemed resilient enough. She was afraid she would have to divide her people and scatter them amongst the planets.
"The crown prince of Earth, Prince Endymion," the pageboy with purple hair declared.
Selene looked up, interested. The crown prince of Earth had been born several years before her own daughter, which made him nothing more than a boy of twelve years. And indeed, a very young boy approached with dark hair and extraordinary blue eyes, bowing every fifth step, as was the appropriate custom for the lowliest planet in the system. Though young, he possessed a presence that could quiet the room in an instant.
The Queen's eyes softened, "Do you have a suggestion for me, Endymion?" Her eyes met his, and Endymion's young face colored a little. The ambassador shrugged, for the boy had insisted on putting his proposal directly to the queen. Selene's attention turned back to the boy, as had the court.
"I do, your Majesty. A long time ago, the -- un-magical -- ancestors of our people worshipped two astronomical bodies, the Sun, which gave them warmth, food, and light, and our planet's only moon, which they believed to be mysterious and magical. There were many legends created around the moon and it's origins," he paused. Selene remembered faintly the enchanting tales surrounding that moon. There was one story in particular that had been her favorite as a child, about a princess who inspired a kingdom with her love. "We will not insult you with another proposal of half a planet," he glared at his own planet's ambassador. The Queen gave him a faint smile, liking the boy immediately. "Instead, I propose a stronger alternative. We offer the only other thing we have to give. Our one and only moon…"
"Your Highness, I apologize for this young boy's presumptuous…" the ruffled ambassador began, rushing in front of the boy, blocking him from the Queen's view.
The Queen waved him aside, annoyed, silencing the courtier. "Let him continue." This plan intrigued the Queen, it gave her a course of action that she hadn't considered. It would not do for a ruler to accept another's kingdom, but perhaps this might indeed be the way to give the people a home that was finally theirs.
The boy smiled genuinely and continued, "It has never been inhabited. It would be a new beginning. And since our planet is not as magical as the others, your powers will be required to be put into a crystal, like my mom's within the golden crystal!"
The Queen looked at him seriously, "What is the advantage of that?"
"Because the power would not be stored in your bodies, you can store much more in the crystal and increase your power almost tenfold!" Endymion thanked her with his eyes, for taking his plan seriously. His intelligence was well known in the court, but he was also young and inexperienced, therefore his advice often ignored.
Selene thought a moment. The King had once suggested this idea of a crystal, but the need was not great enough for the procedure to be adopted, and the power increase wasn't substantial enough. But it would be if the moon were her new home, because of the lack of magic within the Earth's core, everything would be amplified. That would make the crystal powerful enough to protect the entire solar system. Selene found herself suddenly optimistic. Perhaps she could rule without him, perhaps she could become the sole sovereign his beloved solar system deserved.
"It's not the biggest, or the best, but it's the only one we have, therefore making it the most acceptable offer we can present," the boy said pleadingly, obviously taking the Queen's silence as a negative.
The Queen stood and went to the little boy, "It is a perfect idea." She bent down, and lifted his chin and looked into his eyes, reassuringly. She observed that his boyish looks were only a few months from beginning to roughen. The Queen could already tell he would be quite attractive, even more so than her beloved. His intelligence and careful thinking should be rewarded.
She rose and looked at all her courtiers and the royalty representing all the planets and gave her first command, "Make it so," Her voice resonated off the walls of stone.
The court immediately burst into a flurry of activity, already filled with this new determination the Queen seemed to exude that encompassed all.
"But what of the others…" the herald inquired.
Selene shook her head. This was the best course of action for the people. It would provide them with a home, a planet of their own, and a future. "As a reward," the Queen continued, silencing the court, "I give you the gift of Princess Serenity's hand in marriage." The Queen pointed to the small blonde-haired girl, who stood dutifully behind her mother's throne. As the girl looked on, a strand of hair immediately turned silver. The court burst into fits of whispering as the little girl examined the changed strand.
The boy stared at her for a minute, not comprehending the significance of the silver streak. "Does she like playing swords?" he asked.
The Queen laughed heartily for the first time since her husband had died. This would be a good future indeed.
And thus began the construction of one of the most legendary structures in the galaxy, the White Moon Palace and the birth of the sought after Silver Millennium Crystal. In the years that followed, a prophesy emerged from the Moon Palace. The prophesy foretold that Earth would one day become the central hub for the most powerful and peaceful kingdom in the universe, ruled by the most powerful daughter of the moon and most clever son of the Earth.
All awaited for that glorious day…