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Disclaimer: I do not own any Sailor Moon characters

Chapter 1: Portrait of a Lady

Princess Serenity.

"Gorgeous."

"To an extent."

"Please you can't possibly think she's not absolutely beautiful!"

"It's a painting."

"From the best artist in the land. It's guaranteed perfection."

Endymion shook his head as he studied the picture in front of him. The tall, brooding figure was sitting down in a wooden chair cushioned with silk lining. The room he and his generals were in was illuminated by a large fire pit on the west wall. His dark bangs shadowed his steel grey eyes which were narrowed at this moment, examining the painting of the Princess of the Moon. She was the one he had been forcibly betrothed to. Her silver hair drifted off of the frame and her figure was probably made out to be better than what he would see in the next few days. For all he knew she was an ogre of some sort with warts all over her face and a crooked smile … maybe even a uni-brow if he was lucky. The golden crescent on her forehead was probably just some immense scar that Queen Serenity covered up to make it look like a marking of their kingdom. He shook his head and sipped on his whiskey from a tumbler dangling in his finger tips.

"She's not my type," the prince said.

"And pray tell, what is your type?" Zoisite asked, cocking his head to the side so his long curly ponytail fell off his shoulder. "Prostitutes? Whores?"

"Someone who doesn't look as immature as you," Nephrite smirked. Zoisite punched him lightly on the arm.

"For being the oldest, you sure take things awfully personal," Jadeite replied as a matter of fact.

"Maybe if you guys didn't pick on me all the time!" he exclaimed.

"And you wonder why I'm so hesitant to tell you men anything?" Endymion quipped. "You're nothing but a bunch of school boys just waiting to have a tussle on the floor."

"No we're not!" Zoisite argued.

"Ugh, even your voice is like a prepubescent child!" Nephrite laughed as he poked his fingers into his ears, trying to block out the sound.

Endymion downed his drink and got up to slam it down on the desk they were standing around. Kunzite, the head general, was sitting at the desk with his feet casually propped up and his hand behind his head while his free one was swirling whiskey in his glass. Jadeite was leaning over the mantel of the fireplace, staring into the flames, almost as though he was caught in a trance. Nephrite was standing next to Zoisite, leaning up against an available bookcase. Endymion started to back away from the rowdy group, making Kunzite drop his feet to the ground and leap into a standing position. He raced around the desk, with his cup still in hand, and draped an arm around the prince, persisting him to stay.

"Please, just take another look at her before you go," the silver-haired fox begged, gesturing to the thickly framed picture that was leaning up against his desk.

"I've been staring at her all night! I'll be staring at her for the rest of my life! Can I please, please part from this?!" Endymion laughed.

"No, not yet," his friend smiled, still point to the image of the fair maiden. "Why are you so afraid of marrying that divine creature?"

"She's a creature yes, but divine … I beg to differ."

"You don't even know the girl!" Nephrite chuckled.

"That's just it!" he said, spinning around to face his other lieutenant. "She is a girl! She's a child! A young thing! How can anyone – especially my parents – expect me to marry someone like that?!"

"You still haven't met her! She could surprise you," Zoisite provoked.

"Have you heard the rumors?" Endymion asked, cocking an eyebrow. "She's a beast. She does nothing but fight and argue with anyone she meets. I hear her surrounding ladies are all supportive in any protest she gives and her mother yields to her every decision. I'm getting married to a brat!"

"You would know," Nephrite murmured as he sipped his drink.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" shouted Endymion.

The general pushed some of his long curly brown hair behind his ear and sighed shortly before explaining himself, "The saying 'it takes one to know one' is duly noted here. You are spoiled, without a doubt, Prince Endymion."

"What?!"

"He's right you know," Zoisite smirked.

"I don't believe this! I am not a brat!"

"Let's see here … you were born into royalty," Jadeite started to list.

"You've always argued to get your way," Nephrite chimed in.

"Your parents let you do anything you want," Zoisite shrugged.

"And you've never had to work a day in your life," Kunzite finished with a slap on the prince's back. He paused for a second and pointed a finger at all of them, "Oh wait! Except he did have to work that one night … coaxing the servant girl, trying to get into her bedchamber! But that didn't take a lot of work did it?"

Highly annoyed by their taunts and jabs, Endymion snatched Kunzite's glass which was still a quarter full of whiskey and tossed the liquid onto the painting. They all stood there and watched as the colors slowly dribbled down the taught canvas.

"There," Endymion said with a nod of his head, "now maybe it's a proper representation of the princess."

A bunch of sniggers broke out through the room. Even Jadeite couldn't help but laugh at the melting face. It would be quite a sight to see if this mystery girl did in fact look like what was standing in front of them. Jadeite turned the fireplace off as the rest of them started to file out of the room. They had an abundant amount of meetings the next day in order to prepare for the Moon Kingdom's arrival.

Princess Serenity lifted her sword in hand and turned around to face Lita, Princess of Jupiter. The two approached each other quickly across the thick matted ground and started to clang their swords against one another, the clinking noise filling the room quickly. Along the wall which was covered with floor to ceiling length mirrors, the other scouts sat watching patiently. Serenity was getting her frustration out the only way she knew how; fighting. If she was going to face her betrothed one soon, she thought it was best to unleash her fury now before she met him. Ami, Princess of Mercury, thought it wise to do such a thing and arranged for a sparring match. None of them expected that after the competition, when she removed her helmet and exposed her sweat covered face, that Serenity would still be upset.

"I just don't get it!" she whined. "I don't need a husband."

"You also said you didn't need those expensive boots, but you took them from the ambassador of Gamma anyways," Rei, Princess of Mars, mumbled as she helped remove some of her armor.

"They were cute!" she replied indignantly.

"Well maybe the prince will be too," Mina, Princess of Venus, suggested while helping Lita out of her own protective gear. "I mean isn't there some sort of law stating that royalty has to be attractive?"

"Then who allowed you to be a princess?" Rei commented slyly.

Mina smacked the back of her head gingerly and hollered, "That isn't funny, Rei!"

"Stop arguing," Serenity groaned as she heaved off her breast plate from her chest.

The blue-haired scout was busy untying her shin guards as she said, "You can't go into this thinking negatively. Your mother has been in contact with the Earth for years. She's made the right decision."

"Why can't I make up my own mind?" she asked.

"Remember Chief of Command, Demetrius?" Lita said as Mina took off the last arm covering. "He sure was a sweet talker, wasn't Serenity?"

"So he was found guilty of embezzlement … big whoop."

"Big whoop?!" Rei growled. "Serenity this is you're life we're talking about here! You can't just get married to any creep!"

"No, I can't get married to anyone unless my mother says so!" she retorted.

"If you're so against it, then please tell me," a soft voice said from behind.

The group of girls turned around and found Queen Serenity gliding into the room with Luna and Artemis, the feline guardians, trailing after her. She had been renowned for her breathtaking beauty, but also for a voice that would stop a mad man in his violent tracks. She was known to soothe the best of tempers and didn't back down from her principles. She was a hard woman to live up to and Princess Serenity was expected to do just that. It was a lot of pressure on a girl who wanted nothing more but to hang out with her fellow princesses, chat about random things going on in the galaxy and have amazing adventures of love and loss with boys of different planets. She had always wondered if maybe this wasn't the right life for her.

"Mother, I—"

"No, no child," she interrupted, a small smile still playing on her glossy pink lips. "I know this isn't what you expected when you imagined yourself to be married off."

"I thought I would marry for love," the young princess said quietly. "Like you and Papa."

The tall queen lowered her gaze a little bit as she ordered, "Scouts, would you please leave me and my daughter alone? Go tend to your things. We leave early tomorrow morning. I want no dawdling." The guardians nodded and promptly left with armor and swords from the match in their hands. Each one looked over their shoulder at Serenity with their own distinct concerned expressions before exiting the premises. The queen looked down at the black and white pair of cats and said, "You too." They turned around without a word and bounded out of the room quickly.

The mother-daughter-duo were left alone finally. Queen Serenity stepped toward her child and tilted her chin upwards so that their matching blue eyes met.

"Your father and I didn't marry for love," she announced. "We married for the good of our worlds."

"But you two were so in love! I don't understand?"

"That adoration came a few years after we were married. It took a while, but it grew. It's like a plant … or a baby, it takes a bit of time to develop."

"You can't be serious! I have to create a relationship with this unknown prince like a plant? Mother I don't have a green thumb!"

"Serenity, please don't argue with me on this…"

"Then let me have my way!"

"You've had your way for a long time young lady," she said sternly, her thin brows slightly furrowing.

The queen was starting to grow tiresome of her daughter's constant rebellion. She had suspected that she would act out, but she didn't expect the arguments to be so gruesome and consistent. Her slightly angered expression fell from her face and she took a deep breath. Although her daughter could be infuriating, overbearing and all around tiring, she was still her daughter.

"Shall we compromise?" she asked.

The princess was now bowing her head in slight fear from her mother's stare and she slowly raised it up, "A compromise?"

Queen Serenity nodded, "Yes. If you absolutely hate him, and I mean completely, one-hundred percent hate him and can't find anything nice about Prince Endymion, then I won't make you marry him." The young girl lit up immediately, but was soon shut down by her mother's stabbing finger in the air, "But Serenity, you know I can detect even the smallest lie. I will have the scouts reporting back to me on your every move. If they also corroborate any allegations you have about the two of you not getting along, then I'll see to the end of the betrothal as justified. Do I make myself clear? You cannot sabotage this. It will only backfire in your face."

The princess nodded to her mother and watched she exited the room. The queen was eagerly met by Luna and Artemis who had been listening outside in the hallway.

"Do you really think this is wise?" Luna asked.

"None of them can lie to me," she answered. "It'll work."

The two cats were hesitant and the queen could feel it, but she didn't say anything. People seemed to forget that she had a sixth sense for emotions. She knew when someone wasn't truthful or honest which made her the best judgment of character. This was why she was queen. It had nothing to do with the crescent marking on her forehead or the fact that she was of royal blood; none of those characteristics mattered in the end. What mattered was strength, the ability to make the correct choices under harsh circumstances, and putting one's faith in loved ones when needed.

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