Chapter 2: Fast Friends

The princesses walked together through the marble hallways of the Moon Palace. Kagome was astonished at how friendly they all were, especially Serenity. She'd known them for scarcely one day, and already felt like she was accepted and valued.

They were just closing in on the doors to the teleportation room (so Kagome could reference where it was next time, and not end up in the gardens) when Minako stopped dead in her tracks. She latched onto Serenity's arm and said:

"Serenity! Why is Kagome going home?"

Serenity looked perplexed, and Kagome offered her own confused face. What in the galaxy is she talking about? wondered Kagome.

"Come on! The rest of us are sleeping over!" Minako tugged frantically on the corner of Serenity's gown, "Kagome should too!" Serenity's entire face lit up as she took in Mina's suggestion.

"What a fantastic idea!" she exclaimed, "I can't believe I didn't think of it! Do you want to stay over, Kagome? We have sleepovers every Wednesday and Friday- since most of them are here for balls already!"

"And we need plenty of time to gossip for the balls!" Makoto giggled, "So we prep on Wednesdays!"

"So do you want to stay?" said Serenity, with a wide smile.

Kagome was shell-shocked. She'd never met anyone as open and kind as these girls. A bright grin came over her face as she announced:

"I'd love to! I've never had a real sleepover- except for being with my sisters, and they don't really count," she began excitedly, then trailed off, "But my father...he didn't really want to send me here for tutoring anyway. I don't know how he'll react to me actually staying here."

Rei grinned, "Just let Queen Serenity talk to him. She's great at persuasion."

"I don't know," said Kagome doubtfully, "It took a lot to get him to just send me here in the daytime, even with Queen Serenity..."

"Oh, stop worrying!" said Ami brightly, "That's my job." The other girls laughed, and they failed to notice Queen Serenity walk up behind them.

"Good evening girls," she intoned pleasantly, "How was your first day, Kagome?"

Kagome smiled at the lovely queen, "It was very nice, Your Majesty. Thank you so much-"

"Mother," Serenity interrupted, but with the face of an angel, "Could you talk to King Savitr and ask if Kagome could stay the night? Please?" Serenity and Minako clasped their hands in supplicating positions, while Ami, Makoto, and Rei set off in a fit of giggles.

Queen Serenity looked surprised, "Do you want to, Kagome? It is very sudden. I don't mind, of course, but your father may have a different opinion." The girls immediately stopped laughing, and assumed their begging poses again.

Kagome answered truthfully, "I'd really like to, Your Majesty. If it's not too much trouble," she added hastily.

Queen Serenity nodded, "All right then. I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, consider yourself the latest addition to the Moon Kingdom's Royal 'Party of Slumbering.'" Serenity laughed a bit herself as she mocked the names of a variety of balls, then swept off to the Communications Office.

Kagome looked back at Ami, "This means I'm staying, right?"

"Yes," Ami nodded vigorously. A few seconds later, the girls enveloped Kagome in a hug.

"YAY!" they shouted, and jumped up and down. Of course, as this was extremely difficult to do with all the long trains they were carrying, they ended up in a heap on the floor in short order.

"Come on!" said Makoto, "We're wasting time! We need to show Kagome everything!"

"So what's first?" asked Ami. The others looked at her as if she were deranged.

"What else?" said Rei in shock.

"THE BATHS!" squealed Serenity and Minako, and they half-dragged Kagome after them out the door.

Kagome sunk deeper into the lovely haze of bubbles. It was absolutely divine. She'd had baths...but nothing like this!

The girls had taken her to an enormous chamber. Like most of the palace, the entire room was white marble. This room, however, was filled with glittering mosaics of oceans and fish, and was outfitted with charming little tables. In the very center, there was an enormous pool. One walked down into it- Serenity explained it was similar in manner to a beach, although Kagome didn't know what that was -and was greeted with warm, frothing, water. At the far end of the pool, there was an enormous waterfall. It hid what Kagome had quickly found to be an amusing slide, which twisted and turned every which way before finally spitting out the occupant to the left of the waterfall. At the side of the pool, there were nearly thirty or so different buttons. When Kagome had asked what they were for, Mina had taken her over and pointed out the variety of bathing options provided:

Bubbles: Large, Medium, Small. Available in pale pink, light green, lilac, baby blue, and soft yellow. Scented or unscented.

Scents: Lilac, rose, orchid, daffodil, daisy, apple, peach, vanilla, mango, mint.

Waves: Large, Medium, Small. Constant or Alternating.

Moisturizing

Purifying

Bath Bombs: Any of the aforementioned qualities combined into a charming ball of your choice. Simply drop one for a radius of five feet of customized bathing options, or drop five for the entire pool.

When Kagome had shown obvious confusion over what to pick, the girls suggested she do a 'crazed combo' -all of them. They'd tried it, and within minutes, the pool had become filled with waves and bubbles. They shrieked with laughter, especially when Rei picked up a bath bomb and threw it at Ami. Ami had looked shocked, then ordered her own bomb and tossed it back. It had evolved into a full-blown water fight, which eventually forced them onto two teams: Serenity, Minako, and Kagome, and Ami, Makoto, and Rei. Finally, Serenity, Minako, and Kagome won, but only because they'd had the foresight to take refuge atop the slide.

Now, they were thoroughly exhausted, and had stopped the waves except for small alternating ones. They sat in the shallow end, sipping fruit-flavored drinks and admiring each other's suits.

"Hmm," said Ami, "Is that new, Makoto?" Makoto had been sporting a metallic green bathing suit, trimmed with gold ribbon.

"Yes," said Makoto proudly. She stood up and twirled, "Do you like it?"

"I'd love it," said Rei, "If you hadn't just tossed bubbles in my apple smoothie!"

"Don't worry, Rei," said Serenity, "I've got the perfect replacement. Adira! Could you bring some of that new Earthan delicacy? Please? I forget what it's called." She laughed sheepishly.

A few moments later, an amused looking Adira came sporting a golden basket. Inside, Kagome noted, were a variety of small, round, brown items. Some were darker than others, and a few were white.

"What is that stuff?" asked Ami disdainfully. Although Kagome couldn't help but agree with her- it did look a little gross.

"Ah! Now I remember!" Serenity declared, popping one of the darker brown ones into her mouth, "It's called 'chocolate.' Earth just sent boatloads over the other day as a gift. It's SOO good!"

The other girls eyed her doubtfully, but Minako sighed and picked one up. She put it into her mouth and slowly chewed. The other girls eyed her furiously, as if expecting her to drop dead.

Suddenly, Minako's eyes nearly popped out of her head, "That's SINFUL!" she screamed, "Give me some more!" She began to wrestle with Serenity over a light brown one.

The other girls looked on, then reached in and took pieces themselves. Kagome breathed in shock and pleasure as she ate one of the light brown ones. That IS sinful! she thought to herself, We have got to figure out how Earthlings make it!

Several minutes later, the girls had all concurred that chocolate was indeed divine, and Mina and Serenity had been properly supplied with their own stashes of it (which they were guarding jealously). Now was the perfect time for gossip to commence.

"So, Kagome," Rei leaned in conspiratorially, "What do you think of Lord Sesshomaru?"

Kagome was startled. She began to blush furiously, "Oh...er...he's very kind."

The other girls looked at each other knowingly. Minako leaned in, "Ok, confess to the princess of the love planet. Do you like him?"

"I don't know!" said Kagome, stunned at how personal the conversation had gotten- and so quickly! "I mean, he's handsome, and chivalrous, and dashing-"

"Sounds like you like him to me!" snorted Makoto, giggling.

"I barely know him!" insisted Kagome, "He is handsome, but I don't know if I like him. I only talked to him for about five minutes. He just asked my name, and then introduced me to you, Serenity."

Serenity didn't answer, but the other girls joined in the gossip fest eagerly.

"You know," said Ami, "I bet Lord Sesshomaru will be going to the Masquerade Ball next week."

"Oh my gosh!" said Rei, "You're right! And Kagome- you're going, aren't you?"

"Well, I think so," said Kagome, "My father said he was going, and it only makes sense that I would go, since I'm getting tutored here."

"Yes!" the princesses shouted in excitement, "It's the perfect chance to flirt with him!" They immediately began making plans about how to coerce Sesshomaru to dance with Kagome.

"You guys," Serenity cut in shortly, "You're forgetting about Kikyo."

"Who's Kikyo?" asked Kagome, puzzled. The others quieted down.

Finally, Ami answered, "She is the princess and heiress to the Andromeda Galaxy. She's also Sesshomaru's betrothed."

Kagome felt as though her heart was crushed, "So- does he love her?" she asked after a moment.

"I don't know," said Makoto thoughtfully, "Don't count yourself out. Sesshomaru barely ever sees Kikyo. Plus, I think it's mostly an arranged marriage."

Mina enthused, "Yeah. Queen Kikyuri and Archduchess Erinna forced them to become engaged when she was sixteen and he was- well, how old was he, guys?"

"Nine hundred and six," interjected Serenity quietly, "About a year ago now."

Kagome's hand flew to her mouth, "I didn't know he was that old! He's...ancient."

"He's not an old man," Serenity said, "He's young, according to his race's standards."

"What do you mean?" asked Kagome.

Serenity looked shocked, "You didn't know, Kagome? Sesshomaru's," she whispered here, "a demon."

Kagome's mouth dropped open, "But I thought..." she trailed off.

"Demons aren't permitted in the Moon Kingdom," explained Serenity, "save for those originally from Planet Mau. They're the only truly non-savage ones, although Lord Sesshomaru does a fine job of keeping his true self in check. It's stunning really, considering he has every right to go on a murder spree here."

"What are you talking about?" asked Kagome, shaking.

"Sesshomaru was supposed to be king here, Kagome," said Ami, "His mother, Erinna, is Selenity VI Erinna. She was a demoness princess of the moon, back when humans and demons shared the throne. Well, Selenity V, the human heiress, died. Erinna was chosen to succeed her (as Serenity V had no children), but the humans felt the throne was being taken out of their hands. They forced Erinna, her husband, and their son- Sesshomaru- into exile. Then, when the demons began to use violence in protest of this act, Serenity I used the Silver Crystal to banish them permanently and save the Moon Kingdom."

Kagome shook her head in disbelief, "So why is Sesshomaru still here?"

"Queen Kikyuri of Andromeda has chosen him to be her ambassador to the Moon Kingdom," snorted Rei, "They took Erinna and Sesshomaru in. Erinna's an archduchess there- second in power only to the queen herself. Sesshomaru became a lord, and very skilled in diplomacy. Kikyuri sends him here. She says it's because he's the best diplomat, and therefore perfect for relations between the capital of the Milky Way Galaxy and her own dominion. My father says it's her idea of a joke. It's almost an affront, really."

Kagome was silent, and began to sink deeper in the bubbles. Sesshomaru? A demon lord? Rebel prince? Dangerous? she shook her head, No. I can't think of him like that. He can't be like that- can he?

The others noticed her distress.

"Are you okay?" asked Minako, comfortingly.

"I'm fine," Kagome lied, and popped another chocolate into her mouth.