Chapter 2: Ties that Bind, Usagi's First Decree!
"It's just too surreal" Rei said, looking down into her tea. Tiredly, they had all congregated at Usagi and Mamoru's penthouse in Minato-ku. They took notice when Mamoru returned from tending to his exhausted, pregnant wife.
"How is she?" Haruka asked before anyone else spoke, and Mamoru nodded.
"She'll be fine; Ami-chan scanned she and the baby, and Hotaru-chan's just finishing healing her." He sighed as he sat down heavily on the sofa. Setsuna smiled softly, and poured a cup of tea, sliding it across the table. He smiled, and looked up at her.
"Thanks, Setsuna-chan." She nodded, and returned her attention to the woman sitting beside her.
"So then, is it the case that you've come here to be with her?" Mamoru asked, and the three present inner guardians blushed as they realized what he was suggesting.
"To be with Setsuna-san…" Makoto said quietly, and the Princess smiled sadly.
"She never told you why she didn't go with me at that time, did she?" The others looked in surprise at Setsuna, and the woman's dark eyes seemed to flicker as she remembered her last conversation with Neo-Queen Serenity.
"The day before Small Lady was recalled by her parents, the Queen summoned me to the palace. I hadn't been there since the Dark Moon attacked, and she asked me to walk with her. She took me to Small Lady's wing, and asked me what I noticed about it. I knew that she wouldn't like the truth because she'd always resented me a bit for my closeness to her husband and her daughter, and so, I simply told her that it seemed that Small Lady was growing up very quickly."
"But that wasn't the truth?" Setsuna shook her head in response to Michiru's question.
"It was true, but it wasn't the answer to the question she'd asked me. She asked me then 'what did this part of the palace look like the last time you were here?' Of course, I'd only been to the palace once before, but she knew that I would remember. When I didn't answer, she got very angry. She was crying, and she yelled 'are you going to tell me that you don't recognize that my only daughter has made my palace look like Pluto?' And then she handed me a notebook. After I looked at the images inside, she told me that she'd be recalling Small Lady, and that I was not to return with her. She thanked me for my assistance and loyalty to her family, and then released me from service to the Crown."
"What!?" Haruka nearly growled. Rei and Minako shook their heads simultaneously.
"That's impossible…" Rei said.
"Usagi isn't like that. She wouldn't do something so awful knowing how close the two of you are." Setsuna sighed.
"Unfortunately, Minako-chan, the Princess and the Queen have different histories, and so, while they are similar, there are also very important differences."
"I don't get it. Why would she care if Chibiusa-chan decorated her room to look like Pluto, whatever that means? And what was in the notebook?" Makoto asked.
"I can answer that" Mamoru said with a sigh.
"Sorry, Chibiusa, but back then, you were so secretive of your notebooks, and I worried. You were just a little girl who had been fighting wars since she was eight…"
"It's OK" she assured him, and he looked to Setsuna.
"When she was sleeping one night, I looked at her notebook, and saw drawings of all of us, but most especially of you – most of them were of you, and sometimes, it was of the two of you together. At that time, I wondered if maybe it was a crush, but decided not to interfere."
"A crush…" Makoto said blushing; Rei pinched her brow.
"I see… So, your mom got angry because you had a crush on a woman. I mean, I don't think Usagi would care because she's never judged any of us, but like Setsuna-san said, they're not exactly the same person so, I could see that."
"It's a little bit more complicated than you think, Rei-chan. I doubt that the Queen has a problem with her daughter being attracted to women, but I'm not like other women, not to her. You must understand that there's a history involved. Before her ancestors managed to steal one of the time keys, Pluto and the Moon were not allies at all. The solar system was often at war, and though my people were mostly neutral, we had a strong allegiance with Neptune, which was on the brink of war with the Moon. I feel certain that if that key hadn't been stolen, there would have been a war. After that, it was forbidden for the heir of the Moon Kingdom to marry anyone from the four outer planets, because there was a fear that power would be consolidated, the key would be returned, and the inner worlds would be rendered defenseless."
"But that was thousands of years ago…"
"Fear can last almost indefinitely, Minako-chan. When I was tasked with standing watch over the Gates of Time by the first Queen Serenity, I was given three taboos that I was not to violate. I could not abandon my post, travel through time, or cause time to stop. For two thousand years, I did my duty without question and without regret, but then…" she looked at the Princess and smiled.
"You opened my door somehow, and your mother watched as the person she feared perhaps more than anyone broke every rule that was given to her, all for her daughter. When she saw your drawings, I'm sure she was afraid that twelve thousand years of peace among the planets was about to be broken as well."
"Setsuna came to me later that night. I'd never seen you look that way…" the Princess said, looking to her older friend with the echo of despair clear on her face.
"You held me close to you, and just kept saying 'forgive me.' I didn't understand what was wrong, and I wanted to fix whatever was hurting you. I wanted to tell you that I'd have forgiven you for anything."
"For the only time in my life, I betrayed the Moon Kingdom. Even though I knew it was selfish, I told Small Lady about what had happened between her mother and I. I told her that I didn't care what her drawings did or didn't mean, that I only wanted for her to be happy."
"Setsuna told me that even though my mother had forbidden it, if I ever called for her, she would come to me. If what I'd been feeling before had been a crush, I think that was the moment that I fell in love with her, which is why I agreed to go back."
"Why?" Makoto asked.
"Because I was still just a child. I knew that if I'd stayed, I wouldn't have been able to keep quiet about how I felt, and that my feelings would have burdened her then. I also knew that my mother would never allow it, and that I'd have to wait until I was stronger than her. That day finally came this summer (1). There was a battle, I think it was the worst one that I've ever seen; people I knew, and people I didn't know were dying all around me. My mother was growing weak. I knew that if I didn't interfere, she would die, and that if I did, she would fear me. I may not agree with her, and I'll never forgive what she did to Setsuna, but I love her so, there was no way that I'd let her be killed. I had my Amazons shield she and my father, and ended the battle myself."
The older guardians noticed the darkness that momentarily rested in their friend's eyes as she focused on the depths of her tea cup. Realizing their concern, she sighed and set the cup down, smiling just as Hotaru entered the room behind her.
"In any case, they're safe now. My father knew that I wanted to leave, and secretly allowed me to name Helios and Diana's child as my successor. It's not ideal because their child won't be as strong, but there was nothing else we could do."
"You could have stayed" Ami interrupted, having heard the last part of her story.
"To what end, Ami-chan? I'm not my mother, you know? I couldn't keep living there alone. Even if I were that selfless, I'd be more of a danger than a protection."
"How can that be?" Ami challenged, and the Princess shook her head.
"To live a life apart from the person dearest to me… Eventually, it would take its toll; even now, I can feel that loneliness inside of my heart, and it poisons me."
"It's your responsibility…"
"To become a tyrant!? Is that what you want!? Should I become a hollow, dark queen whose only solace is contempt?" The Hermian woman stepped back when a crimson crescent glowed on the Princess' forehead and her aura flared temporarily.
"Ami-chan, please…" a soft voice said, instantly soothing the Princess who turned to see Usagi standing in the doorway.
"Usa-ko!" Mamoru ran to his wife, but she swatted him away, and took a seat on one of the sofas that were quickly becoming crowded.
"When you came here as a little girl, there was this… darkness in you, a loneliness that I didn't understand. I still don't understand it, but I know that I didn't sense it when you were with Setsuna-san. It's selfish, right? Because I want you here, too. But I don't know how I became the woman you know as your mother in the future. What happened? What changed? Why is my own daughter not my top priority? I don't get it, but maybe I don't need to. Maybe it's enough if you just stay here. If that means that you abdicate, or if it means that we figure out something else here, if you want to stay and be with her, you should do that. You've grown up. You're not a little girl anymore, but you're still just as brave and loving as you were then. If you can't be your mother's daughter, you could be mine. If you can't live there, then stay here with Setsuna-san and the rest of us" tears rained down Usagi's face as she spoke, and the other guardians fell silent. She nodded, and wiped at the ever-flowing tears.
"Welcome home" she said, and tears fell over long pink lashes. Because of her height, it was the younger princess who enveloped Usagi, and they clutched each other tightly. Setsuna smiled brightly at the two, and Ami said no more.
Shortly after the argument between the Princess and Ami, Luna and Artemis, who had been on a mission together arrived, and were brought up to speed on the situation. They also had news of their own.
"I see, so today was just a prelude of things to come…" Haruka said, leaning backward into the couch, and staring up at the tall ceiling. Michiru's hand found his, and he looked at her; they shared a smile that conveyed all that needed to be said.
"If our information is correct, we can expect many more attacks in the future" Luna told them. Usagi instinctively covered her slightly swollen abdomen, and shook her head.
"Why won't it stop? Why can't we all just live in peace?" The clacking sound of the Princess setting down her tea cup shattered the lingering silence. She walked over to look out of the floor-to-ceiling windows, pressing her fingertips lightly against the glass. It was still raining outside, and Setsuna joined her but said nothing.
"Let them come then. Whoever it is, I won't allow it. This fragile planet, and all of the people living in it… to protect them and the people I love, there's very little that I wouldn't do." She turned and looked to Usagi, their eyes locking.
"It'll be OK. I'll fight. I'll help you protect the child you're carrying. I'll protect you, Usagi." The resolution in her eyes and in her voice calmed the inner guardians, and inspired the outers.
"You won't be alone. I'll always fight beside you" Hotaru said, joining them at the window. Haruka and Michiru nodded toward each other, and joined them, too.
"We'll fight together, all of us" Michiru added, and Haruka nodded.
"Chibiusa… Everyone…" Usagi said softly; she nodded in agreement.
"We'll stay together like always" Mamoru added words to her motion, and the others nodded their agreement as well.
"Then, Chibiusa-chan, what will you do now that you're staying here? I don't mean as a guardian, but for the rest of it?" Makoto asked.
"Well, first, I should tell you that I stopped being called 'Chibiusa' almost eight years ago. Because my mother continues to be called 'Usagi,' I started going by my middle name, 'Serenity (2).'"
"Serenity…" several of the said in unison.
"That's easy enough to remember" Haruka teased.
"And it's more fitting since you're not really 'chibi' anymore, right?" Michiru asked with a smile. Serenity nodded to the older woman whom she'd never ceased to admire (3).
Language notes:
1. Chapter One begins in early winter of 2005.
2. In the manga, she introduces herself of "Usagi Small Lady Serenity;" to clearly distinguish her from Usagi, and to accommodate her maturation, I've opted to have her use the last of these names.
3. In the anime, it was implied that she saw Michiru as a sort of ideal princess, and admired her, though, she sometimes also envied her as a child.
