Story Untold

Chapter 4

"Emerging Truths"


Lessons. Were. A. Nightmare. At least they were as far as Seiya and Serenity were concerned. On top of always seeing each other at every meal and the occasional meeting in the palace halls, they had to be stuck together five days a week for seven hours. This didn't include any palace or ground tours yet; their first would be later that day. Nor did it include Serenity's free Saturdays, which now, partially would be given to keeping the Star Warriors company and doing different activates with them. The only Seiya free day Serenity could count on were Sundays, which had recently become time spent with her mother in private politic lessons.

Luckily, Serenity thought as they rounded a corner and Venus was pointing out one of the balconies at the back of the main building, she would not be occupying them outside the palace. Once this part of their inside tour was finished, she would be free until mealtime.

"It's not really a pool or meant to be swum in, but sometimes we can't resist. It's more like a pond for decoration." Venus said.

"The Boundary Wall you saw over by the Prayer Tower goes back here as well, and extends all the way that way." Mars pointed to her left. "You can barely see some tree's that end up making a small woods."

"What's that structure far out in the sea?" Taiki asked. "It looks like there's a walkway leading to it."

"Ah, that's just more walkway. A giant dock was built around a large perimeter of Mare Serenities, so you can actually go far out and take a walk around the sea. You have to go through the far royal buildings to get to the opening that allows you to walk around it. Right now it's closed though because it's winter, too slippery."

"Wow, the architecture really is amazing. Does it float or is it embedded in the ground?"

"It's embedded, even though the waves are not rough at all." Mercury told him. "The building of it is quite amazing if you look at the records they kept of it in the Library."

"I'll have to check it out sometime." He smiled at her. Yaten yawned loudly stretching his arm over his head.

"Sorry." He said when they looked at him. "I'm not one for architecture."

"Ah, me neither." Venus told him. Serenity rolled her eyes and then tugged at Venus's sleeve.

"So, does that mean the palace tour is done for today?" She asked not even trying to hide the hopefulness in her voice. "You're going to be showing them part of the grounds next?"

"Yes…" Venus said slowly.

"Ok see you!" Serenity picked up her dress starting to run, backtracked and bowed slightly, then continued on until she disappeared out of sight, running down the stairs. They started after her until they no longer heard running echoing around them.

"That girl…" Mars sighed as they all turned to go down a different set of stairs that would lead them out the front of the main building. There they would descend from the palace and into the city.

"Should I… dare to ask?"

"What that was all about?" Jupiter finished Taiki's sentence as they emerged from the front of the palace. "Serenity isn't allowed to leave palace grounds, even with us, for a few more days."

'What is she, grounded or something?" Seiya asked. When no one replied to his remark except with a groan, he stared at them. "Wait, I guessed right?" He snorted. "Are you serious? For what?"

"Seiya" Taiki scolded him.

"It's alright." She reassured him. "Our Princess has a tendency to run off and explore. Curious as a kitten I guess, but sometimes it leads her into trouble."

The guards near the foot of the stairs leading up to the palace bowed as the Princess's and the Warriors walked from the Lower Platform and onto ground level where the marketplace was.

"It's really busy." Yaten took notice of all the people bustling about, just the same as it had been the last time the Princess's entered the city. "You must have a booming economy."

"Well, It's not bad." Jupiter grinned.

They entered the marketplace, and decided to walk along it keeping close to the palace. They would look at the shops around there, while waiting to enter the heart of the city another day. As they moved from one store to another, checking out various places like clothing stores, gardening shops, food stands and other goods, those who recognized the girls gave their respect. Even the Star Warriors were shown with some of the same respect, as well as random flocks of teenage girls giggling over to the sides.

"The Queen's visitors…"

"Oh, the alien invaders!"

"The alien invaders?" Yaten raised an eyebrow at the giggling girls.

"You haven't heard that one?" Mars asked surprised. "Alien army attacks palace? Rumors tend to fly… especially when you enter a foreign galaxies palace at all hours some random night…"

"Yes." Taiki held out his hand and sighed. "I understand that."

"Hey." Jupiter elbowed Venus in the ribs. "Look." Venus followed Jupiter's pointed finger as Yaten stretched his head from behind her to look as well.

"There's nothing there." He said.

"Nope. I guess the old woman left..."

"Huh?" Yaten looked up at Jupiter. "Elaboration?"

"Remember I was telling you how Serenity has a tendency to run off? Well when she skipped out on her lessons a few days ago, she ended up here, or… there used to be a jewel shop here, but Serenity noticed the jewels were fake…"

"So she started a huge riot that caused everyone around the shop to throw a fit, and it looks like the old woman got run out of here or had to leave because people stopped buying…."

"Mars!" Venus scolded her. "It wasn't that bad."

"So, she just starts something like that without even thinking of the consequences it may have?"

"Honestly, it wasn't that bad." Venus turned to respond to Seiya's comment, but his head was turned away from any of them, staring off in the direction of the palace. "Urr..." She didn't know what to say to him, and an awkward silence fell over them.

"So uh… " Mercury said playing with some trim on her dress. "Should we call it a day and head back or do you want to look around some more?"

"It's too early for dinner." Jupiter added looking up at the city's sundial. "We still have a few more hours."

"Let's head back. I need to write up a report for her Majesty the Queen. Ah, the Queen of Kinmoku." Taiki added to the girls. "She asked for a report on how things were going once in a while."

"So…" Jupiter said glancing over to Taiki as they made their way back to the palace. "Your Queen, she sent you here on her behalf to form the idea of an alliance?"

"Yes." Taiki's voice was stone cold, and a dark shadow overtook his face. "Our Queen feels that the Silver Millennium's assistance is needed concerning current situations at home. However, she believes after all problems have been settled, an alliance could benefit us all in the end, and possibly start new friendships." Venus frowned. It was the same thing he had told Queen Serenity the day of their arrival, the same thing she knew he must have practiced saying over and over again before leaving their home planet.

"It's kind of amazing though. For something like a civil war, that your Queen need to send you all the way out here and form an alliance with us. Surely your military power is strong enough to handle that?"

The Star Warriors stopped dead in their tracks in the same instance Venus took in a small breath. Everyone, feet frozen in place, turned to look at Jupiter. Her friends looked at her in disbelief while the three men stared at her with a look so distorted someone from far away could have easily assumed they were soldiers, ready to pounce and kill in cold blood. Jupiter never flinched; she only continued to stare back at them with the same hard determination. "We do." Yaten finally broke the intense silence. "For a civil war that is." Behind Jupiter, Mars blinked in dawning thought at the same time she felt Venus brush past her arm.

"Well," The blonde beauty pushed past Jupiter and stood infront of her. "I guess this really is a time for making friends then. Now the Silver Millennium will form two new alliances at once."

"Ah, you're talking about the alliance between Earth and the Moon? Yes, I heard about it before coming here. It's quite big news, right?" Taiki's face untightened and he smiled at her in his professional aura.

"Yes." Venus sighed in relief, as their surroundings seemed to return back to normal. "For a long time the Earth struggled with people who feared that becoming part of the Silver Millennium would mean losing their right to rule their own planet. But now things seemed to have calmed down and the Earth Queen suddenly sent a request to talk with Queen Serenity."

"They've talked a couple times, but now they are starting to really meet to sort out all the official details." Mercury trailed the others as they descended up the marble stairs leading to the Upper Platform. "Actually, you'll probably meet them after the Ice Skating Festival. Since you're here as guests, she'll probably try to have the King and Queen come to the Moon."

"They should anyway." Mars swept her hair back over her shoulder. "I mean if our Queen can leave her kingdom to go to Earth, they should be able to leave their kingdom and come here."

"Ice Skating Festival?" Yaten ignored Mars's side comment.

"Ice skating is kind of the popular thing to do here, since we have all of Mare Serenitis and since the Moon is naturally cold outside of the Queen's barrier, everything freezes over. Ask Jupiter about it, she's placed second in the competition every year since she was seven."

"Only second?" Yaten teased.

"Hey, I got first when I was five and six, and I'll do it again this year, just watch me!"

"That's what you say every year, and I have yet to see you do it!"

"Why what happened?" Taiki asked amused.

"Serenity happened." Jupiter grumbled.

"Eh?"

"Haahaa, Jupiter here may have won second every year since she was seven, but Princess Serenity has won first place every year since she was six, which is when she first started entering the competition and also happened to be the same year Jupiter was seven."

"Shut up." Princess Jupiter rounded on Mars. "I don't see you coming close to beating her."

"I'm not stupid enough to try! That's one thing I recognize Serenity has superiority over."

"She ice skates? The Odango… the Princess I mean…" It was the first time Seiya spoke since the marketplace.

"Yeah she does and she's good. No one can beat her."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's where she ran off to in such a hurry. The rink is open to the public now for practice."

"Is there anything else like that she does?" Seiya asked.

"Eh? Oh… Serenity? She's also a good gardener. Something else she and Jupiter complete in. She loves flowers, and taking care of them."

"Personally, I think gardening suits her more. She's such a walking disaster sometimes, I honestly don't know how she can do something like ice skate… but she can so…" Mars shrugged.

"Walking disaster?" The Royal Guardians all laughed.

"Walking into things… tripping over her own feet… it's quite amusing sometimes."

The group came to rest inside the Main Hall. "I'm going on ahead to grab my gear then head over to the rink. If Serenity's there I'll bring her back with me. Excuse me." Princess Jupiter bowed then turned and left. She was a few yards away when she felt someone grab her arm. Venus, who had excused herself right after Jupiter did, hastily caught up with her and stopped her.

"Hold on a second. I want to talk to you." She said under her breath as the others exchanged goodbyes for the afternoon behind them. The Star warriors took off and Mars and Mercury headed in the direction of their friends, amidst in their own conversations.

"Mercury I didn't know you were so bold. Asking Taiki out on a date like that?"

"I-it's not a date! He wanted to go the library anyway, so I thought I would show him later tonight."

"You really plan to talk about books and architecture alone at night?"

"Yes, of course."

"Really…" Mars sighed at her sincerity.

"What were you thinking?" Venus didn't try hiding her voice this time, and it caught the attention of Mercury and Mars. "Asking that… and you basically insulted their home planet! Saying they couldn't even protect their own planet without our help. You know their people are already hot-blooded against us. What if someone got wind of that?"

"You're putting words in my mouth Venus! I didn't say-"

"You implied it!"

"That isn't what Jupiter meant at all." Venus and Jupiter turned around to see Mars and Mercury standing there. "I mean…did you see how on edge they were? It wasn't because they felt insulted, it's because of what Jupiter knew, and was talking about…"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Oh."

"Oh? Oh what?" Venus said irritated as dawning spread across Mercury's face.

"So that's what you were doing?" Mercury asked Jupiter, who nodded in response. "I see, that's not bad." Mercury smiled at Jupiter then frowned. "This is troubling though…"

"Someone care to enlighten me?" Venus said even more annoyed.

"When Jupiter said, 'you're queen has to send you out here for help just for something like a civil war, surely you have enough power for that,' or whatever it was, how did Yaten respond?" Mars asked Venus.

"Angrily." Venus said coolly.

"He was on edge about what Jupiter was implying. They didn't expect any of us to guess right about what's really going on, let alone ask them about it, directly or not directly. He knew he couldn't hide it though, so instead he implied something right back."

"I still don't…"

"Ugh. Honestly I think you and Princess Serenity are on the same wavelength sometimes." Mars threw her hands up in the air. "He responded, 'We do, for a civil war that is'."

"We know something isn't adding up, our guess was that this can't be just a civil war. Something else is going on. Kinmoku wouldn't come all the way here to ask for an alliance just for something like that, especially when their people are against our help. Why would the Queen ask for out help for a civil war? She would risk further resistance plus they have more than enough military capability. However, if something more serious were happening that they couldn't handle on their own, their Queen would need help, from us. Yaten confirmed that when I asked him." Jupiter said seriously.

Venus blinked. "So in short… you basically just asked them if there's another meaning to them being here, and that this civil war story is a cover up?"

"Yes." Jupiter said. "And they confirmed it."

"But…" Venus bit her bottom lip. "What is it exactly they confirmed? What's truly going on then?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"So, what do you think?" Yaten asked the others as they sat in a small study that was connected to each of their own bedrooms. Taiki was at the desk in the corner by a bookshelf, writing, while Yaten had thrown himself over a couch and Seiya stood by the window, staring out at Mare Serenitis. "Of this place?" Yaten added when no one responded right away.

Taiki put his pencil down and stopped writing; stretching his arms over the table and pushing his glasses farther up his face as he leaned back in the chair. "It is rather remarkable. I have to admit, I've never seen a place like this before."

"Festivals all the time? And their Princess can basically walk around the grounds herself. To live such a peaceful and carefree life… I bet you they don't even have any holding cells for criminals…" The white haired young man yawned loudly before rolling over on the couch so he was facing the others.

"However…" Taiki reached up to his face and slowly began to take his glasses off. "It's kind of sad at the same time, being here."

"This place can't last like this forever." Seiya said still staring out the window before turning to face the inside of the palace. "Our people know only too well."

"Do you really think this kingdom has the power to stop what's happening?"

"I have no doubt the Moon Kingdom poses great power." Taiki replied to Yaten. "The problem is, fighting something when we don't know exactly what we're fighting."

"Heh."

"What's so funny?"

"Those Princess's." Yaten smiled. "They sure have done their research huh? I didn't expect them to catch onto our little facade so quickly."

"They probably didn't believe it to begin with." Taiki shrugged. "You don't have to be a genius to know that why we say we're here and then hear about what's happening with our planet doesn't go together. Especially with all these rumors about things that are going on in the far galaxy."

"Taiki…you really believe it then?" Seiya moved away from the window to stand infront of the desk. "Our Queen didn't confirm it, but she didn't deny it either. Is what's happening at home really related to the destruction of Veoset?"

"Hey Seiya!" Yaten said coldly. "Don't go talking about nonsense! That hasn't been proven yet."

"It also hasn't been dismissed." Seiya rounded on him. "You know something is starting to move, or even possibly awakened or you wouldn't have hinted to Princess Jupiter like you did."

"Look!" Taiki shouted before Yaten could make a retort. "I don't know anything for sure. As far as what I believe in… all I know is there's nothing we can do about it now. Except, doing as the Queen ordered and staying here on the Moon. If you have a problem with that, then go home and explain to the Queen why you decided to abandon your mission to bring help to our people."

"Tch." Yaten plunked back down on the couch bringing his arms around to support his head. He closed his eyes and scowled as Seiya turned away and walked back over to the window.

"Seiya I have to ask you something though." Taiki turned from his desk to look at him. "What was with your attitude in the market place?"

"What attitude?"

"What attitude he says..."

"Yaten be quiet. Your attitude when they were talking about the Moon Princess. It's none of our business how their princess acts or what she does."

"I didn't do it on purpose." Seiya mumbled.

"Don't worry about it Taiki, it's just one of those."

"One of those, what?" Seiya lowered his eyes at Yaten.

"Oh you know… making fun of her, then acting like you hate her, but asking a billion questions about her… what's that saying? Like a child in love?"

"Don't be stupid!" Seiya slammed his hands down against the windowsill. "I don't have to stay here and listen to you…" Without a second glance, Seiya walked to the door, opened it and walked swiftly outside of the study room, the door closing with a loud thud behind him.

"See what I mean?" Yaten grinned widely. "Completely embarrassed…"

"…You idiots…"

Authors Note:
Hurray! I finally get to update this story! I'm almost to the part I wrote long ago, before actually writing the beginning of this story. I'm excited. So comments are loved, and fuel my writing. And for updates on me personally or any of my stories check out my profile once in a while under my "Updates Corner." See you again soon!