Celestial Warrior Moon:
Memories of the Silver Millennium
Disclaimer: I do not own any Sailor Moon related properties. Sailor Moon is the property of Toei Animation and Naoko Takeuchi. This is a fan work created to celebrate the work. It is not intended to infringe on any copyrights.
Cover image by SomeoftheFame. Thank you so, so much, man.
Author's Note:
With regrets, I announce that this chapter is still not completely due to the sheer length the world-building its requiring of me. However, I feel that far too much time has passed it is between chapter updates. I apologize for allowing this fic to go dead again, so I'm posting what I can as of right now.
Chapter One
Princess Serena:
Life in the Palace
Evening, Digamma 2nd, Lunar Palace, Lunar District, the Moon Kingdom, 9980 M.N.S, Moon Kingdom reckoning. 982 A.D., May 22nd, Earth reckoning
"…And they say Siggurd the Dragon-Slayer still roams the Earth to this very day," Celine finished.
With that, she closed the leather-bound storybook and looked over to her much younger cousin. Serena was yawning, and rubbing her eyes. She sat at the head of her bed covered up to her waist in the blankets.
"But what about…" Serena was interrupted by another yawn.
"Cover your mouth," Celine scolded her.
"Sorry," Serena said sheepishly. "But what about Brunhilde? Will she and Siggurd ever get back together?"
Celine shrugged.
"No one knows," she answered.
Celine stood, straightening her gown as she did, and then walked over to Serena's bedside dresser. She put the book back in its place on the shelf right under the desktop before turning to the large window looking out on the kingdom. The Earth's blues and greens were in full view that evening.
"I don't like that story, then," Serena pouted, crossing her arms. The little six-year-old 'humphed' and turned away from Celine. "Why can't you read me more stories with happy endings."
"Variety helps the imagination," Celine replied, turning towards Serena with a slight smile.
"Besides, the sooner you learn 'happier ever after' isn't always possible, the better," the Warrior mentally added.
She faced her Princess fully again, arms folded behind her back.
"Can you read me another?" Serena asked.
With a glance at the clock, Celine shook her head.
"No, its a few minutes past our bedtime as it is," she answered.
"Aww!" Serena whined.
"The Princess should not whine," Celine scolded, waggling her finger at her.
Serena pouted in response to that.
"That will not get you your way, either," Celine said firmly, crossing her arms.
With that, both cousins stared each other down, unwilling to bend. Eventually, though, Serena cracked a smile and giggled.
"Alright, alright, I wield," she said, lying down, and allowing herself to sink into the mattress and pillow.
"Good," Celine replied.
She walked over and pulled the covers up to Serena's neck.
"Goodnight, now, Little One," Celine said, and kissed her on the forehead. "Sleep well. Tomorrow, you have a big day."
"I know…" Serena answered drearily. "I have to listen to a land dispute between a couple of old fogie…"
A stern glare from Celine told her to reword that.
"Respectable elders," Serena corrected.
"What am I going to do with you?" Celine asked, crossing her arms again.
"Take me out to eat ice cream tomorrow, instead?"
"Nice try, but no. You are going to sit in at the meeting," Celine said firmly.
"But I'm the Princess, you have to do what I say," Serena pouted.
"Not yet, I don't," Celine replied. "Your mother says you will begin sitting in on royal sessions once a week, and so you shall."
"But it's boring! Why can't I play like I can hear normal kids on the other side of the palace walls?" Serena begged.
"Because you're not normal," Celine answered, almost solemnly. "You will never be normal."
"It's not fair," Serena moaned.
"I used to say the same thing."
Serena looked up at her bodyguard, stunned. She was expecting Celine to say something to the effect of "Life's not fair. So deal with it." Instead, her older blonde responded with understanding.
"The life of the noble or royal is not an easy one," Celine told her softly. "It will never be, either. I'm sorry, Serena, but you have duties to prepare to inherit. Having a lot of playtime and friends to laugh with was never in your future."
However, then she leaned to whisper in Serena's ear.
"But if you're good tomorrow, I'll see about getting you outside the palace walls to meet the sources of those voices you sometimes hear right outside," she promised.
"You mean it?" Serena's face lit up with excitement.
"On my life," Celine said with a nod. "Now, it's time for you to sleep."
"Yes, Cousin," Serena replied.
With that, Celine turned to leave. She was about to flick off the light when Serena's quiet little voice reached her again.
"Can Abby come?"
Oh, yes, the little maid that was one of the only other children in the entire palace, and thus, the Princess's de fact playmate. At least until then three-year-old Luna was a bit older.
"I will certainly try, but no promises. She has to keep the palace tidy with the other maids," Celine said, and turned out the lights before leaving the Princess to her slumber.
When the room was shrouded in darkness, Serena looked over at balcony through the glass doors to her right and at the Earth beyond. It appeared as a big mass in the starry sky. The little princess felt a twinge of disappointment, because she liked looking down on the planet surface with its many colors.
"Wanna go there someday," Serena thought dreamily before turning over onto her and going to sleep.
As all nights were for the protected princess, it was peaceful and her slumber was uninterrupted. Hours passed, and that sleep remained unbroken, even by the night terrors of her cousin, which could not be heard from her bedroom. Two doors down from the girl, Celine was tossing and turning in a fretful vision of terror as she often did. Serena didn't hear the guard go in to check on her older cousin when she screamed. Nor did she hear Celine throttle and nearly end the poor man when he roused her from the height of horror she was experiencing. No, things had been put in place to assure restful nights for the princess.
The following morning, Serena was in her best little white gown and seated beside her mother overseeing the royal court. She sat perfectly poised with her hands in her lap, shoulders squared and posture upright. Eyes ahead and intent as she listened to the land dispute. It was between a lanky old man and a small, dainty old woman.
"…and as you can see, Your Majesty, the property charter clearly shows this is where her land ends and yet she still allowed her cows to graze on my fields," the old man argued, pointing at a spot on the holographic image.
"I bought that half-acre off your father a hundred years back!" the old woman butted in and held up her own mobile device. She pressed a button and another image of the same section of land popped up. "See?! Clear as day, I was at the edge of my property!"
"Now see here! I never heard of any such transaction and it was never loaded into our archives!"
"Yeah, well, Gaffer always was an absent-minded booby! Probably forgot!"
"Please, both of you, remain civil. You're in the presence of the Queen."
By now, Serena's eyes were crossed with boredom. At first, she thought it a tender mercy when her mother ordered a survey of the land and thought that would be the end of it. Unfortunately, what followed after was a mountain of paperwork mother and daughter had to begin signing. By the end of it, penning in the royal signature was a near numb, automated motion. By the time they were finished and the disagreeing elders left with each a sealed envelope, Serena's arm was cramped and sore. She tried shaking it out to be rid of the discomfort.
Celine glanced down at her younger cousin in the corner of her eye and hid a tiny smirk of amusement.
"Poor thing, but at least she's bearing with it just as I asked," she thought as Serena discreetly shook out a cramp in her wrist under the table. "Now to make sure she has a clear spot in her schedule for contact with some children her own age."
Celine hadn't quite had the time to hold up her end of the deal just yet, but she was working on it. It was midday when they signed the last paper, just in time for mother and daughter to go for lunch. They sat in a mostly empty grand dining hall. Serenity was at one end of a long white table in a room where trappings all adorned the same coloration. Serena was to her left in the next seat down. The sight of the pair off in one corner of an otherwise barren room would have passed for comical. Celine was absent for the moment, off on an errand.
"Where's father? He was gone for the whole argument between those farmers," Serena asked.
"Your father is attending to the war down on the planet surface, dear," Serenity replied, taking a small bite of her salad.
"The war?" Serena asked, with interest. "The one the British are having against the Dark Kingdom?"
"That's the one," Serenity answered, staring off contemplatively.
"What's so important about that one when Celine says there are hundreds of wars on Earth?" Serena asked.
"Because, sweetie, if they get a hold of King Arthur III's Golden Blade, that just might be the foothold they need to take control of the Earth and then come for us," Serenity answered softly.
"But we have the Silver Crystal to protect us. They could never get us up here!" Serena proclaimed, grinning cheerily. However, when her mother's only immediate reply was a forlorn stare ahead, the girl's demeanor dropped. "…Right?"
Before Serenity could recover and reply, the door opened.
"How are my girls today?"
"Daddy!" Serenity cried, almost standing up in her chair.
"Serena, sit down!" Serenity scolded.
"Ahem," Serena coughed uncomfortably, settling back in her seat. "Forgive me."
Chiron chuckled at his daughter, walked up, and placed a hand on her head.
"What are we going to do with you?" he asked fondly.
"Hello, my Shining Knight," Serenity greeted her husband, rising from her chair properly.
"My Shining Moonlight," Chiron answered and the two kissed.
Serena made an exaggerated display with being repulsed, but that didn't stop them. After a moment, Chiron turned the child.
"Why don't you go find Abby and go play in the garden for awhile, Little Moonlight," he suggested.
Her face lit up immediately.
"Can I really?!" she cried excitedly.
Serenity looked like she wanted to refuse, but she could tell Chiron just wanted to speak with her alone.
"Very well, but don't get your dress dirty," she said.
"Yes, Mother," Serena answered and hopped down from her chair.
"Excuse me," the little princess added with a bow and then left them.
Serenity turned back to Chiron, curious as to what he needed to speak to her about.
"Is there news from Myddin?" she asked.
The smile faded from Chiron's face, but it didn't look altogether grave.
"Morgan la Fey continues to batter the British Isles every chance she gets, but there is good news," he replied.
"Nothing new there, but those people," Serenity said with a sense of mourning. "Any figures for the potential casualties this time?"
"They will eradicate whole villages this time if allowed," Chiron replied grimly. "Whole villages could burn."
Serenity put a hand to her heart as she hung her head, sighing in anguish.
"Those poor people…" she again murmured. "What good news can there possibility be?"
"Arthur's council has already seen through their enemy's ploy. If they move quickly, they can minimize casualties with only a little help from our agents in the shadows."
"Should we be risking giving them this much aid, though?" Serenity asked. "They might start to catch on."
"We'll just give them a little push in the right direction, as we always do. In the end, they'll still have to win the deciding battle of this war on their own," Chiron replied.
"…If they can," Serenity muttered.
"We can't fight their battle for them. You know that," Chiron said. "The first Serenity took an oath to allow the Earth's people to evolve and progress as naturally as possible. The scenario down all the generations…"
"I know the oath," Serenity cut in. "I took it, myself, when I became queen. I just hate sitting on the sidelines while The Entity wages its war from D-Point. I'm all for allowing Earth to progress on its own and one day welcoming it into an alliance when they're technologically able to come up here, but there is nothing natural about this ongoing war they're in."
"Forgive me," Chiron said, lightly hugging her. "Forget myself sometimes."
"What can be done? We've tried retaking D-Point. If I could just go down there, myself, with the Crystal, I could…"
She trailed off. She knew she'd just be making herself a target down there and she had little experience using the Silver Crystal as a weapon. And the one time she had, it had nearly killed her six years ago when she banished Nehellenia.
"They have the Golden Blade and besides that, Myddin's with them," Chiron reassured her.
"I know…" Serenity said. "I hope that's enough…"
"Serena, this isn't funny! Where did you go?!" Abby cried, running madly through the rows of rose bushes.
She was on a winding stone path that led through the entire garden. It twisted, turned, and split in multiple directions giving visitors a solid path to take while exploring the palace's selection of flora.
The princess poked her head out from one of the leafy structures, giggling, and then darted out of her hiding place and into another quickly. She was ignorant of the fact that her successful disappearing act was anything but humorous to the young maid who scrambled through the garden in a dead panic.
Serena crouched down and squat-walked under an opening into the center of the next bush. It was almost like a little cave in her point of view. The branches, leaves, and white flowers were almost enough to blot out all outside light.
"I could stay in here forever before she'd find me," Serena giggled to herself.
She could faintly hear the other girl crying her name, but she stayed right where she was. She wasn't going to give up her perfect hiding spot for the world. She nestled into the grass left untrimmed due to being under the bush and laid over on her side to get comfortable. Curled up, she began to doze off almost immediately as she let out a little yawn. She was faintly aware of the continued calling of her name through the haze over her head, but wasn't catching that other voices were joining in with Abby at this point and soon she lost all concept of time.
"THERE YOU ARE!"
Serena yelped and bolted upright into a sitting position.
"Huh?! HUH?!" she cried, looking all around, trying to grasp where she was.
She saw the greenage and remembered where she'd ended up and why she there. Then her gaze focused in on the angry face of Celine, poking into a hole in the canopy around her. She could see Celine had parted the leaves and branches with her hands, and boy did she look furious.
"Come out of there this instant," Celine's voice was at a normal volume and measured, but the emotion was icy rage.
"Uh…" was all Serena could manage as she froze on the spot.
"I said, COME OUT!" Celine's voice slammed into her ear canals, breaking the spell.
Serena crawled out of the brush with haste and then climbed to her feet before the older blonde. She looked up at the woman nearly double her size with guilt and a little fear. She studied Celine's body language for a moment to gauge the severity of the situation. Her arms were crossed and her stance was rigid. Not good.
"I've done it this time," Serena thought, gulping.
Celine raised her head to call out.
"Everything's alright. I found her!"
Her voice carried all over the garden and Serena could hear several voices answer back in relief. Then Celine turned back to her, and Serena felt the need to defend herself.
"It was just hide and seek. Nothing bad happened, so there's no problem," she insisted.
"Small One, disappearing from sight so completely that we can't find you, then staying hidden and not answering our call is a problem," Celine replied firmly. "A big problem. We will be returning to the study where you will be getting ahead of your training to be the next queen for the remainder of the day."
Serena pouted, and was about to complain when Celine spoke again.
"You can whine and complain if you want me to cancel your trip to the city to play like a normal child for once."
Serena remained quiet and hung her head.
"Very good. Now come along."
Midafternoon, Epsilon 10th, Lunar Palace, Lunar District, the Moon Kingdom, 9982 M.N.S, Moon Kingdom reckoning. 984 A.D., May 2nd, Earth reckoning
"Blah blah blah something something Queen Serenity the 1st blah blah founding the empire…"
The words just seemed to run together to Serena after a while as she listened to Celine drone on. Names, dates, events, incidents, war, and everything else just seemed to blur regardless of how hard she tried to pay attention, and that was the way of her lessons under Celine and other tutors for years to come.
As time marched on, Serena grew and matured into a young lady, gradually losing her baby fat along the way. She was eight now, and she did not remain alone in the castle for long. In time, Luna, the child a few years younger than herself grew up enough to become a new companion as Abby took on more and more responsibly. They often played in the garden together, but never hide 'n' seek again. Oh, boy, never again. Serena had learned her lesson well.
"Checkmate! I win again!" the then seven year old Luna giggled.
Serena was staring at her king in an inescapable position. Then she groaned and hung her head.
"I wield. How do you keep winning?" she asked.
"Father plays this with me all the time," Luna answered. "Want to go again? Best 12 out of 13?"
Serena could have strangled the innocently smiling little black-haired girl. She sighed and got from her chair.
"I'm a bit thirsty. I think there was a pitcher and some glasses left on the table in the dining room," Serena said.
"Yes, My Princess!" Luna said, springing from her seat, ready to serve.
"I will get it," Serena said. "I'm going for a walk, anyway."
"Then I'll come," Luna offered.
Serena thought about for a moment, then smiled and nodded. The young heir exited the room with the little maid following her close behind in proper fashion. They walked down the hall towards the dining room, but as they neared, they began to hear an unfamiliar voice humming a song. Serena stopped a listened a dozen or steps from the door, gauging the source before she pressed on.
"Why have you stopped?" Luna asked curiously.
"Do you recognize that voice?" Serena said, cupping a hand around her ear to listen.
"No, but it's definitely an old man," Luna replied, and moved for the door.
"Wait! Mother and Father could be…!"
Before she could say "having a meeting with the man," Luna had opened and the door and shouted a hello from the hallway.
"Luna!" Serena chided her for her laps in manners.
"Oh! Hello, little one!" the voice of an elderly man replied with a friendly tone.
Serena sighed and walked into view of the door joining Luna, doing a curtsy.
"Forgive little Luna, she's till new to palace life," she apologized.
To her surprise, her mother and father weren't there. It was only the bearded old man sitting at the table going through a bunch of old scrolls. He had one in his lap with two spread in front of him on the table with the rest neatly stacked in a box sitting on the floor at his feet.
"Ah, Princess Serena," the old man smiled. "How do you do on this fine day? Are you finding palace life acceptable?"
"It has its moments," Serena replied.
Luna curtsied as well, mimicking Serena and desperately trying to remember all the rules of conduct.
"Hello again, sir," Luna said, stepping forward. "My name's Luna. Can I be of service?"
"And I am Myddin," he answered. "And I've been assisted, thank you."
He was about to say something else when Serena's look caught his eye. Her eyes were large and on him.
"You're Myddin? THE Myddin?!" she gasped.
"Well, I'm a Myddin, as I understand it's not an uncommon Lunarian name," he replied, with a crooked grin.
Serena responded by dashing across the room and taking a seat next to him at the long dining table.
"But you're my mother's advisor. The Lunarian who's allowed to live on the planet surface!" she said excitedly.
Myddin grinned again and leaned towards her.
"And you want to know what its like," he said.
"More than anything! I've spent most of my life stuck in this palace apart from public appearances with mother," Serena said. But then she caught herself and looked down, a little embarrassed. She added: "But you're busy with official business from my mother, of course, so I shouldn't bother you."
Myddin nodded his head in understanding, contemplatively looking to the side at nothing in particular. Then with a twinkle in his eyes and another grin, he said:
"You're right. I am a little busy poring over some muster old books about what we learned about The Entity in the North," he said.
Serena hummed, nodding. Myddin's smile only deepened.
"Oh, hell with it!" he suddenly said and rolled the scroll in his lap shut. Serena and Luna gasped, covering their mouths at the profanity.
"Language, Mr. Myddin!" Serena cried.
"Now you never mind that, dear Princess. You want to know about the Earth? Now I could tell you, but it would be much easier to show you," he told her, giving her nose a quick poke.
"But how could you do that? I'm not allowed to leave," Serena asked.
"I've already done it. Look around," he replied.
Serena didn't even have the chance to blink at him in confusion before Luna cried out, making her whip her head around towards her younger companion.
"Ah! Where are we? We're not in the palace anymore!" Luna whimpered, standing in the middle of the room shaking.
"Huh?" Serena uttered and then looked at her surroundings again for the first time.
She gasped and jumped up from her chair, knocking it over. Indeed, they were no longer in the Moon Palace. Their new trappings were much of square or rectangle stones and all the furniture made of wood. The table Myddin now sat at, the chairs, the bookshelf, and the frame of the bed in the corner, all carved from trees. And the windows lacked glass, instead being wide open portals to the outside.
"Wha? How?" Serena exclaimed.
Myddin broke out in, making both girls look at him incredulously.
"My dears, of course we're still in the Moon Palace!" he laughed.
"Huh?!" Serena and Luna stared at him in shock.
He chuckled as he stood and gestured around.
"This is simply a projection of my quarters down in the Camelot castle," he explained.
"Oh!" Serena breathed a sigh of relief at not actually being abducted right out of her home.
With that, she took a much more thorough look at Myddin's life down on the planet surface. Worn tomes lined the bookshelf and the room was full of outdated chemistry equipment and geographical measuring gear.
"People really are far behind us down here," she said.
"Indeed," Myddin nodded.
Then he walked to the center of the room, gesturing for both girls to join him. He pointed down at the floor.
"Now then," he said, and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, they were back in the Moon Palace, but the spot in the floor their attentions had been directed to changed. It was as if a portal had opened up and they were looking down on the Earth from about 20 or so feet in the air. They saw Camelot Castle and the Castle Town that surrounded it.
"This is taken from old recordings taken from our serveilance drones years ago," Myddin told them.
"Wow, a castle of stone! Rooves made of… of, that pokey yellow stuff!" Serena exclaimed.
Myddin chuckled and leaned in to whisper to her.
"They call it straw," he said.
Luna, meanwhile, looked around in silent awe at a world and lifestyle not their own. No cars, no pavement, no crystal and iron buildings, just dirt or stone roads, forests that went on forever into the distance.
"Is another anything else you would like to see?" Myddin asked.
"Yes!" Serena and Luna cried, forgetting themselves.
"I heard about places made of sand. I think Momma called them "deserts"!" Luna exclaimed.
"What about the endless bad water?" Serena asked. "The, uh…. Ocean? I see it from all the way up here all the time, but what's it look like up close?"
"The ocean, and then the desert? Very well!"
With a wave of his hand, their view over the Earth began to move, speeding through trees, over and under hills, across the countryside, wide up fields. It seemed as though he was controlling where it went directly, but really, he was just switching between feeds to go to the homes the Princess and her maid had requested. Along the way, they saw many things pass under their vantage. Bands or armies on horseback, more villages, castles, and strongholds passed them by. Until at last they found themselves at the bay, and it was unlike any dock Serena or Luna had ever seen. Both had seen Lunarian loading docks on elevated platforms with hovering ships arriving or leaving them man times, but these Earthling walkways were made of wood and actually on the shore of the great sea with ships of made from the same material usable only on the surface of the water. And instead of being powered by the Silver Crystal and levitated with Antigravity engines, they had sails to move them on the wind.
The image moved out to the open sea while his audience gasped in awe. Once he had taken it out far enough, he stopped and turned the vantage to look to the side instead of down and turned it all the way around, allowing both girls to see there was no land in sight in any direction. Just the blues the ocean and sky, uninterrupted.
"It's more magical than I imagined," Serena said heavily.
"We're looking gazing upon the surface," Myddin said. "Now, them, let's look below."
He snapped his fingers, loading up a different recording, this one beneath the waves. They scene began with a clownfish darting through some white coral before it moved upward to watch a school of silvery fish swimming in close proximity to each other. The girls watched with interest at specimen after specimen was examined by the drone. They leaned in, staring at these alien underwater creatures until a large dark form passed in front of the drone's vantage.
"What was that?" Serena asked.
"Just watch," Myddin replied.
The dark form turned and swam away into a full view. It was a large, sleek creature with a dorsal fin that curved back towards the tail, ending in a point. Then it turned back towards the robot recording and closed, opening a mouth revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. The girls let out sounds of alarm and backed up a step.
"Don't be afraid," Myddin said encouragingly.
That was easier said than done when the beast turned to get a look at whatever was recording. The eye was emotional and dead, like a doll's eyes. They couldn't even be sure what they was looking at was alive, that is, until it suddenly darted away at a nearby fish. Its jaws opened wide before clamping down on its victims, grabbing it its body from the side. Then with a vicious chomp, the head and tail that momentarily were sticking out of the sides its mouth were bitten, leaving them floating around in a red mist of blood that poured out from the wounds. Quickly chewing the main body, the shark swam away.
"AH! EW!" Serena cried, covering her eyes. "Mr. Myddin, why would you show us that?!"
"Because where there is beauty in nature, there is also danger," he replied in a soft tone. "And it must be witnessed and respected."
"I don't think I like this anymore," Luna mumbled.
"Perhaps you're right. We've spent too much time observing the oceans. You said you wanted to see one of the Earth's deserts? Behold," he said.
The view switched to the grand dunes of a barren region, far, far from the ocean. The recording turned clear around, again demonstrating that it went clear to the horizon in all directions as the ocean had. Then it began to move over it as the other recording swept over the British countryside. They saw many an oasis, caravans either on the move or taking shelter at an outpost. They saw the cities completely unlike the English villages from before. The people in this region were different, too, wearing completely different clothes that covered their faces to protect them from the relentless heat of the sun and most of them had much darker skin. The odd pale-skinned person here and there stuck out in any crowd they were part of. The view also moved over fields of long, tan grass before switching elsewhere to the occasional jungle.
"I don't know many of these places from my studies," Serena said. "I recognize a few things being from the Middle East, and… oh! Look, look, Luna the Pyramids Celine told us about!"
"And there's the Sphinx!" Luna added, pointing excitedly.
"Wow! I've only ever seen it in pictures. How close does the drone go?" Serena asked.
"Not too close," Myddin replied. "We couldn't allow any of the locals to spot it."
He glanced up at a menu of clips only visible to him, and smirked.
"Ah! Here's something interesting. Either of you even seen snow before?" he asked.
Both girls shook their heads with excitement. Myddin smiled and was about to bring up a sweep on the frozen North, but a voice rang out, stopping him.
"What are you doing?!" Queen Serenity shouted from the door.
All three looked toward her in surprise, but Serena recovered quickly and ran towards her.
"Mother! Mother!" she cried excitedly. "I want to go down to Earth!"
Serenity looked up from her to glare at Myddin for a second before returning her attention to her daughter. Myddin just shrugged innocently while Luna stood beside him with a finger in her mouth, looking uncertain about this development. Serenity got down on her knees to look Serena in the eye and put her hands on her daughter's shoulders.
"Serena, now listen to me," Serenity said. "Earth is a very dangerous place, where our enemy lives. That's no place for the Moon Princess. You have to stay up here, where you're safe."
"Where it's boring!" Serena protested.
"Don't take that tone with me, young lady. You are not going to Earth. I will allow you to see more of the planet's wonders now that Myddin has given you a glimpse," Serenity said sternly, glancing up at him harshly again. "But you can never go there."
"But what we just didn't tell anyone and I went in... uh, in cognitive?" Serena stuttered, trying to think of the right word.
"Incognito," Serenity said, and then shook her head. "No, my dear. No. I can't allow it."
"Why not?!"
"Don't raise your voice with me! And you told you, its too dangerous," Serenity repeated.
"Aw, but mother, you barely let me out of the palace as it is! I want to see mountains, mother! Real rivers that aren't powered by my machines! A real forest! Deserts! The ocean! I wanna see it all!"
"YOU WILL NEVER GO DOWN TO THE PLANET SURFACE WHILE I LIVE!" Serenity roared, shocking Serena into silence.
Behind the girl, Myddin also winced and Luna retreated behind, hiding herself behind his robe which she clutched for dear life. Serenity gulped, unsure of where the outburst came from, and was immediately regretting it. Serena stood before her mother quivering as tears threatened to fall. Then she let out a cry and pulled out of her mother's grip.
"Serena, wait," Serenity said, reaching for her.
"No!" Serena shouted and ran past her.
"Serena, get back here!" Serenity ordered, standing up. "I'm your mother and I know what's best for you!"
"No, you just don't want me to have any fun!" Serena yelled over her shoulder before disappearing into the hall.
Serenity sighed as she listened to both the sounds of her girl's sobbing and pattering feet faded out.
"Ah! Princess, wait for me!" Luna cried and took chase.
She briefly bowed before Serenity before passing her.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty!" she said before running out the door as well.
Serenity let out a weary sigh again before turning sharply to Myddin.
"Why did you show her that footage?!" she demanded.
"She displays a desire to learn," Myddin replied, affably. "I am a giver of knowledge to anyone who asks it of me."
"You are forbidden from showing her anything else without my permission," Serenity said sternly. "You know how dangerous it is down there. You practically live there for your duty. If she were ever to slip out and manage to work a transporter well enough to get Earth-side, Great Mother only knows what could happen to her."
"Yes, she could be robbed by brigands, or sold at the market. Murdered, eaten, cursed," Myddin affirmed. "But she will one day watch Earth as you have. Is it so bad that she see some of the beauty that planet holds before seeing all the evil it can muster?"
"It is when it creates so a strong desire to go there," Serenity answered.
"Is it so bad to go down there, though?" Myddin inquired on her, stroking his beard. "You put so much effort into guiding and guarding a planet you've never been to, having your agents operating in the shadows instead of coming out to say hello. Perhaps you would like to see it up close, for deal this time?"
"No, Myddin," Serenity adamantly replied. "I have a kingdom to run, and have no time to take vacation to smell some flowers, and neither will she when she grows up."
"A pity," Myddin said with some lament in his tone.
Serenity narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to him.
"And I must reiterate my commandment, Myddin. No more footage of Earth that hasn't been reviewed and cleared by either myself, or my husband. Am I clear, Gray Wanderer?"
"Crystal," Myddin said, with a bow. "I am Myddin, ever at your service, and I meant no wrong in my actions. Forgive me if you feel I've overstepped my bounds, Your Majesty."
Serenity's features began to soften and she sighed, for the third time. She lowered her head, staring down at her hands.
"Oh, Myddin, I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just... worried about me. Ever since that night, the night of her birth, I haven't felt we were safe. Not even here in the palace."
"I understand, dear Serenity," he said.
"I can't lose her, Myddin. I can't lose her..."
"I know."
"It's not fair."
Serena sat on her bed with her legs drawn up to her chin.
"Momma ruins everything with her stupid rules," she muttered.
"There, there," Luna said optimistically, sitting on the edge of the bed behind her. "She had good reasons for everything. She doesn't want the bad lady to come back and take your away."
"The 'bad lady' got into the castle. I'm not safe anywhere if that's the problem," Serena grumbled, and looked over her shoulder at her maid.
"But here, you're always near Lady Celine, Her Majesty Your Mother, and Lord Chiron," Luna answered.
"I know," Serena replied withingly. "I'm never more than a few rooms away ready to be ordered around and strung along through the same halls and trappings I see all the time. I'd like just to be able to get away from them for a while, for once."
"It's not all that bad, is it?" Luna asked.
"Yes. No. I don't l know," Serena answered, shrugging.
When she noticed Luna was working on something in her lap, she raised a curious brow.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Hmm-MMM!" Luna hummed in tune in response, and then held up her creation.
It was a flower crown.
"Tada! I plucked them from a vase while I was chasing you back here!" Luna proudly proclaimed.
"Are you really a maid?" Serena blanched. "Whoever potted and arranged those is going to be angry."
Luna just hummed again and placed the crown on her Princess's head.
"Here! You looked like you needed a gift to cheer you up," she chirped.
And Serena couldn't help but smile in return.
"Thank you," she said, straightening the flower crown slightly.
"I will get down to the planet surface someday," she thought, but gave no indication of her inner thoughts.
If she was going to escape to Earth someday, not even Luna could know.
"I'll not mention it to mother again," she mentally instructed herself. "Today has to be forgotten as much as possible. She'll think I don't want to go down to the planet anymore, maybe."
Serena's desire to leave the Moon Kingdom to visit Earth never left her, no matter how much time passed. She was careful never to mention it again, though. Her mother had to at least put the encounter out of her mind in order for Serena to one day slip away for a visit.
Time passed, but not even the distraction of other new additions into her life could detour her. Those changes came in the form of the four new Celestial Warriors as they arrived at the castle. Not all at once, of course. They arrived and were sworn in one at a time. First came Lares fon Mercury, then Harmonia fon Venus, Adrestia fon Mars II, and finally, Lita fon Jupiter.
Each first meeting with them was as different as the girls were from each other. Her first was Lares fon Mercury immediately after she was sworn in.
Midmorning, Zeta 4th, Lunar Palace, Lunar District, the Moon Kingdom, 9982 M.N.S, Moon Kingdom reckoning. 984 A.D., June 21st, Earth reckoning
She was still eight years old when Lars arrived. Serena was seated by her mother's side on a small throne built for her when the 16 year old bluette arrived with her entourage. Lares walked into the throne room in a knee length Sea Blue tunic dress with short sleeves. On the upper right of the chest near the shoulder, she wore the emblem of Mercury. The tunic was tied at the waist with a sash of a slightly darker shade of blue with gold trim, which had a buckle bearing the symbol of Mercury. She had light blue leggings and leather boots of matching color to her dress.
Despite being of noble birth and rearing, Lares had trouble maintaining a composed look when she looked on the royals and Duchess Celine. The throne itself was on a raised platform with steps leading up to it. The Queen sat in the center on her throne with her husband on her right and Serena on her left. When Lares reached the end of the red carpet and sat on her knees, the ceremony by which she was sworn in begun, conducted by the Queen. Serenity had stood and explained in length the responsibilities that came with being one of the Celestial Warriors and how they extended even beyond just protecting the royal family.
"You understand? You are officially a member of our military as well now,"Serenity said, finishing up.
"I understand fully, Your Majesty," Lares replied, bowing where she sat. "And I swear to fulfill my duties to you, Lord Chiron, Princess Serena, Duchess Celine, and all my brothers-and-sisters-in-arms to the very best of my abilities."
"Very well. You may rise," Serenity told her.
Lares stood, glad to be off her knees, and looked up first at her Queen, and then Celine as she took center stage at the base of the throne steps. The older woman's icy blue eyes bore into Lares' softer blues. The younger woman felt daunted by her.
"Lady Lares fron Mercury," Celine addressed her.
"Yes, my Captain," Lares answered.
"Your duties as the Celestial Warrior of Mercury have been made clear to you?" Celine asked sternly.
"Yes, I am to protect our Princess, our Queen, the Silver Crystal, our kingdom, and all the people in it from any threats," Lares replied, reciting the memorized summery all Celestial Warriors had to learn. "Whether those threats be from within or from outside. I am to uphold the law and our sacred tenets to the best of my abilities."
Celine nodded in approval once at the perfect recital.
"Very well, kneel," she ordered.
Lares obeyed, getting down on her knees again. She put her arms stiffly at her sides and bowed her head. Celine unsheathed her sword and held out in front.
"Lares, Celestial Warrior of the Planet Mercury, do you swear to serve with Honor, Courage, and Valor, up to and including laying down your own life in the line of duty?" Celine said.
"I do," Lares answered.
"Very well. By the authority vested in me as Leader of the Celestial Warriors, I dub thee, Warrior Mercury," Celine announced. Then she touched each of Lares' shoulders with the flat of her blade. "Now rise."
Lares obeyed as Celine resheathed her ceremonial blade, and upon looking up at her new superior, she was suddenly backhanded across the face. Serenity and Chiron both winced at the "thrack!" sound it made but said nothing. They had both already been present for the swearing in of each of the girl's predecessors as well as Celine's. They were familiar with the custom. Serena, however, gasped and bolted up out of her throne, mouth agape.
"Serena, sit down," Serenity scolded her.
"But Cousin Celine just hit that girl for no reason!" Serena protested.
Lares, for her part, agreed with that assessment of what just happened. She held back a whimper as she stumbled back a step, holding her stinging cheek, and trying not to let the tears in the corners of her eyes fall. She also tried not to look too much like a wounded doe, but failed miserably. And there was no regret or mercy in her Captain's eyes.
"I did have a purpose," Celine stated without turning to face Serena. Her cold eyes were on Lares the whole time, and it took the younger Warrior every bit of willpower she possessed not to shrink away. "That, Lady Lares, was so you would never forget."
"I-I definitely won't," Lares said unsteadily.
Then Celine about-faced and bowed to Serenity and Serena
"Now if it pleases Your Majesty, I would like to begin my evaluation of Mercury's skills," she said.
Serenity answered with a nod. Celine bowed, turned, and then stepped forward not intending to go around the new Warrior Mercury. Lares was forced to take a quick step to the side to allow her Captain to pass and then fell in behind her like clockwork.
Chiron leaned forward in his seat a bit, looking to Serena.
"You should go with them," he told her.
Serena looked at her father curiously.
"You should see how your Warriors fight firsthand," he father explained.
"May I?" Serena asked, turning her mother.
"Of course," Serenity replied, and nodded towards the departing Warriors. "Go on. I think you will find it enlightening and stimulating."
"Yes, mother! Love you," Serena said and then bowed before briskly walking after Celine and Lares.
Serenity smiled in amusement at how Serena had mastered maintaining a poised stance in spite of the speed with which she went.
The rest of the day was spent with Serena sitting on the sidelines watching Lares fon Mercury's intense skill evaluation. First was her base ability outside of her Celestial Gear. Celine and Serena found out pretty quickly that she was not a natural melee fighter or her constitution was on the low end even after a lifetime of preparation. Next both Warriors suited up and Celine tested how Lares had mastered water so far. A quick demonstration showed she had all the basic techniques of Warrior Mercury done pat, but that was it, as was to be expected since the girl hadn't had the Gear for more than week, at most.
In hindsight, when Serena recalled watching them, she would liken it to watching Lares get beaten like an anvil under the hammer. And Celine was the hammer. It was a side of her dear cousin she hadn't seen before. It frightened Serena a little bit to watch Celine push the fledgling Warrior to the point of almost panic and then rage. It was something she would never forget.
Serena winced and closed her eyes briefly as Mercury was violently bore to the ground. She'd landed on her side and lied there gasping in an almost panic as she stared up Moon in fear. The Duchess removed her mask, showing Mercury her face. The harp had fallen several feet away.
"Get up!" Celine shouted at her.
Mercury was curled into a tight ball, staring up at her in fear. This only seemed to anger Warrior Moon, who narrowed her eyes disdainfully and bared her clenched teeth.
"I gave you an order!" she shouted at the girl, making her curl up more tightly.
"Tch!" Celine snarled. "Pathetic. This is how the Mercuries trained their potential heirs to act under pressure from an opponent?"
"You-you're not like any s-sparring partner I've ever had," Mercury whimpered.
"Mores the shame," Celine answered bluntly.
She reached down suddenly, making Mercury recoil, but she was quick and grabbed hold of her wrist tightly. Then she yanked upwards, forcing the girl to her feet. The Warrior of Water shrank back into herself nearly in tears.
"Stop that!" Moon ordered, releasing her wrist.
"Y-yes, Captain," Mercury replied in a broken voice, and wiped away the tears that threatened to fall.
The girl stood trembling while Moon was an unyielding statue. Then Celine began speaking to her a low voice, too quiet for Serena to hear. The little princess leaned forward and tried to hear was what being said between the two women, but couldn't no matter how hard she tried. One thing was clear, though. As Serena watched Mercury's expression, it went from frightened to shocked, to offended, to outright angry as they continued talking. Then Mercury spoke up loudly enough for everyone to hear
"Duchess…" she said, resisting the urge to clench her teeth. "Say what you want about me. I admit I performed poorly just now, but you will leave my mother and sisters out of this."
"Oh?" Celine hummed and then leaned in, cupping Mercury's chin in her hand. "And what exactly are you going to do about it, little girl?"
"I'll… I'll…" Mercury stumbled as she tried to find the words.
Serena could see she wanted to say something defiant, but this was her Captain. Celine laughed at her and patted her on the head patronizingly. Chuckles from the guards floated into Mercury's ears from all sides. Mercury's face turned red from embarrassment and hot rage.
"Don't bite off more than you handle, little one," Celine said, and then turned to their audience. "What do you think men? Think Sir Edgar's grandmother would be a more suitable sparring partner for our new Mercury?"
The guards burst out into a round of loud guffaws and chortles making the bluette wince and shake with shame and fury even more. Serena, however, was mortified. Her eyes were wide and she was unable to look away. She had forgotten herself in Mercury's humiliation and her mouth hung open wide. As for Lares, that last comment and the near standing ovation it got had been the last straw. The anger ripped through Mercury and her fist flew.
BAM!
Silence set in as the platinum blonde stumbled back, clutching her chin in her gauntlet. Mercury now had her arms stiffly as her sides, inhaling and exhaling heavily from anger.
"I'll tell what you I'm going to do!" Mercury shouted firmly.
She reached her arm out to her side and her harp returned to her hand. Then she pointed at Celine.
"I'm going to pummel you with my element until you apologize for what you said about my mother and sisters!"
Celine lowered her hand from her chin, revealing the hideous bruise left by Mercury.
"Big words for such a fragile little thing," Celine chuckled at Mercury. "Can you back them up?"
"Try me. Try me again," Mercury answered resolutely.
And try her again, Celine did. Though the new recruit was now more aggressive and even willing to take from the decorative fountain on the far end of the yard for additional ammo, she still took the worst of it due to her inexperience. By the time Celine ended the evaluation, both parties were bothered in cuts and bruises.
As Celine and Lares left the training area, the off-duty guards disbanded, leaving the Princess and two Warriors. Moon and Mercury faced each other again in the ring and Celine again spoke to Lares to quietly for Serena to hear. However, this time whatever was said to her seemed to placate the girl's anger. With that, the two Warriors went their separate ways to recover and take a break from each other.
Most of the evening for Serena was spending continuing to learn under her mother to be queen and then she studied with Celine. However, shortly before bedtime, Serena happened to wander into the royal library looking for a storybook when she found Lares sitting on one of the love seats off in a quiet corner by herself, reading a book.
"Hello."
Lares looked up from her book as she adjusted her reading glasses. She smiled at the small princess as she approached.
"Oh," Lares uttered, setting her book aside on the desk next to the cough. She then got up and curtsied in the presence of royalty. "Good evening, Princess. You were so quiet, I didn't hear you coming."
Serena pouted, puffing out a cheek.
"Just Serena, please," she said. "At least when Celine's not around."
Lares couldn't help but giggle at that.
"Yes, I can't imagine your cousin would appreciate such a lapse in formalities," she said.
Serena groaned and rolled her eyes as she imagined how Celine would be reacting. She put her hands on her hips, wearing her best stern face. Serena then did a spot on impression of her older Celine.
"Lady Lares, you will address the Princess properly! And Serena! You should not encourage her! You both have very important positions to uphold and you are expected to behave accordingly!"
Lares covered her mouth in both her hands, trying hard not to laugh at the display, but ultimately failed and they were both soon laughing at the lowest volume they could so as not to disturb the royal librarians.
"That's very good," Lares said breathlessly, wiping a tear from her eye.
"So what were you reading?" Serena asked suddenly.
"Huh?" Lares responded dumbly at the sudden left turn the conversation had taken. "Oh, I was just catching up on some reading. Nothing you would be interested in."
Serena replied by sitting down on the other end of the love seat and settling in.
"Why not?" the little heir asked.
Lares chuckled awkwardly as she sat back down as well.
"Well, it's a little complicated… It's mostly just stuff only adults really think about," she explained.
"Like where babies come from?" Serena inquired.
"Not exactly…" Lares answered uncomfortably.
"Cause no one seems to want to tell me, but I've already figured it out," Serena boldly said.
"You… have?"
"First the man and the woman have to take their clothes off, and then the man puts his…"
"Alright, alright! I believe you!" Lares stopped her with upmost haste, waving her hands out in front. She sighed and her shoulders sagged. "Alright, I'll tell what I was reading."
She picked the book up again, showing the cover to Serena. "Beginnings: Theories and Hypothesis about the Origins of the Universe, by Professor Fabulinus fon Clio."
"Is he the man who thinks there's one thing sitting in the universe's middle creating everything?" Serena asked.
"The same," Lares said. "You've heard the phrase, 'Great Mother'?"
"Yeah, but nobody can tell me who she is!" Serena exclaimed. "She must be real mad to be such a great mother and have no one remember who she is."
Lares giggled again.
"Well, in this case, it's related to her being the Mother of All," she said.
"Then how come she isn't called The All-Mother or somethin'?" Serena asked.
"She's full of questions. That's good," Lares thought with approval.
"I don't know why people name some things the way they do, but the phrase "Great Mother" comes from places long ago and far away. Our ancestors had already used it for ages when they all still lived in the Chronia galaxy and still they used it when they traversed the stars, homeless, in their Deep Space Arks. People who lived in Solar Systems and galaxies they visited used it and the Founders of the Moon Kingdom used it still when they built the original moon colony."
"So everyone except Earth uses it?" Serena asked.
"Well, we know many planets use it, but I'm sure there are other planets that have never heard it," Lares replied.
"Oh. Well, it's still weird that everyone yells 'Great Mother' when they're surprised or mad, but no one knows who they're talking about," Serena said. "So Dr. Fabulous fon Clio thinks one lady gave birth to the whole universe. That must have hurt."
"Professor Fabulinus fon Clio," Lares corrected, though there was an amused edge in her voice. "And he doesn't think it's a literal woman. He thinks that all life has a common source that many people liken womanly qualities to."
"Oh. So Great Momma isn't even a person? Is it alive?"
"Professor Clio thinks it might be more like a primordial form of life, just acting by instinct. He can't say for sure, but myths and legends about the Great Mother exist all over the cosmos and there are even ancient temples that were built to worship her or it. All clues point to The Great Mother being at the center of the universe."
"If they know The Great Momma lives in the center of the universe is, how come no one just goes to see?"
"No one's exactly sure where the real center of the universe is," Lares replied.
"Oh?" Serena asked.
"Yes, though according to a journal our ancestors wrote back when they were still wandering the cosmos, there were theories scientists were looking into, but I have no clue if any of them ever worked out," Lares said, shrugging. "We've had no contact with another inhabited solar system since the founding of the kingdom. We're so far out from another other inhabited Solar Systems that we're basically isolated."
"So we could be way behind everyone else?" Serena asked.
"In terms of researching the origins of the universe? Yes, possibly," Lares answered. "The last journal entry only offered the theories of the time. I wonder if they ever confirmed or defunct that myth about the Great Mother creating the Three Guardians."
"Does Dr. Clio know why the Great Mother would have created three guardians?" Serena then asked.
"No, but like I said, it was never confirmed if the three guardians were created by The Great Mother," Lares answered.
"Mommy sure thinks she did!" Serena chirped. "But she also says they went missing after The Fall of the Chronia Galaxy. Momma said a lot of people think the three guardians are dead, but she's not so sure!"
"Well, it is true no one's heard from the three guardians for a very long, long time," Lares said, thoughtfully.
With that, Serena yawned.
"That's right, isn't it close to your bedtime?" Lares asked.
"Yes," Serena said, rubbing an eye. "It just came to find a story to read."
There was a pause between the two.
"Would you like me to read to you tonight?" Lares offered.
Serena smiled, a bit tiredly.
"Yes, please. I'd like that."
"Alright," Lares nodded, glancing at the nearby bookshelf. "Did you have anything in mind?"
"Um, yes..." Serena asked hesitantly, and looked away almost sheepishly.
"Well?" Lares said, turning back to her. Noticing how quiet the girl had become, she tilted her head to side. "Are you alright?"
Serena still looked away at nothing as she pondered her next words. This only made Lares more curious and a bit concerned as she waited.
"Lares?" she asked, finally looking the teen in the eyes again. "Have you ever been to Earth?"
The Mercurean blinked a couple of times at that question.
"No, of course not. Why do you ask?"
"Would you ever like to go?" Serena asked earnestly.
Lares clinked her teeth a couple of times before answering, looking pensive.
"I suppose... curiosity has hit me more than once. It'd be fascinating to go down there and study everything the planet has to offer. But only a few are allowed to, and even fewer are allowed to remain planetside for long."
Finally, Lares smiled.
"Serena, would you like me to find a book about Earth?" she asked.
Serena smiled back.
"Yes, please."
To be continued...