The Golden Age
Chapter Four
"You're only nice when Luna is around. Really!" -Artemis
"You summoned me, Amphitrite? Chronos?"
Darkness reigned around them in the ancient and deserted throne room of Neptune.
Queen Selenity stood calmly, her pale wings giving off an eerie iridescent glow in the gloom. The Neptunian Queen stood with her cloak gather around her and a young girl, about nine years old, the spitting image of her beautiful mother, half-hidden in her mother's cloak.
"Selenity, we have some surprising news which we felt urgent enough to call you here."
The Queen of Neptune's tone sent shivers of dread down Selenity's spine, but she steeled herself to hear it out. Turning to the fair haired King of Uranus she nodded her readiness to listen to their tale.
The Queen of Neptune gestured to her daughter and the child detached herself from her mother's gown.
"Go and play with Princess Uranus," her mother commanded softly. The girl at once obeyed, though Selenity thought she looked a bit displeased with the idea.
For an idle moment Selenity watched the turquoise haired girl silently approach the other girl, taller than she and fair like her father. The Princess of Uranus had short hair and a short dress that revealed most of her long legs - which aided her in running with more speed and greater agility than princess Neptune could manage in her more proper skirts. The taller princess said something to the shorter one which cause a sour expression to cross her face. Selenity felt slightly amused - she was reminded of the battles that had occurred only four months ago between her own child and the four princesses who'd been invited to stay with them for the allotted two years. It seemed that princesses were terribly competitive and stubborn creatures. All accept her Selenity, she reflected, who was, it must be admitted, something of a cry-baby.
"Selenity," Neptune's Queen intoned, dragging the Queen's thoughts back to the present, "Lord Chronos and I have heard a disturbing rumor from the Silent Planet -"
Immediately Selenity's heart began to beat in fear. She tried to swallow.
"The guardian of the Outer Regions, the one who helps Pluto in her duties, has been summoned back to his home planet by a calling - as he puts it -" the Queen continued, "And he says that he has been called once more to watch over the Destroyer."
"No." Selenity whispered.
The King of Uranus' blue eyes were light, but hard as he regarded her reaction.
"It is something that cannot be stopped," he said, evenly, "You know this. The time of peace had to end eventually. It is unfortunate to live in such times, but that is the way of life."
Selenity nodded, unable to speak. If the Child of Silence had been reborn, that could only mean that her dreams portended the ultimate destruction of this world.
"Do not be so quick to fear the worst," Amphitrite spoke, gently, seeing the fear in Selenity's eyes, "She has not been awakened and is as yet nothing more than an infant. It may be that her awakening will not be for hundreds of years to come. It is not unheard of in the histories, is it?"
"No," Selenity admitted, "My mother told me something similar before she faded away."
"I have read of it," the King agreed, "Though I do not have direct experience," here he nodded to Selenity.
"Yes, you are the only living being to remember the last destruction," Amphitrite said, her expression becoming rather wondering as she looked on Selenity's unchanging face.
"It must be a heavy burden," she added.
Selenity smiled sadly.
"Immortality is both a blessing and a curse," she said, and she had said it a thousand times. Her mother, she recalled, had said it nearly ten thousand. The people of the moon were few, only about a hundred of them were alive to date. They rarely mated, rarely married, and rarely left the moon or interacted with other planets. Selenity, as the Queen and representative, was different - she liked people. She liked mortals. She always had.
"Nothing is truly beautiful that is not mortal," she quoted softly to herself.
"In all events," Queen Amphitrite broke in, "We must make ourselves ready. Our planet's senshi has not shown herself yet, but I am sure the time must be near. Whenever the Guardian of Silence is born, the Senshi of our planet are soon to follow."
"Usually they proceed her," the King put in, puzzled, "I am surprised it has not happened yet."
"We have made the necessary proclamations," Selenity said, "Everyone throughout the Galaxy has been alerted for the signs of a senshi in their children. Already we have had reports of unusual activity on Jupiter and Mars. I'm sure it won't be long before the senshi are revealed. My daughter's guardians will be chosen in less than seven years."
"Very good," Queen Amphitrite nodded.
"We will find a way to help them," the King added, "We will not let them fight alone, whoever they are. Though they will likely have a heavy destiny ahead of them."
"Indeed," Selenity murmured, "We will not leave them to make their way alone."
The Queen reappeared in a state of intense confusion.
Everywhere around her in the Crystal palace it seemed that chaos abounded. Servants were running around helter-skelter, the court was scattered through the many audience chambers talking and giving ridiculous orders, and everyone seemed to have lost their minds.
"What is going on?" Selenity demanded once her head stopped spinning from the journey back from Neptune.
She reached out a hand to snag a long white pig tail and scooped her seven-year old daughter up into her arms.
"What is going on, Selenity?" she asked.
The little Selenity looked at her with eyes wide in confusion and excitement.
"Mama! There are aliens visiting - I've never seen them before but they have really strange clothes and hair and one of them looks a lot like you - and sometimes they aren't humans at all - sometimes they turn into -"
"Luna?" The Queen asked, startled. She shifted Selenity to her other hip and walked forward to greet the tall young girl who came to meet her.
"Hello, your majesty," Luna called, delightedly. A young man, who looked to be about the same age - somewhere around fourteen or fifteen though the Queen knew he was much older than he looked - jerked his head away from the people he was trying to order around and ran over to greet the Queen and the Princess.
"I'm so happy to see you again," the Queen exclaimed, "But what are you doing here?"
"Well - it's a long story, your majesty," Artemis began, "We meant to arrive much earlier -"
"We were supposed to arrive," Luna cut in sharply, "A full seven years ago, but Someone couldn't wake up."
"I was awake and ready to go before you even remembered how to assume human form, Luna," Artemis countered.
"That is ridiculous," Luna informed him.
Selenity sighed. It had been close to one hundred years since she had last seen the two alien-cats, and the last time she had seen them they'd been in cat form - which she sometimes preferred. She had not, however, forgotten their bantering - a result of their long familiarity with each other.
"How old are you?" the princess interrupted their arguing.
Luna blinked and took a closer look at the princess.
"Well, what a question," she remarked, slightly surprised, "You ought not to ask a lady her age."
"That's alright, princess," Artemis replied, grinning at Selenity, "Luna is about seven centuries old, and I'm about nine."
"She's only a baby, really," he added, to Luna's displeasure.
"I'm seven too and I'm not a baby!" princess Selenity declared. Luna colored and tried not to laugh at Artemis's expression.
"There you are, Artemis, I hope you are properly ashamed of yourself," Selenity said with a smirk.
Artemis rolled his eyes.
"I'm out-numered in this palace full of women," he muttered, "It's not fair."
Queen Selenity and Luna laughed, and at Luna's questioning glance she handed the princess to her. Luna held Selenity gently and shifted to bear her slight weight more easily on one hip.
"My name is Luna, little one, and I'm to be your guardian's partner." she said.
"You are very beautiful, Luna." Selenity informed her, "Almost as beautiful as mama."
"Obviously the child has an eye-sight deficiency," Artemis mumbled. Luna stepped on his foot and Selenity stuck out her tongue at him.
"You and I are going to be very good friends," Luna laughed at the little princess, "I can tell."
"Yes," Queen Selenity smiled, patting Artemis' shoulder. Though the two cats were well over five hundred years old, they were still relatively teenagers in their emotional development.
"So you've come because you felt the call?" the Queen asked.
Luna and Artemis immediately sobered.
"Yes," Artemis replied, "We were awoken from our second sleep by the call. The new guardians of the princess are soon to be found - which means that there's trouble ahead."
"That's true," Selenity sighed, "I remember in my youth mother told me I was the first princess ever to be born without senshi. We didn't need them you know - "
"The thousand year peace," Luna nodded, "but now - it must mean that peace is threatened - if we're here. We cats are only awakened to train the new senshi leaders. Though I must say," she added, "I am rather excited."
"Me too," Artemis admitted, smiling, "I've heard the stories about your mother's senshi, but I never thought I would get the chance to train some first hand. I wonder who my partner will be."
"Someone beautiful and strong - like the goddess of Mars," he continued, his eyes glassing over with visions of glory.
"Likely it'll be someone as ridiculous as you," Luna muttered.
"Well, I suppose we'll have to wait and find out," the Queen said, smiling.
"For now you are very welcome to the Moon."
"And besides," she added as the cats smiled in unison, "I need someone to help baby-sit Selenity."
For seven years the darkness grew from a small bubble into a large gulf - swallowing the demon inside of it - harnessing her power - creating an incarnation with which to touch the world once more. The thousand year peace would be shattered soon. Her imprisonment by the gods would finally be at an end.