Just Another Otaku
by Claidi Winter
Chapter 4
A knock at the door woke Sarah from the strangest dream she'd ever had. She closed her eyes tightly in resistance to the light she was now aware of, and buried her head into the most comfortable pillow it ever had the pleasure of resting upon. Usually the bed in her dorm was satisfactory at best, but this felt just heavenly. Sleep always made beds seem more comfortable to her than they really were, especially in the morning.
There was another, louder set of knocks at the door and Sarah groaned. "Fine. I'm coming Molly, Jesus."
She swung her legs around to propel her body on to her feet, but they were only met with more bed, not floor. She pushed herself over, trying again with the same result. There was another knock and some muffled voices outside of her door.
"What are you waiting for? Just open the door!"
"That would be rude."
"We do not have all day."
Sarah slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room suspiciously.
Gold curtains, gold mirror, gold bed. She jumped up and gave a short yelp.
"Sarah? Is everything all right? May we come in?"
Sarah looked down at herself; she was wearing the dress Sailor Uranus had laid out for her in her dream… Oh shit.
"Sarah?"
"Yes! Um, hold on…" She fumbled out of the ridiculously large bed and over to the door. She opened it and in stormed a stream of red and purple hair, ribbons, and bows.
"Are you insane? Never, ever open your door if you do not know who is on the other side. We heard a noise. Is there someone here?" Sarah rubbed her eyes as the girl checked every door and corner of the room.
"No… just me."
Finding nothing wrong the girl finally stood still. "Clear."
The door opened a little wider and another girl in orange and blue stepped inside. She took one look at Sarah and a hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my."
Sarah's reaction was similar as lucidity settled in and she realized just who she was looking at.
"Sailor Venus?"
Venus nodded, her eyes welling with tears. She gracefully half-curtsied, half-kneeled before her. She held the pose and commanded harshly, "Mars."
Sarah looked behind her. With high cheekbones, a sharp jaw, naturally thick lashes hooding unnaturally violet eyes, and full thick lips, if anyone was really Sailor Mars, it was this girl. Sarah refrained from asking if anyone had ever told her that she looked like Megan Fox. Megan Fox didn't have anything on this girl. Mars made an exasperated noise but nonetheless followed Venus' lead, bowing in the same way, albeit for a fraction of a second. She refused to meet Sarah's eyes. Knowing it was the best she was going to get out of the other soldier, Venus rose. She reached out to touch Sarah, but quickly pulled away again before making contact. She swallowed back her tears.
"I-I am sorry. I was not expecting… You are wearing her clothes and I was not expecting you to look so much like her."
Sarah inhaled deeply trying to clam her racing heart. "You're, you're really Sailor Venus." She turned around. "And, you…" She laughed. "You're really Sailor Mars."
Mars rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Oh Aries, this is absurd."
Sarah nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's pretty freaking cray-zee! You guys, you don't have to, I mean you shouldn't bow to me. I'm no one."
"Do not say that!" Venus exclaimed, and then covered her mouth, blushing. "I am sorry. But you must not say such things." She took a deep breath to collect herself, and when she exhaled, she was a completely different person. "From now on you most certainly are someone, and you must act that way."
She turned to the other warrior. "Mars, the door."
Mars tapped her fist to her heart in acceptance of the order and headed for her post. On her way she glanced down at Sarah, but quickly looked away and exited the room.
"Come, Sarah." Venus called, tapping the chair at her vanity. "You have bathed?"
Sarah thought about it and nodded, she had bathed and dressed before passing out on the bed after Uranus and Neptune had left. As she came closer to Venus she realized she was equally stunning, if not more so than Mars. Her features were soft but radiant, with honest blue eyes, luscious blonde hair, tan skin and curves Marilyn could envy. Though she had her insecurities, Sarah never thought she was bad looking. But next to these girls she felt like Margaret Hamilton.
Before she sat Venus tugged at her gown, fanning it out a little to inspect it. She shook her head.
"You have slept in this, it needs to be steamed. You should change into something else." Sarah looked down at the dress. It seemed perfectly fine her. Venus strode over to her wardrobe and fanned through the dresses hanging there.
"Can I wear this?" Sarah asked, motioning to the dream gown she had plucked from the door before her shower, now lying on the bed.
"Oh, Aphrodite!" Venus exclaimed, running over to the dress. She picked it up gently, almost lovingly and inspected it for any damage. Finding none, she sighed. "This dress is very special, you must not leave it lying around."
"The bed is so big you could fit five people and still be comfortable, I doubt it was in any danger while I slept ten feet away from it," Sarah quipped, but then scolded herself. Why did she have to be such a smart-ass?
Venus shot her a sharp look, but her eyes quickly softened. "She would have said something similar." She blinked and was back in charge. "You cannot wear it tonight, though if it is to your liking there is a similar dress you can wear." She pushed gently through the clothes until pulling out a simpler, yet still magnificent dress. It had the same pattern of circles lining the bust without the embroidery beneath, and delicate off the shoulder sleeves. Where the other was accented in iridescent silver, this one shone gold.
"That works!" Sarah said, trying hard to sound unimpressed. Venus nodded and motioned for her to change out of her current dress. She hesitated at first, but found that she felt surprisingly comfortable stripping down in front of the leader of the inner sailor soldiers, until the latter gasped once the dress was off.
"I am sorry!" She blushed and turned away to quickly rummage through the wardrobe again. "Your underwear is just so revealing!"
Says the girl in a skirt that barely covers her ass and heels to boot, Sarah thought to herself.
"I was told you had different customs, I should not be so surprised. I am the guardian of Venus after all." She blushed. "But I am a lot more modest than one might think." She pulled out a lacey white corset, panties, garters and stockings. "These will do." Sarah grimaced. "Oh, it will be fine!"
Venus walked towards her with the corset, but Sarah held out a hand to stop her. "Whoa. One minute please. What exactly is going on? Why am I getting so dressed up? Where are we going?"
Venus sighed, though she sounded more tired than exasperated. "As we finish getting ready I will explain."
Once Sarah had been squeezed into the undergarments and dress, Venus sat her down in front of the vanity mirror and began to work on her hair.
"I was told that you know some things already. You clearly know who we are thanks to…" She struggled for an identifier. "…a popular book on Earth during your time? A myth?" Sarah shook her head but Venus held it still and continued working.
"It's a picture book, I guess you could say –OW!" She yelled as Venus pulled a little too tightly. She apologized but continued styling.
"A picture book? Like the ones for children? I see, so we are a fairytale."
"Yeah…" Sarah blushed, she couldn't really argue. Most comics were for children, but try telling that to people at anime conventions. She laughed out loud at the thought of telling Sailor Venus that people spend time dressing up as her for fun. She finally looked up at her own reflection in the mirror and when she realized how Venus was styling her hair she laughed even louder.
"What do you find so amusing?" Venus demanded. "I cannot fix your hair properly if you keep moving about like this."
Sarah couldn't stop. "I'm sorry!" She gasped. "But this is just so ridiculous! I have one really, really, active imagination!"
Venus dropped her hands and sighed. She turned Sarah's chair around to face her with surprising strength.
"Whoa!" Sarah stopped laughing for a moment, then took another look at Venus and started laughing again. "I'm sorry, you're just… you're Sailor Venus! Oh my god, Molly is going to make so much fun of me when I tell her about this."
"SARAH!" Venus shook her with, again, surprising force, stopping her laughter altogether. Sarah swallowed hard as Venus looked at her seriously. "This is not a dream. I need you to know that. I need you to understand how serious our situation is. Our princess, my princess is missing. I am the leader of the Sailor Soldiers. It was my job to keep her safe, to keep her… here. And I failed. I never fail. She - you - are the future of not only this world, but many others as well. You are the heiress that our galaxy's delicate union needs to continue on as we have, in peace. Do you understand me?"
Sarah nodded. She couldn't deny that this all felt real, but it was just impossible that it truly was. Still, she decided to keep it together for the integrity of the dream. She might jolt herself awake and she had no desire to face that reality. That and Venus was kind of hard to say no to. Literally. She felt completely compelled to take her seriously and do as she wished. Venus closed her eyes and rose, pushing Sarah back to the face the mirror. They sat in silence as Venus continued to work on her hair for a moment before realizing one serious flaw. She stopped.
"Oh no."
Sarah looked at her through the mirror. "What's wrong?"
Venus ran a hand through her own bangs. "Your hair. It's much too short!"
Sarah frowned. She really liked her hair, and prided herself on its length, though now that she thought about Princess Serenity's classic "odango" hairstyle, she could certainly see the problem. She laughed again as an idea crossed her mind. Venus glared at her, so she quickly stopped to reassure her she wasn't going off the deep end again.
"What is it now?"
Sarah smiled and shook her head. "I was just thinking that we should use the Luna Pen! I know it doesn't make any sense. It's just a silly-"
"Of course!" Venus interrupted, running over to her dresser plucking a fat purple pen from the top drawer.
Sarah snorted. "You have got to be kidding me."
"Not at all! I'm surprised our fairytale includes such items. It must be very detailed!"
Sarah shook her head. "You have no idea."
Venus placed the pen in her hand. "You can tell me the rest later, but first, hold on to this, close your eyes and visualize the way your hair should look. The royal hair style is-"
Sarah held up a hand. "Trust me, I know."
Venus nodded. "Envision your hair in that style and length."
"And say, "Disguise power, make me look like Princess Serenity!"" She held the wand in the air and yelled the phrase.
Venus laughed, pulling her hand down and taking the pen back. "Don't be foolish. Open your eyes, it's already done." Sarah did as she was told and gasped when she saw her reflection. Her hair looked, well, like Sailor Moon's. Two full buns rested symmetrically on either side of the top of her head and the rest of her blonde hair, now much thicker, cascaded down in two long streams to the floor. As an added bonus a golden crescent moon had appeared in the center of her forehead, and the color had returned to her face. She no longer had any traces of the bender she had just been on, on the contrary. She couldn't explain exactly what it was; her face was still her face, maybe it was the combination of the hair with the dress but, perhaps for the first time, Sarah found herself truly beautiful.
"I look…"
"Like a Princess?" Venus offered.
Sarah nodded dumbly and Venus smiled. "I am glad you think so, Serenity never thought too highly of her looks," she added, sadly.
Maybe they really were alike. 'Duh, Sarah,' she thought to herself. 'Projecting much?' Not even in her wildest dreams, or greatest cosplay aspirations did she think she could look this authentic as Serenity, she didn't think she could ever be found anywhere near as beautiful. Then again this was her wildest dream to date. Her eyes narrowed and she turned around to face Venus. "I don't understand. If you have the Luna Pen you could have done this to any girl."
Venus looked confused. "I don't know what you've been told, but the pen only responds to members of the royal family. Just as no one else could use my wand to transform into Sailor Venus, the pen wouldn't react to anyone else." A genuine smile came over her. "Which of course proves what we've been saying. You truly have the soul of our Serenity."
"You don't know how much I wish this were all real…" She was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Venus jumped to attention and pulled Sarah to her feet as well. "Oh, my. It's time. We have to go."
"What? Go where? You never told me what we were getting ready for."
Venus hesitated. "It's, well… a treaty meeting of sorts."
"Treaty? With who? You said we were all at peace right now."
Venus brushed Sarah's new hair back so that it would trail behind her shoulders along with the small train of her dress, avoiding eye contact as she did so. "It's "with whom?" You will need to be wary of your vernacular, Pluto told me that you were raised as a commoner in your time, so perhaps it is best that you not speak."
"Excuse me?" Sarah screeched. ""Commoner?" Who says that?" she demanded.
Venus winced and led her towards the door at the sound of another more insistent knock. "We do - you do. Which is precisely my point. I am so sorry if I have offended you, but we do not have time for this argument now, we mustn't be late." She gave a quick laugh. "Though you do seem to have a penchant for tardiness, no matter the incarnation."
Another knock was cut short when Mars decided to just open the door regardless of their status. "Sorry to interrupt the princess lessons, but there are matters of state to attend to. Places to go, people to deceive." Venus shot her a look. Mars scowled but gave a quick bow nonetheless, and uttered a quick, "your highness," though Sarah couldn't help but notice the hint of sarcasm. She wasn't trying very hard to hide it.
"She is right." Venus conceded, walking briskly to the door. Sarah followed, stumbling a little on her dress. "I know you do not know the way, but luckily it is customary that I lead in front to announce you; the others will follow at your sides and Mars behind you."
"Others?" Sarah swallowed, but Venus ignored her. She turned and placed her hands on Sarah's shoulders.
"Remember, please, try to remember: you are a princess. You are the crown princess of the Silver Millennium. Little more than your presence is required at this meeting so do not worry. Bow when they bow. Smile when they smile. Queen Serenity will do the talking."
Sarah shook her head. "I'm sorry? Queen Serenity? As in Princess Serenity's mother?"
Mars rolled her eyes. "No, as in your mother. Maybe you really are Serenity; you certainly are as thick headed. I will say it again; there is no time to explain things to you. We have to go." Sarah really wanted to tell her not to be such a bitch, but wasn't sure Mars would know what it meant, and honestly she found her kind of terrifying.
"Come." Venus commanded. So against her better judgment, Sarah followed the goddess into a hall she would have been impressed by, had she not just spent the last few hours in a bedroom fit for, well, a princess. Four brightly colored doors lined the walls leading to the top of a grand staircase, red and blue on one side, green and yellow on the other. The astrological symbols for Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus were engraved in gold on each door, respectively, and sure enough when she looked back at the large, silver double doors she had just existed, there was a large, gold crescent moon carving that stretched across where the doors met. She faced forward again, ignoring how familiar this all felt, but lost her step when the blue and green doors across from each other opened in tandem to reveal none other than Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter.
"Holy crap." Sarah gasped. They were, of course, the spitting images of what she had always imagined Mercury and Jupiter would look like. She reminded herself again that this was her fantasy, after all. Naturally they also both looked like they could be models. Mercury's hair was indeed blue, though unlike the dyed hair of her time it seemed completely natural, somehow. With her intelligent eyes, skirt, collar, bows and boots all varying shades of blue she was an impressive sight to behold. At the moment she held her gloved hands clasped together in front of her, and after catching an initial glance at Sarah only stared straight ahead. Like Mars, she seemed to be purposely avoiding eye contact. Jupiter was a completely different story. The girl probably had a good half a foot on Sarah, with vibrant strawberry blonde hair and bright green eyes that at this moment were drilling holes into own baby blues.
After they both bowed to her, Jupiter ran over to fling her arms around Sarah, nearly knocking her over.
"Princess!" She cried. Sarah hugged her back to maintain her balance, but couldn't help but hold on a little longer after that. After everything she had been through it felt nice to be held, and this felt like getting to hug an old friend she had missed, or never thought she'd see gain. Jupiter pulled her at arms length; more to get a good look at her than to break the embrace.
"I don't know what 'holy crap' means, but if I could guess I would say it describes this situation perfectly." Jupiter beamed at her.
Mercury cleared her throat and spoke softly. "Jupiter, you know that she is not our princess, exactly." At the same sentiment from Mars, Sarah might have been slightly offended, but Mercury's words were gentle, more of a correction than a rejection, though she still would not meet Sarah's eyes.
Jupiter slapped Sarah on the back, causing her to cough a little. "Sure she is! Might have been born in a different time but she's still our girl."
"Hey!" Sarah looked up at the much taller girl. "You talk like me!" She looked accusingly at Venus. "You said nobody talked like me here!"
Venus sighed. "I said that you do not speak like you, nor do I. Now that I think about it the vernacular on Jupiter is quite like the one in your time."
Mercury perked up. "Do you think it could be due to a Jovanian influence? How fascinating!" She smiled at Jupiter and for a moment at Sarah, before remembering herself and looking back at the wall across from her.
"Sweet! Someone who doesn't sound like… um…" She stopped herself from saying something along the lines of "they have a stick up their ass" at Venus' inquisitive glance. No need to hurt anyone's feelings in dreamland. Besides, Venus had been nothing but kind to her.
"It's just nice to talk to someone who talks like me." She finished awkwardly, giving Jupiter a shy smile. Jupiter winked back at her.
"Wonderful. Everyone is acquainted, you both talk like peasants, everyone feels at home, may we please go now?" Venus shot Mars another chastising glance. She gritted her teeth. "Your highness?"
Jupiter straightened Sarah's hair back to what it looked like before her assault. "Sure, but before you start calling us peasants Mars dontcha forget that Sarah here is royal by nature and I'm the princess of my planet too, just like your prissy little butt."
Mark smirked. "Yes, well on Jupiter there isn't much of a difference." Jupiter whirled around and for a moment Sarah thought she was about to beat some more red into Mars' uniform, but she just laughed and slapped her on the back.
"Mars, you kill me sometimes." Sailor Mars fell forward overdramatically, but Sarah caught a flicker of a smile pass over her lips.
"I don't mean to lend any credence to Mars' bad attitude, but if we are any later we might just be the cause of an intergalactic war." Venus nervously warned, motioning for the group to follow her.
Sarah followed but rolled her eyes. "No, an overstatement like that doesn't lend "credence" at all."
"Oh it's not an overstatement. Queen Helena has one hell of a temper." Jupiter chirped, jumping back up to Sarah's side. "Get it? Hell? Helena?"
Sarah smiled. "Oh, I got it." Now flanking Sarah's other side, Mercury shook her head. Sarah tried to catch her eye as they walked but failed.
"Don't bother, she's not going to look at you." Jupiter informed her.
"Jupiter!" Mercury whispered.
"Do you want her think you're being rude?" Jupiter goaded.
Mercury snapped up. "Of course not!"
Jupiter smiled at her victory, Mercury looked away again. "I hope you are not offended… Sarah. That was not my intent. I just…" She trailed off, or perhaps was simply unable to finish. Sarah felt awful being the cause of her discomfort. She was starting to wonder exactly what had happened to the real princess. But right now she had another more pressing question and a desperate need to change the subject.
"So, what planet is Queen Helena the Queen of?"
They all remained silent.
"Hellooo?"
Jupiter coughed awkwardly as they continued to walk past the gorgeous towering columns and bowing courtiers.
"Okay, I'm the princess, don't you have to answer me?"
"She's the Queen of-" Mercury began, unable to help but follow an order, but Mars cut her off.
"Mercury!"
Sarah stopped, forcing them all to stop. She looked around at them, noticing now that they indeed formed a diamond shape around her, one soldier at every side, just as Venus had described. She was starting to feel seriously uncomfortable being at the center of all of this, literally. "Okay, what is going on?" She hissed at them in a hushed tone, mindful of the other occupants of the castle or whatever it was that they were in. "I'm supposed to be helping you, right? So don't you think I deserve some answers? Or don't you think I need to at least know what I'm getting myself into?"
"You have nooo idea."
"Jupiter." Venus hushed the taller girl over her shoulder. She sighed, and without turning she answered Sarah. "Earth. She's the Queen of Earth."
Sarah held out her hands. "Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're having a treaty meeting with Earth?"
She could see Venus' shoulders rise and fall from behind. "Yes."
"Right, because we're on the moon."
"Do they not offer a full education in your future? Or did you just fail to complete it?" Mars snarked.
Sarah whirled around. "Look bitch, it would be cool if you could get your head out of your ass long enough to, I don't know, be a decent human being to me." She winced. Even for her that was harsh. But after dealing with so many mean girls in high school Sarah had little patience for unprovoked nastiness like the kind the red sailor solider seemed so intent on dishing out.
Mars stood slack jawed for moment before fire began to rise metaphorically before her eyes, and then literally materialize in her hand. "Listen here, you little dimwitted imposter-!"
Jupiter jumped in between them. "Ladies! To use Sarah here's words. 'WHOA.'" She turned around to Mars. "YOU should know better than to ever raise your hand to royalty, and to our princess no less!" Mars opened her mouth to protest but Jupiter held up a finger. "You know I can take you." Mars promptly closed it. "I don't care what time, planet, dimension, galaxy or any other place she might be from," Jupiter continued. "It's our job to protect her! Especially so far from home." She sighed. "So can you put that out? Or do I have to do it for ya?"
Mars closed her hand, extinguishing the flame, and folded her arms. "I was never going to use it on her." She mumbled defiantly, but she looked slightly ashamed.
Jupiter turned back to Sarah. "Earth is the only planet in the galaxy that doesn't belong to the Moon Kingdom. We are at peace with them, but our alliance isn't rock solid. More than anything, Queen Serenity wants them to join the Moon Kingdom. This new… treaty might make that happen."
Well none of this was ever in the manga, Sarah thought. As Jupiter finished, Sarah wondered why she seemed a little guilty. Should she not have told her that? It seemed practical enough. She was getting really tired of the feeling that she didn't know the whole story. She was a Moonie, after all. She was supposed to know the story up down and sideways.
Jupiter resumed her place next to Sarah, and she noticed that Venus had never budged. "Sorry if I over stepped my bounds there, Venus." Jupiter apologized.
Venus shook her head. "You knew that I could not break formation, thank you. I will deal with you later, Mars." If there was ever a doubt as to who was in charge, it was gone with the authority with which she spoke that sentence. She started walking again and Sarah followed obediently behind. Sarah glanced to her right at Jupiter, asking another question, silently this time.
Understanding, Jupiter leaned in. "She is your first defense from harm." She whispered. "When we're out like this, exposed in the open, even within our own walls, Venus has to be always on her guard. Her powers are the catalyst for our own. That is, she can invoke our powers in times of need to form a barrier around you, among other things, for your protection. If we are distracted, it's especially important that she remain alert."
Sarah nodded slowly. "If you keep such a close eye on her, how did the princess disappear?"
A pang of guilt flashed across Jupiter's face and Sarah felt immediately awful for how she had phrased the question.
"I'm so sorry."
Jupiter shook it off and gave her a bright smile, though perhaps a bit forced. "It's fine. You're right. It is a mystery. She is alive for certain, we all would have sensed it if her light had gone out. We're linked. We have several theories which Uranus and Neptune are investigating as we speak." She leaned closer in. "That's part of the reason Mars is being such a… what did you call her?"
Sarah smiled. "A bitch."
"Yes!" Jupiter grinned. "I like that word!"
"Do you know what it means?" Sarah laughed.
Jupiter shrugged. "You made it pretty clear, in context."
Sarah looked back at the solider of fire and soul trailing behind her, still sulking and glaring daggers at Sarah's back. She gulped and turned back around.
"She feels useless not being able to search for Serenity herself. She's needed here for appearances, we all are. I understand it, but she resents it. Venus does as well I think, but she has the grace to hide it."
Sarah turned to Mercury. "How about you?" Mercury glanced to the side, and then quickly back to the front, saying nothing.
"It was Blue's idea. Mercury thinks the more people who know about the princess' disappearance, the more danger she would be in."
"If she's in danger at all." Mercury added quietly.
"Oh, how could she not be?" Jupiter demanded, surprising Sarah by showing true anger for the first time.
"Jupiter we must consider all options! She's run off before without telling us. It would be illogical to rule out-"
"No, she's never been gone this long. I refuse to believe that Serenity would never do such a thing, terrifying us like this. Even if she did, outside of our care she is most certainly in danger, regardless of whether it's right this second." Jupiter's voice lowered, and her speech became more formal the more passionately she spoke. Both blue and green soldiers fell silent leaving Sarah awkwardly in the middle again.
Mercury hesitated before speaking again, clearly regretting having said anything in the first place. "You are correct. I apologize. Leaving our protection does put her at risk. I am not arguing that we need to find her, we do. All I meant was that we have to consider the possibility that she might not want to be found."
At Jupiter's resigned silence and Sarah's inquisitive look Mercury finally brought herself to address Sarah directly, though still looking at her as sparingly as possible. "The princess, Serenity, she had a habit of sneaking off. Recently, it had gotten worse." She wavered before continuing. "Perhaps she caught wind of the plan to-"
"We are here," Venus cut her off quickly.
"But-!" Sarah tried to protest, wanting to hear the rest of the story, but Venus held up her hand and she felt silent. After walking what seemed like the length of her college campus, they had arrived at another large set of ornate doors, similar to the ones to her room but accented only in silver.
"Remember what I said," Venus whispered softly over her shoulder to Sarah. "From this moment on you are no longer Sarah Davis; you are Princess Serenity, heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom. Try to remember how it felt to be her in your dreams, and if you do not know what to say then do not speak."
Sarah nodded, her heartbeat beginning to quicken. Venus raised her fist to the door and knocked slowly three times. At the third knock the doors opened from the inside, and Sarah had to squint to adjust her eyes, as they were suddenly flooded with light.
"Her Majesty, the Lady Princess Serenity, daughter of Her Majesty Queen Serenity, heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom." Venus' strong voice announced as she led the way into the room for Sarah to follow.
As Sarah's eyes adjusted to the light she eagerly took in her surroundings. The room was the size of a lecture hall, but with the ambiance of a ballroom, and the circular shape of a coliseum. Windows that reached from the ceiling to the floor lined the continuous wall, creating the illusion that they were outside. It was completely empty, save one long, marble table that almost reached all the way across the room. Five throne like chairs sat at the table, three on one side and two on the other.
Three people were already waiting behind the chairs. On one side a couple; a large, handsome looking older man, with a stern, waif-like woman of similar age on his arm. Both were dressed in what looked to Sarah like regal renaissance attire.
On the other side stood the most magnificent woman she had ever seen. She had the aura of the wisdom that comes with age, yet she herself appeared ageless. She was dressed simply enough in a long white strapless gown, a delicate blue bow reminiscent of the ones the Sailors wore resting on her chest, a golden crescent moon nestled in the middle. Her hair was fixed in the same style as Sarah's, two "meatball" buns on either side, but the color shone an iridescent white, and her entire being seemed to echo that shine. Her silver eyes filled with sadness when she first rested them on Sarah, but her smile was the warmest she had ever seen. Sarah knew who this woman was; there could be no doubt. This was Queen Serenity.
Venus led Sarah to the Queen's side behind the second chair. "Better late than never, I suppose." The Queen quipped to Venus. She gave a wry smile in return and took her place along with the rest of the soldiers behind the royal mother and daughter. Queen Serenity placed a gentle hand on Sarah's back and the nerves that had been slowly bubbling up inside of her abated a little. She leaned down and whispered, "I am sorry for getting you into this mess. All will be explained. For now, just follow my lead."
Sarah nodded and looked up to face the older couple. They looked not at all happy, and perhaps even a little surprised to see her. It seemed she was in fact pretty late; perhaps they were staring to think she wouldn't show at all? They both looked be in their forties, and though still attractive, the stress life had put them through had clearly taken its toll. Judging by their clothes, their demeanor and their placement in the room, Sarah surmised that this must be the king and queen of Earth. She remembered what Jupiter had said about Queen Helena's temper and searched her face for signs of that. Sure enough, she seemed to be staring daggers right back at Sarah, and at Queen Serenity for that matter. The king, she didn't ever catch his name, overpowered his wife in height and in size. His eyes seemed kind, though his expression was much harder to read than Helena's. If she had to guess, she would say that he was the more seasoned diplomat of the two.
Sarah was pulled from her thoughts when another set of doors across from where she had entered thundered open, and a loud male voice announced the presence of the newest entry.
"His Majesty, Prince Endymion, son of His Majesty King Eldred and Her Grace Queen Helena, official heir to the Takeuchi dynasty, and the crowned Prince of Earth."
Sarah's heart leaped into her chest. Of course, why didn't she think of this before? A treaty with Earth should have only meant one thing to her, but with the complexities of the last few hours that particular connection had eluded her. Whatever nerves Queen Serenity had managed to clam with her touch were back in full force, even stronger. Sarah wanted to laugh at herself for getting so worked up over a silly fantasy, but it was the same feeling she had every time she dreamed of him. This dizzy, lightheaded, weightlessness took over her consciousness. The room spun and there was nothing but her, and him, and them.
Unlike the sailor soldier's diamond formation around her, Endymion's four generals all walked in front of him in a line. Of course, she could name every one, Kunzite, Zoisite, Jadeite and Nephrite. They bowed to present company and then split into twos to bow to their entering prince.
Endymion walked out of the shadows and into the bright room, light bouncing off his suit of silver armor and causing it to glisten like the sun's light bouncing off of water. Sarah drank him in, her eyes traveling up his figure from his steel boots, to his sheathed sword, to his broad shoulders, to his dark shock of black hair, to finally rest on his face.
Familiar ocean blue eyes stared back at her.
Slowly but surely her heart began to sink from her throat all the way down to the very pit of her stomach.
This was not her Endymion, her dream man, her fantasy lover. The man that stood before her now was someone else entirely. A man she loathed. A man she never wanted to see again.
The man was Darren. Darren was Prince Endymion. Prince Endymion was Darren.
Sarah knew that after the previous night's revelations that she would never, ever, not even in her worst nightmares, picture Darren Takeuchi as her perfect match, her Endymion, her Tuxedo Mask, her Mamo-chan. This was not a dream. She had actually been transported back in time, to the Moon Kingdom, which was real, of which she was really the Moon Princess, with real sailor soldiers and a real Prince Endymion, who she really did hate. It was all real.
Sarah jumped as King Eldred clapped his hands together and announced, as if to prove that just when you think things can't get any worse, they do. "Excellent, my son is here, your daughter is here, let's finally start to plan this marriage."
And with that, real live Moon Princess that she was, Sarah fainted.