Serena and Marina walked onto a street that held a marketplace, and the girls decided to look around at the little trinkets that were sold along the shops. There were all sorts of things that the two had never seen before and after Marina looked questioningly at a charm made of a white and a black cat with the symbols of the moon, did Serena decide to ask.
"Excuse me sir, but what is this charm suppose to be?" the princess asked.
The man began speaking as he turned, "Ye Majes'y should know da' da' be a charm of…" and he stopped as he caught sight of Serena. "Oh Melady, me thoughts that ye were 'er Majes'y. Saw ye out o' tha' cour'er of me eye me did, and me thinks to meself why ye had blonde hair instead of 'er Majes'y's silver. Ye even sou'ds and looks like 'er too."
Serena and Marina looked at each other quizzically and then Serena looked at the shopkeeper. "No I am Princess Serena of Earth. I am a guest at the Queen's palace. This is my lady-in-waiting Marina."
"Hello." Marina waved.
"Ahh, if da' be tha' case, tha' charm be da' symbols of 'er Majes'y's royal advisors." The man replied.
"You mean Lady Luna and Sir Artimus?" Marina asked. The man nodded.
"I'll take it!" Serena exclaimed. "It is just so pretty." And she gave the man the proper count of money and then some extra just for the hell of it.
"Good 'ay ye highness, good 'ay melady."
Serena was looking at the charm. It was one of the most exquisitely simple things that she has ever seen in a marketplace before. "Isn't it beautiful Marina?"
"It is. But don't you find it weird?" Marina questioned.
"Find what weird?"
"That he thought you were Queen Serenity and then he said that you sound and look like her?"
Serena pondered about it for a moment, "Yeah, it was. But things have been weird around me lately and I just don't know what to think of It." she answered putting the charm on around her neck.
"Well ye sure ma'e 'is 'ay." Marina replied imitating the man. The two giggled like schoolgirls for a moment and then Marina leaned over to whispered in Serena's ear. "Don't look now, but I think that the scouts are following us."
Ignoring the warning, Serena looked anyway. When she turned back around, she said, "Split up and try to dodge them, once we do, let's meet up back here." Marina nodded.
"I think they noticed us Mars." Venus said.
"I think that you should give me a little more credit when it comes to tailing people." Mars replied.
"Mars, you actually need to work on your tailing technique, remember what the princess did to you last time?" Jupiter put in.
"That was just a slip up. They don't have any idea that we are behind… Oh Shit!" Mars yelled as the two girls that they were following split and ran in different directions. Jupiter and Venus started snickering before they went into pursuit.
"Who is going after who!" Mercury called out to the scouts.
"Jupiter and I will take the princess, you and Mars go after the lady-in-waiting. Got it!" Venus ordered.
"Got it!" Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury replied in unison.
Marina ran down the alleyway bypassing carts and buggies in her way as she grabbed things such as barrels of hay and threw it down to block the two scouts after her, but they just leaped over it. After turning a corner, Marina jumped up on some boxes and flung herself onto the roof of someone's house. She looked down and watched as the scouts stopped and looked around for her.
"She vanished." Mars said aloud.
"For someone to vanish so quickly had to have been by a spell, or…" Mercury began to answer.
"Or by roof top." Mars finished and the two looked up to see Marina starting to flee again. Both scouts jumped up onto the roof and chased Marina down.
Marina jumped down into another alley and she had only heard one body drop down from the roof behind her and she wondered where the other scout had to be. She skidded to a halt when Mars jumped down in front of her and she realized that she was now trapped. "What do you think that you are doing?" Marina asked. "I don't like to be followed!" and she went in for a punch on Mars who ducked out of the way. Marina recoiled from missing and she somersaulted out of the way and ended in a back flip fist at her sides.
"Gee Mercury, she readies herself like Jupiter does." Mars said.
"Yes, but I don't think we can predict her moves to be like Jupiter's." replied Mercury.
Serena had made her way to the outskirts of the marketplace and was working her way around the buildings when she noticed the forest up ahead and she had to smile to herself. She was going to loose them.
"She's heading for the forest." Jupiter stated.
"Sir Artimus had said that she likes to use the trees for cover." Venus answered between breaths.
"I'm on it." Jupiter replied acknowledging the order that she knew was coming. Jupiter sprinted up into the trees just as Venus saw Serena do the same.
Venus stopped in her tracks. She realized that she had not only lost Serena in the trees, but Jupiter as well. It wasn't her thing to follow what she was chasing through the treetops and she hoped the Jupiter hadn't lost the princess either.
Serena leapt to the top of the tree that she was in and looked behind her. For some reason, she had the feeling that she wasn't as safe as she thought she was in the trees, and she felt that she had Sir Artimus to thank for that. Serena decided to start climbing cautiously back down and out of the tree, but she froze when she thought that she heard a twig break not too far from her. She looked out into the distance. 'Damn it.' she thought, 'I know that Jupiter was the one to follow me up in the trees, and she is wearing green and her hair is brown. She'll blend in with the trees. How convenient for her.' After about a minute, Serena started her climbing to the ground again and just as she was about to jump out of the tree to safety, she was tackled from behind and she fell to the ground with the air knocked out of her. She saw that it was indeed Jupiter that had attacked her and wondered why Jupiter started apologizing like she had just sinned. Still trying to catch her breath, she felt Jupiter help her up and heard Venus running up to them.
"Princess, are you all right?" Venus asked Serena, a bit of worry in her voice.
When Serena felt that she could, she pulled her arm out of Jupiter's grasp and then tried to run for it again.
"She doesn't give up." Venus spoke to Jupiter as they started after the princess once more.
"She's probably as stubborn as Raye." Jupiter said.
Serena went running around a corner and full force into some ebony hair woman and squished the woman underneath her. She heard Marina's laughter along with some other's and looked to see Marina standing right in front of her and the rest of the scouts there too. Serena finally looked down, she noticed that she was on Sailor Mars.
"There is no escaping now Princess." Venus said.
"Why are you following me?" Serena asked.
"Because we were told to." Mars replied when she picked herself up. As Mars was bent over dusting herself off, Serena noticed something that immediately stuck out at her.
"What happened to your sailor outfit, Mars?" Serena asked suspiciously. Mars stuttered and Serena then knew. "You were following me at the palace back home weren't you?"
"I was not!" Mars shouted.
"You were too! This belongs to you! It's seems to be that it's a damn shame I missed with my dagger!" Serena shouted back.
"What!" Mars asked in shock.
"You heard me!"
"How dare you say such a thing!" and Mars stuck her tongue out at the princess.
"Because I can!" and Serena did the same.
"You should be thankful that I was watching over you!"
"Thankful! For you!" Serena shook her head, "I don't think so!" and Serena pounced on her and the two started to get into a fight.
"Hey! Let go of my princess!" Marina shouted at the scout in red and the she got in on the fight.
"Don't think that you can just fight a scout like your princess here, but if you want to fight one, come and get it!" Jupiter invited.
"Don't mind if I do!" and Marina started to run at the scout in green.
"That IS enough!"
Mercury and Venus turned their heads as Marina, Mars, Jupiter, and Serena stopped what they were doing. They were covered in dirt and had fistfuls of the other's hair. It was Lady Luna, and angry as ever; the fire in her eyes reminded Serena of a pissed off cat.
"Princess Serena, Her Majesty would like to see you now." Lady Luna informed her.
After she and Marina cleaned up, Serena walked to the queen's quarters. When she knocked on the door and then entered, she found every single one of her family members and the scouts along with Luna and someone else that she did not know all staring at her. Still holding the door, Serena looked at her mother. "What'd I do?" she asked.
"Princess Serena, this is my little sister and Mina's mother, Aphrodite, Queen of Venus." Queen Serenity told the young princess. Serena bowed her head a bit as one royal to another, and the queen of Venus did the same.
"What is going on?" Serena asked again as she looked at everyone else.
Queen Serenity got up and walked over to Serena, "Serena darling, I would like it if you and your parents would join Luna, my sister, Mina, and I in the next room please."
Serena looked into the queen's eyes, "Okay."
As the seven walked into the other room, Serena turned her head and made eye contact with Marina and she caught the look of worry in her friend's eyes just as the door was shut and the two could no longer see each other. Serena didn't notice what Queen Serenity now held in her hand till her name was called. "Oh my God, it is beautiful." Serena said admiring the beautiful and clear crystal the queen of the moon held in her hand. "What is it?"
Queen Serenity looked into the young princess' eyes, "This is the Silver Crystal."
"The Imperial Silver Crystal?"
Queen Serenity continued, "Hold out your hands."
Serena was a bit hesitant, "But, wont it hurt me?"
"Only if I don't give it willingly. It will not harm you, hold out your hands." Serenity repeated.
Serena did as she was told and the queen gave it to her. The jewel glowed dim at first and then grew brighter. "I can feel its power. It is such a strong weapon." Serena started to feel a little woozy as she felt the power go threw her, and she gave the crystal back to the queen as she stumbled to quickly find a place to sit. After a few breaths to regain herself, Serena looked up at everyone, then to the queen, "Why did you want to show it to me, what is this all about?"
Queen Athena walked to her daughter and knelt before her grabbing hold of her hands. "Serena Sweetie, I have something to tell you. My husband and I are not your real blood parents." she said flat out.
Serena's eyes widened, "What! Then who is!"
"We found you alone one night when you were very young and raised you as our own. We love you dearly Serena, and we meant to tell you but we never thought we would find your real mother so we never said anything to you."
"Who are my parents, and who else knows about this?" Serena demanded.
Queen Athena started to feel really bad. "Your brothers, Sir Artimus, anyone that was close to us."
"Who are my parents?" Serena said once more tears coming to her eyes.
Queen Serenity spoke up, "Queen Aphrodite was here to see what I saw, and to witness it all." Serenity put a finger on Serena's forehead, "This now appears because you have came in contact with the crystal and shows that you truly are my daughter and heir to the throne of the moon kingdom."
Serena stood up in her anger, and ran to a mirror hanging on the wall. There in her reflection she saw the mark of the moon kingdom's royal bloodline; the crescent moon. "No, no, oh no. Why, why did you lie to me?" she demanded.
"It wasn't meant to be like this. We never thought…" King Perseus started to reply, but Serena cut him off.
"I don't believe you did this to me." and Serena ran out of the room. When she saw everybody looking at her, she ran past them and disappeared.
Marina stared after her best friend as she ran out the door. The look on Serena's face told Marina that something was wrong. She turned to look at the queens and king and then ran out to chase after her friend.
Serena came to a secluded spot out in the palace gardens. The moment she stopped, she broke down in tears. She slumped to the ground in giant sobs. She heard the approach of someone behind her, but Serena didn't bother to look at who it was.
Marina reached out to grab hold of Serena's wrist, but her mistress just yanked it away and ordered her to leave. "Serena, tell me what is wrong, what happened?"
"Please tell me that you didn't know." Serena answered.
"Know what?" Marina asked clueless.
"That I am not a princess of Earth. That Serenity is my real mother. That I was brought up on a lie."
"You're who's daughter!" Marina knelt down behind Serena, "You are my friend, I had no idea that such a thing was true. That is horrible, and I would have told you about something like that if I knew. Oh Serena, I am so, so sorry." Marina started to cry at her friend's distress. She put her arms around Serena and held her tight, pulling the princess close to her.
"They all lied to me, they knew that I wasn't their own. My own brother's even knew and they said nothing." Serena said to her lady-in-waiting and she broke down even more. Marina just held her and rocked back and forth trying to comfort her friend as the two cried together.
Well, you like? I hope that this chapter will hold you guys over for a while. I don't know when the next one will be up because life isthrowing it all atfor me at the moment, but I will try to get it up as soon as possible and I will try to get the chapters longer, too. There is plenty more to come so stay tuned.
