Second to last chapter. Hopefully it will be out in it's entirety by the end of the week (and you won't have to wait four years for the ending like the first time I posted it). Actually, funny story, when I was reading the original author notes, I said something along the lines of 'I might have to hold the last chapter hostage!' and then I unintentionally did. Rest assured that I'm not going to be holding the last chapter hostage this time around.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or any of its characters; I simply use them to further the enjoyment of all.

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Malvok quickened his step in his hurry to get to the throne room. The servant who had attended him when he arrived had said he was to immediately report to the presence of their Royal Highnesses who would be already waiting in the throne room. A small smile graced Malvok's lips. They were probably going to crown him king right now. Minako's parents loved him and knew none of his real intentions. They didn't know how he planned to use their daughter to start an inter-planetary war.

As he reached the doorway, he straightened his clothing. If he was going to receive the honor of immediate ascension to the throne after his wedding to Minako, he felt that he should at least look nice. He couldn't believe that things were going as well as they were. He thought that he would have a greater resistance from Minako. Then again, Venus's laws weren't very flexible. Though Minako was the only one restricted to whom she could marry, she was very restricted. She must marry a prince, a Venusian prince, and cannot have anything to do with Earthlings, on penalty of death to the Earthling. She must be married by the age of seventeen and must take the throne at twenty-one. He knew all the nuances and had in fact he counted on them. He would rule this universe and there would be nothing that anyone else could do about it.

Deciding he had kept the King and Queen waiting long enough, he opened the door and proceeded in. He expected to be announced, but there was no servant around. In fact, there were only three people other then himself that occupied the vast throne room. He bowed deeply to the royal couple and their daughter, then rose when given the appropriate nod.

"Minako, darling, I did not expect you to be here," Malvok said smoothly.

"You would be wise not to address the princess so informally," answered her father. Malvok looked at the King in shock.

"Then how do you propose I address my fiancé your highness."

"I don't care what you call your fiancé, but you will address my daughter as 'Princess' or 'Your Highness', nothing else."

"Sir, your daughter is my fiancé." Malvok's heart was racing. Something wasn't right.

"No longer. My daughter will only marry those worthy of her, and you are not. She had told us how you forced yourself on her and your quest for power."

"And you believe her?" he scoffed.

"She is our daughter; why should we have reasons not to?" the Queen questioned him.

"Because she is a betrayer of your planet," he said smoothly.

"I sincerely hope you have proof to back up your accusations." The King eyed him with anger.

"I do. I have proof that your daughter is involved with an Earthling, leading me to believe that these accusations on me are just so she may continue to be involved with him." Malvok smiled, thinking that he had won this game. Now that her parents knew, they would be in an uproar and forget all about the charges brought against him.

"We already know this information. If she was doing this to conceal her relationship with the Earthling, she would not have told us, do you not think so?" The Queen raised an elegant eyebrow. The change in Malvok's face was immediate. He looked over at Minako, but she kept her head bowed. She may have beaten Malvok, but at what cost? She knew hat she had to get rid of him to protect not only her planet, but everyone she had ever known and loved. She only wished that it wasn't by these means. Minako's father stood up and addressed Malvok.

"You are to leave the premises immediately. You are never to set foot on these grounds again. I do not want to see, or even hear, of your presence. And just so you do not get any ideas, you will be stripped of your title and a warning will go out to every planet. Now, leave, or my guards will have to escort you off the castle grounds and I can assure you, it will be none too gently." The King snapped his fingers, guards already moving towards the dethroned prince. Hate raged in the eyes of Malvok. He clenched his fists to control his fury.

"You have not heard the last of me Princess Minako." He turned on his heal and stalked out of the throne room. Minako watched him go, glad that she no longer had to worry about him. Unfortunately the cost of saving her world was sacrificing her love. She turned around head bowed. She knew what was going to come next and it was the one thing she had tried for so long to avoid.

"Minako, you transgression is very serious," her mother told her gently. "We have never had to deal with anything of this caliber before. You've always been such a good daughter, how could you even think of doing something like this? You knew our laws."

"It wasn't something I planned, Mother. I did not have a choice."

"Of course you did. You could have stopped it at the start and stayed away from the General. Now you have betrayed your country."

"It was better then betraying my heart!" Minako snapped in fury. She knew her parents wouldn't understand but that did not help in controlling her anger. Her mother looked shocked at the unexpected outburst from her daughter. Minako continued. "I don't understand why it is so wrong. Why am I forced to marry someone I hate? The only requirement that really matters is that you have someone of royal blood on the throne, someone who knows what they are doing. That is me. Why should I betray my heart just to appease my planet?"

"Because that is your duty!" He father screamed in his rage. "You were born to the throne of Venus, and with that title comes responsibility. Marrying a prince is one of them."

"And as a human being, I have a responsibility to find love. Why should you be given that luxury and not I?"

"Your father and I also had an arranged marriage, if you recall," her mother reminded her.

"Only because you fell in love before hand and convinced Grandmother that it would be a good match. You think I didn't know? Grandmother used to tell me all sorts of stories on how the two of you came to be married. She knew that you had taken a fancy to each other. She had planned to let you join anyways, but this way she said it appeased the people and let you two think you got away with something. You were in love and you were married, yet now that I have fallen in love I have to give him up? It hardly seems right to me."

"Your mother's and I situation is very different then yours."

"How so, Father?"

"Because I was a prince when I married your mother! Not a General of a vile planet!" he told her harshly. Minako stood quiet for a minute.

"So that's it." Her voice was barely audible. "It is your own hatred toward the planet Earth that's preventing you from letting me marry whom I wish. It doesn't matter whether your daughter is happy or not, as long as you don't lose face. I though you were bigger then that Pappie." Slight surprise showed in his face at the name.

"You haven't called me Pappie in years. You only called me it when you were really angry at me." His voice had soften at the realization.

"Don't I have every right to be now? You want me to be miserable for politics. If that's the way you're going to be about it, then I will never marry."

"Yes you will. The law says you are obligated to do so."

"No, it simply states that I have to marry a man that would make a suitable heir, and then lists the men I can marry. It says no such thing about me actually having to marry and produce an heir."

"Then I'll change it."

"So you'll change it to where it accommodates you but not me?" Realization suddenly settled in her eyes. "That is it isn't it. This stupid law of marrying a prince hasn't always been around. You created, feed on the fear and hate you and the people hold for Earthlings. You thought that if I knew that I couldn't marry a man from Earth, I would never fall for one. Your planned back fired, Father. Miserably." She turned and walked out, but her father's voice stopped her at the door.

"He will still die. I cannot ignore our laws," he told her calmly. Minako didn't turn around. She refused to show them the tears in her eyes.

"Of course. Why would I think that you would ever change your ways?"

--

Princess Serenity walked into her room after a long day. She hated diplomatic meetings but it was getting to the point that it was now necessary for her to sit in on them at least. In fact, she often took over them when her mother was off planet. She just wanted to lie down and go to sleep. The last thing she expected to see was one of her best friends sitting on her bed on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Minako, what's the matter," she asked, rushing over to her friend. Minako ran into Serenity's arms and began sobbing. It was a good twenty minutes before Serenity could calm her down enough to get any information out of her. "Now are you ready to tell me what's going on?"

"I fell in love."

"That's wonderful!" Serenity had been hoping for some time that Minako would find someone.

"With Kunzite."

"That is not so wonderful. Minako are you serious?" Serenity knew the laws of Minako's planet. Before now Serenity never thought that it would be a problem. Minako nodded.

"And, to stop a maniac from ruining the universe, I had to tell my parents about it. They know about everything. Well, enough anyways. Kunzite is currently sitting in a Venus prison awaiting his death in three days. Serenity, what am I going to do?"

"Well, panicking is not going to help," Serenity pointed out. "We still have three days right? We'll figure something out."

"Now you sound like Kunzite," Minako mumbled.

"Yes, but Kunzite's mother isn't the head of the Interplanetary Alliance. And therein lies the difference. He is also not engaged to the Prince of Earth."

"I would hope not or we have more problems then just his imminent death."

Serenity laughed at her friend, glad that she was at least cheering up enough to make jokes, morbid as they may be. "Yes, well, let's figure out one crisis at a time alright? Go to Kunzite and tell him that no matter what I have to do, I will figure out a way to get him out of there. In two days I'll call you with my plan how. I can't guarantee anything other then his freedom, however."

"That would be more then I ever dreamed of."

"After that, we'll figure out how you two are going to get married."

"You are quite a bit more optimistic than me. What do you have in mind to free him?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to have to tell my mother and Endymion."

"Don't waste time explaining my relationship to Endymion," Minako said as she wiped away tears with her hand.

"Why? I am going to need Earth's help."

"Oh, that I know. I only meant that he already knows," Minako explained. Serenity looked at her friend shocked and slightly hurt that she would trust the secret with Endymion but not her.

"So… you told him but not me?"

"Oh, that wasn't my doing. Endymion pried it out of Kunzite and confronted me about it right before I left. Why do you think that Kunzite was the one that was sent to Venus? I asked Endymion not to mention it to anyone because I didn't want anyone to find out about Kunzite and I. I was frightened when I found Endymion knew. However he told me that he was in complete support of us and would keep our secret."

Serenity nodded in understanding. She knew from personal experience how well her future husband could keep a secret. "You must be starving. Any teleportation by yourself is not easy, especially one from so far. Let's go to the kitchen and have the servants prepare you something." Minako got up and linked arms with her friend as they walked out of the room.

"Thank you, Serenity."

"How could I possibly do anything less, Minako?"

--

"Let me by. I wish to see the prisoner," Minako ordered.

"I'm sorry, M'Lady," the guard said with a bow. "Their Highnesses have said that you are not to see him."

"Well, unless you want to join him, I suggest that you allow me to see him," she nearly growled at the man. The guard weighed his options and quickly decided that maybe he shouldn't try the princess's patience.

"Of course, M'Lady, forgive me." He turned towards the door behind him and unlocked it. "You have a visitor." Kunzite stood up, thinking it was the King and Queen come early for his head and was surprised to see Minako.

"Leave us," she ordered.

"M'Lady I-"

"I said, leave us!" The guard nodded, before closing the door behind him and giving them their privacy.

"Minako, what are you doing here?"

"You're set to die in three days and you have the audacity to ask why I am here? No 'I'm glad to see you, Minako' with a kiss but 'why are you here?' Maybe I shouldn't have come then." She turned to walk away when two strong arms enclosed her.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled in her ear. "When you didn't come for two days, I tried to reason with myself why you didn't, why you weren't at the trial either. I kept telling myself that it was because you didn't want to make it harder on us but I knew that wasn't it. I couldn't bare the thought that you had deserted me so I concocted all these outrageous stories to make myself feel better. It's made me edgy I suppose."

"Death would make anyone edgy," she whispered.

"Let's not think about it. I've thought about it enough over the days that I've been in here. Where have you been, my love?"

"Talking with Serenity. I knew that whether I was at the trial or not they would still put you to death so I decided to find a way to get you out of this mess."

"Or maybe you just needed to cry on a friend's shoulder," he said. She smiled sadly. He knew her so well.

"That too, but Serenity said she could find a way to get you out of this. I do not know how she plans to accomplish it but I do know that when Serenity puts her mind to something that she gets it done."

"I can't argue with you there. I've seen her get Endymion to do things I never even dreamed of confronting him with. Like a pay raise for the other generals and I," he informed her. She laughed softly.

"I don't care if I have to break you out of here myself. I won't let you die," she told him softly.

"Minako, love, you can't do that and you know it."

"Why not? It's not like you're an actual criminal."

"Because, we can't reduce our standards just because your family does."

She sighed knowing he was right. She turned, burrowing herself into his arms. "I know. But that doesn't mean that I can't dream."

He leaned down kissing her. Her tears that she had been fighting so hard to keep in finally fell.

"Kiss me again," she demanded.

"Why?"

"Because maybe it will take my mind off the fact that this might very be the last time you do and I don't want to waste it."

He kissed her again, firmly pressing his mouth to hers, his tongue just barely flicking over her lips. "I'll kiss you whenever you like my love. For the rest of your life, all you have to do is ask."

--

A servant entered the throne room with quickened feet. It was not everyday that he was allowed to announce such a prestigious visitor, but their arrival had been so unexpected that the duty had been left to him.

"Your Highness. Queen Serenity and her Daughter, Princess Serenity, request your audience, along with the Prince of Earth, Endymion."

"Tell the Queen I will see her and the Princess but refuse the Prince. I do not wish to speak with Earth," the King answered nonchalantly.

"The Queen thought you might say that, and said that by refusing the Prince, not only would it be politically insulting, but also personally."

"Personally?"

"Prince Endymion is to be her son this spring sir. By refusing him you are refusing and insulting her family," the servant relayed. The King's brow knitted. Leave it to Serenity to come up with an excuse such as that. She knew that he would never do something that the servant now knew about. This particular servant may not understand the implications, but others did and servants frequently had loose lips.

"Of course I will admit them all. It would be my honor and pleasure to see the royal family of the Moon." He smiled at his handling of the situation. By calling them the family of the Moon, he was showing that he was not admitting the Earth Kingdom, but the Moon. It would be as if Earth had no voice.

The Queen entered briskly, controlled anger written on her face. Her daughter and Endymion flanked her sides. None looked happy. He knew that they had come about the General.

"Welcome, Queen Serenity."

"Save your welcome," she said shortly. "You know why we have come. What right have you to kill one visiting from another planet?"

"He knew our laws."

"However, he does not live on your planet therefore is not required to follow your laws," she contested.

"Anyone person who visits our planet is expected to follow our laws while here."

"He did follow them why you were here. He fell in love with the Princess Minako while on the Planet Earth. We haven't even started on the fact that he is not some commoner that committed a serious crime, but a general of Earth that committed one that shouldn't even be."

"I cannot help that," the king told her. Endymion stepped forward.

"Highness, if you kill my General, it would be wise of you to know that Earth will break all contact with Venus and declare war."

"I do not fear Earth."

"Then maybe you fear the rest of the universe," Queen Serenity warned. The King looked at Queen Serenity in question. "If you kill the General, you will be in violation of the Interplanetary Alliance. The ties to Venus will be severed and appropriate action to get a worthy person on the throne will be taken. Think about it. Is a General really worth warring against all the planets?"

"You must be joking!"

"I am not."

He was silent for a moment before he gave his answer. "Alright, I will let him go. But he is never to come to Venus again, nor is he to see my daughter on her inevitable visits to Earth. I am not stupid," Endymion covered his mocking laugh with a cough, "and know that my daughter is good friends with you Princess Serenity. I know she would not stand for being away from you or your wedding, both of which are conveniently on Earth. But I leave it to you Queen Serenity, both Serenities, to make sure she does not even see him while she is there. Is that understood?" Queen Serenity nodded her head in consent. Her daughter, however, didn't move. "Princess?"

"I will do no such thing. While I will not encourage her to see the one she loves, I will not persuade her to stay away either. It is her choice to go see him and I will not risk my friendship over it," Princess Serenity said defiantly. The King nodded. He knew that would be the best he would get from the princess.

"Understood. I will have the guards escort you to his accommodations. Now if you will excuse me, I have other matters to attend to."

"Of course. Good day." The Queen and her party left. They had won a small victory, but wondered how much of a victory it really was.

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Only one chapter after this. Enjoy!