I don't own Sailor Moon, but I do own all my sweet babies *coughcough Chiharu and Nikolaos coughcough* :D

Serenity stared straight ahead, resolutely ignoring Chiharu's faint calls. She was fuming on the inside. Why hadn'tChiharu written to her? Why everyone else but her? She thought of Vega's innocent words: "In your last letter…" That made it sound like they had been in contact for quite some time! Serenity didn't want to admit, but her heart burned with jealousy. She had been just as worried as everyone else when Chiharu had suddenly vanished three years ago. She remembered crying and not being able to sleep every night for almost six months before Chiharu's parents took pity on her and told her where he had disappeared to. She had written countless letters to him after she found out where he was staying- But not one reply, she thought bitterly.

Serenity was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't realize she had an obligation to dance until she felt a warm hand settle on her waist. She looked up in surprise and met the stormy purple eyes of the man who had so preoccupied her thoughts before, but for some reason his name had slipped from her memory…

"Thank you for doing me the honor of accepting my hand for a dance Your Highness," he said. He violet eyes smiled down at her. Serenity nodded, hoping that it seemed regal and sophisticated. She never knew how to respond to comments like that; somehow "you're welcome" never seemed appropriate enough…

The conductor raised his silver baton and straggling couples rushed to position themselves on the dance floor. As the violins started, Serenity's mind wandered again and she let her feet move automatically, hoping her intensive dancing lessons would pay off. When no imminent threat of embarrassing herself arose, she let her mind slip back to Chiharu, but a soft voice pulled her back.

"If I may be so bold Your Highness as to ask you if something is unsettling you?" Serenity started and glanced up at the owner of the voice. He was looking down at her with what seemed to be genuine concern in his eyes. She colored under his intense scrutiny. I'm being so rude, she thought, I shouldn't be ignoring his like this!

"Oh no! There is nothing wrong!" She tried to inject cheer into her voice, but the man seemed to realize she was lying.

"Has someone hurt you?" he persisted. Serenity's eyes widened. She seemed to have a small epiphany. Maybe she had hurt Chiharu. Maybe that's why he had ignored her! It was because she had done something before he left and now he was furious with her! She nodded to herself, convinced that she was right. I'll go apologize to him as soon as I get the chance! She glanced back up at the man. He was looking at her expectantly. Realizing he still wanted an answer, she said, "No, no one has hurt me." But I may have hurt someone, she thought to herself. Serenity bit her lip and looked at the floor.

The man stayed silent, but deftly started spinning them through the crowd, weaving through the dancing couples towards the double doors that led outside. Serenity glanced up at him, alarmed, but the man smiled down calmly at her.

"E-excuse me, but where are we going?" she asked him.

"Her Highness seemed upset. I thought that bringing her out here would make her happier," he said softly. The man danced them until they were out of the view of the guests inside. He let his hand drop from her waist, and walked over to the lean on the banister of the balcony wall. Serenity stared at him in surprise. She wondered at his boldness in presuming he would be pardoned if he took her away with such a weak excuse, especially without her express permission. If she wanted, Serenity could accuse him of being forward. . . She looked back into the room and examined the blinding lights and the myriad of noisy people, and reconsidered. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit that she had been looking for an excuse to do just this all night. She couldn't bite the hand that fed her.

Serenity shrugged and walked over to the iron wrought banister and leaned on it too. The man looked at her from the corner of his eye, surprised that she had chosen to stay. Serenity gave him a look that clearly said: Don't ever try that again. The man's mouth quirked and he turned back to gaze at the softly lit grounds. Serenity followed his gaze, letting her eyes roam over the smooth expanse of the grounds intermittently broken by trees and ornate bushes. Her eyes eventually wandered up to the sky again.

The sky was a deep inky black and was scattered with small pinpricks of light. They looped, swirled, and flowed around the sky, making their own patterns. Nestled amidst these glowing sparks was the Earth. It was a vivid blue and white and was lit up by the sun, which bestowed it with an almost ethereal glow. The white clouds stood in sharp contrast to the deep blue of the ocean. They swirled around the Earth's surface in fantastic shapes.

Serenity sighed. "Isn't it breathtaking?" she asked out loud. The man stared at the Earth pensively and after a moment murmured, "I suppose."

"Oh, but it is!" Serenity insisted. "It's wonderful! It's so warm and sunny! The colors there are amazing, especially when the sun goes down or comes up! Pinks, oranges, yellows, reds! There are so many colors I couldn't even name them all!" She turned to the man, her eyes shining with excitement. He looked confused, however, and looked at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Sunny?" he asked. "What is that?" Serenity opened her mouth to reply, but hesitated. Her eyebrows furrowed in response to his question.

"It's when you can see the sun and everything is lit up," she said slowly, trying to put it into terms he would understand. He gestured to the twinkling sun in the distance with his chin.

"Like that?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Mmmmm, no. It's not like that at all. It's hard to describe, but humans use it when it's bright outside. So bright they don't need lamps like these," she said, touching the base of a lamp attached to the wall behind them.

"They don't need these lamps?" he asked incredulously. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know," she said and sighed. "I wish I could go back there. My mother only allows me to go once a year though, but I sneak away sometimes." She winked. The man's mouth fell open a slightly when she winked, but he closed it quickly.

"Have you ever been to Earth?" Serenity asked him. He looked at her and shook his head silently. Her eyes rounded, looking like they were going to fall out of her head. "You haven't?" The man shook his head again and a faint smile started to appear on his face.

"Then you haven't even seen real flowers yet!" she cried in disbelief. The man nodded and took a step back, alarmed by her sudden aggressiveness. She shook her head. "Oh, but you have to see them!" she insisted. Serenity stared at him excitedly. Her hands were clasped and she looked like she was trying to hold herself back from pleading. Suddenly she snapped her fingers and pointed at him. The man took another step back, looking at her warily.

"Nikolaos!" she said. "That's your name!" The man gave her frightened look and nodded. "Well come on Nikolaos! I want to show you something!"

Nikolaos started shaking his head, but Serenity reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him down the stairs that led down the grounds. "Where are we going?" he asked, startled by her sudden closeness.

"The greenhouse. It's right past those trees!" Serenity dropped his hand and started walking at a slower pace. "We have real flowers from the Earth there. My mother set up a special place where the conditions are almost like Earth. That makes it so the trees and flowers and grass there are all natural!"

Nikolaos watched Serenity confidently leading the way in the dark night and slowly started smiling. His face showed a mixture of apprehension and excitement, but he quickly caught up to Serenity, continuing the conversation.

TBC

Wow, I finally got around to another chapter! Sorry guys! I've been so busy! Now that summer's here, I hope that I'll be able to post more often!

So what did you guys think? Was it good? Sorry, it's taking so long to reach the good parts, but I really want to build up Nicky and Serenity's relationship slowly.