Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. It was made by a genius and I'm not that smart, though I might wish otherwise.

Chapter Ten: Of Senshi And Generals

August 19, 11:00 pm

Ballroom Terrace, St. James' Mansion, Manetheron, Earth

Scrambling, the four women stood up and righted themselves, trying without much success to regain some of their dignity.

"We could ask the same of you," Ami retorted defensively, running a hand through her (thankfully) short hair, ignoring the way her friends frantically tried to arrange their gowns and hairs to look… neater. "I thought none of the guests were allowed here."

The red-haired man was too surprise to hide his expression. "We can go anywhere we please." He took a closer look at the blank faces of the girls. "Er… don't you recognize us?"

"Why? Does it matter?" Makoto said pugnaciously.

The five men looked at her, again too surprised to hide what they felt, although they remained outwardly calm; as military men, they instinctively hid their emotions when in new situations.

Ami's eyes widened as she took in their looks and what they wore. "The Generals! They're the Terran generals!" she hissed to her friends.

"Um, forgive us," Makoto squeaked, horrified that they didn't recognize the Generals. Anyone with half a Terran brain would've known them immediately. "We were… surprised to see you… men… here. We're sorry we didn't recognize you immediately." She noted their expectant expressions and belatedly remembered what she was missing. She hastily added, "My lord Generals."

"I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted," the longhaired blond, whom they recognize from description as General Zoisite, remarked.

"Flattered, definitely flattered," Rei blurted out.

All the girls were appalled that they lost themselves so much as to forget how the generals looked. Then again, one does not go into disguise and sneak inside a ball and act like a Terran and expect to see the Terran High Command at the most ignominious of manners. So, yes, one could say that the girls were caught unawares.

"Really?" The man with short blond hair, whom they now recognized as General Jadeite, was amused. "How so?"

"What are you doing here?" General Kunzite demanded.

Minako blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Prince! The Prince! We were looking for the prince!"

The four generals looked at each other in resigned amusement then Jadeite gestured behind him and wryly announced, "Well, today's your lucky day, ladies, you actually managed to find him."

The four girls looked at Jadeite with uncomprehending expressions on their faces. The four generals looked at each other once more then turned to look at their prince for his reaction. Although obvious that the girls didn't recognize him on sight, the prince had such an impassive look on his face that his generals knew he was warily studying them and noting everything about them. There was also something about them that… wasn't right, somehow. Although he's only had a few seconds to observe the girls, his instincts were screaming that things weren't what they seemed.

"The prince? You wanted to see the prince?" Jadeite reminded them, trying to nudge their memories.

This was a very weird situation they were all in. Everyone in the kingdom, especially women, recognize the prince on sight since his picture has been on every newspaper and magazine (and even some posters) spread throughout the land. Not to mention, he was their Prince and Heir.

The generals took a closer look at the four girls, who looked familiar, and were currently racking their brains, trying to recall the girls' identities. Like the prince, their instincts were telling them that something was… off with the four girls.

The girls followed the generals' gaze and stared uncomprehendingly at Prince Endymion. One of the brown-haired girls – the older one – wrinkled her nose and, although her whisper was meant only for her friends, the generals nonetheless heard her say, "Is that him?"

The blond seemingly elbowed her friends and the four girls immediately dropped into graceful curtsies.

"Forgive us, your Highness," one of them said; they didn't know who for all their faces were downcast. "We didn't recognize you immediately."

"The pictures don't you justice, your Highness. You are far cuter than we ever thought possible," one of them complimented in a fawning voice. Unfortunately, the Prince, used to such tactics, wasn't affected in the least.

The prince merely tilted his head. "Thank you." He said in a polite tone of voice that gave nothing away. As though only mildly curious, he inquired in that same polite tone, "Now that you've found me, how can I be of help?"

Although it was not obvious to anybody who was not his closest friend, the prince had actually been thrown off guard and was panicked at being in a private place with what was apparently four prince-crazy girls. But good manners had been drilled to him until it was second nature to him so he was usually polite, even in the face of the most persistent woman. Besides, he was with his four generals and he knew he could count on them to help him out, if it ever came to that.

"Er… to be able to gaze at your princely countenance is fine with us," one of them said. The four still had their heads bent down.

"Surely you also want some conversation?" Jadeite tilted his head, curious.

"And I'd like to know how you can gaze at his princely countenance with your heads bent like that. Don't you want to look up?" Zoisite looked amused.

"No, no, no. We're fine. Really. Truly. We'll go back now. Thank you."

How they managed to shuffle back, the men would never know, for they were still half-crouched in a curtsy with their heads downcast.

"Wait," Kunzite called, puzzled at the girls' behavior. "The prince, and us, haven't given you leave to, well, leave. You can't just go out."

Even though their heads were bent, the generals could see them glance at each other before shuffling slightly forward.

"You can stand up now. While it is customary to curtsy in the prince's presence, you can stand up normally after doing so." Zoisite continued to remain outwardly amused but inside, he was suspicious. A quick glance at his friends showed that they felt the same way, even though their facial expressions were mildly amused (except for Kunzite, who was impassive, but that was Kunzite's normal facial expression anyway). They studied the girls intently, hiding their suspicion, for their instincts were still screaming at them that something was off with the girls.

Slowly, the four girls straightened and looked at the prince.

"Forgive us," the blond apologized, slightly red-faced. The generals didn't know if it was because the blond was embarrassed or because most of her blood had gone to her face while she was bowing. "We completely lost our heads. Surprise at seeing you and all that, you know."

The short brown-haired woman nudged the blond.

"Your Highness," she added belatedly.

The generals stared at the women with renewed interest.

The girls, meanwhile, could've kicked themselves if they could somehow manage to do so without letting the generals see. How could they have been so stupid? How could they have completely forgotten how the generals and the prince looked like? The only excuse they could give was that meeting the Terran High Command was a surprise and they lost what little sense they had when they all fell to the floor.

"I swear I thought I knew every woman in the kingdom, especially the beautiful ones," Jadeite commented, looking closely at each of their faces. "But why is it that I can't recall your names?"

The girls shared panicked glances. They wanted more than anything to just get out and look for Princess Serenity and hightail out of the blasted planet and be forgotten forever but, as General Kunzite pointed out, one did not leave the presence of royalty unless given leave to do so. What added to their irritation was that the same rules applied to their Society and was second nature to them yet they forgot it.

"Er," Ami thought quickly, "we're from far away… and rarely go to these functions. Perhaps that's why you don't remember us…"

Zoisite's tone was doubtful. "Perhaps. Refresh our memory then, if you will, ladies."

Minako spoke up, "I'm Venu – very, that is, very pleased to, um, meet you," she hastily amended, so flustered she almost gave away her true identity. "I'm Minako Aino. Um… a female… uh…"

"Yes, we can see that," Jadeite said, amused, as he gave her an admiring once-over meant to fluster her.

He succeeded. Minako flushed a bright red. "That is to say, a, uh, lady… ah…"

"Countess," Ami jumped in, throwing the thoroughly flustered Minako a reprimanding glare. "She's Countess of Havenhurst. This is Makoto Kino, the Baroness of Claymore; Lady Rei Hino of Claremont; I'm Ami Mizuno, Duchess of Langston. We're all pleased to meet you."

"Pleasure is all ours," Zoisite automatically replied, looking closely at Ami as he bowed over her hand. She was nearest him so it was her hand he reached for at the end of her introduction. His lips twitched slightly as he noted her flustered appearance and how her fingers twitched slightly, as if she couldn't wait to pull away from him. It was perhaps because of this reaction that had him perversely holding on to her hand a second longer than necessary.

He then mildly remarked to the prince, "Your Highness, I think you're getting better at being attractive. Apparently, you can also now attract the more mature crowd."

Ami turned red. "I am the girls' companion, my lord," she grated out, snatching her hand back. "I'm not interested in the prince at all!"

Zoisite looked surprise. "I'm so sorry, are you offended? I know one does not ask a lady's age, but since I refrained from guessing your age, I didn't think – " but what he didn't think was never said for Jadeite clamped a hand over his mouth. "Zoi, my man, that's right, you didn't think."

"You'll have to forgive my fellow general here. He tends to eat his foot on a regular basis," Nephrite informed them.

Kunzite was still staring at them. "From what land did you say you came from?"

"We didn't," Minako sweetly answered him, having regained her equilibrium and natural spirit. "If you'll excuse us, your Highness, my lord Generals; we don't mean to be rude and leave your presence, but the night air is quite chilly and we don't want to catch a cold."

The generals weren't quite ready to let them go for there seemed to be many questions left unanswered and things that didn't pile up right, but what else could they do? It would be ungallant of them to keep the women against their wish. So they murmured their ascent, bowed slightly to them, and watched them enter the ballroom once again.

----------

"There's something about those girls that just doesn't seem right," Endymion mused.

"Spies?" Nephrite suggested.

"Then they'd know what we all look like, right?" Zoisite reminded him.

Kunzite was frowning. "Let's just keep a watch on them and gather information about them. My instincts also tell me that something's off with those girls. Neph could be right – "

"You don't say? That's a first," Jadeite interrupted.

"Shut up," Nephrite said.

Kunzite shot them a sharp look. "As I was saying, they might be spies or something."

"All right. No problem. I certainly wouldn't mind getting close to them." Jadeite walked towards the doors and, through the glass, looked at the girls admiringly.

"Likewise." Zoisite followed Jadeite and stayed on the other side of the door.

"Zoi?" They looked at him in surprise. Zoisite rarely acted on impulse when liking a woman nor did he ever decide he wanted a woman within minutes of meeting her.

"What? I said I was between women right now. I can like them, can't I? It's not like I'm taken or anything."

"Fine." Kunzite sighed in defeat then turned to the Prince. "What do you think? My instincts are also telling me something's off."

Endymion was frowning thoughtfully at the door the weird girls just disappeared into. "I think all our instincts are pointing to the fact that there's something about them that just doesn't seem right."

"And we usually go into action even if only one of us thinks there's something off about anything or anyone," Kunzite continued, knowing what was in the prince's mind.

"I still don't think they're dangerous, though," Nephrite commented, looking at the agreeing faces of his friends.

"Still, it won't hurt to keep an eye on them." Endymion absently ran a hand through his hair. "And get ready for a closer inspection if or when the time comes that it's needed."

The four generals neared the glass door and looked inside the ballroom, trying to find the four girls they just met.

"Dibs on the black-haired one," Jadeite lazily informed his friends with the air of a man who was already contemplating victory.

"I get the older brunette," Zoisite announced, grinning wickedly.

Nephrite slanted a look at Kunzite. "I guess mine's the young brunette then?"

Kunzite shrugged. "That leaves the blond with me."

Endymion stared at each of his men. "You do know, of course, that you cannot dally with well-born ladies, right? Especially virgins. You can't just do that."

"That's not what we meant," Nephrite quickly assured him. "We'll stick by the Code; we always have, haven't we? Don't insult us now by thinking we won't. You know us better than that, Endymion."

"I know, sorry. You guys just took me a little by surprise with the way you decided on things. I'm more used to hearing you talk like that with women who, well, are more acceptable as mistresses."

-----------

The Terran High Command had a certain Code they all followed, codes of honor that they did not, under any circumstances, break. They were:

1. Treat all women, regardless of standing, with respect. Even if the woman in question was a prostitute or mistress, they are to be respected.

2. Never dally with a virgin or sully an innocent's name. Else, they were expected to do the right thing and marry her. A since marriage was a fate they all feared, they rarely knew any marriageable – that is, innocent – ladies well enough to call them friends. They also steered clear of scandal.

3. Never fight over a woman. Friendship and loyalty to one another always comes first.

4. Never have a relationship with a woman who has been in a relationship with any of the Terran High Command.

5. While inquiring of others' relationships with women is not favorable, telling the others when a relationship has started and ended is expected but not required.

6. Never be the first lover of a married woman. Married women are to be avoided until and unless her adultery has been proven, her husband doesn't mind (or, most like, also has an affair of his own), and is discreet.

7. Never kiss and tell. In fact, never say anything about any relationship, past, present, or future, with anyone. (Although never been proved, Society as a whole believed that this edict was only for anyone who was not of the Terran High Command.)

This Code and the High Command's adherence to it was widely known and if the Generals knew of any male acquaintance who broke the General's code and who refused to accept the consequences were sure to expect a visit from one of the Generals to… remind them of their responsibilities. The most sensitive was rule 2 and, to a lesser extent, rule 1 (since what happens in the privacy of a gentleman's mistress' home was rarely known publicly). It was well known that they will defend a woman's honor, regardless of the standing of woman in question.

The existence of the Code began with the current High Command. While members of the Terran High Command have, generally speaking, been honorable men and have strictly kept to the unspoken rules of gentlemanly behavior, the current High Command formalized the Code the night before Endymion and Kunzite graduated from military school. The specific details were never known, but it is known that the generals wrote the Code while half-drunk, signed by all five and witnessed and upheld and supported (those were the words used; remember, they were half-drunk) by Prince Endymion and the King. It was also one of the few activities of the High Command that was made known to the public by the High Command themselves and was encouraged to be spread far and wide. They made it known that they would adhere to the Code and others were strongly encouraged to do the same, whether you are a titled gentleman or otherwise.

Although many hypothesized that High Command would create or amend laws to hold to the Code, no such activity ever came about. Others also thought that there was more to the Code than those seven rules but nobody has ever seen the original document.

-----------

"I think I can. After all, she's a spinster aunt, right? Older and more mature and, most likely, experienced too. Of course, I have to check first if she's a widow or a spinster, which is part of what I really have to do anyway. If she's the former, a relationship would be all right by Society's standards and ours as well, right?" Zoisite grinned. He was talking about rule 2, of course and the exceptions to that rule.

"But if she's the latter?" Kunzite raised an eyebrow.

Zoisite shrugged. "Spinsters have always been a gray area, haven't they? I mean, they're not exactly marriageable, right? Sure, they can marry, but most of the rules that Society has for 'marriageable' ladies are relaxed where they are concerned." He caught their looks. "Oh, don't give me that. I'll stick by the Code; always have, always will. Damn. If you were anybody else, I'd have demanded satisfaction for questioning my honor."

"We're not questioning your honor, we're just making sure. As you said, spinsters are a gray area," Nephrite pointed out then he grinned. "It would be fun, though, to see how you'd handle this. This is a first for all of us, I think."

Zoisite grinned back. "As always, I'll stick to my own sense of honor, thank you very much."

Endymion sighed, knowing that whatever he said won't make much of a difference and that his men would not act dishonorably anyway, no matter what. The Prince just reminded his generals tiredly, "Try, if you will, not to mix too much pleasure with business, all right?"

"Of course not." Jadeite grinned cheekily.

"Don't you know us?" Zoisite winked.

Endymion sighed again. "That's what I'm afraid of." But his tone of voice was resignedly amused rather than disappointed.

----------

"That was close," Makoto sighed once they were clear of the Generals and in the midst of the crowded ballroom.

"Did we lose them?" Ami glanced behind them.

"Stop that!" Rei hissed, also fighting the compulsion to keep looking around the ballroom to see where the High Command was and to check if they were able to leave unscathed.

Minako, unbelievably, began giggling. The three girls stared at their leader in disbelief.

"Oh, stop that," she told them. "I haven't lost my head. It's just… I've missed the fun of sneaking and skulking around and stuff. And you gotta admit that getting caught by the generals was kind of funny."

"It's not funny," Rei sniffed. "Something bad could've happened."

"I know!" Minako laughed harder. "Kind of like the time we sneaked out of our rooms late at night because we were absolutely certain that the Northeastern Gardens were haunted and we had to see for ourselves?"

Makoto's lips began twitching. "I'll never forget how loud Serenity began screaming when that owl began hooting out of nowhere."

"I don't recall you being so calm either." Minako grinned. "If I recall, you ran to the nearest tree."

"You always were the best and fastest tree-climber of us all," Ami dead-panned.

Rei gave in to her laughter. "Oh, the look on your face when the owl flew right over your head!"

"I've still got the scar on my butt from when I fell down," Makoto admitted.

The girls all shared smiles as they reminisced, then Minako reminded them of their duty and they looked around for the mysterious girl they were now sure was their princess.

"There she is." Ami pointed towards the buffet table.

"Where else but near the food?" Rei rolled her eyes.

----------

"Hello, Usagi," General Kunzite approached her from behind, permitting himself a half-smile at her surprised expression.

"You surprised me!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to."

She rolled her eyes. "Right. You just enjoy sneaking around for the fun of it, eh?"

"Well, I wouldn't be a good general if I couldn't sneak around without anyone knowing it, right?"

"True." Usagi laughed then went back to devouring what was on her plate.

"Don't we feed you enough at the palace?" Zoisite appeared beside Kunzite. Flanking him were Jadeite and Nephrite.

"Sure," she mumbled with her mouth full of hors d'oeuvre. "But I'm a growing girl."

The generals stared at her in fascination.

"What are you looking at?" she asked the stupefied men after swallowing.

"You." Nephrite shook out of it and looked at her in amusement. "I don't think we've ever seen any well-born lady eat as much as you do."

She laughed, unashamedly and a little self-deprecatory; inwardly glad she knew the Generals well enough to be comfortable in their presence. "I suppose you're right. Most of the women I've met – when they aren't glaring at me for being so close to the lot of you – don't seem to eat at all. I don't think I could last."

"I think they believe that men don't get attracted to women who stuff themselves like horses." Zoisite watched in fascination as she stuffed a full pastry into her mouth. Who would've thought that such a dainty girl like her would have such a big mouth?

"Do you?"

"What?" they asked.

Usagi patiently repeated, "Do you guys not like women who have a healthy appetite?"

They actually all thought about it before Kunzite finally replied, answering for all of them, "We never really noticed so I guess it doesn't really matter."

"I, for one, don't think I'd like it if a man judged me for my appetite. If a man were to like me, I'd want him to like me for who I was. I mean, I can't spend the rest of my life surviving on one biscuit and a few drinks, right?" She chewed thoughtfully. "And I guess I'd like for him to eat healthy too, like me, so we can go out on dates where we'd eat and eat and eat and eat."

They all turned to look at Jadeite.

"What are you looking at me for?"

"You spent a day with her," Zoisite reminded him. "Did you guys eat a lot?"

"Hell yeah." Jadeite laughed. "She's a bottomless pit when it comes to eating. I think we both ate about the same amount of food."

The men looked at Usagi with admiration for, of all of them, Jadeite always ate the most. He was known for it.

She swallowed. "By the way, Zoi, what's a horse?"

----------

"Oh, my God," Makoto fretted. "She's with the generals."

Ami studied Serenity, who was eating (as usual) surrounded by the Terran Generals (not usual). "They seem to be close."

Minako nervously chewed on a fingernail. "What do we do? What do we do?"

"Why would she do something like that?" Rei was mystified. "They're part of the Terran High Command; why'd she be friends with them? She knows she's not supposed to."

"She also knows she's not supposed to run off from the palace like she did," Makoto reminded them.

"Well, she's always been the friendliest person around," Ami remarked.

"Right," Minako agreed. She was looking around the five-some as she sought for a place where they could hide and eavesdrop.

"No need," Ami whispered, knowing Minako well enough to know what the other was thinking. She touched one of the beads of the delicate pearl bracelet she wore; the others took a closer look and recognized Mercury's old Mercurian Auditory Extensions, an old model of one of Mercury's many Senshi gadgets. "I managed to sneak this out with my other gadgets," she whispered to her friends as they crowded around her.

Ami fiddled with certain beads then angled her arm to point towards where Serenity and the generals were. After a while, whispers they could clearly understand drifted up.

" – so if you want to go home with his Highness, you can," a male voice said.

"He's really leaving? Now? Why?" Serenity's voice sounded surprise.

"He's running away from all those women, what else?" The girls didn't know the generals well enough to be able to recognize the voices of each.

"I think it's really weird, all those women chasing after Endymion." The Senshi's eyebrows all rose at the apparent closeness of their Princess with the Terran Prince for her to call him by name. "He's just a man."

"He's the crown prince, Usagi."

"So? He's still a man."

"Usagi, you really are unique."

The Senshi looked at each other, wondering why the generals apparently knew Serenity as Usagi. Perhaps it was her alias on Earth?

"Thanks. I think. So, what does his royal baka-ness want of me?" It sounded like Serenity had something in her mouth while she was talking. The four girls rolled their eyes for their princess often ate with her mouth open when with friends.

It took a while for that to dawn on the girls. That her eating with her mouth full probably meant that their princess – the Lunarian crown Princess, the future Silver Alliance Head, the Hereditary Guardian of the Silver Crystal; that Princess – was close enough to be very comfortable with the Terran High Command.

"He offered you a ride home, in case you want to."

"Well, I guess I am a little tired…" Serenity admitted.

"You probably shouldn't exert yourself overly much, Usagi. After all, you've just come from the sick bed."

"Am I supposed to tire easily then, Zoi?"

"I don't know," they heard Zoisite admit. "I really don't know much about amnesia, so I can't say."

"However, I think that anyone who just came from being sick and recovering would tire easily because they were sick for a while," a male voice added. "Regardless of what the illness was."

"Really? So you guys think I should go home and rest?"

"Yes. I know I'm not your doctor, but I do care about you."

"Thanks, Kunzite. You're a really sweet and considerate guy, you know."

"Don't spread that around. It would ruin my reputation. No man wants to be known as sweet. We prefer dashing, dangerous, smoldering. But never sweet."

Princess Serenity laughed, causing the Senshi to smile affectionately, for they missed their Princess' laughter for the past weeks.

"All right, then, I'll make my excuses then leave." They heard the sound of a plate being put down on a table.

"I'll go with you."

"It's not necessary, Zoi," Serenity said.

"Actually, it is."

"Er, why?"

"You're my date, supposedly."

"Supposedly?" Usagi sounded amused.

"You are my date," Zoisite corrected. "If you just leave and the prince disappears, the overly jealous women in this room will come up with all sorts of inappropriate things about you and Endymion, regardless of what's the truth. This way, I can disappear for a while, make it appear as if I dropped you home, then come back here after, for my friends. Nobody will even care that the prince is gone either."

When she replied, Serenity continued to sound amused, "Won't that mean that they'd come up with all sorts of inappropriate things about you and me, as well?"

The Senshi scowled at the possible slight/s against their Princess' reputation.

Zoisite laughed. "Hardly. Nobody cares (much) what we generals do and who we escort. We're just what they talk about when they don't have anything new to report on the prince. Believe me, as long as it doesn't concern the prince, either directly or indirectly, those women won't even care. Besides, we have certain codes of honor that everyone's aware of and since we all spread the word that you're our ward, the ton'll know what to make of that and it won't have any negative impact on your reputation, trust me."

"Really? What kind of codes? Oh, and by the way, I just remembered, do you really get all the prince's rejects?" Serenity asked curiously. "I'm hearing all sorts of rumors regarding that. Also, some girls have actually asked me about it. As if I would know!" Serenity laughed.

"No," the tone of the male who spoke clearly said without words that they weren't going to talk about it.

"Surely you can tell me, 'Zite." The girls choked back giggles for Serenity never really cared much about propriety when with friends. And she was blessed with a curiosity that was the bane of their existence.

"Gentlemen don't discuss such things with ladies."

"I didn't know you were a gentleman, Neph," Serenity teased, causing the Senshi to grin. It was their Princess all right.

"Enough," a male voice laughed. "We'll see you tomorrow, Usagi."

"Great. I love when you drop by." The Senshi were hoping that Serenity'll say where she's staying.

"Not likely. If anybody's going to be dropping by anywhere, then the prince would be dropping by the garrison."

The garrison?

"I'm sorry?"

"You're staying with us starting tonight. Well, not really with us, but in the building with us."

Living with the generals!

"Really?" The girls knew her well enough to know that Serenity was disappointed but hiding it well. "Did Endymion agree to this?"

"He didn't really have a choice, Usagi. He knows as well as we do that protecting you is our primary duty," a male voice reminded her gently.

"Protecting me? Against what?"

"Rumors. Slights against your reputation. Petty jealousies of women with nothing better to do with their lives."

"Oh." The Senshi could imagine Serenity chewing on her bottom lip. "Will it be that bad?"

"You have no idea."

"I thought you had codes and that your honor was unquestionable?"

"There will still be annoying females with nothing better to do. And while nobody would believe such rumors, we'd all prefer not to have any kind of rumor regarding you spread."

"Well, all right. I guess I really do have to go home early, then, since I still need to pack." It sounded like Serenity was frowning in thought.

"No need," a male voice assured her. "Endymion left word to your lady's maids that the rest of your things were to be moved to the garrison, to the room you used earlier this evening."

"Enough, Ami, I think we've heard enough," Minako said, covering Ami's wrist with her hand. Ami nodded and pressed another bead on her bracelet and the voices abruptly stopped.

The girls all looked at each other, chagrined. They've learned much from eavesdropping and none of it good.

"So that's why Serenity hasn't Contacted any of us," Rei exclaimed. "She's got amnesia!"

"Amnesia isn't really the problem here, at least, not the main one." Minako was studying the cluster of four men and blond lady. "It's not going to be easy to get to her when she's right in the middle of the Terran garrison. I've heard it's located in the main palace compound, which is heavily guarded."

Makoto was shaking her head in disbelief. "Geez, only Serenity would've ran off to the Earth, have amnesia, become close with the Terran Prince, be close friends with all the Terran Generals, and live in the main palace – the center of Terran rule."

"Look on the bright side," Rei lightly told her friend. "We've got the only Princess who's stupid enough and, at the same time, smart enough to have gone and done the absolute one thing that nobody else in the entire solar system is allowed to do, nor would it ever cross their minds to do it."

"What will we do then?" Makoto turned to Minako, who was looking at Serenity, deep in thought.

"Well? Venus?" Ami waited.

Minako squared her shoulders. "We do what we were sent to do. We've done at least part of it: finding her. Although it won't be easy, we've got to find a way to get to her and bring her back home."

"How?"

"We'll try sneaking into the palace compound first, Makoto, before we try another way."

"Oh, shoot!" Rei slapped her forehead.

"What?"

"I forgot I'm supposed to Call the Queen tomorrow; what do I say?"

"You just Talked to her yesterday, I thought you said you were only supposed to Call on her once a week?" Makoto asked.

"She said she wanted to hear how we did in our new disguises. Oh, and this time, we all have to be there. She wants to See and Talk to us all."

"Oh." The girls all looked at each other. Obviously, no one wanted to tell the Lunarian Queen that her one and only daughter was on first name basis with the Terran Prince and living with the Terran Generals, right smack in the center of the Terran Kingdom.

"Why do we have to tell her anything?" Minako quietly suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Rei looked at Minako in shock. "You want me to lie to the Queen?"

"No," Minako patiently explained. "Just… 'forget' to tell her about the whereabouts of her daughter. You can say that we've had leads and we'll follow up on those leads."

"Isn't that lying?" Rei looked disapprovingly at her friend.

"Well… technically speaking, no." Ami pushed her Glasses up her nose. "Everything we tell her will be the truth, it just won't be the entire truth. After all, we do have a lead on the Princess – she's living with the Terran High Command. We'll give her a general view, but keep the specifics to ourselves."

"I agree," Makoto said.

"That's still lying and you guys know it. I don't want to lie to her."

"Rei…" Ami began in a pleading voice but Makoto interrupted her.

"Fine," Makoto sweetly told Rei. "Then you can look forward to all the joys of telling her Majesty all about her beloved daughter's plight here on Terran soil."

"Well, when you put it that way…"