The Second Meeting

By Bashfulglowfly

Chapter Ten

Queen Serenity sat on her throne in the Throne Room and listened to the petitioners before her. But she was only partly paying attention to them. The other part of her attention was on what was brought to her the evening before: Prince Endymion and Serenity. She knew and believed that the Prophecy was valid; she had seen too many others come true before in her long lifetime. But her darling daughter was only sixteen Earth rotations old. She didn't want to lose her baby to Death and Darkness. She was determined to keep that from happening. She also wanted Serenity to know Love and that the only way she would truly know it would be in Endymion's arms. She hoped that the Senshi would keep her from surrendering too quickly, but if what Venus said was true about all of the Senshi and Shitennou…she, Queen Serenity, wasn't going to hold her breath.

"I have heard your petition. Leave your papers with my advisors and I shall give it further consideration." The men bowed and moved off to the side to hand their paperwork to Artemis and Luna. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Serenity sitting in her chair to the left of the Throne. Serenity was sitting poised and still as befitting a princess, but she knew her daughter. Serenity was nervous and waiting for something to happen. The Senshi, standing to the side, were also tense.

Queen Serenity knew that Endymion and the Shitennou had spent the night in a suite in Serenity's wing of the Castle. She began to wonder why she had not yet seen them. Suddenly the main doors to the Throne Room opened. The Seneschal walked through and paused. He pounded his Staff of Office three times on the floor. All of the talk in the room stopped as everyone turned to look. "Your Majesty, Your Highness, The Sailor Senshi, My Lords and Ladies…Prince Endymion of Earth and his Shitennou, Lord Kunzite, Lord Nephrite, Lord Jadeite and Lord Zoicite!" His voice echoed briefly then was overwhelmed by the outbreak of fierce and shocked whispers of the crowd.

Queen Serenity saw her daughter's hands tighten on the arms of her chair and then relax. She watched as Endymion walked through the doors, his men behind him in a staggered V shape. She nearly smiled; someone had been busy on their behalf. Endymion's black cloak flowed around him; while its deep red lining emphasized the black velvet tunic with silver trimming, black leather trousers and knee-high boots. Kunzite was wearing the same clothes that he wore when Venus presented him the night before. The other Shitennou matched Kunzite but their trimmings were different: Green for Nephrite, Blue for Zoicite and Red for Jadeite. And they wore their swords, real swords, not the overly fancy useless pieces that most of the courtiers wore. She saw the Weapons Master eyeing the men appraisingly. She would be interested in his opinion later.

The Queen could see the admiring glances of many of the women in the room, and a few of the men. She nearly laughed because she knew exactly what they were thinking and looked forward to seeing their plans fall apart. She could also see the anger of many others. She knew what they were thinking as well – the utter nerve of those Barbarian Earthlings! She noted their faces to make sure that they would not cause any trouble for her daughter. The rest of the pack was confused or curious.

Her musings were cut short when Endymion stopped a few yards from her throne. The Shitennou went to one knee and Endymion bowed deeply. After he straightened, he spoke. "Your Majesty, I am Endymion, Prince and Heir to the Kingdom of Earth. I have come here today to ask permission to court your daughter, Princess Serenity."

Gasps and shocked whispers ran about the room.

"You are the first to ask permission to do such a thing, your Highness." Which was true. Most of Serenity's so-called suitors had simply showed up. None of them had the audacity or the courage to come before her in Open Court. "Why should I allow you to court my daughter? The Moon Kingdom has no dealings with the Kingdom of Earth."

Endymion bowed his head in acknowledgement. "That is true, the Earth has been cut off from the rest of the Galaxy. But all things must change. I would like to open talks of trade and alliance with the Moon Kingdom and it's allies."

That comment also caused a great deal of commotion as well. Queen Serenity could see that the representatives of the various planets' trade delegations were interested. "New possibilities of trade and alliances are all well and good, but you mentioned courting my daughter."

Endymion smiled. "I did, your Majesty, and I meant it. I have heard of the beauty of Princess Serenity as well as her kindness and generosity. I also know that you have never promised her hand to anyone. Yes, I am from Earth. Yes, I have not had the advantages of living and traveling on the Moon or any of her allies. But, I promise you this: I have a good heart. I will never deliberately hurt the Princess. I would always protect her from those who would hurt her. And I would do my best to always make her happy. I can't promise that I won't fail at times, I am merely a man, not a God, but I will always, always try."

Queen Serenity felt her heart tremble. She felt the sincerity of Endymion's statement. She turned to look at her daughter. Serenity's eyes were wide and her cheeks were flushed. Obviously Endymion's declaration moved her. "What say you, my daughter? Should I allow this man to court you?"

Serenity blushed deeper, but she met her mother's eyes. "If it pleases your Majesty, I think I would enjoy being courted by the Prince of Earth."

Queen Serenity turned back to Endymion and regally inclined her head. "You have heard my daughter. Very well, I give you my permission to court my daughter." Endymion bowed again in thanks. She waved Serenity out of her chair. "You may go with the Prince on a walk through the Gardens. Sailor Mercury and Lord Zoicite will accompany you."

Serenity rose from her chair and curtsied to her mother. Placing her hand on Endymion's extended arm, the pair walked out one of the side doors, Mercury and Zoicite falling in behind them.

Queen Serenity gestured to Artemis who stepped forward. "All petitions have been heard for the morning. The Court is dismissed." He held out his hand to the Queen as she stepped down from the throne. "Is it such a wise idea to allow the Prince such access to Serenity so early?"

"It will keep that pack on its toes and guessing." She murmured back. "It will be a good thing." She walked out of the Throne Room, giving one last order. "Have your people circulate and report what is being said about Prince Endymion and my allowing him to court Serenity."

Serenity smiled up at Endymion. "It seemed almost too easy."

"Your mother played everything just right." Endymion laughed.

"Watch your back though, Dymion." Warned Zoicite. "I heard the mutters. There were some who were not pleased with her decision."

Mercury nodded. "True, but those are the ones who are…difficult to deal with in the first place. They are concerned only with themselves, not even with their own planet. Their comforts and their privileges are the only things that are important to them."

"I know you briefed me on them, but I will need to put faces to names." Zoicite chewed on his thumb for a moment, a habit he had when he was stressed. "I'm surprised that her Majesty sent the two of us out instead of the others."

Serenity smiled. "Just because there isn't any official contact with the Earth, do not think that we are completely ignorant about you."

Mercury was shocked; she hadn't realized that Serenity was aware of the spies the Moon Kingdom employed. "Serenity, you…you…"

"Artemis tells me things sometimes." Serenity said calmly. "Not everything but things he feels that I really need to know. He told me once that he had people keeping an eye on the Kingdom of Earth. Mother probably chose the two of you because you'd be the least distracted by each other."

Mercury and Zoicite looked at each other then back at the princess. "Explain please, your Highness." Said Zoicite.

"Well, Jupiter and Nephrite are clearly attracted to each other almost to the point of distraction. Mars claims she hates men yet she watches Jadeite's every move and he knows it so he's doing things to see how she will react. Venus and Kunzite, well, they are the leaders of the Senshi and Shitennou, so it's best that they remain to answer questions and such."

Endymion laughed "Not to mention the fact that Lady Venus would happily cart Kunzite back to her rooms and have her wicked way with him."

Zoicite rolled his eyes. "And Kunzite would try to talk her out of it claiming 'duty'."

"But why us." Asked Mercury. She blushed. "I must admit that I am attracted to Lord Zoicite." Zoicite gave her a startled look, and then a slow smile covered his face.

"Even though you two are attracted to each other, you will both keep your minds on business, so to speak. After all, both of you deal with intelligence and spies."

Mercury came to a complete stop. She stared at her charge in shock. "How in the name of the Goddess did you know?"

Serenity shrugged. "I saw you talking with Madame Lirra a few times. Why else would YOU be talking to one of the best courtesans on the Moon." Mercury choked. Serenity continued, "She's nice. I like her. I know that I'm not really supposed to know what she does or even acknowledge her but I watch her and see how she speaks to and treats various people. I don't always follow her example but she chased Mars' idiot cousin away from me. She also told me something that made me feel a bit better about myself now that I have made my come-out." She blushed. "Madame Lirra gave me a bit of confidence about wearing my new dresses."

Mercury put her arms around her friend and held her close. "Even though you aren't supposed to know about her, I'm glad that she was able to make you feel better when we couldn't."

"Don't worry. I think it was hard to accept what you were saying because we are friends and you always want what is best for me, but Madame Lirra is a stranger, so it's a bit different." Serenity hugged her friend back. "Let's keep going and I'll shock you some more about things you don't know that I know!"

Kunzite was very aware of Venus' hand on his arm. It was as if her very touch was burning into his skin. He smiled and nodded as she introduced him to various people. Some he could tell were interested in him as if he was a creature in a traveling carnival. Others were interested in him as a person or as someone to negotiate trade with. Those he noted and intended to speak to them again.

He felt Venus tense and looked around to see what was causing it. An older man was approaching them. He was silver-haired in the way of one who used to be blond, unbent by age and while he was slim in form, he was built like a brick wall. The man moved lightly on his feet. Kunzite narrowed his eyes but deliberately kept his hand from the hilt of his sword. This man was dangerous. He reminded Kunzite of King Terran's Weapons Master.

Venus inclined her head to the man, "Weapons Master. Lord Kunzite, may I introduce you to Lord Makto, he is the Weapons Master for our soldiers and he also oversees the training of my sisters and myself."

Ah, no wonder I thought of our Weapons Master! Thought Kunzite. He gave a respectful bow to the man. "It is an honor to meet you, my Lord."

The man's blue eyes twinkled. "Oh really? Well, my Lord Kunzite, do you actually use that blade that hangs by your side or is it a fashion statement like most of the frivolous fops that contaminate this place?"

Kunzite grinned at the Weapons Master while he placed his hand over the hand of the now horrified Venus had on his arm. "My blade has been very good to me, sir, and has gotten me out of many situations."

Lord Makto laughed. "Good answer, my lad!" Her turned to Venus. "You and the other girls bring these boys with you to training in the morning. No use in letting them get out of shape. And you tell Princess Serenity she is to attend me as well."

Venus bowed her head. "It shall be as you wish, Weapons Master."