The Raven: Book Three
By: Lady Blackdragon
Started: 5/5/01
It's basically about Usagi and her lives, but it tells about Mamoru. I also did other scouts as well, but they're not that long. It starts out with need to know facts 'bout the moon kingdom, but they're rather... different than the original story. Enjoy...I hope.
~Interlude: Memories~
***
THE MOON
***
The raven stood at the gate, her maroon eyes compassionate. 'Are you sure this is what you wish to see?' she asked. 'You may not like it.'
'I need to know,' the blonde said earnestly.
'As you wish, Selenity.'
***
Princess Selinity watched her mother as she sat upon the crystal throne that she would someday inherit. Her mother wore a placid expression, one that could almost be described as...cold. Cold and detached.
Perhaps if Serenity wasn't such a great and wise leader, people would see the side of her that Selenity saw everyday; they would see through that awful fake smile, and those awful perfect teeth. They would see the black rotten thing inside of her that was the tattered remains of Serenity's soul.
Selenity saw that side to often for comfort, haven been slapped across the face for disturbing her mother's thoughts often enough. Sometimes, Usagi, as Selenity liked to be called, wondered if she thrived just on the stories she had been told since she was five, about the wonderful and wise Queen of the Moon.
She had no one to turn to, and at the tender age of eight she had begun weapons and magic practice to fill the empty spaces in her heart. Even as she wondered down the hallways now, she could feel the two gaping holes in her heart. One in need to be filled by a mother, the other, a father.
Ah yes, her father. The one no one could talk about. THe mysterious man whose name was said to bring about disaster. Another story, for another day.
She was the Princess of the Moon, for goodness sake. She couldn't mope about. 'Someday,' she resolved, 'I will inherit the throne, the Imperium Silver Crystal, and I WILL be the best Queen ever. And I will have heart while I do it.'
****
'Is that all my life was? Spiteful hate for a mother I couldn't understand?! Naive ambition?!'
The raven chuckled. 'Heaven no. There's more to see, Selenity. Much more.'
****
Queen Serenity sat upon her crystal throne as emotionless as ever, looking down at the four who were to become her daughters protectors. "You'll do. Dismissed."
As soon as they were out in the corridor, the one in the red and white fuku, Mars, exploded. "WE'LL DO?! We've been training all are lives for this?! I hope that this Princess isn't like her mother!"
"Shhh! Calm down, Rei-san" the girl in the blue fuku by the name of Mercury said soothingly. "Not so loud!"
"Well, I personally agree with Rei-san." Jupiter said, cracking her knuckles. "I might accidentally fail at this job."
"I'm sure she won't be like her mother. The word around here is that the Princess is really sweet, if not ambitious. Not anything like the description of the Queen."
"I certainly hope I'm nothing like that witch," A new voice said from behind them.
They turned around to see the princess herself standing there, the spitting image of her mother in all except hair and eye color.
"Your Majesty."
"Don't do that. We're going to be spending a lot of time together, and that easily gets annoying. Plus," the Princess giggled. "You don't look like the bowing type. Proud stances you all have, princesses of your own planets."
Mars raised an eyebrow at Venus before turning to the Princess. "Well, Princess, I expected you to be somewhat like your mother."
"I refuse to believe we came from the same blood. But hey, all priveliges come with punishments right?"
Mercury looked at the ten year old princess and sighed. Her mother had forced her to grow up and become an adult at so young an age. At fourteen years, Mercury herself believed even she wasn't so cynical as to believe that.
The young Princess tossed strands of blonde hair over her shoulder as she looked quietly at the soldiers before her. "You know, I think I like you guys."
"Well, good." Mars said sarcasticly. "I'm glad I have your approval."
That statement was met with another one of the princess' beautiful laughs. "Now I know I do."
****
Selenity smiled. 'That's a good part of my life, isn't it? Are there any more of those?'
'Yes, there is another.'
'Show me, please?'
'Of course.'
****
The smell of roses was prevalent in the garden. So much color, so much warmth could be found here. She snuggled deeper into Endymion's arms, his sweet smell of summer rain intoxicating her senses.
She wondered once more what she'd done in life to deserve the love of the handsome eighteen year old Earth Prince named Endymion. At her awkward age of fifteen, it was hard to imagine that he would see anything in her that could hold his interest.
She held on to the moments she spent with him, knowing that each one could be her last; that someday he would tire of her and find someone more worthy to love.
She sighed as she turned up to look into his navy eyes; he was looking into the beautiful sunset, the wind stirring his jet colored hair, and the last rays of the sun's light illuminating his profile.
Yes, someday he would move on, and she would be crushed. Was this what it was like to love? To know that you had something great, something wonderful that made you so amazingly happy; to know that one day, you would lose it?
Endymion looked down at her, somehow sensing she was upset. "What's wrong love?" he asked softly, nudging her softly.
"Endymion, why do you love me?" she asked him. She looked searchingly into his dark blue eyes, as she asked. He smiled softly down upon her, flecks of silver glimmering in his eyes.
"Because I can't comprehend not loving you. Your smile, your laugh, your eyes," he paused a moment. "But most of all, I can't see anyone else filling the place in my heart that you do. You have a heart big enough for the both of us, and strong enough for the both of us. I just hang on for the ride. You're just so special and unpredictable, and-" he stopped. "That enough reasons."
She blushed. "Yes, my prince. Just enough."
She watched him as his face paled a bit, and his lips twitched slightly as they did whenever he was nervous.
"Usako-" he started, his voice cracking again. "I want to ask you a question, but you don't have to answer it imediately, okay?"
"Okay," she said, wondering what in the world he could be so nervous about.
"I can't spit out a poem about how amazing and special you are, because it can't be discribed with mere words. You mean so much to me, and I don't know, exactly, what I did to deserve you, but...What I'm trying to ask is, Will you marry me?"
Usagi's throat constricted as those words seeped into her brain, echoing in her head a thousand times; no a million. The most wonderful man in the world was nervous about asking her to MARRY HIM?!
After that sunk in, she realized what that meant. 'HE WANTS ME TO MARRY HIM?!'Before she could stop the words from coming out, and not that she wanted to, her answer poured from her heart without giving her mind a slight warning.
"Yes! A thousand times yes! No! A billion times yes!"
His face broke into that wonderful smile of his, and somehow, Usagi knew that life would be forever perfect.
****
'That was so beautiful,' she whispered.
'Yes it was. But unfortunately, it was soon after that things went terribly wrong.'
'It's time for the sad things, now, ne?'
'Yes. The end of a Utopia.'
****
It was the glorious night of the princess' sixteenth birthday, and the night that the princess' engagement to the prince of Earth would be formally anounced.
The Queen NORMALLY wouldn't have bothered with a ceremony for her daughter at all, except for the fact that the people loved her daughter; and everyone knew that the people would start to suspect the Queen's true nature if she didn't hold a ball in honor of her heir.
The night went well, and many cheers and congratulations had gone around after the anouncement of her long awaited betrothal. Everything was going as planned.
Serenity sat in a corner, her face bored. Usagi could tell she really hadn't wished to come, but could find no excuse to miss the party of her 'beloved' daughter.
Mars stood up, clanging her fork against her crystal wine glass, causing a sharp clang to echo through the ballroom. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. The Senshi and I just wanted to say that we hope Princess Selenity has much love and luck in her future endeavors." The Senshi nodded their heads as clapping was heard around the room.
A tall, darkhaired woman with blue eyes, who just so happened to be sitting next to Mars, complemented her on her speech. "Nice and short." Usagi watched as Rei blushed.
"Thanks, Luna. Thanks a lot." Mars said. She rarely got praise from so worthy an advisor and person as Lunaria Crescento, who was her strongest critic in training. Usagi had always wondered why. Perhaps it was only now that she was beggining to see that Luna had the most hope for Mars, and THAT was the reason she was so hard on her.
"You learned well."
Suddenly, a dark and booming voice could be heard throughout the room. "Yes, let's all give congatulations to the little Princess."
Queen Serenity's silver expressionless eyes grew wide with horror. "ALEX?! No! It couldn't be! Alex wasn't evil..." Her voice tapered of at the end.
"Oh yes I was, Serenity! You were just to blind to see it! You were such an airhead, but you had so much POWER! When you gave birth to our daughter, I knew she would be the strongest! The best! You were a tool, one that has long since run out of usefullness." He aimed at her with his pointer finger at her, and her body was reduced to nothing but a pile of ash.
He turned to Usagi, as Endymion held to her waist in a comforting and protective manner. She held the silver crystal up in the palms of her hands, and her eyes stared defiantly at him. "How dare you kill a Lunarian! How dare you kill anyone! She was a good Queen, who was respected by all! I will punish you!"
"I, Zimite, do not believe you are cold enough to kill your own father!"
The Princess' faith stumbled.
The Moon Kingdom stumbled.
The Utopia fell.
The Princess had failed.
***
'It all ended because I was weak!' she cried out. 'It's all my fault!'
'There is more, Selenity.'
'I don't wish to see it!'
'You must.'
'Why?'
'These are your memories of this life, that your subconcious has blocked from you. Are you prepared?'
'As I'll ever be.'
'Let's begin.'
***
She knew something was wrong. Before she even walked up the steps, she knew. The doorknob was cold against her palm as she tried the lock. The door opened with a 'click'. Her mother never left the door unlocked, especially at night.
The large house her family lived in was eerily silent; she couldn't hear a sound.
Then suddenly, she could hear a dripping sound coming from the kitchen. The kitchen lights were out, and the dripping sound had gotten louder.
Nothing could have prepared her for what she would see next.
Her father lay strangled on the floor. She could still here his deep laughter as she rushed from room to room, looking for her shoe, and finally found it in the refrigerator. 'Honey, you put your stuff in the strangest places!'
All that was left of her annoying little brother Shingo were a few scattered bodyparts strewn across the red stained tile floor. His backpack and it's contents were on the table; he had been doing his homework, apparently, when the killer had struck.
And her mother. Her beautiful mother hung by her silky purple hair from the ceiling fan, several waves still framing her peaceful face. 'Usagi-chan! Did you do your homework?!' 'Yes okaa-san!'
Memories echoed through her mind of them. They were gone. Forever.
She blacked out.
***
She was openly sobbing, the tears coursing down her face relentlessly. 'I can't see anymore. Iie, it hurts...'
'To face your fears, you must know what they are.'
'I've been hiding; hiding from these memories!'
'That's why I'm showing them to you. To face your fears, you must know what they are.'
***
She awoke in a white room, and bright light streamed into her eyes. A doctor stood over her as she lifted her lids, and kind eyes greeted her.
"Hello. How are you feeling?"
"Like hell."
"I would be to--after the accident and all..." the doctor said warily.
"What accident?" she said confusedly, her mind hazy. She couldn't seem to pinpoint anything in her mind...
"Oh no. Can you tell me, what's your name?"
Her brain wrapped around itself, seeking the answer but finding none. "I don't know. I just don't know..."
She wearily felt her eyes closing involuntarily and darkness consumed her every thought until everything was quiet.
She was fast asleep.
***
'Why did you show me that? I remember that.'
'One of your fears is losing yourself.'
'How do you know everything about me?! How do you know my memories?!'
'To face your fears, you must know your fears. Remember that always.'
And she disappeared, leaving the girls astro form to find it's way back to her body.
****
Alright. That was hard. phew.
*****
THE PLANETS
*****
~Mars: Casablaca~
Rei walked happily alongside her mother through the Marsian gardens, as she sighed at all of the wonderful flowers.
Princess Rei of Mars was considered to be one of the next beauties of the millenium; her soft ebony hair and challenging eyes were by far the most beautiful on Mars already, and the Princess had yet to come into her beauty at the tender age of seven.
Her mother smiled fondly down at her, and Rei smiled back. It was apparent where her beauty came from.
"Momma, why are you so upset?" Rei asked, with all the innocence of a seven year old.
"You're my only daughter, Rei, and the Moon Queen wants to take you away from me."
"She's a mean lady." Rei said, cringing at the memory of the cold faced woman.
"She wants you to become a Senshi; a protector of her daughter. It would be the best thing for you, and would asure your ascension to the throne, but I don't think I could let you go."
"I don't want to go either. If it makes you sad, it must be a bad thing!"
"No! Rei, it's a wonderful thing! And I do want you to go! I want you to do your best, okay?"
"I'd do anything for you Mommy. For you, I'll be the very best Senshi ever!"
"That's my girl.
***
Mars walked up to the grave. She brushed the snow from off the engaving, and looked down with love. 'In memory of Queen Ares, loving mother and memorable leader.'
The snow was falling harder than ever, re-coating the spot Rei had just wiped clean. She shivered from the cold, and pulled her coat more tightly around her.
It was the dead of winter, and the anniverary of her mother's death. The day a part of her soul died.
She layed the bunch of flowers upon the stone; fresh casablancas. Her mother's favorite. Her favorite.
"I'd do anything for you Mommy." She whispered, quoting something she had said twelve years ago. Tears fell from her eyes. 'I love you mom. I miss you.'
As she looked towards the sky, tears streaming down her beautiful face, she whispered so quietly that only the angels could hear. "Someday, I'll see you again... I just know it! So until then, ja ne!"
And she walked ever so quietly from the cemetary. Usagi met her at the gate, meeting her eyes. Usagi had stood out in the freezing weather to wait for her, without thinking of herself. And Rei new suddenly that everything would be okay, as long as the princess would always be there.
*****
~Mercury: Magic~
Ami felt a hand tap her lightly on the shoulder, as so not to disturb her but to signify they were there. She turned her blue eyes toward Usagi, who looked at her quietly. "What's wrong, Ami-chan?"
"Nothing."
"Don't lie. It's not your style."
Ami sighed. The young princess she protected was quite persceptive, she noted. It went into her file of little things she learned about the girl everyday. None of the other scouts had even gotten a hint of her melancholy mood.
"I don't know what's wrong exactly. I feel... empty, I guess."
"I've noticed that the other Senshi seem to leave you out. Why do they do that?" Usagi asked.
Once again, Mercury marveled over the maturity of this ten year old girl. What had made her think she needed to grow up so fast? Mercury could answer that question easily. Her good-for-nothing mother.
"Once again, I'm not sure."
"For someone who has so much knowledge, you sure know little about peoples emotions."
"Why do you think they leave me out?"
"You don't act as if you want to be let in. You act like you're scared you're going to get hurt if you let people be your friends! They don't know how to deal with that."
"Why are you my friend?"
"You're so different from the others, but in a good way. You're quiet, yet you are tough and you stand up for yourself. You're such an interesting person, I can't imagine NOT being your friend."
Ami smiled then. "You made me feel better. Thanks princess." She smiled at the girl fully, and her blue bangs fell into her eyes. "Oof! Stupid bangs!"
Usagi giggled. "Talk to you later, Merc!" She called out as she left the room.
A short while after Usagi left, Ami puzzled over the mystery that was Princess Selenity. The girl was so compassionate; so different from the mother she had, all cold and detatched.
When Ami suddenly realized that it wasn't Usagi's compassion that had made her feel better. It was her charm. She grinned like a fool from ear to ear.
"It must be magic," she thought, before going out to the gardens to gossip with the other Senshi.
***
The raven watched happily as the souls of Mars and Mercury floated back to their bodies. 'They have learned what it is they need to learn.'
Now all she had to do was wait for the others.
*****
~Jupiter: The Card~
It had suddenly appeared in her quarters, lying on her dresser when she had returned from Senshi practice.
At first she didn't notice, weary from her workout. She proceeded to take a shower, washing her auburn hair and rinsing the sweat off from her recent spar with Mars.
It wasn't until late that night did she notice it sitting on her dresser, addressed neatly on the front to Princess Jupiter in beautifully scripted handwriting, elegant to the last touch.
Her emerald eyes scanned every inch of the envelope, searching for the name of the person that sent it. Without finding a clue, she slowly opened it.
It was a pink card, with green writing in a bold longhand across the top. 'Happy Birthday' it said, and Jupiter wondered briefly who could have sent it. It WAS her birthday today, but she had told no one.
She curiously opened the card.
I wish you a birthday full of dreams,I wish you a future not ripped down the seams. I give you a laugh, I'll give you a smile,If this card makes you happy for a while. The sun may set on every day. But I hope your wishes will forever stay. Be true to your heart, and to your hope. And somehow you'll manage to stay afloat. I'm not a great poet, so what can I say? But I'd write a poem for you any day!
Love,
S
It wasn't until she had turned out the light that she realized who S was. S stood for Selenity.
She noted in her mind that tommorrrow she would thank Usagi for the lovely card.
****
~Venus: The Gift~
I looked at the precious gift in my hands. It was a gift from Usagi-chan; a gift to celebrate my upcoming marriage to General Kunzite, a General in the Earth Prince Endymion's personal force, she said.
I had never met Endymion, but Kunzite had high hopes that he and the Princess would fall in love. Yeah right. Usagi-chan isn't a real firm believer in love, let me tell you.
She was so sweet, to give me a gift. Had it really been so long, four years, since the day we met her when she was ten? Yes, I did believe it had.
There I was, at a minor library, looking at the gift in my hand. What had possessed her to give me a gift? I wondered.
I heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and listened carefully. There was a man, identified by his warm baritone, and what sounded like Usagi's giggle. I looked out in the hallway to see none other than Usagi locking lips with the man whose voice I had heard earlier.
I couldn't resist the silly grin that pulled at my face, and the relief that washed over me. I must admit getting married when the person you hold most dear the biggest skeptic of love and destiny and all that jazz was getting a bit awkward.
I looked down at the box in my hands, and began to unwrap it. The wrapping of orange fell away as I untied the yellow ribbon, the soft feel of it in my hand a welcome contrast to my stone sword. Inside the box was an album, with a black leather cover, embossed with a gold rose.
They were pictures of friends, special moments; the album was bringing tears to my eyes from all the memories we had shared. And at the back was a letter from Usagi. "For all my dreams that you make come true. Love, Usagi."
And then I realized. The true gift all along was having her as a friend, and being the one to make all her dreams come true.
****
'One left' the raven said as it flew away from the gate of time. 'She was always the last.'
****
~Saturn: If I Only Had A Heart~
I am the Messiah of Darkness. I know this. I have known for a long time.
I bear the weight of the destruction of the Universe. It is nothing compared to what others must bear, yet is is everything that others must bear.
Selenity once said to me that darkness in ones soul is the heaviest weight to carry. One would think I should be the strongest girl in the world.
I would feel sorry for myself, the lonely princess of Saturn, had it not been for the sudden message that I was to become a Senshi.
I remember how excited I was, how thrilling it would be to be given that chance; the wonderful opportunity to show everyone just how much it could be worth to be my friend. I thought to be someones friend, you needed a reason.
She taught me that all you needed was a heart.
A heart. A heart, of all things! Who needed one of those? All they caused were messy emotions, for goodness sakes!
"But that's what friendship is, Hotaru. Messy emotions."
"Why?"
"Because to truly be someones friend, you have to care about them. And when you care about someone, you have emotions."
"So why do you have to care?"
"Do you ever feel lonely, Hotaru-chan? That's why you need to care. When people care about you, they make the loneliness go away, and you feel loved, even when you're all alone."
"Even when you're all alone? I think I want to have a friend like you."
"Messy emotions and all?"
"Messy emotions and all." I confirmed.
I am the Messiah of Darkness. I know this. I have known for a long time.
Yet she is the Messiah of Light. And she will light my way, illuminating the darkness so I can see my path.
She is the princess; heart, mind, body and soul. Especially heart.
****
~Earth: The First Time~
I suppose the first time I saw her was back when I was about 17 or so, on my first trip to the Moon Kingdom. My mother came anually for the conferences or somesuch nonsense, and my fater came so he could stay with my mother.
So anyway, I was walking through the Royal Moon gardens when a short girl of about 14 or so ran into me, quite literally. She wore her hair in a funny style, and her insane giggling was driving me absolutly crazy. "Ummph! Watch where you're going, Odango Atama!"
Her giggling stopped immediatly, thank the gods, and I was even daring to dream that I might continue my walk when she looked up into my eyes, rightiously angry.
I knew I was lost then. Hopelessly and totally lost in her eyes. I swallowed. "I'm sorry for calling you that, Miss..." I trailed off, seeking her name.
"Selenity. Princess Selenity of the Moon." The anger in her eyes had faded to curiousity and we walked through the gardens side by side while she talked on and on about the different kinds of flowers. Suddenly, she turned to me. "I never did ask your name."
"Endymion. Prince Endymion of Earth." Her eyes widened and she blushed. "So you're the one, hmm..."
"What are you talking about?"
She turned to me then. "Your parents brought you because they're trying to set us up."
It was my turn to blush.
I suppose the first time I kissed her was one day when we were walking down a back hallway past a minor library. She was telling me a story about one of her friends, Mars, and she tripped over a small crack in the marble floor.
I caught her before she fell. She fit so snug in my arms; I didn't want to let go of her, but I slowly released her. I noticed she moved away from me hesitantly too, and I made the most dredful mistake a man can make when confronted with the situation of a beautiful girl in your arms.
I looked into her eyes, and bam! There went common sense, quickly followed by caution and hesitation. Sucked right in by those swirling pools of blue. My sanity was on vaction, and my self control was nada, zilpo, zilch.
I captured her lips with my own in a searing kiss that felt as though it lasted for eons upon eons...
And then I remembered I had to breathe.
And sanity returned from vacation as I realized what I had just done. I expected her to slap me, tell me she never wanted to see me again... or something along those lines.
I did not, however, expect her to pull my head down and lay one right back on me. That was the second time i kissed her.
I suppose the first time I realized I loved her was when I was walking through the gardens alone one evening, and for some reason I felt very hollow and empty. I sat down on a bench and gazed at the Earth from my seat. Then she was there.
"The Earth is really beautiful, isn't it, Endymion?" she asked softly, breaking the silence.
"Yes, it is." I looked down at her and noticed that she was wearing only a thin nightgown. She must've been freezing!
I wrapped my arms around her and sighed. "It's terribly cold outside. Why did you come out here?"
"I felt that you needed me to be here." She pointed to her heart. "It hurt right there, and I knew I had to find you."
That was when I knew that the one thing that had been missing from my life had been her all along.
****
Luna collapsed warily against Artemis, and Uranus looked at her curiously. "Now, the real battle shall begin."
****
End Book 3!!
By: Lady Blackdragon
Started: 5/5/01
It's basically about Usagi and her lives, but it tells about Mamoru. I also did other scouts as well, but they're not that long. It starts out with need to know facts 'bout the moon kingdom, but they're rather... different than the original story. Enjoy...I hope.
~Interlude: Memories~
***
THE MOON
***
The raven stood at the gate, her maroon eyes compassionate. 'Are you sure this is what you wish to see?' she asked. 'You may not like it.'
'I need to know,' the blonde said earnestly.
'As you wish, Selenity.'
***
Princess Selinity watched her mother as she sat upon the crystal throne that she would someday inherit. Her mother wore a placid expression, one that could almost be described as...cold. Cold and detached.
Perhaps if Serenity wasn't such a great and wise leader, people would see the side of her that Selenity saw everyday; they would see through that awful fake smile, and those awful perfect teeth. They would see the black rotten thing inside of her that was the tattered remains of Serenity's soul.
Selenity saw that side to often for comfort, haven been slapped across the face for disturbing her mother's thoughts often enough. Sometimes, Usagi, as Selenity liked to be called, wondered if she thrived just on the stories she had been told since she was five, about the wonderful and wise Queen of the Moon.
She had no one to turn to, and at the tender age of eight she had begun weapons and magic practice to fill the empty spaces in her heart. Even as she wondered down the hallways now, she could feel the two gaping holes in her heart. One in need to be filled by a mother, the other, a father.
Ah yes, her father. The one no one could talk about. THe mysterious man whose name was said to bring about disaster. Another story, for another day.
She was the Princess of the Moon, for goodness sake. She couldn't mope about. 'Someday,' she resolved, 'I will inherit the throne, the Imperium Silver Crystal, and I WILL be the best Queen ever. And I will have heart while I do it.'
****
'Is that all my life was? Spiteful hate for a mother I couldn't understand?! Naive ambition?!'
The raven chuckled. 'Heaven no. There's more to see, Selenity. Much more.'
****
Queen Serenity sat upon her crystal throne as emotionless as ever, looking down at the four who were to become her daughters protectors. "You'll do. Dismissed."
As soon as they were out in the corridor, the one in the red and white fuku, Mars, exploded. "WE'LL DO?! We've been training all are lives for this?! I hope that this Princess isn't like her mother!"
"Shhh! Calm down, Rei-san" the girl in the blue fuku by the name of Mercury said soothingly. "Not so loud!"
"Well, I personally agree with Rei-san." Jupiter said, cracking her knuckles. "I might accidentally fail at this job."
"I'm sure she won't be like her mother. The word around here is that the Princess is really sweet, if not ambitious. Not anything like the description of the Queen."
"I certainly hope I'm nothing like that witch," A new voice said from behind them.
They turned around to see the princess herself standing there, the spitting image of her mother in all except hair and eye color.
"Your Majesty."
"Don't do that. We're going to be spending a lot of time together, and that easily gets annoying. Plus," the Princess giggled. "You don't look like the bowing type. Proud stances you all have, princesses of your own planets."
Mars raised an eyebrow at Venus before turning to the Princess. "Well, Princess, I expected you to be somewhat like your mother."
"I refuse to believe we came from the same blood. But hey, all priveliges come with punishments right?"
Mercury looked at the ten year old princess and sighed. Her mother had forced her to grow up and become an adult at so young an age. At fourteen years, Mercury herself believed even she wasn't so cynical as to believe that.
The young Princess tossed strands of blonde hair over her shoulder as she looked quietly at the soldiers before her. "You know, I think I like you guys."
"Well, good." Mars said sarcasticly. "I'm glad I have your approval."
That statement was met with another one of the princess' beautiful laughs. "Now I know I do."
****
Selenity smiled. 'That's a good part of my life, isn't it? Are there any more of those?'
'Yes, there is another.'
'Show me, please?'
'Of course.'
****
The smell of roses was prevalent in the garden. So much color, so much warmth could be found here. She snuggled deeper into Endymion's arms, his sweet smell of summer rain intoxicating her senses.
She wondered once more what she'd done in life to deserve the love of the handsome eighteen year old Earth Prince named Endymion. At her awkward age of fifteen, it was hard to imagine that he would see anything in her that could hold his interest.
She held on to the moments she spent with him, knowing that each one could be her last; that someday he would tire of her and find someone more worthy to love.
She sighed as she turned up to look into his navy eyes; he was looking into the beautiful sunset, the wind stirring his jet colored hair, and the last rays of the sun's light illuminating his profile.
Yes, someday he would move on, and she would be crushed. Was this what it was like to love? To know that you had something great, something wonderful that made you so amazingly happy; to know that one day, you would lose it?
Endymion looked down at her, somehow sensing she was upset. "What's wrong love?" he asked softly, nudging her softly.
"Endymion, why do you love me?" she asked him. She looked searchingly into his dark blue eyes, as she asked. He smiled softly down upon her, flecks of silver glimmering in his eyes.
"Because I can't comprehend not loving you. Your smile, your laugh, your eyes," he paused a moment. "But most of all, I can't see anyone else filling the place in my heart that you do. You have a heart big enough for the both of us, and strong enough for the both of us. I just hang on for the ride. You're just so special and unpredictable, and-" he stopped. "That enough reasons."
She blushed. "Yes, my prince. Just enough."
She watched him as his face paled a bit, and his lips twitched slightly as they did whenever he was nervous.
"Usako-" he started, his voice cracking again. "I want to ask you a question, but you don't have to answer it imediately, okay?"
"Okay," she said, wondering what in the world he could be so nervous about.
"I can't spit out a poem about how amazing and special you are, because it can't be discribed with mere words. You mean so much to me, and I don't know, exactly, what I did to deserve you, but...What I'm trying to ask is, Will you marry me?"
Usagi's throat constricted as those words seeped into her brain, echoing in her head a thousand times; no a million. The most wonderful man in the world was nervous about asking her to MARRY HIM?!
After that sunk in, she realized what that meant. 'HE WANTS ME TO MARRY HIM?!'Before she could stop the words from coming out, and not that she wanted to, her answer poured from her heart without giving her mind a slight warning.
"Yes! A thousand times yes! No! A billion times yes!"
His face broke into that wonderful smile of his, and somehow, Usagi knew that life would be forever perfect.
****
'That was so beautiful,' she whispered.
'Yes it was. But unfortunately, it was soon after that things went terribly wrong.'
'It's time for the sad things, now, ne?'
'Yes. The end of a Utopia.'
****
It was the glorious night of the princess' sixteenth birthday, and the night that the princess' engagement to the prince of Earth would be formally anounced.
The Queen NORMALLY wouldn't have bothered with a ceremony for her daughter at all, except for the fact that the people loved her daughter; and everyone knew that the people would start to suspect the Queen's true nature if she didn't hold a ball in honor of her heir.
The night went well, and many cheers and congratulations had gone around after the anouncement of her long awaited betrothal. Everything was going as planned.
Serenity sat in a corner, her face bored. Usagi could tell she really hadn't wished to come, but could find no excuse to miss the party of her 'beloved' daughter.
Mars stood up, clanging her fork against her crystal wine glass, causing a sharp clang to echo through the ballroom. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. The Senshi and I just wanted to say that we hope Princess Selenity has much love and luck in her future endeavors." The Senshi nodded their heads as clapping was heard around the room.
A tall, darkhaired woman with blue eyes, who just so happened to be sitting next to Mars, complemented her on her speech. "Nice and short." Usagi watched as Rei blushed.
"Thanks, Luna. Thanks a lot." Mars said. She rarely got praise from so worthy an advisor and person as Lunaria Crescento, who was her strongest critic in training. Usagi had always wondered why. Perhaps it was only now that she was beggining to see that Luna had the most hope for Mars, and THAT was the reason she was so hard on her.
"You learned well."
Suddenly, a dark and booming voice could be heard throughout the room. "Yes, let's all give congatulations to the little Princess."
Queen Serenity's silver expressionless eyes grew wide with horror. "ALEX?! No! It couldn't be! Alex wasn't evil..." Her voice tapered of at the end.
"Oh yes I was, Serenity! You were just to blind to see it! You were such an airhead, but you had so much POWER! When you gave birth to our daughter, I knew she would be the strongest! The best! You were a tool, one that has long since run out of usefullness." He aimed at her with his pointer finger at her, and her body was reduced to nothing but a pile of ash.
He turned to Usagi, as Endymion held to her waist in a comforting and protective manner. She held the silver crystal up in the palms of her hands, and her eyes stared defiantly at him. "How dare you kill a Lunarian! How dare you kill anyone! She was a good Queen, who was respected by all! I will punish you!"
"I, Zimite, do not believe you are cold enough to kill your own father!"
The Princess' faith stumbled.
The Moon Kingdom stumbled.
The Utopia fell.
The Princess had failed.
***
'It all ended because I was weak!' she cried out. 'It's all my fault!'
'There is more, Selenity.'
'I don't wish to see it!'
'You must.'
'Why?'
'These are your memories of this life, that your subconcious has blocked from you. Are you prepared?'
'As I'll ever be.'
'Let's begin.'
***
She knew something was wrong. Before she even walked up the steps, she knew. The doorknob was cold against her palm as she tried the lock. The door opened with a 'click'. Her mother never left the door unlocked, especially at night.
The large house her family lived in was eerily silent; she couldn't hear a sound.
Then suddenly, she could hear a dripping sound coming from the kitchen. The kitchen lights were out, and the dripping sound had gotten louder.
Nothing could have prepared her for what she would see next.
Her father lay strangled on the floor. She could still here his deep laughter as she rushed from room to room, looking for her shoe, and finally found it in the refrigerator. 'Honey, you put your stuff in the strangest places!'
All that was left of her annoying little brother Shingo were a few scattered bodyparts strewn across the red stained tile floor. His backpack and it's contents were on the table; he had been doing his homework, apparently, when the killer had struck.
And her mother. Her beautiful mother hung by her silky purple hair from the ceiling fan, several waves still framing her peaceful face. 'Usagi-chan! Did you do your homework?!' 'Yes okaa-san!'
Memories echoed through her mind of them. They were gone. Forever.
She blacked out.
***
She was openly sobbing, the tears coursing down her face relentlessly. 'I can't see anymore. Iie, it hurts...'
'To face your fears, you must know what they are.'
'I've been hiding; hiding from these memories!'
'That's why I'm showing them to you. To face your fears, you must know what they are.'
***
She awoke in a white room, and bright light streamed into her eyes. A doctor stood over her as she lifted her lids, and kind eyes greeted her.
"Hello. How are you feeling?"
"Like hell."
"I would be to--after the accident and all..." the doctor said warily.
"What accident?" she said confusedly, her mind hazy. She couldn't seem to pinpoint anything in her mind...
"Oh no. Can you tell me, what's your name?"
Her brain wrapped around itself, seeking the answer but finding none. "I don't know. I just don't know..."
She wearily felt her eyes closing involuntarily and darkness consumed her every thought until everything was quiet.
She was fast asleep.
***
'Why did you show me that? I remember that.'
'One of your fears is losing yourself.'
'How do you know everything about me?! How do you know my memories?!'
'To face your fears, you must know your fears. Remember that always.'
And she disappeared, leaving the girls astro form to find it's way back to her body.
****
Alright. That was hard. phew.
*****
THE PLANETS
*****
~Mars: Casablaca~
Rei walked happily alongside her mother through the Marsian gardens, as she sighed at all of the wonderful flowers.
Princess Rei of Mars was considered to be one of the next beauties of the millenium; her soft ebony hair and challenging eyes were by far the most beautiful on Mars already, and the Princess had yet to come into her beauty at the tender age of seven.
Her mother smiled fondly down at her, and Rei smiled back. It was apparent where her beauty came from.
"Momma, why are you so upset?" Rei asked, with all the innocence of a seven year old.
"You're my only daughter, Rei, and the Moon Queen wants to take you away from me."
"She's a mean lady." Rei said, cringing at the memory of the cold faced woman.
"She wants you to become a Senshi; a protector of her daughter. It would be the best thing for you, and would asure your ascension to the throne, but I don't think I could let you go."
"I don't want to go either. If it makes you sad, it must be a bad thing!"
"No! Rei, it's a wonderful thing! And I do want you to go! I want you to do your best, okay?"
"I'd do anything for you Mommy. For you, I'll be the very best Senshi ever!"
"That's my girl.
***
Mars walked up to the grave. She brushed the snow from off the engaving, and looked down with love. 'In memory of Queen Ares, loving mother and memorable leader.'
The snow was falling harder than ever, re-coating the spot Rei had just wiped clean. She shivered from the cold, and pulled her coat more tightly around her.
It was the dead of winter, and the anniverary of her mother's death. The day a part of her soul died.
She layed the bunch of flowers upon the stone; fresh casablancas. Her mother's favorite. Her favorite.
"I'd do anything for you Mommy." She whispered, quoting something she had said twelve years ago. Tears fell from her eyes. 'I love you mom. I miss you.'
As she looked towards the sky, tears streaming down her beautiful face, she whispered so quietly that only the angels could hear. "Someday, I'll see you again... I just know it! So until then, ja ne!"
And she walked ever so quietly from the cemetary. Usagi met her at the gate, meeting her eyes. Usagi had stood out in the freezing weather to wait for her, without thinking of herself. And Rei new suddenly that everything would be okay, as long as the princess would always be there.
*****
~Mercury: Magic~
Ami felt a hand tap her lightly on the shoulder, as so not to disturb her but to signify they were there. She turned her blue eyes toward Usagi, who looked at her quietly. "What's wrong, Ami-chan?"
"Nothing."
"Don't lie. It's not your style."
Ami sighed. The young princess she protected was quite persceptive, she noted. It went into her file of little things she learned about the girl everyday. None of the other scouts had even gotten a hint of her melancholy mood.
"I don't know what's wrong exactly. I feel... empty, I guess."
"I've noticed that the other Senshi seem to leave you out. Why do they do that?" Usagi asked.
Once again, Mercury marveled over the maturity of this ten year old girl. What had made her think she needed to grow up so fast? Mercury could answer that question easily. Her good-for-nothing mother.
"Once again, I'm not sure."
"For someone who has so much knowledge, you sure know little about peoples emotions."
"Why do you think they leave me out?"
"You don't act as if you want to be let in. You act like you're scared you're going to get hurt if you let people be your friends! They don't know how to deal with that."
"Why are you my friend?"
"You're so different from the others, but in a good way. You're quiet, yet you are tough and you stand up for yourself. You're such an interesting person, I can't imagine NOT being your friend."
Ami smiled then. "You made me feel better. Thanks princess." She smiled at the girl fully, and her blue bangs fell into her eyes. "Oof! Stupid bangs!"
Usagi giggled. "Talk to you later, Merc!" She called out as she left the room.
A short while after Usagi left, Ami puzzled over the mystery that was Princess Selenity. The girl was so compassionate; so different from the mother she had, all cold and detatched.
When Ami suddenly realized that it wasn't Usagi's compassion that had made her feel better. It was her charm. She grinned like a fool from ear to ear.
"It must be magic," she thought, before going out to the gardens to gossip with the other Senshi.
***
The raven watched happily as the souls of Mars and Mercury floated back to their bodies. 'They have learned what it is they need to learn.'
Now all she had to do was wait for the others.
*****
~Jupiter: The Card~
It had suddenly appeared in her quarters, lying on her dresser when she had returned from Senshi practice.
At first she didn't notice, weary from her workout. She proceeded to take a shower, washing her auburn hair and rinsing the sweat off from her recent spar with Mars.
It wasn't until late that night did she notice it sitting on her dresser, addressed neatly on the front to Princess Jupiter in beautifully scripted handwriting, elegant to the last touch.
Her emerald eyes scanned every inch of the envelope, searching for the name of the person that sent it. Without finding a clue, she slowly opened it.
It was a pink card, with green writing in a bold longhand across the top. 'Happy Birthday' it said, and Jupiter wondered briefly who could have sent it. It WAS her birthday today, but she had told no one.
She curiously opened the card.
I wish you a birthday full of dreams,I wish you a future not ripped down the seams. I give you a laugh, I'll give you a smile,If this card makes you happy for a while. The sun may set on every day. But I hope your wishes will forever stay. Be true to your heart, and to your hope. And somehow you'll manage to stay afloat. I'm not a great poet, so what can I say? But I'd write a poem for you any day!
Love,
S
It wasn't until she had turned out the light that she realized who S was. S stood for Selenity.
She noted in her mind that tommorrrow she would thank Usagi for the lovely card.
****
~Venus: The Gift~
I looked at the precious gift in my hands. It was a gift from Usagi-chan; a gift to celebrate my upcoming marriage to General Kunzite, a General in the Earth Prince Endymion's personal force, she said.
I had never met Endymion, but Kunzite had high hopes that he and the Princess would fall in love. Yeah right. Usagi-chan isn't a real firm believer in love, let me tell you.
She was so sweet, to give me a gift. Had it really been so long, four years, since the day we met her when she was ten? Yes, I did believe it had.
There I was, at a minor library, looking at the gift in my hand. What had possessed her to give me a gift? I wondered.
I heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and listened carefully. There was a man, identified by his warm baritone, and what sounded like Usagi's giggle. I looked out in the hallway to see none other than Usagi locking lips with the man whose voice I had heard earlier.
I couldn't resist the silly grin that pulled at my face, and the relief that washed over me. I must admit getting married when the person you hold most dear the biggest skeptic of love and destiny and all that jazz was getting a bit awkward.
I looked down at the box in my hands, and began to unwrap it. The wrapping of orange fell away as I untied the yellow ribbon, the soft feel of it in my hand a welcome contrast to my stone sword. Inside the box was an album, with a black leather cover, embossed with a gold rose.
They were pictures of friends, special moments; the album was bringing tears to my eyes from all the memories we had shared. And at the back was a letter from Usagi. "For all my dreams that you make come true. Love, Usagi."
And then I realized. The true gift all along was having her as a friend, and being the one to make all her dreams come true.
****
'One left' the raven said as it flew away from the gate of time. 'She was always the last.'
****
~Saturn: If I Only Had A Heart~
I am the Messiah of Darkness. I know this. I have known for a long time.
I bear the weight of the destruction of the Universe. It is nothing compared to what others must bear, yet is is everything that others must bear.
Selenity once said to me that darkness in ones soul is the heaviest weight to carry. One would think I should be the strongest girl in the world.
I would feel sorry for myself, the lonely princess of Saturn, had it not been for the sudden message that I was to become a Senshi.
I remember how excited I was, how thrilling it would be to be given that chance; the wonderful opportunity to show everyone just how much it could be worth to be my friend. I thought to be someones friend, you needed a reason.
She taught me that all you needed was a heart.
A heart. A heart, of all things! Who needed one of those? All they caused were messy emotions, for goodness sakes!
"But that's what friendship is, Hotaru. Messy emotions."
"Why?"
"Because to truly be someones friend, you have to care about them. And when you care about someone, you have emotions."
"So why do you have to care?"
"Do you ever feel lonely, Hotaru-chan? That's why you need to care. When people care about you, they make the loneliness go away, and you feel loved, even when you're all alone."
"Even when you're all alone? I think I want to have a friend like you."
"Messy emotions and all?"
"Messy emotions and all." I confirmed.
I am the Messiah of Darkness. I know this. I have known for a long time.
Yet she is the Messiah of Light. And she will light my way, illuminating the darkness so I can see my path.
She is the princess; heart, mind, body and soul. Especially heart.
****
~Earth: The First Time~
I suppose the first time I saw her was back when I was about 17 or so, on my first trip to the Moon Kingdom. My mother came anually for the conferences or somesuch nonsense, and my fater came so he could stay with my mother.
So anyway, I was walking through the Royal Moon gardens when a short girl of about 14 or so ran into me, quite literally. She wore her hair in a funny style, and her insane giggling was driving me absolutly crazy. "Ummph! Watch where you're going, Odango Atama!"
Her giggling stopped immediatly, thank the gods, and I was even daring to dream that I might continue my walk when she looked up into my eyes, rightiously angry.
I knew I was lost then. Hopelessly and totally lost in her eyes. I swallowed. "I'm sorry for calling you that, Miss..." I trailed off, seeking her name.
"Selenity. Princess Selenity of the Moon." The anger in her eyes had faded to curiousity and we walked through the gardens side by side while she talked on and on about the different kinds of flowers. Suddenly, she turned to me. "I never did ask your name."
"Endymion. Prince Endymion of Earth." Her eyes widened and she blushed. "So you're the one, hmm..."
"What are you talking about?"
She turned to me then. "Your parents brought you because they're trying to set us up."
It was my turn to blush.
I suppose the first time I kissed her was one day when we were walking down a back hallway past a minor library. She was telling me a story about one of her friends, Mars, and she tripped over a small crack in the marble floor.
I caught her before she fell. She fit so snug in my arms; I didn't want to let go of her, but I slowly released her. I noticed she moved away from me hesitantly too, and I made the most dredful mistake a man can make when confronted with the situation of a beautiful girl in your arms.
I looked into her eyes, and bam! There went common sense, quickly followed by caution and hesitation. Sucked right in by those swirling pools of blue. My sanity was on vaction, and my self control was nada, zilpo, zilch.
I captured her lips with my own in a searing kiss that felt as though it lasted for eons upon eons...
And then I remembered I had to breathe.
And sanity returned from vacation as I realized what I had just done. I expected her to slap me, tell me she never wanted to see me again... or something along those lines.
I did not, however, expect her to pull my head down and lay one right back on me. That was the second time i kissed her.
I suppose the first time I realized I loved her was when I was walking through the gardens alone one evening, and for some reason I felt very hollow and empty. I sat down on a bench and gazed at the Earth from my seat. Then she was there.
"The Earth is really beautiful, isn't it, Endymion?" she asked softly, breaking the silence.
"Yes, it is." I looked down at her and noticed that she was wearing only a thin nightgown. She must've been freezing!
I wrapped my arms around her and sighed. "It's terribly cold outside. Why did you come out here?"
"I felt that you needed me to be here." She pointed to her heart. "It hurt right there, and I knew I had to find you."
That was when I knew that the one thing that had been missing from my life had been her all along.
****
Luna collapsed warily against Artemis, and Uranus looked at her curiously. "Now, the real battle shall begin."
****
End Book 3!!