ike Mother, Like Daughter

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Chapter One

I do not Sailor Moon. It belongs to the proper authors and companies. However, this story is mine.

            "Hold up your head!"

            "Straighten your back!"

            "Spread our your dress' skirt!"

            "Princess Serenity!"

            The Princess of the Moon growled. Oh how she hated this. She was practicing her proper manners. She was polite but she was slacking on how to properly walk. As the daughter of Queen Serenity, and the only heir to the Moon Kingdom, she was required to know those things. Her mother was perfect.

            Serenity longed to be like her mother but it seemed that no matter what she did, she never matched up to her mother.

            "Serenity!"

            She turned to her four guardians, Princess Minako of Venus, Princess Rei of Mars, Princess Makoto of Jupiter, and Princess Ami of Mercury. They were fifteen, five years older than her.

            Sometimes, she loved being a Princess. The Earth was not hostile with them so she and her mother would sometimes go to Earth and see the Queen of Earth, Queen Gaia. Her son was sixteen and had a fondness for the Moon Princess but Serenity being only ten had no interest in him. Had she known that he would one day be her eternal love she would have laughed.

            Princess Serenity longed for some of the beautiful things she saw on Earth, the dresses and some of the toys she saw. Her mother would often buy her some. She also loved all the fancy baths and attention she received. But it was times like this that she longed to be anything but a Princess.

            She sighed and tried to follow their instructions. But as she walked, her heels made her lose her balance and she fell flat on her face.

            She got up, wiping the dirt form her chin.

            "Princess," Rei rebuked. "Your grace is lacking. Your walks are to be smooth and refined, like your mother."

            The princess growled. "But I'm not my mother! I want to be, she is perfect! I'm clumsy and gawky. Now leave me alone!"

            She turned on her heels and stormed towards the gardens. Ami and Minako caught her arms.

            "Princess you can't leave now. We aren't finished."

            Serenity whirled around. "Of course I can leave! I am the Moon Princess! And as a royal command, I'm telling you to leave me be!"

            She stormed away, eyes burning, seething with fury. She looked down at her dress. She was ungainly, unfit for it. She saw the roses ahead and ran through them, letting her dress catch on the thorns and tear. She flopped down in the mud and grass, staining her dress. Using her hands, she ripped off the puffy sleeves.

            She would be in trouble and she knew it but she didn't care.

            The princess sat there a while, crying, burying her face into the flowers, letting tears flow forth.

            "Mother, I'll never be like you, never. I'm not as good as you are. I never was, never will be."

            She ripped her pearl bracelet off and flung it to the grasses. Without thinking, she grabbed a handful of mud and plastered it on her face. She wiped the excess on her dress. She didn't know what her mother would say but she just needed to forget about being a Princess for now. She wanted no one telling her it was unrefined or ungraceful. She did not want to be reminded of how much she disgraced her mother because she was clumsy and uncoordinated. True they never said ti outright but she just knew that her people asked them selves how such a graceful woman as Serenity had managed to get such an ungainly daughter. She often wondered if her mother was ever sorry she had her.

            In a fit of rage she ripped her dress again. Soon, it looked like rags and she had mud and dirt on her arms, legs and face.

            When her rage and anger at her own self-failure faded, she looked at herself. Tears of fear filled her eyes. What would her mother say?

            A hand suddenly rubbed her hair, gently.

            She looked up and swallowed hard, "Hello, Mother."