"'From
this day forward, Sailor Moon is no more.' That's exactly what she said!" Luna gasped. Five jaws hit the pavement.
"Luna,
Serena can't be serious, can she?" Mina asked in shock.
"Yeah,
she's probably just upset!" Lita added. Luna shook her head.
"I
don't think so. I could see it in her
eyes; it was like a part of her was dead," the cat answered.
"In
a way, you're right, Luna, a part of her would be dead, if Darien wasn't with
her," Rei stated.
"I
can only imagine the heartbreak that Serena is feeling right now," Amy said
sadly.
"Luna,
Serena may be a meatball head, but what could make say something like that?"
Reine asked. Everyone could hear the
gulp from the cat's throat.
"Well,
her exact words were 'I went over to see him and found him screwing some
red-headed hoar!'" Luna repeated.
"No
way!" everyone, even Artemis, shouted.
"Luna,
Darien would never cheat on her!" Rei gasped.
"I
agree with you, Rei, but Serena said that she saw it with her own eyes," Luna
replied.
"No
wonder she feels so horrible," Mina said in understanding. Reine stood there with tears in her
eyes. Darien wouldn't do something so
horrible…would he?
"Luna…let
me try and talk to her," Reine volunteered.
"You
can try, Reine, but I don't think that she'll listen to anyone right now," Luna
said sadly.
The
scouts dispersed, and Rei continued with her afternoon chores. She carefully swept off the temple's walk,
when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her head snapped around, and her defenses went into overdrive.
"Hey
Rei, you okay?" a tender voice asked. Rei relaxed as she recognized the voice and felt a pair of strong,
loving arms encircle her waist.
"Yes,
Chad, I'm fine, just sad about what happened to Serena," she replied. Chad could hear the distress in her voice
and turned her around. He brushed some
of her black hair out of her face and smiled at her.
"What
is it, Rei? Is she sick or something?"
he asked. Rei felt tears welling in her
eyes, but she held them back.
"No,
she's not sick; she just has a broken heart. She…she…she caught Darien cheating on her!" Rei finally blurted
out. Chad's eyes widened in
astonishment. He hadn't known Darien
that long, but he knew how crazy both he and Serena were about each other. The two radiated love like sunshine whenever
they were around.
"Rei,
are you sure? I don't know Darien that
well, but I do know that he loves Serena very much," Chad replied.
"I
thought so too, but Serena claims to have caught him red-handed," Rei
stated. Chad pulled her into a gentle
hug. Rei locked her arms around him and
rested her head on his strong chest.
"And
you think that I might do the same thing one day?" Chad asked. He hadn't really wanted to ask the question,
but he could hear the fear behind Rei's statements. Rei snapped her head up in surprise! A tiny voice inside her had been whispering that very question to
her over and over again.
"Chad,
I know how much you care about me, and I feel the same way about you. But, I keep hearing this nagging little
voice in the back of my mind." Rei was
expecting him to be upset, but instead, he simply nodded his head.
"I
understand what you mean, Rei. You've
trusted me with a lot of things- your heart, your love, and your body, and
after hearing Serena's story, you think that the same thing might happen
between us. Rei…I don't mind you having
doubts…that's human nature, but I want you to know that regardless of whether
we're together or not, I will never betray your trust in me!" Chad said
firmly. Rei's eyes lit up like two tiny
suns.
"Oh
Chad…you don't what it means to me to hear you saying something like that!" she
said happily. Chad bent down and gently
pressed his forehead against hers.
"I
love you, Rei," he said softly. Rei
felt a delicious tingle rush through her body; she felt it every time Chad told
her that. Her arms wrapped around his
neck.
"I
love you too," she replied just as his lips descended on hers. Chad let his hands move into her mane of
black silk and gently caressed her back. Rei broke away from him and opened her eyes. The sparkle in Chad's eyes was all the confirmation that she'd
ever need that he was hers. Rei knew
that the same sparkle existed in Darien's eyes, but his was focused on
Serena. Something wasn't right about
this whole situation, and Rei made herself a promise to find out what was going
on.
Reine
usually just walked into Serena's room whenever she wanted, but this time, she
knocked politely.
"Serena,
it's me," she said softly.
"It's
open, Reine," came the reply. The
younger girl walked inside to find Serena on her bed reading one of her
comics. Reine thought she'd find Serena
brooding over losing her boyfriend, but it was quite the contrary. Serena had controlled her emotions and not
had a nervous breakdown; she really had matured! Reine closed the door behind her and sat down on the edge of the
bed.
"Momma,
can I talk to you?" the little girl asked. Serena looked up from her comic in pleasant shock. Reine rarely called her that, and it always
made her feel warm inside to hear her daughter call her that. She closed the book and put it to the side.
"Yes,
honey, what is it?" she replied. Reine
looked down at her hands; she wasn't supposed to be the nervous one.
"Um…everyone
is really worried about you, myself included. We're all wondering if there's anything we can do," Reine stated. Serena sat up and smiled at her daughter;
this couldn't be easy for her considering how crazy she and Reine usually drove
each other.
"Don't
worry, Reine, I'll be okay; I just needed some time to think and let the facts
sink in," Serena stated. She couldn't
let her own daughter see how much this was tearing her up inside. Serena knew that Reine was just as
devastated about hearing about Darien as she was, possibly more! She was actually hoping that Reine would
never have to know!
"Serena…momma,
Luna told myself and the others that you gave up the moon crystal and said that
you'd never be Sailor Moon again!" Tears were forming in the little girl's
eyes. "You can't do that! The world needs you out there; it needs
Sailor Moon!"
Serena
pulled her daughter into a warm hug, and Reine cried into her mother's
chest. How could she be Sailor
Mini-Moon without there being a Sailor Moon?
"Shh,
my little one," Serena said soothingly and stroked her daughter's pink
hair. Every once and a while, they'd
have these little 'moments' when Serena would act like a truly matured mother,
and she treasured every single one of them. Reine lifted her head, and Serena wiped away her daughter's tears.
"Don't
worry, Reine, Sailor Moon isn't going away," Serena stated.
"Do
you mean that?" Reine asked brightly.
"Yes,
honey, there will still be a Sailor Moon," Serena said firmly. Reine hugged her tightly chanting 'thank
you' over and over again, while Serena just smiled at her daughter. 'Yes, Reine, there will still be Sailor
Moon…just not the one you think.' Serena continued rocking her daughter in her arms, giving the little
girl a feeling of peace and safety.
To
be continued…