Title: Romance in the Silver Millennium Chapter 2: Makoto's love
Author: Artemis Luna Diana
E-mail: artemislunadiana@yahoo.com
Home Page: www.caspermoon.com
Rated: PG
Type: love stories

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This chapter is about Makoto's love so it's told only from her point of view. At the
beginning of this story, it is almost the same as Rei's since Makoto's love arrived at the
same time Rei's did. However, the rest of the stories won't begin with this event. I'm using
my characters in these stories, of course. So you might want to read Dancing Earth before
you read this. You don't have to but just so you know where these characters are coming from.
So, anyway...I'll let you read. Enjoy yourself! Happy reading!

Oh yeah...I don't own Sailor Moon, yada, yada, yada.......but Alia and the knights are MINE!

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Makoto stood in the Moon's Royal Docking Bay awaiting the arrival of Prince Endymion. Dressed
in a silk, floor-length, dark green dress with slits up to her thighs and short capped sleeves,
Makoto looked like her mother the Queen of Jupiter. Green calf-high boots that matched her
dress graced her feet. She looked every inch like the warrior princess she was. She
glanced around. Usagi and Rei were still missing. If they didn't hurry, Prince Endymion
might arrive before they did. Makoto let out a relieved sigh as Rei and Usagi entered. They
took their places in the receiving line. A messenger hurried over to her and passed her a
slip of paper.

They are beginning their docking procedures.

Makoto leaned forward and whispered the message to Ami. By the time it reached Queen Serenity,
the ship had already arrived.

"The Royal Earthian Transport has arrived," the announcer shouted.

The door to the ship opened and three young men stepped out. All were tall and dressed nearly
the same. The middle one wore white pants and a loose, long sleeved black shirt. Short black
hair capped his head. On his right, the man wore white pants and a loose, long sleeved green
shirt. Short brown hair complemented the color. The man on the far left had shoulder length
silver hair. He wore white pants and a loose, long sleeved red shirt. Makoto couldn't help
but gawk at the brown-haired man.

The three men stepped off of the transport and walked to Queen Serenity. The man in the
middle gave a small bow while the two beside him knelt. The Queen nodded and smiled at them.
The three straightened and the Queen turned to Usagi.

"Prince Endymion, this is my daughter, Princess Serenity."

Usagi gave a shallow curtsy and Endymion gave another small bow. Makoto couldn't help grinning
as they stared suspiciously at each other. Everyone had been wondering why the Prince was
coming to visit, and it appeared he was wondering why he had been told to come. Prince
Endymion glanced at his two companions.

"Queen Serenity, Princess Serenity, my friends, Ival the Green Knight of Sailor Earth and
Shawn the Red Knight of Sailor Earth."

Queen Serenity smiled at them. "My husband will be happy to see you both. Prince Endymion,
you are your sister's Black Knight are you not?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I am."

Queen Serenity smiled again and gestured for them to proceed down the line. An announcer
stood waiting to introduce them. The three turned to meet Minako.

"The Princess of Venus is the head of Princess Serenity's court and the leader of the
Sailor Scouts," the small announcer piped. Minako gave a shallow curtsy; the three men
bowed. "The Princess of Mars is in charge of Princess Serenity's physic training." Makoto
could barely keep from laughing as she saw the looks exchange between the silver-haired Shawn
and Rei. 'Well, look at that, Rei! Love at first sight!' she thought.

"The Princess of Mercury is the head of Princess Serenity's Advisory Council." More bowing and
curtsying occurred. Finally it was Makoto's turn. "The Princess of Jupiter is in charge of
Princess Serenity's physical training." Makoto's eyes met the brown-haired man's. Suddenly
love at first sight wasn't so amusing. 'Love at first sight? Ha! Not me!' she thought.
Makoto's eyes followed him as he turned to greet more officials. 'Ival...the Green Knight...'

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Once the welcoming party split up, Makoto decided that the best way to handle the instant
attraction between herself and Ival was to work out. She changed and headed straight for the
training room. She began with physical exercises. For over an hour she trained only with
her brute strength. Next she moved to weapons. Swords, knives, and even a mace came into
her grasp. She tortured her opponents for two hours. Then she had the training rooms cleared
and she transformed. After about an hour, she stopped and powered down. Not even two
minutes later, the door opened and in walked the source of her problem.

"Yes, can I help you?" Makoto asked. Technically, he wasn't suppose to enter the training
room.

"Just wandering around."

"You aren't suppose to be in here."

Ival walked over to the table in the corner that was piled high with weapons. Makoto tensed.
He picked up a rapier and tested its weight. Without turning he said, "How about we fight, if
I win, I can stay. If you win, I'll leave." He turned. "Deal?"

Makoto had no clue why she said it, but say it she did, "Fine."

"Pick your weapon," he said and dropped the rapier back on the table. He walked to the center
of the room, he would fight without a weapon. Makoto decided to meet fists with fists and
walked unarmed towards him.

A quick probe by Ival's right fist was blocked. They circled. Makoto feinted to the right
before whipping around to the left, jabbing him in the side. Her attack did not go unpunished,
his lightning reflexes sent a punch that smashed into her chest. It continued. Circle. Block.
Feint. Attack. Each giving as good as they got. A high kick to the head on Makoto's part sent
Ival to the floor for a quick moment. He recovered and sent a kick to the side of her knee and
she fell beside him. Both got up, crouching low, watching carefully. Neither noticed when the
door to the training room opened. Makoto lunged forward and the two grappled close together.
They didn't here the startled gasp from the door. Makoto kneed him in the stomach, knocking the
breath out of him. He wheezed and then delivered a punch to side; she grunted in pain. They
backed off again. They stayed low, watching, circling. Keeping their eyes and attention on
each other, neither saw someone at the weapons table. However they both saw a rather large axe
when it sliced the air between them. They both stared in surprise at Ami.

"Ami!" Makoto shouted and clutched a hand to her rapidly beating heart. "What are you doing?!"

"I could ask you the same! Why are you two fighting! Makoto! He's a guest! You are not
suppose to beat up everyone who comes to the palace!" she shouted at her. Then she turned
blazing blue eyes to Ival, "And what did YOU DO, to set her off!"

"Ami-chan calm down," Makoto said trying to calm the enraged warrior.

Ami swung the axe threatingly in her direction and Makoto backed off. "I'm under enough stress
without YOU starting stuff!"

"Ami are you okay?" Makoto asked worriedly.

"I'm a little tired, I'm a little wired! And I don't need this!"

"Ami," Makoto said calmly, "We were just fighting for fun."

Ami looked dumbfounded. She turned to Ival, who nodded vigorously while eyeing the axe warily.
"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place!" Ami stomped over to the weapons table and
tossed the axe onto it. She turned back to them. They were covered in sweat and bruises.
Makoto had a bloody lip, and Ival had a black eye. "You picked a great time to have a fight!
THE BALL STARTS IN THIRTY MINUTES!" she shouted and slammed out the door.

The room was silent. Makoto turned to Ival. "Sorry about that Lord Ival. She's not normally
like this. Queen Serenity decided that we needed to learn how to manage a palace and hold
affairs of state. She decided to start with Ami organizing this ball. She has completely
stressed herself out over every detail."

"Oh," he said, a charming, crooked smile crossed his face, "she scared me half to death."

Makoto laughed, "I can't wait to tell the girls what she did, Ami is the quiet one in our group,
rarely loosing her temper."

The two chatted as they walked out of the room. Neither wanted to incur Ami's wrath again.
Before they split up towards their separate chambers. Ival stopped her and said, "Princess, if
a girl can give me a black eye, the least she can do is call me Ival."

Makoto couldn't stop the slow smile that was beginning. She clasped his forearm. "Just call me
Makoto."

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Makoto had to beat feet to begin preparing for the ball. She called a servant to help her.
She bathed and washed her thick brown hair. She toweled off and began dressing. Her dress
was floor-length and emerald green. Two slits ran up either side to her upper thighs, she
hoped that no one would notice the bruises that dotted her lower legs. The sleeves were
long and flowing, covering the bruises on her arms. The deep neckline was accented by a
giant emerald, that rested at the curve of her breasts. Her thick hair was pulled up in
its usual style. Matching green high heels graced her feet. She glanced in the mirror,
her split lip was very noticeable. 'Well crap,' she thought, 'I have to find Hotaru and
beg her to fix this!' She heard a knock on her door. Minako had arrived, it was time to go.

Minako bust out laughing at Makoto's split lip before agreeing to find Hotaru for her. Hotaru
arrived and healed her lip and the bruises on her legs, but left the ones that were hidden by
her dress. "I'll only make sure you don't embarrass yourself, you deserve the rest." She looked
very amused at the whole situation. Hotaru left and went back to her meditation chamber. She
never went to any of the balls. Minako and Makoto took off at break-neck speed to arrive in
time, if slightly out of breath.

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The ball was lavish and no expense spared. Makoto was tense. Minako was happy; Makoto had
heard all about Rei's timely intrusion, and Minako's mother's matchmaking attempt. She was
currently dancing with the mayor of Crystal City. Ami was having a very intense discussion with
Thorian, the Moon Kingdom's ancient philosopher. Usagi was dancing with Prince Endymion and
seemed to be extremely annoyed. Rei was watching the crowd.

Makoto was talking with King Mikeal. Their conversation was of course about weapons and food.
The two shared a great liking for both so were good friends. However, Makoto just wasn't in
the mood for talking. King Mikeal must have noticed because he sent her off with orders to get
some rest.

Makoto glanced around before she left. 'He wasn't here anyway so it doesn't matter.'

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Makoto was walking in the direction of her rooms when she sensed someone following her. 'An
assassin?' she wondered, careful not to betray that fact that she knew someone was following.
'These are the times I wish I had Rei's powers.' She stopped and quickly turned. She could
see the faint outline of a tall man.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?" she demanded.

"As amazing as this might sound, I wasn't following you."

"Ival?"

The man walked closer and she recognized Ival's form. He stopped about two feet in front
of her. Makoto remained suspicious.

"Then what were you doing?"

"The Princess of Earth charged me with the safety of her brother. I was checking the defenses.
I always keep my word."

"Queen Serenity charged me with the safety of her daughter. I always keep my word." Ival
smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Would you like to come with me on my rounds?" he asked her, offering his arm.

"Yes, I'd like that," she replied accepting the offered arm.

"How did you fix your lip?"

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Makoto was surprised at how comfortable she felt around Ival. He was easy to talk to and had
a great sense of humor. After they had checked the defenses, they had wandered into the
kitchen. All the staff had left, the ball having long been over. Makoto whipped up an
unbelievable meal which Ival couldn't praise enough.

Afterwards, he walked her to her rooms and bid her good night. He had placed a chaste kiss
on her hand before leaving. Makoto felt as though her hand was on fire. She was extremely
attracted to him. She had fallen upon her bed but was unable to sleep. She spent the night
tossing and turning. She couldn't stop thinking about him.

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Three weeks later, Makoto was still having trouble sleeping. She had tried to be cheerful
when Rei had come to her and told her that Shawn and she were to be married. She had tried to
be helpful to Usagi in her quest to avoid Prince Endymion. She just couldn't think of anything
but Ival.

"What are you brooding about?"

Makoto glanced up to see a beautiful face surrounded by dark green hair. "Setsuna..."

"What's wrong, Mako-chan?"

"Have you ever been really really REALLY attracted to someone? Maybe borderline... love?"

"Are you in love, Mako-chan?"

"I don't know... Sometimes I can't stand being away from him... other times I'd like to
strangle him..."

Setsuna laughed softly, "That sounds like more than borderline, Mako-chan."

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Makoto stood silently watching Ival. He hadn't noticed her yet. He stood in the center of
the training room, practicing intently. His body moved with cat-like grace, and every
motion revealed the power contained within him. Makoto sighed softly. He was absolutely
amazing.

"Enough fooling around," she muttered. She charged towards him, extremely pissed. He saw her
coming out of the corner of his eye, but not in time to avoid the powerful punch to the jaw
she delivered. He stumbled off balance and hit the floor. She looked down at him, for some
odd reason, insanely pleased by her actions. Shock was written all over his face.

"What was that for?" he asked cautiously.

"That's for making me fall in love with you!" she shouted and stormed out of the room, leaving
a very stunned Ival sitting on the floor.

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Makoto sat in the gardens... mortified. She couldn't believe what she had just done. She sat
numbly in shock. She barely registered his approach. He stood in front of her, silent
until she looked up. She could see the bruise already forming on his jaw. They stared at
each other in silence a moment. She was surprised when he popped her lightly in the jaw.

"That's for making me fall in love with you," he said softly.

Makoto blushed, "I'm sorry about punch--" He cut her off with their first sweet kiss.

When they broke apart, he whispered softly, "I'm going to try and find a way of keeping the
bruise permanently." Makoto laughed. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she said smiling.

"I can't wait to show off my bruise, I think it's most becoming," he said with a grin.

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So...what do you think? E-mail me! I crave attention!

I'm sorry it took so long to write this chapter, i went through a real bad case of writers block,
it's over tho, i finished this chapter, wrote one for "Not Just A Memory" and
wrote two for "Dancing Earth", cool huh? The next chapter is Ami's Love, wonder if any guy can
bring that temper out in her, I liked that part

Don't forget to visit my totally cool site: www.caspermoon.com. My stories go up faster
there...

~Artemis Luna Diana~

August 9, 2001; 1:02AM