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Legend of the Dark Moon - Book 1 - Chapter 1
By Sailor Heartache
Every soul is like a puzzle with three pieces. The first piece is the one that belongs to the owner of the body, the second belongs to that of the person's true love, and the third in some ways is most important. The third piece is that of a friend, the one friend that you can tell anything to without fear of betrayal.
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Earth Landing Site
Princess Charity of the Moon and Vesper stepped off her ship. Sometime during the voyage she had changed back from her Dark Moon form, and now stood meeting the ambassadors of earth in a pale blue dress of velvety silk.
Throughout her trip she had been thinking about her new mission. Winter Festival was her favorite time of year, and no matter how much she loved her father, she still couldn't forgive him for what he did. She understood why he had to do it, but still it stung.
With a shake of her head to clear her thoughts, she followed the steps down to the ground to meet the ambassadors who had been sent to meet her.
One of the three ambassadors stepped forward. "Welcome Princess Charity, I have heard great tales about you. My name is Jason, I served with your father during the Earth Revolution."
Jason was a kind man, his face was wrinkled with laugh lines. He had intense brown hair that had not turned gray over the many years since she was born, and he wore a suit of armor that signified he was a knight.
Charity smiled, she had heard many tales of the battle. "I'm pleased to meet you, Jason. If you'd like to share some of your stories with me I'd be very pleased to listen."
Jason smiled and his eyes lit up, "I would be glad to, your majesty."
Jason stepped back and the second of the five moved into his place, "I'm Lord Philip."
This man had a harsh look about him. His blond hair was streaked with gray, and his eyes were a harsh shade of blue. Philip had a certain look on his face, as if he thought this meeting was unimportant and insignificant. He was wearing a blue suit. Charity gave a mental shudder and decided to ignore this man for the rest of her visit.
Philip stepped back and a third man took his place. This one was dressed like a prince, only wearing the most expensive clothing and jewelry. He was different from the other two; his eyes were lonely and sad. With a small smile he bowed to her, "Welcome Princess Charity. I have heard a great deal of you from your father, I'm Prince Endymion of Earth."
Charity's smile grew; she wanted to become friends with this man before she left, he had the same look in his eyes that she had so often seen within her own. "I have heard tales of you, and I thank you for the welcome."
He nodded and smiled a little wider; he too could see the loneliness in her eyes. Maybe she would be able to understand him.
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The day went by quickly for Charity, she was formally welcomed at a dinner in her honor. Where she was introduced to the Queen, some important lords, and the King. But most of dinner was spent listening to Jason and the King tell her stories of what her father was like when he fought in the Earth Civil War.
The tales were amazing; he sounded a lot like a hero instead of her father. And without her even noticing the evening flew by, she didn't even notice the stiff formality that she was forced to use at such occasions. The Earth palace was kind and friendly, a different turn from her other trips.
After breakfast the next morning she found herself riding horses with Prince Endymion. They were very wary of each other at first, but slowly began to warm to her as the topic of flowers came up: lilies were her favorite, and roses were his.
Each side seemed to want to hide their soul from the other, and their loneliness touched the other. Charity saw that he could understand why she did certain things. Endymion saw that Charity was a good listener, and would stop whatever she was doing to make sure she understood all that a person wanted to tell her. Both wanted a friend and each seemed to have found one in the other.
"Charity, why do you make delegation trips? I never heard of princesses doing that before." Over the day Endymion had become good friends with her, and found he could relate almost anything.
Charity sighed, "Well, I'm a princess without a kingdom. With no land to tie me down, I'm the perfect ambassador. Though my friends all hate the idea and so do my sisters. I'm hardly ever at home."
"What are your sisters like? I've heard they're both beautiful and smart." He didn't have the slightest interest in the girls. He merely was curious.
"Serenity is the beautiful one, her hair is as golden as a pot of gold, and her skin is as fair as the whitest lily. Alexandra and I are identical, except her skin is a little lighter then mine, and so is her hair." Charity smiled to herself, Endymion and Serenity would make a handsome couple!
"My turn!" Charity continued, "When I met you for the first time I could sense that you were lonely, why?"
Endymion frowned, he knew she was perceptive, but only one other person had managed to see that deep into his soul. "I don't know, I guess it's the territory. Being a prince does take away from private time. You're lucky you don't have a kingdom. What about you? I sensed the same thing from you."
Charity smiled, but it was filled with bitterness. "I guess there's a lot of things. The first, and most obvious, is the fact that I'm always traveling. I hardly have any friends. I guess though that's not much of a problem."
The sadness in her voice was evident, and Endymion felt sorry for her. She had it much harder then he ever had or ever would. "Go on."
"Two is a lot harder to explain. It's just sometimes I get jealous of Serenity and Alexandra, they're both beautiful and smart. They're a lot luckier then they think, at least they get to date." She knew she sounded selfish, but she needed to get it off her chest.
"There's nothing wrong with that. I think it's expected of triplets. You're too alike not to be jealous of each other."
She smiled thankfully. She hated being selfish, which was the main reason she had never told anyone. "Three is the last and easiest reason to understand. I'm Dark Moon, the most powerful being in our universe. Have you ever heard of Winter Festival?"
Endymion nodded, "Sure, it's when the citizens all come to the capital and
celebrate the harvesting of crops."
"Yes, and the Royal Family gets to join, and get treated like normal people." She paused, "Winter Festival is my favorite time of year, it's the one time I get to be normal, but this year I don't get to go. Instead I get to protect our castle from Beryl."
Endymion nodded, he had heard the stories of Beryl, and he knew most of them were true. "Why you? Aren't the Sailor Senshi meant to deal with things like that?"
"You're good in your studies aren't you?" Smiling slightly she answered, "They are, but Winter Festival is a special time of year. All the princes and princesses are expected to be there, including the sailor senshi. The Kings all decided that Dark Moon would be a better alternative then alerting the entire kingdom that a threat might be upon them. So here I am, protecting the castle."
"Won't they expect you to be there too?"
Smiling sadly she said, "They will, but it would not set off as great of an alarm as the senshi not attending."
"We're a sad pair aren't we?"
Giggling she answered, "Yes, but we'll always be friends."
"Yes, always."
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Moon Kingdom- 3 days later
"My lord! We've lost Beryl." The King of Mercury stated in a solemn voice.
"What? How? I thought we had everyone available working on that!" Ryan
shouted.
"We did Ryan! She's too powerful now! She escaped our systems easily, and now she could be anywhere!" Paul of Venus said in frustration.
The kings were tired of the Beryl issue; everyone who knew of it was, and they knew sometime soon they would have to deal with her once and for all.
Ryan sighed. His frustration had gotten the better of him. "I'm sorry, but we've got to track her down. I want every possible person on it." He turned to the courier that stood by the door. "Go to Neptune and Mars tell them to search the alliance for Lady Beryl."
The courier nodded, and left as fast as he was summoned.
"What about Dark Moon? Will she be ready for this fight?" The king of Uranus asked.
Ryan nodded, "She'll be ready, but let's hope it doesn't happen."
The kings nodded, the meeting was adjourned.
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Royal Earth Garden
"Endy, why are their so many different colors of roses?" Charity questioned.
Endymion smiled. Charity was the kind of person who wanted to know about
everything. "There's an old legend that says the goddess of the moon, Selene, grew terribly sad during a fight with her lover. Her tears rained on the earth and landed on the different roses changing their color forever."
"If she was sad then why are red roses the color of true love?"
"If I remember right, a few days after their fight he brought her a bundle of the precious red roses, and after that they never fought again."
Charity sighed happily, "That was so sweet. How do you know so much about
roses?"
"I don't know, I've always been a little obsessed with them. When I was little I began reading up on them, and I guess that's how I know so much."
She smiled in agreement and bent over to smell the roses. Their smell was so wonderful, almost like a mix of moon lilies and perfume, it was both intoxicating and lovely. "Serenity would love these."
"Don't you miss them, Charity?" He paused a second and reworded his question. "I mean don't you ever just want to rush home and not leave again?"
Charity's smile faded just a little bit, "Sure, wouldn't you? But I can't, this is my calling, and at the moment it's the only thing I'm good at..."
So that's what it was! For days Endymion had felt something nagging him,
something that had to do with Charity. He should have known what it was, she had almost told him the first day they rode together.
"Charity, you don't feel like you're useless do you?" Endymion's voice was almost inaudible.
She looked down, and answered just as softly as he had. "Am I not? Really Endy, have you seen me do anything here that somebody else wouldn't have been able to do? Sure, I'm Dark Moon, but how does that ever help ME? It's almost as if she's a whole different person."
Endymion walked over to her and put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to look in his eyes. "Listen to me, Charity, you know better than this! I'm going to tell you something that your father told me when I was little. 'Don't be afraid to do what others can not or will not, just be yourself'. Charity, you're trying to hide yourself, you're trying to be what everybody else wants you to be. Just be yourself."
Charity let the advice sink in. That was the first time she had even realized what she was really doing. She was afraid to be herself, afraid that everybody would hate her, afraid that maybe she wasn't really a good princess. But even to Charity the advice made since, she couldn't hide herself, and from that point on she swore to be only herself.
"Thank you, Endy. You're the best!"
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Earth Palace- Meeting 1
"Princess Charity, why do you think it is so important for the Golden Kingdom to join into the Silver Alliance? Your people are happy but your society depends on magic and as you know ours despises the very use of it." King Stephan questioned.
"That's true, your highness. Magic is what keeps our planets alive, but what is it that earth sees in magic that is so despicable?" She returned.
For once the king looked stunned, "Magic is an unfair advantage, if magic were used on battle fields than magicians would have an advantage over regular citizens."
"Your highness, I beg to differ, many of the outer universes use magic in their armies and in their military, by not using it your putting yourself at a disadvantage." She paused for a second, "By joining the Alliance you may have to accept the use of magic, but you would also gain a new weapon."
"I see your point, Princess, but what of your court? Shall we have to send young Princess Terra to join it, or shall we be exempt?" He said, picking a new topic.
She sighed, "We can not exempt you from it, but we can let you decide whether you would like to put your daughter into the outer legion of senshi or the inner, my court."
"What of taxes? Will our taxes be raised by joining?"
"No, if anything they'll be lowered."
She could see that Stephan was beginning to tire, "Your highness, why don't we continue this meeting tomorrow after breakfast?"
His face relaxed, "Thank you young princess." He stood and turned again to face her, "Your father would be proud of you if he could see what good your doing."
She blushed, "Thank you."
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The Royal Earth Gardens
Charity wandered around the garden aimlessly, the smell of flowers made her feel relaxed and at home. Each flower's scent was special in its own way, and she could name every one of them.
She was worried. Stephan had tired so easily during the negotiations that she was sure that he was sick. It bothered her, because ever since she was little, she had been able to tell when others were sick, and most of the time she could even tell what they had. Stephan was different; whatever it was that he was suffering from was new. Some disease she had yet to encounter, and she didn't like the feeling.
Charity bent down to smell a tulip, the earth had so many different kinds of flowers that would not grow on planets in the Alliance.
Her thoughts shifted back to Stephan, she liked his warm personality and caring thoughts. She didn't want to see him die. For the last few minutes she had been trying to decide whether or not she should try to heal him, if she did there was a possibility of him getting better, but if not, well she didn't want to think of that.
Most of all she wasn't sure if he would let her heal him. As she knew he despised the workings of magic, and would probably turn her away before she even had the chance. Then again, his own son was the protector of earth, and controlled all the power it choose to give him.
There was a chance she wouldn't be able to help him anyway. That would be
her worst failure yet, but she had to try. She couldn't let him die.
With renewed strength she decided to talk with the king first thing in the
morning. Maybe, he would allow her to try, if not she would think of something else.
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The Next Morning - King Stephan's Rooms
The knocking at the door startled King Stephan from his usual morning
daydreams. He just wasn't a morning person.
"Come in!"
Charity smiled apologetically at having disturbed him, "I'm sorry, your highness. I needed to talk to you about something. Privately."
He smiled, "Sure. Why don't you join me for breakfast?"
Her smile widened, "I'd love to." She pulled out a chair and joined him at the table. "How do you feel, your majesty?"
"Let's lose the 'your majesty', okay? I feel silly having you call me that." He paused and looked her over thoughtfully, "You know don't you?"
She gave him a confused look.
His smile disappeared a little, "You know that I'm sick. You know that it's very serious. You're afraid to let me die."
She got an angry look on her face, "I don't let anybody die. I always fight."
She paused and continued softly, "I don't let people die, not if I can heal them. I won't let you die."
His gaze softened, "I can understand that. You're a fighter, you don't like sitting around not being able to do anything. But I know I'm going to die." He paused, "You know of the golden crystal?"
She nodded, "It was discovered by Endymion, right? Right after the Golden
Kingdom was established. Legend tells it holds extraordinary power, only matched by my sister's silver crystal."
"Yes. I'm the current controller of the golden crystal. Did your sister ever tell you what happened when the silver crystal was given to her?" He asked.
"No, I was there. All she told me was that she saw visions."
He nodded, "Yes, she saw visions of her future. Since your family is immortal she did not see her death, only what is to come. But I am mortal. I saw my death. I saw when and how I would die."
Charity gasped, he had known all his life that he would die from this disease. Whatever it was would be the end of him. The thought was almost horrifying, living your life knowing exactly when and where you would die.
"Don't look like that. It's not that bad, it helps you realize that the time you do spend living is worth it. Plus, you're always able to say your good byes." He interrupted her thoughts.
"But doesn't it make you sad? Knowing that you're going to leave your family behind?"
He smiled sadly, "Of course, but I know they'll be alright. That's why I'm trying to finish this treaty before I die. So that the Silver Alliance will be able to help Endymion become a good king."
"How long do you have left?" Her voice cracked with sadness.
"Less time then I would like. I have only a week."
Her eyes widened with horror, sure she had known he was ill, but she hadn't known he was that ill. "Isn't there anything I can do?"
He nodded slowly, "Let us finish the treaty negotiations privately. I'll need for you to give me energy ever so often."
She closed her eyes in pain, her soul screaming out wishing that she could help him. If this was what he wanted she would gladly help him through his last days. "Yes, I'll be happy to."
He smiled, "Thank you, I will be eternally grateful. I have two last requests, the first I'll tell you now. Please do not tell my family, I know how close you and Endymion have become, comfort him when I die."
The tears she had been trying so long to hold back came rushing down, and she sobbed into his shoulder. He was like a father to her, and she was going to let him die. For once in her life she wasn't going to fight, and she knew she would regret it.
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King Stephan's Rooms: Meeting 2
Charity hesitantly put a hand on King Stephan's forehead, and without a thought transferred some of her energy into him. The after effect was amazing, even in Stephan's condition he was able to move around without tiring.
"Thank you, Charity. Now you must promise, truly promise, that no matter what the circumstance is you will never try to heal me. Never!" Stephan demanded. "I know you've been thinking about it, I can see it in your eyes. There is a reason why I must die now. We may never understand what it is, but there is a reason."
To Charity's ears, Stephan's last sentence seemed to reassure him, and for some reason she seemed to see him doubt himself. But she knew she wouldn't defy his word, if he didn't wish to be healed, she would not heal him. "I promise."
He smiled, though it failed to reach his eyes, "Good, now lets continue. We don't have much time."
Charity nodded, and vowed to herself to make this as short as possible. "First, we must decide if the Earth is willing provide a princess or representative into my sister's court."
Stephan nodded, "Yes, we will, but it will not be Terra. She's too weak, and too frail. But I do have someone in mind for the position. That we will discuss later."
Charity nodded, all she need to was affirm the position. "Do you have any
objections to become part of the King's council?"
"No."
Again she nodded, "You realize that you will have to give up your fears against magic?"
He nodded.
"You realize that by becoming part of the Silver Alliance you have to honor all treaties that we have already negotiated?"
Another nod.
And so the questions went on. Charity left out as much as possible, if any question was minor then it didn't get asked. And even though Charity had been able to give him her energy twice that day she knew there wouldn't be any way to give it a third time. Not with as much as she had to give to him.
When she was done with the questions she said good night to him and made sure he went to bed. She was sure he would need all the energy he could get to get through the next two days.
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Charity's Rooms
Charity frowned deeply, she was too weak to try and do anything but think, and the thoughts that were coming to her weren't that pleasant. She'd been avoiding Endymion ever since she found out Stephan's secret. She just couldn't stand being near him and keeping something from him.
Plus every time she tried to give Stephan some of her strength his disease sucked more out of her. But she was beginning to think that whatever was wrong with Stephan was not an illness.
She knew that he knew what it was, and she figured he knew something she
didn't, and she was scared. Charity hated when people died, she hated when she had to watch people suffer. And she knew without asking that Stephan was suffering.
For the last two days she had been trying to kill his pain while giving him strength, but she wouldn't be able to tomorrow. Giving him strength constantly for two days had worn her out, and for the last few nights she hadn't been able to sleep at all. She only had dreams of death.
"You look kinda down. What's wrong?"
Charity jumped, startled out of her thoughts to see Endymion standing next to her.
"Sorry, I knocked twice and you didn't answer. What's wrong?" Endymion sat down next to her, his eyes worried.
She pasted on a fake smile hoping to deceive him, "Nothing, why would anything be wrong?"
"Maybe because you've been ignoring me for the last two days, and because
you can't lie." He replied.
Charity sighed, she knew he was right, she couldn't lie. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you, but you'll find out why soon enough."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know, but take it as a prophecy."
Endymion raised an eyebrow, "Prophecy? You're really starting to worry me. And what's this I hear about you and Dad having meetings privately in his bedroom?"
Endymion's eyes held an accusing glare,.
"OH PERVERT! DON'T EVEN THINK LIKE THAT!" Charity cringed and punched him in the arm.
He chuckled and rubbed his arm, "Gee, I didn't mean it! Really though, why
have you been in there?"
She rubbed her temples trying to think up an answer that wouldn't give anything away. "We've been doing our negotiations in there?"
He shook his head, "Something's going on and you guys aren't telling me."
She sighed unhappily, "I'm sorry. I promised I wouldn't tell."
He looked at her for a minute his eyes searching for some kind of answer. "I understand. I just wish you guys wouldn't keep secrets from me."
He looked scared, and she knew he had a right to be. "Don't worry he knows what he's doing." 'I hope'
He smiled slightly, "I know. But he only keeps secrets when he knows the news will hurt me."
Charity shook her head, if only he would tell his family the truth.
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Stephan's Rooms - Meeting 3
"Okay, this is the last meeting before the signing. Is there anything you need to add?" Charity asked as she finished asking the questions she had written on paper.
He shook his head, "No. I just need to talk to you for a few minutes. Whatever I tell you must never leave this room."
She nodded, and was pretty sure she wasn't going to like this information.
"As I told you we need a representative in your sister's court. I'd like for that to be you. No, don't say anything yet. I can't send Terra, she can barely leave her bed all day without collapsing. She just doesn't have enough strength to become the senshi of Earth." He paused for a second, pondering something, "I'd like for you to have the powers of Earth, but not to become its senshi. Do you understand?"
She looked up at him confused, "Yes, you want me to be able to use it's power like I use Dark Moon, without having to transform." He nodded, "But why me? I'm not even from Earth. Won't your people be concerned?"
He looked up at her, "No, my people will never know. I want you to be able to protect my planet without them knowing. They don't know nor understand magic, and if we all the sudden began using it they would become suspicious and might rebel against the government."
She nodded, "Yes, but I'm guessing that's not the favor."
He shook his head, "No, the favor is a bit more complicated." He stood up and walked over to the window, "I want you to protect Endymion."
Charity sat down hard, "You want ME to protect Endymion?"
He glanced at her for a second, "You and Endymion have a link, a special link. No matter how far away from each other you will always know if he's in trouble. You're by far the most powerful person in the universe, and Endymion is the key to our future. I know I've seen it."
He looked her straight in the eyes, "You and Endymion have to live in order for the future to continue. You can't die, I won't tell you why, you'll have to find that out on your own, but Endymion can and you must protect him."
He turned back to the window, "Ryan told me how you are the protector of the Sailor Senshi." He heard her gasp, "I know nobody but you and him know, but something bigger then you can ever imagine is going to happen and you have to go through it together."
His voice dropped, "I want to make sure that Endymion will be alright without me, I know you can help him. Please, if you won't do this for yourself then do it for me." As he finished the last sentence he bowed before her.
Charity was still in shock, though he knew he only had to demand it as part of the treaty he hadn't. Charity had respect for that, and she knew she couldn't and wouldn't turn him down. Endymion meant a lot to her anyway, "I'll do it happily. On one condition. You spend your last day with your family. Endymion's worried sick already, and he doesn't have clue what to worry about."
He nodded sadly, "I agree, but remember you can never let word of this leave this room. The only person you can tell is Endymion himself."
"Not even my sisters?"
"Not even your sisters."
"Good, now I'll go find Endymion and a few witnesses so we can sign this treaty." She replied.
And so the treaty with Earth was formally signed, and Earth became a part of the Silver Alliance. And its power was given to Princess Charity of the Moon Kingdom and Vesper.
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King Stephan's last day on Earth was spent with his family. From what Charity could tell they did everything imaginable. From horse riding to swimming to just laying back. And by the end of the day everybody was crying. Even Charity.
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Earth Royal Gardens: After Stephan's death
Endymion found her sitting on a bench next to the rose bushes, she was trying her hardest to hide, but for some reason if he thought about her he could find her easily. The information just came to his mind.
She was crying softly, trying to think of anything but Stephan's death, but the news hung over everything like a wet cloth. She felt his arms slide around her shoulder, but it didn't startle her; she had known he was there. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did.
"WHY? WHY WOULDN'T HE LET ME HEAL HIM?" She was screaming at no one, but
she had to get it out.
He was crying himself, his eyes puffy from long hours of crying. "It wasn't your fault, when you promise him something you don't turn against him. It was what he wanted."
"Then why do I feel like it is?" She mumbled still sobbing.
"Because you know you could have helped him, only he wouldn't let you. Just like I do." He said.
"Do you blame me? I could have healed him, I know I could have."
He shook his head, "No, I can't blame you. I know you would have done it, I know you would've if he'd let you."
"Did he tell you before he died?" She asked.
He looked at her confused, "Tell me what?"
"I'm you protector. I've sworn that I'd protect you as long as I live." She said, drying her eyes.
His eyes widened, "You mean, you're going to protect me for the rest of my life?"
She nodded, "Yes, and don't think I did it because he asked me. I did it because I wanted to. So, your highness, I must leave tomorrow. I still have to stop at Mercury before going home."
He nodded still in shock. "If you must, but please come back after Winter Festival for my coronation."
"I will, but you father said to be sure we never told anyone that I'm your
protector." She said. He nodded his thoughts elsewhere, "Yeah, sure."
With a sigh, she stood up and went to her room to pack.
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Launch Pad - Charity's Leaving
"You'll be back right?" Endymion asked hesitantly.
She smiled, "I'll be back, but try to stay in one piece okay? If you do I'll bring Serenity with me okay?"
She'd been trying to cheer him up all day, when she arrived at breakfast he'd been crying on the table. His eyes were still red and puffy, and it made her heart break to see him upset.
She gave him a hug and promised to come back before moving on to Jason.
He'd taken the news as hard as Endymion, and had barely made it to the takeoff.
"Jason, try to remember he wouldn't want you to be sad."
He smiled, "I know your highness. I just miss him. When you come back I'm sure I'll be better."
She nodded, and hugged both him and Endymion. Then boarded her ship. It
was time to go to Mercury.
Legend of the Dark Moon - Book 1 - Chapter 1
By Sailor Heartache
Every soul is like a puzzle with three pieces. The first piece is the one that belongs to the owner of the body, the second belongs to that of the person's true love, and the third in some ways is most important. The third piece is that of a friend, the one friend that you can tell anything to without fear of betrayal.
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Earth Landing Site
Princess Charity of the Moon and Vesper stepped off her ship. Sometime during the voyage she had changed back from her Dark Moon form, and now stood meeting the ambassadors of earth in a pale blue dress of velvety silk.
Throughout her trip she had been thinking about her new mission. Winter Festival was her favorite time of year, and no matter how much she loved her father, she still couldn't forgive him for what he did. She understood why he had to do it, but still it stung.
With a shake of her head to clear her thoughts, she followed the steps down to the ground to meet the ambassadors who had been sent to meet her.
One of the three ambassadors stepped forward. "Welcome Princess Charity, I have heard great tales about you. My name is Jason, I served with your father during the Earth Revolution."
Jason was a kind man, his face was wrinkled with laugh lines. He had intense brown hair that had not turned gray over the many years since she was born, and he wore a suit of armor that signified he was a knight.
Charity smiled, she had heard many tales of the battle. "I'm pleased to meet you, Jason. If you'd like to share some of your stories with me I'd be very pleased to listen."
Jason smiled and his eyes lit up, "I would be glad to, your majesty."
Jason stepped back and the second of the five moved into his place, "I'm Lord Philip."
This man had a harsh look about him. His blond hair was streaked with gray, and his eyes were a harsh shade of blue. Philip had a certain look on his face, as if he thought this meeting was unimportant and insignificant. He was wearing a blue suit. Charity gave a mental shudder and decided to ignore this man for the rest of her visit.
Philip stepped back and a third man took his place. This one was dressed like a prince, only wearing the most expensive clothing and jewelry. He was different from the other two; his eyes were lonely and sad. With a small smile he bowed to her, "Welcome Princess Charity. I have heard a great deal of you from your father, I'm Prince Endymion of Earth."
Charity's smile grew; she wanted to become friends with this man before she left, he had the same look in his eyes that she had so often seen within her own. "I have heard tales of you, and I thank you for the welcome."
He nodded and smiled a little wider; he too could see the loneliness in her eyes. Maybe she would be able to understand him.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^
The day went by quickly for Charity, she was formally welcomed at a dinner in her honor. Where she was introduced to the Queen, some important lords, and the King. But most of dinner was spent listening to Jason and the King tell her stories of what her father was like when he fought in the Earth Civil War.
The tales were amazing; he sounded a lot like a hero instead of her father. And without her even noticing the evening flew by, she didn't even notice the stiff formality that she was forced to use at such occasions. The Earth palace was kind and friendly, a different turn from her other trips.
After breakfast the next morning she found herself riding horses with Prince Endymion. They were very wary of each other at first, but slowly began to warm to her as the topic of flowers came up: lilies were her favorite, and roses were his.
Each side seemed to want to hide their soul from the other, and their loneliness touched the other. Charity saw that he could understand why she did certain things. Endymion saw that Charity was a good listener, and would stop whatever she was doing to make sure she understood all that a person wanted to tell her. Both wanted a friend and each seemed to have found one in the other.
"Charity, why do you make delegation trips? I never heard of princesses doing that before." Over the day Endymion had become good friends with her, and found he could relate almost anything.
Charity sighed, "Well, I'm a princess without a kingdom. With no land to tie me down, I'm the perfect ambassador. Though my friends all hate the idea and so do my sisters. I'm hardly ever at home."
"What are your sisters like? I've heard they're both beautiful and smart." He didn't have the slightest interest in the girls. He merely was curious.
"Serenity is the beautiful one, her hair is as golden as a pot of gold, and her skin is as fair as the whitest lily. Alexandra and I are identical, except her skin is a little lighter then mine, and so is her hair." Charity smiled to herself, Endymion and Serenity would make a handsome couple!
"My turn!" Charity continued, "When I met you for the first time I could sense that you were lonely, why?"
Endymion frowned, he knew she was perceptive, but only one other person had managed to see that deep into his soul. "I don't know, I guess it's the territory. Being a prince does take away from private time. You're lucky you don't have a kingdom. What about you? I sensed the same thing from you."
Charity smiled, but it was filled with bitterness. "I guess there's a lot of things. The first, and most obvious, is the fact that I'm always traveling. I hardly have any friends. I guess though that's not much of a problem."
The sadness in her voice was evident, and Endymion felt sorry for her. She had it much harder then he ever had or ever would. "Go on."
"Two is a lot harder to explain. It's just sometimes I get jealous of Serenity and Alexandra, they're both beautiful and smart. They're a lot luckier then they think, at least they get to date." She knew she sounded selfish, but she needed to get it off her chest.
"There's nothing wrong with that. I think it's expected of triplets. You're too alike not to be jealous of each other."
She smiled thankfully. She hated being selfish, which was the main reason she had never told anyone. "Three is the last and easiest reason to understand. I'm Dark Moon, the most powerful being in our universe. Have you ever heard of Winter Festival?"
Endymion nodded, "Sure, it's when the citizens all come to the capital and
celebrate the harvesting of crops."
"Yes, and the Royal Family gets to join, and get treated like normal people." She paused, "Winter Festival is my favorite time of year, it's the one time I get to be normal, but this year I don't get to go. Instead I get to protect our castle from Beryl."
Endymion nodded, he had heard the stories of Beryl, and he knew most of them were true. "Why you? Aren't the Sailor Senshi meant to deal with things like that?"
"You're good in your studies aren't you?" Smiling slightly she answered, "They are, but Winter Festival is a special time of year. All the princes and princesses are expected to be there, including the sailor senshi. The Kings all decided that Dark Moon would be a better alternative then alerting the entire kingdom that a threat might be upon them. So here I am, protecting the castle."
"Won't they expect you to be there too?"
Smiling sadly she said, "They will, but it would not set off as great of an alarm as the senshi not attending."
"We're a sad pair aren't we?"
Giggling she answered, "Yes, but we'll always be friends."
"Yes, always."
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Moon Kingdom- 3 days later
"My lord! We've lost Beryl." The King of Mercury stated in a solemn voice.
"What? How? I thought we had everyone available working on that!" Ryan
shouted.
"We did Ryan! She's too powerful now! She escaped our systems easily, and now she could be anywhere!" Paul of Venus said in frustration.
The kings were tired of the Beryl issue; everyone who knew of it was, and they knew sometime soon they would have to deal with her once and for all.
Ryan sighed. His frustration had gotten the better of him. "I'm sorry, but we've got to track her down. I want every possible person on it." He turned to the courier that stood by the door. "Go to Neptune and Mars tell them to search the alliance for Lady Beryl."
The courier nodded, and left as fast as he was summoned.
"What about Dark Moon? Will she be ready for this fight?" The king of Uranus asked.
Ryan nodded, "She'll be ready, but let's hope it doesn't happen."
The kings nodded, the meeting was adjourned.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Royal Earth Garden
"Endy, why are their so many different colors of roses?" Charity questioned.
Endymion smiled. Charity was the kind of person who wanted to know about
everything. "There's an old legend that says the goddess of the moon, Selene, grew terribly sad during a fight with her lover. Her tears rained on the earth and landed on the different roses changing their color forever."
"If she was sad then why are red roses the color of true love?"
"If I remember right, a few days after their fight he brought her a bundle of the precious red roses, and after that they never fought again."
Charity sighed happily, "That was so sweet. How do you know so much about
roses?"
"I don't know, I've always been a little obsessed with them. When I was little I began reading up on them, and I guess that's how I know so much."
She smiled in agreement and bent over to smell the roses. Their smell was so wonderful, almost like a mix of moon lilies and perfume, it was both intoxicating and lovely. "Serenity would love these."
"Don't you miss them, Charity?" He paused a second and reworded his question. "I mean don't you ever just want to rush home and not leave again?"
Charity's smile faded just a little bit, "Sure, wouldn't you? But I can't, this is my calling, and at the moment it's the only thing I'm good at..."
So that's what it was! For days Endymion had felt something nagging him,
something that had to do with Charity. He should have known what it was, she had almost told him the first day they rode together.
"Charity, you don't feel like you're useless do you?" Endymion's voice was almost inaudible.
She looked down, and answered just as softly as he had. "Am I not? Really Endy, have you seen me do anything here that somebody else wouldn't have been able to do? Sure, I'm Dark Moon, but how does that ever help ME? It's almost as if she's a whole different person."
Endymion walked over to her and put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to look in his eyes. "Listen to me, Charity, you know better than this! I'm going to tell you something that your father told me when I was little. 'Don't be afraid to do what others can not or will not, just be yourself'. Charity, you're trying to hide yourself, you're trying to be what everybody else wants you to be. Just be yourself."
Charity let the advice sink in. That was the first time she had even realized what she was really doing. She was afraid to be herself, afraid that everybody would hate her, afraid that maybe she wasn't really a good princess. But even to Charity the advice made since, she couldn't hide herself, and from that point on she swore to be only herself.
"Thank you, Endy. You're the best!"
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Earth Palace- Meeting 1
"Princess Charity, why do you think it is so important for the Golden Kingdom to join into the Silver Alliance? Your people are happy but your society depends on magic and as you know ours despises the very use of it." King Stephan questioned.
"That's true, your highness. Magic is what keeps our planets alive, but what is it that earth sees in magic that is so despicable?" She returned.
For once the king looked stunned, "Magic is an unfair advantage, if magic were used on battle fields than magicians would have an advantage over regular citizens."
"Your highness, I beg to differ, many of the outer universes use magic in their armies and in their military, by not using it your putting yourself at a disadvantage." She paused for a second, "By joining the Alliance you may have to accept the use of magic, but you would also gain a new weapon."
"I see your point, Princess, but what of your court? Shall we have to send young Princess Terra to join it, or shall we be exempt?" He said, picking a new topic.
She sighed, "We can not exempt you from it, but we can let you decide whether you would like to put your daughter into the outer legion of senshi or the inner, my court."
"What of taxes? Will our taxes be raised by joining?"
"No, if anything they'll be lowered."
She could see that Stephan was beginning to tire, "Your highness, why don't we continue this meeting tomorrow after breakfast?"
His face relaxed, "Thank you young princess." He stood and turned again to face her, "Your father would be proud of you if he could see what good your doing."
She blushed, "Thank you."
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
The Royal Earth Gardens
Charity wandered around the garden aimlessly, the smell of flowers made her feel relaxed and at home. Each flower's scent was special in its own way, and she could name every one of them.
She was worried. Stephan had tired so easily during the negotiations that she was sure that he was sick. It bothered her, because ever since she was little, she had been able to tell when others were sick, and most of the time she could even tell what they had. Stephan was different; whatever it was that he was suffering from was new. Some disease she had yet to encounter, and she didn't like the feeling.
Charity bent down to smell a tulip, the earth had so many different kinds of flowers that would not grow on planets in the Alliance.
Her thoughts shifted back to Stephan, she liked his warm personality and caring thoughts. She didn't want to see him die. For the last few minutes she had been trying to decide whether or not she should try to heal him, if she did there was a possibility of him getting better, but if not, well she didn't want to think of that.
Most of all she wasn't sure if he would let her heal him. As she knew he despised the workings of magic, and would probably turn her away before she even had the chance. Then again, his own son was the protector of earth, and controlled all the power it choose to give him.
There was a chance she wouldn't be able to help him anyway. That would be
her worst failure yet, but she had to try. She couldn't let him die.
With renewed strength she decided to talk with the king first thing in the
morning. Maybe, he would allow her to try, if not she would think of something else.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
The Next Morning - King Stephan's Rooms
The knocking at the door startled King Stephan from his usual morning
daydreams. He just wasn't a morning person.
"Come in!"
Charity smiled apologetically at having disturbed him, "I'm sorry, your highness. I needed to talk to you about something. Privately."
He smiled, "Sure. Why don't you join me for breakfast?"
Her smile widened, "I'd love to." She pulled out a chair and joined him at the table. "How do you feel, your majesty?"
"Let's lose the 'your majesty', okay? I feel silly having you call me that." He paused and looked her over thoughtfully, "You know don't you?"
She gave him a confused look.
His smile disappeared a little, "You know that I'm sick. You know that it's very serious. You're afraid to let me die."
She got an angry look on her face, "I don't let anybody die. I always fight."
She paused and continued softly, "I don't let people die, not if I can heal them. I won't let you die."
His gaze softened, "I can understand that. You're a fighter, you don't like sitting around not being able to do anything. But I know I'm going to die." He paused, "You know of the golden crystal?"
She nodded, "It was discovered by Endymion, right? Right after the Golden
Kingdom was established. Legend tells it holds extraordinary power, only matched by my sister's silver crystal."
"Yes. I'm the current controller of the golden crystal. Did your sister ever tell you what happened when the silver crystal was given to her?" He asked.
"No, I was there. All she told me was that she saw visions."
He nodded, "Yes, she saw visions of her future. Since your family is immortal she did not see her death, only what is to come. But I am mortal. I saw my death. I saw when and how I would die."
Charity gasped, he had known all his life that he would die from this disease. Whatever it was would be the end of him. The thought was almost horrifying, living your life knowing exactly when and where you would die.
"Don't look like that. It's not that bad, it helps you realize that the time you do spend living is worth it. Plus, you're always able to say your good byes." He interrupted her thoughts.
"But doesn't it make you sad? Knowing that you're going to leave your family behind?"
He smiled sadly, "Of course, but I know they'll be alright. That's why I'm trying to finish this treaty before I die. So that the Silver Alliance will be able to help Endymion become a good king."
"How long do you have left?" Her voice cracked with sadness.
"Less time then I would like. I have only a week."
Her eyes widened with horror, sure she had known he was ill, but she hadn't known he was that ill. "Isn't there anything I can do?"
He nodded slowly, "Let us finish the treaty negotiations privately. I'll need for you to give me energy ever so often."
She closed her eyes in pain, her soul screaming out wishing that she could help him. If this was what he wanted she would gladly help him through his last days. "Yes, I'll be happy to."
He smiled, "Thank you, I will be eternally grateful. I have two last requests, the first I'll tell you now. Please do not tell my family, I know how close you and Endymion have become, comfort him when I die."
The tears she had been trying so long to hold back came rushing down, and she sobbed into his shoulder. He was like a father to her, and she was going to let him die. For once in her life she wasn't going to fight, and she knew she would regret it.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
King Stephan's Rooms: Meeting 2
Charity hesitantly put a hand on King Stephan's forehead, and without a thought transferred some of her energy into him. The after effect was amazing, even in Stephan's condition he was able to move around without tiring.
"Thank you, Charity. Now you must promise, truly promise, that no matter what the circumstance is you will never try to heal me. Never!" Stephan demanded. "I know you've been thinking about it, I can see it in your eyes. There is a reason why I must die now. We may never understand what it is, but there is a reason."
To Charity's ears, Stephan's last sentence seemed to reassure him, and for some reason she seemed to see him doubt himself. But she knew she wouldn't defy his word, if he didn't wish to be healed, she would not heal him. "I promise."
He smiled, though it failed to reach his eyes, "Good, now lets continue. We don't have much time."
Charity nodded, and vowed to herself to make this as short as possible. "First, we must decide if the Earth is willing provide a princess or representative into my sister's court."
Stephan nodded, "Yes, we will, but it will not be Terra. She's too weak, and too frail. But I do have someone in mind for the position. That we will discuss later."
Charity nodded, all she need to was affirm the position. "Do you have any
objections to become part of the King's council?"
"No."
Again she nodded, "You realize that you will have to give up your fears against magic?"
He nodded.
"You realize that by becoming part of the Silver Alliance you have to honor all treaties that we have already negotiated?"
Another nod.
And so the questions went on. Charity left out as much as possible, if any question was minor then it didn't get asked. And even though Charity had been able to give him her energy twice that day she knew there wouldn't be any way to give it a third time. Not with as much as she had to give to him.
When she was done with the questions she said good night to him and made sure he went to bed. She was sure he would need all the energy he could get to get through the next two days.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Charity's Rooms
Charity frowned deeply, she was too weak to try and do anything but think, and the thoughts that were coming to her weren't that pleasant. She'd been avoiding Endymion ever since she found out Stephan's secret. She just couldn't stand being near him and keeping something from him.
Plus every time she tried to give Stephan some of her strength his disease sucked more out of her. But she was beginning to think that whatever was wrong with Stephan was not an illness.
She knew that he knew what it was, and she figured he knew something she
didn't, and she was scared. Charity hated when people died, she hated when she had to watch people suffer. And she knew without asking that Stephan was suffering.
For the last two days she had been trying to kill his pain while giving him strength, but she wouldn't be able to tomorrow. Giving him strength constantly for two days had worn her out, and for the last few nights she hadn't been able to sleep at all. She only had dreams of death.
"You look kinda down. What's wrong?"
Charity jumped, startled out of her thoughts to see Endymion standing next to her.
"Sorry, I knocked twice and you didn't answer. What's wrong?" Endymion sat down next to her, his eyes worried.
She pasted on a fake smile hoping to deceive him, "Nothing, why would anything be wrong?"
"Maybe because you've been ignoring me for the last two days, and because
you can't lie." He replied.
Charity sighed, she knew he was right, she couldn't lie. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you, but you'll find out why soon enough."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know, but take it as a prophecy."
Endymion raised an eyebrow, "Prophecy? You're really starting to worry me. And what's this I hear about you and Dad having meetings privately in his bedroom?"
Endymion's eyes held an accusing glare,.
"OH PERVERT! DON'T EVEN THINK LIKE THAT!" Charity cringed and punched him in the arm.
He chuckled and rubbed his arm, "Gee, I didn't mean it! Really though, why
have you been in there?"
She rubbed her temples trying to think up an answer that wouldn't give anything away. "We've been doing our negotiations in there?"
He shook his head, "Something's going on and you guys aren't telling me."
She sighed unhappily, "I'm sorry. I promised I wouldn't tell."
He looked at her for a minute his eyes searching for some kind of answer. "I understand. I just wish you guys wouldn't keep secrets from me."
He looked scared, and she knew he had a right to be. "Don't worry he knows what he's doing." 'I hope'
He smiled slightly, "I know. But he only keeps secrets when he knows the news will hurt me."
Charity shook her head, if only he would tell his family the truth.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Stephan's Rooms - Meeting 3
"Okay, this is the last meeting before the signing. Is there anything you need to add?" Charity asked as she finished asking the questions she had written on paper.
He shook his head, "No. I just need to talk to you for a few minutes. Whatever I tell you must never leave this room."
She nodded, and was pretty sure she wasn't going to like this information.
"As I told you we need a representative in your sister's court. I'd like for that to be you. No, don't say anything yet. I can't send Terra, she can barely leave her bed all day without collapsing. She just doesn't have enough strength to become the senshi of Earth." He paused for a second, pondering something, "I'd like for you to have the powers of Earth, but not to become its senshi. Do you understand?"
She looked up at him confused, "Yes, you want me to be able to use it's power like I use Dark Moon, without having to transform." He nodded, "But why me? I'm not even from Earth. Won't your people be concerned?"
He looked up at her, "No, my people will never know. I want you to be able to protect my planet without them knowing. They don't know nor understand magic, and if we all the sudden began using it they would become suspicious and might rebel against the government."
She nodded, "Yes, but I'm guessing that's not the favor."
He shook his head, "No, the favor is a bit more complicated." He stood up and walked over to the window, "I want you to protect Endymion."
Charity sat down hard, "You want ME to protect Endymion?"
He glanced at her for a second, "You and Endymion have a link, a special link. No matter how far away from each other you will always know if he's in trouble. You're by far the most powerful person in the universe, and Endymion is the key to our future. I know I've seen it."
He looked her straight in the eyes, "You and Endymion have to live in order for the future to continue. You can't die, I won't tell you why, you'll have to find that out on your own, but Endymion can and you must protect him."
He turned back to the window, "Ryan told me how you are the protector of the Sailor Senshi." He heard her gasp, "I know nobody but you and him know, but something bigger then you can ever imagine is going to happen and you have to go through it together."
His voice dropped, "I want to make sure that Endymion will be alright without me, I know you can help him. Please, if you won't do this for yourself then do it for me." As he finished the last sentence he bowed before her.
Charity was still in shock, though he knew he only had to demand it as part of the treaty he hadn't. Charity had respect for that, and she knew she couldn't and wouldn't turn him down. Endymion meant a lot to her anyway, "I'll do it happily. On one condition. You spend your last day with your family. Endymion's worried sick already, and he doesn't have clue what to worry about."
He nodded sadly, "I agree, but remember you can never let word of this leave this room. The only person you can tell is Endymion himself."
"Not even my sisters?"
"Not even your sisters."
"Good, now I'll go find Endymion and a few witnesses so we can sign this treaty." She replied.
And so the treaty with Earth was formally signed, and Earth became a part of the Silver Alliance. And its power was given to Princess Charity of the Moon Kingdom and Vesper.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
King Stephan's last day on Earth was spent with his family. From what Charity could tell they did everything imaginable. From horse riding to swimming to just laying back. And by the end of the day everybody was crying. Even Charity.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Earth Royal Gardens: After Stephan's death
Endymion found her sitting on a bench next to the rose bushes, she was trying her hardest to hide, but for some reason if he thought about her he could find her easily. The information just came to his mind.
She was crying softly, trying to think of anything but Stephan's death, but the news hung over everything like a wet cloth. She felt his arms slide around her shoulder, but it didn't startle her; she had known he was there. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did.
"WHY? WHY WOULDN'T HE LET ME HEAL HIM?" She was screaming at no one, but
she had to get it out.
He was crying himself, his eyes puffy from long hours of crying. "It wasn't your fault, when you promise him something you don't turn against him. It was what he wanted."
"Then why do I feel like it is?" She mumbled still sobbing.
"Because you know you could have helped him, only he wouldn't let you. Just like I do." He said.
"Do you blame me? I could have healed him, I know I could have."
He shook his head, "No, I can't blame you. I know you would have done it, I know you would've if he'd let you."
"Did he tell you before he died?" She asked.
He looked at her confused, "Tell me what?"
"I'm you protector. I've sworn that I'd protect you as long as I live." She said, drying her eyes.
His eyes widened, "You mean, you're going to protect me for the rest of my life?"
She nodded, "Yes, and don't think I did it because he asked me. I did it because I wanted to. So, your highness, I must leave tomorrow. I still have to stop at Mercury before going home."
He nodded still in shock. "If you must, but please come back after Winter Festival for my coronation."
"I will, but you father said to be sure we never told anyone that I'm your
protector." She said. He nodded his thoughts elsewhere, "Yeah, sure."
With a sigh, she stood up and went to her room to pack.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Launch Pad - Charity's Leaving
"You'll be back right?" Endymion asked hesitantly.
She smiled, "I'll be back, but try to stay in one piece okay? If you do I'll bring Serenity with me okay?"
She'd been trying to cheer him up all day, when she arrived at breakfast he'd been crying on the table. His eyes were still red and puffy, and it made her heart break to see him upset.
She gave him a hug and promised to come back before moving on to Jason.
He'd taken the news as hard as Endymion, and had barely made it to the takeoff.
"Jason, try to remember he wouldn't want you to be sad."
He smiled, "I know your highness. I just miss him. When you come back I'm sure I'll be better."
She nodded, and hugged both him and Endymion. Then boarded her ship. It
was time to go to Mercury.