Chapter 1: The Ball
Van sat in the meeting room bored out of his mind. His advisors were once again discussing who he should marry. It was the same every single meeting. All of the advisors would pick and chose different girls of nobility for Van to wed. If it weren't for Merle being on the council, Van would be married to some self absorbed princess. After an hour of constant arguing between Merle and the other advisors, Van slipped out of the room unnoticed. It wasn't for another hour that they discovered Van had left.
Van walked out into a garden within the castle walls. He sighed as the sun light hit him. He walked over to an old tree and layed down under it. Oh how I hate being king, he thought with another sigh.
As Merle wandered though the castle looking for Van a messenger approached. "Lady Merle, I have a letter for his highness but he seems to have run off." the messenger said as he handed the envelop to her. She said a quick thank you and went on searching for Van. She finally found him in the garden. She went and sat down beside him.
"Lord Van, you have a letter from the King and Queen on the Mystic Moon." she said holding the letter towards him. He sat up and opened it. He quickly read it over. "So, what does it say?" she asked interested.
"There's going to be a festival held in Crystal Tokyo and we have been invited." Merle got a large grin on her face. She finally had a reason to go to the Mystic Moon.
"Well, when is it?" she asked excitedly.
"Two days." he said as he put the letter back into the envelop.
"Two days?!" she yelled. "Whoa! That's early! And I have so much to do!" she began to look very overwhelmed. She ran into the castle and began to pack her things. Van soon followed, he too had to pack as well.
Meanwhile in Asteria, Millerna and Dryden received the same letter. "Dryden, Neo Queen Serenity is having a festival in two days and we have been invited." Millerna said as she walked over and sat down beside Dryden in the library. Just as Dryden was about to speak, their three year old daughter Mira came in and jumped onto her mother's lap.
"Mommy, can I go too?" she asked in a sweet voice. Millerna smiled at her daughter.
"Of course you can Mira, we wouldn't leave you behind." Millerna answered in a soft giggle.
The next two days pasted quickly and the festival began to everyone's delight. Well, everyone but the young princess Serenity. "Mother, do I really have to be here?" she asked her mother followed by a yawn.
"Of course Chibi Usa-"
"But there's no one my age here but Hotaru and I can't even talk to her because she's busy." Chibi Usa said interrupting her mother. There was an awkward silence in the air around them.
"Well, there is the King of Fanelia who I do believe is about nineteen years old." Serenity said hoping to cheer up her daughter.
"A king? Isn't that a little young?" she asked confused.
"Well when you're the only one left in your family alive, that happens." the silence still hung in the air around them.
"So, when will he be here?" Chibi Usa asked breaking the silence.
"I think he's here already."
"Where?" she begged her mother. Hm, maybe if I'm lucky, he'll be hot, she thought to herself with a grin.
"Oh, you remind me of myself sometimes Chibi Usa that it scares me." Serenity said laughing slightly. Chibi Usa went for a walk by herself. She was nine-hundred and fourteen years old but only looked to be about nineteen. Her hair was no longer puffy like it was when she was younger. It was as straight as her mother's and went down to her shins.
She walked out into the indoor garden where she found more guests. Uh, everywhere I go, there's always people there, she thought with annoyance. She walked over to the pond in the centre of the garden which was surrounded by trees and bushes. She noticed that there was no one there. Finally, she thought with a sigh of relief. She went and sat down on a nearby bolder along the waters edge. She watched as the gold fish swam by so freely.
"You're so lucky." she said a loud to the fish. She then slipped off her shoes and dipped her feet into the water wondering what it would be like to be free. To have no worries or responsibilities. She then heard some voices getting closer. She quickly grabbed her shoes and hid. She wanted to see who it was but not have to been seen because she knew she would be dragged into a long and boring conversation about politics.
She saw a young man about her age with unruly raven hair. He wore an ivory dress shirt with a long, short sleeved red tunic and beige khaki pants. He had a sword sheathed and attached to his belt. Hm, he must be from Gaea, she thought to herself. She admired his body and blushed. She then saw a young cat woman who looked to be younger than the man. She wore a red velvet dress with a squared neck line. Her hair was full and flowed over her shoulders gracefully. I bet they're a couple, Chibi Usa thought with despair.
A young woman with thick chocolate brown hair wearing a forest green Sailor senshi outfit walked into the clearing and looked around. "Excuse me your highness, but did you see Princess Serenity around?" she asked the young man.
"Sorry, we haven't seen her yet today." he answered.
"Great. This is just like her to run off. Well if you see her tell her that her mother wishes a word with her." she said and the man nodded. As the woman was leaving she saw Chibi Usa. "Hm, I wonder where Small Lady could be?" she said aloud and staring right at Chibi Usa who then stood up and walked out of the brush.
"Don't ever call me that again Mako-chan." she said to her angrily. Makoto smiled with satisfaction.
"I wouldn't have to call you that if you wouldn't run off all the time." Chibi Usa just ignored her and walked back to the gathering hall. She walked up to her mother.
"You wanted to see me." she said with a bit of annoyance.
"Yes, I want to introduce you to some of the royals on Gaea." Chibi Usa rolled her eyes. "This is the king and queen of Asteria, Dryden and Millerna Fassa." Chibi Usa did a curtsy.
"It's a pleasure to meet you your highness." she said in her sweetest tone.
"As it is to meet you Princess Serenity." Millerna said smiling cheerfully. After more introductions with other royals, Chibi Usa was ready to run off again.
"Mother, when will I meet some people my age." her mother looked down at her.
"Don't worry Chibi Usa, later tonight I'll introduce you to the king of Fanelia Van." dinner soon rolled around and everyone gathered in the immense dinning hall. Serenity, her family and the Sailor Senshi sat at the front of the dinning hall at a long table that faced all the guests who sat at smaller round tables. Just before dinner was served Serenity walked up to the podium and said her speech. She thanked all those who showed up.
After their dinner, the dancing begun. Chibi Usa danced with most of the men there but didn't enjoy any of it. After a couple of hours of constant dancing, she went and sat down on a bench inside the hall. Not too long after she had sat down her best friend Hotaru walked up to her.
"Chibi Usa, your mother wants-"
"Wait, let me guess. To introduce me to more royals?" she said sarcastically. Hotaru nodded. Chibi Usa stood up and walked over to her mother.
"Ah Chibi Usa I want to introduce you to the King of Fanelia Van Slanzar de Fanel." her mother said. It's him, she thought. "And this is his trusted advisor Merle." Chibi Usa blushed slightly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you your highness." she said as she gracefully curtsied. In the background the music swiftly changed to yet again another slow song. "Would you like to have this dance?" she asked still blushing.
"Sure," he answered taking her hand and moving to the dance floor.
"Oh Mamo-chan, don't they look so adorable?" Serenity said as she leaned against her husband. He smiled and held her hand walked onto the dance floor to dance as well.
"This must be the first time I've danced with you all night Usa-ko." he whispered into her ear. She laughed quietly in response.
Wow, he's an amazing dancer for a guy his age that is, Chibi Usa thought as she danced. So graceful and gentle, a rare quality in a guy.
By the end of the night many of the Gaeans had left. Only a handful were staying the night. Chibi Usa retired to her room where she changed out of her white dress and into an ivory silk night gown. She slipped on her matching house cost and went for a midnight stroll into the garden. She looked around to see if she was alone. Great, no one else here. She went deep into the garden to the pond. She sat down by the waters' edge and skimmed her fingers thought the crystal clear water.
Van wandered around the Crystal Palace alone. He wore only a pair of beige breeches and a sleeveless midnight blue tunic. Wow, I never thought Earth was so advanced, he thought in awe as he walked through the halls. He walked into the garden and wondered deep into it till he came to a clearing and saw her. Her long silky pink hair draped over her shoulders gracefully. The light of the full moon gave her a heavenly aurora like an angel's. He stood and admired her beauty. As he took a step closer, he stepped on a twig which snapped under his foot. Chibi Usa immediately faced him in alarm.
"I'm sorry if I was interrupting anything. I'll just go now." he said as he turned away from her.
"No you weren't, you can stay if you want." she said to him and turned back around. "You don't seem like the kingly type." she said as he walked closer and sat by her.
"And why do you say that?" he asked confused and a little insulted.
"Well, it's just, you seem to normal. You know, not so formal like other royals I've met." she said and there was an awkward pause. "I just wish more nobles could be like that. It would make it a hell of a lot easier to stand them." she said laughing quietly near the end. Van too laughed at the comment.
"So are you like that?" he asked her.
"Well, I only act like that for my parents. If I acted normally, my mother would probably disown me." she began to laugh again quietly. "I'm actually a very outgoing person. That is when I'm not in the presence of any royals or nobles." after another awkward silence, Van spoke.
"So, have you ever fallen in love before?"
A/N: YAY! Chapter one is done! Hey, that rhymed! lol! Well, so what did ya think? I'm basing pretty much all the SM stuff on the manga which explains Chibi Usa's age because when she is first introduced, she is 900 yrs old but only looks 5. Please review and all flames can be sent to me at sailor_cosmos71@hotmail.com