Disclaimer: No, I am not Naoko Takeuchi and hence, do not own Sailor Moon. But I did write this story, so please don't steal it.
Author Notes: Heh… we're
going to introduce Serena now, so…. on with the story!
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As mentioned earlier, the five young men were engrossed in a conversation. Supposedly, this was a topic of gross proportions, according to a rather smug Chad, who was delighted to have his comrade's attention directly on him. This is the conversation and the events that followed it, after much cajoling and a series of threats by the other members of the group.
"Alright, alright already! You didn't have to mess my hair," a rather perturbed Chad said, glaring at a grinning Kenneth.
Ken crossed his arms over his chest, "Well, when you keep stalling like you did, raving like a madman about some big important news and then finally "deciding" we shouldn't know at all, you had better expect some consequences."
Chad grinned as well, then revealed what he had learned, "Well, I was up at the masters table, serving the Lord Leander, when I overheard him discuss with the Lady Marina about a new page arriving tonight!" Chad chose this moment to pause, in an attempt to captivate the attention of his now wavering audience.
"That's it?"
Endymion asked, throwing his friend a bemused smile. Chad
simply smiled a knowing look, and decided to continue.
"No, that is not "it". What's so special about this new arrival is that she's
female." he finished, looking rather satisfied.
"So he's female – so what? She's a - - a what? You mean he's a she? She as in… girl? Female?" Greg stammered, his face looking rather terrified at the mention of a female. Poor Gregory was rather frightened of women, who had been surrounded by commanding woman all his life – from his mother, to older sisters.
Chad rolled his eyes, who thought Greg's phobia of women unnecessary. "For goodness sake, Gregory, they're just men with breasts and longer hair!" It was at this moment, he was bumped to the side by a small, running figure, who yelled an "Excuse me!" over his back as he continued running down the hall, with a stream of long, dirty blonde hair trailing behind him.
"Then
again, we have exceptions to the rule – that young lad over there had ounces of
hair. Watch we're you're going boy!" Chad
added, dusting himself off a bit and picking at his shirt. The boy merely
looked over his shoulders, threw him a grin, and continued running.
"Never mind about that lad –
tell us more about this new arrival. You say it's a she?" Endymion asked who received a nod of confirmation from his
friend. "But that isn't possible, is it: a lady knight? Why of course it
couldn't – or my sister would have packed her bags and demanded that she be a
lady knight as well. Raye, what a tomboy she is. Anyways, is this an exception
to the rule? Has this happened before?" Greg shook his head,
"No, this has never occurred
before. Perhaps she has parents of great stature, and cajoled them to pull some
strings." Greg suggested, thinking thoughtfully.
"Oh,
why don't you go out and say it – she's obviously a whiny, spoiled tomboy of a
girl who thinks she can handle the life of a knight. I bet she wouldn't last a
week here. Maybe even a day if we're lucky –" Endymion claimed rather frankly.
He smiled in the direction of Andrew, who had been quiet ever since the
conversation began. He found that Andrew was frowning, looking behind him
distractedly. "What?" Endymion asked his friend.
"Hmm? … Oh – oh, nothing
Endymion. I suppose it's time we get to the dinner hall. If the arrival is
coming tonight, she should be introduced at supper. We shan't want to miss
that." Andrew said, hurrying to the dinner hall at the sound of the bell.
(In the dinner hall)
As
soon as everyone had arrived at the tables, Lord Leander looked around then
rose from his seat. A silence filled the room in respect to the Lord of the
training grounds, and what he had to say. Endymion noticed that a chair to the
left of Lady Marina had been left empty.
"Tonight, I would like to
welcome a new arrival at Andreas Castle. Though you may notice they may be
different, they are to be treated as if they were just another student here,
training to become a knight. If I should find that students of Andreas are not
as – accepting as I would expect, there will be consequences." he finished,
pointedly looking in the direction of Chad, who
had a reputation for playing pranks on new pages. Chad
simply smiled as innocent a smile he could muster, and gave a small wave to
Lord Leander.
The lord in return smiled grimly, and then motioned his hand to the back of the hall. With a great booming voice, he said, "May I present to you, Page Serena fa Christié, niece of the Highness, King Andrew, and daughter of Baron Eros and Baroness Marina fa Christié."
Almost simultaneously, the heads of all the pages, squires, and knights turned in the direction of the doorway, to have their mouths gaping at the ethereal sight before them: she was beauty, in all its perfection. She wore a white ball gown, with layers of rustling silk and shimmers of pearls as her body swayed. Her ocean-like blue eyes sparkled with what looked like amusement, as she placed her right foot behind her left and gave the room a deep curtsy. Smiling, (whether because half the men had spilled food to their shirts, or simply to be polite, I cannot say) she gracefully strode across the room and up to the main table.
There, she spoke, "I thank you for your attention, but -- its rude stare." She gave one last smile before flipping a strand of her long, dirty blonde hair behind her bare shoulder. Endymion stared even harder.
"Hey Chad – wasn't that the boy a while ago who
bumped into you?"
Chad squinted, then nodded in amazement. "I
guess 'he' was a she after all."
"Any ways, I don't believe that girl is capable of the intensive training we go
through daily. She looks too weak, too fragile – as if she'll break any moment.
She's more like a doll you look at – rather, a very
good looking doll. " Endymion was going on, but began to trail when he noticed
that the usual chatter of others had disappeared. He mustered one of his cocky
grins toward his friends, waiting for their nodding of approval, but found
looks of horror on their faces.
"What?"
Silence.
"What?" Exasperated, he turned around, to be met with the eyes of
Serena fa Christié, who looked ready to laugh in his face. She bent forward,
and puckering her lips, she whispered in his ear,
"I think the doll can walk
too. You had better make sure it isn't in the room when you're talking about
it." Grinning, she threw a gallant smile in the direction of Lord Leander,
(who, I might add, looked positively furious) and then strolled lightly back to
her chair.
Endymion slumped in his seat,
feeling rather small after realizing she had been behind her the entire time. "Why
didn't any of you tell me?" he grumbled, glaring at his supposed "friends", who
had burst out laughing as soon as Serena had left.
"I'm sorry man…" gasps of
breath, "But that was just too much!" peals of laughter.
"Oh shut up, you were the one
who thought she was a man." At this, Chad immediately stopped laughing, sobering up
quite a bit. Endymion grinned in satisfaction, and glanced toward Kenneth,
Gregory and Andrew. "Well, what do you think of our new page?"
"I think she was beautiful,"
replied a starry eyed Kenneth, who was still gazing in her direction as he said
this.
"Yes – I believe she won't be
that bad, being a woman and all." Gregory added, who was also staring at Page
Serena.
"Honestly! You're forgetting
that she's a female – a girl for
heaven's sake!" exclaimed Endymion, who was tired of Page Serena already. She
may be beautiful, he agreed, but he doubted she even knew how to handle a
sword. Yes… that girl wouldn't last here.
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Author Notes: Ok! That was it! What
did you like, what did you NOT like? I'm taking another stab at this fan
fiction business, so please give me as much feedback as possible! Review please, thank you!
