March 2002
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters but the story is mine.
Chapter 1
Selenity stepped off the plane and pushed her sunglasses onto her
forehead in one fluid movement.
"Princess! Princess!" reporters crowded the lines near the plane's
private entrance and pictures snapped. She smiled easily, knowing she was
beautiful. Her hair was perfect, her makeup was perfect and she was dressed
casually, but stylishly in a navy skirt that fell to mid-thigh and a flaring
white top. Calf high boots completed the ensemble. Her navy jacket was
carelessly open in front, revealing a silver pendant resting on her collarbone.
She smiled again and then began walking towards the limo with the tinted
windows. She ignored all of the questions the reporters yelled at her and slid
gracefully into the car.
"Home, Charles," she told the limo driver in her musical voice. She
smiled at the older man and then relaxed into the all leather interior, gazing
out the one-way tinted windows. She sighed. She'd come back, eight years had
passed, but she'd finally been able to keep her promise. She stretched out and
fiddled with one perfect nail, snapping it off just to spite the manicurist.
She hated having to care about how she looked, what she said, how and what she
ate. She hated having a life in the public eye.
The limo jerked as Charles slammed on the brakes and Selenity reached
for the safety straps, "CHARLES!" she snapped, concerned.
"Sorry, miss," The old man had finally dropped using one of her titles,
much to her delight, "a pedestrian jumped in front of the car." He got them
underway again and she sat back, this time doing up her seat belt. She
wondered where Darien and Mina were. Last she'd heard Darien's friends Andrew
and Rita were engaged. Mina had a whole gaggle of friends who loved to shop
and play video games, and the most adorable boyfriend. She sighed. She'd
missed out on everything, she'd never been in one place, in the last eight
years that had been good enough for her father so had finally ended up on a
secluded island off the tip of Japan, taking home schooling and being drilled
in her royal duties. She was sick of them; she did them in her sleep.
Selenity covered her face with her hands, her fingers sliding along the
light scar on her hairline. When would this all end? Could she ever be just a
normal young woman and not have to worry about how her actions would reflect on
her pare... her father? The car stopped, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"We're here miss."
Selenity shuddered as she looked out the window. The huge house,
surrounded by the brick wall, was just as she remembered it. The only
difference was that she would have the whole house to herself, minus of course,
an army of servants, Charles, and the security people. She grimaced, "Did you
have to take me here, Charles?" she asked softly, wistfully thinking of the
home she should have but never could. If she stayed anywhere too long, her
father was convinced she'd be targeted. For what? Kidnapping, assassination,
blackmail, you name it and her father was paranoid about it. At this rate
she'd never learn to do anything normal people did.
"Miss?"
She looked up as Charles opened the door and met her gaze, his eyes full
of compasion, "You need not stay here, I'm certain we could find some kind of
hotel for your if you wish."
"Without daddy's permission? It would become a security hideout within
an hour, you know that as well as I do. No, I'll stay here, but I am going to
insist that I be left alone when going to see my friends. I haven't been here
in a long time Charles," she sighed and then smiled a wistful smile at him,
"I've missed them terribly."
"And rightly so miss, come, we shall get you settled and then look your
friends up, if they are still in town."
Selenity swung her legs out of the car and paused, "I'll call them
myself, no going above my head on this one."
He nodded his head, smiling wryly, "As you wish, miss."
She nodded once and got out of the car, "Good." with no other words she
strode past him to key in the combination. Her mind and body were humming with
excitement. She couldn't wait to see Darien and Mina again!
* * *
"Out?! Out where?!" Selenity cried in frustration. She'd been trying
to get a hold of her girlfriend for the past two hours.
"I'm sorry, but Mina has practice today, I thought I told you that
already."
Selentity ground her teeth together in frustration, "You did, but you
didn't say where!"
The lady on the other end of the line laughed, "Where else but at the
school? You said you were a school friend of hers, right?"
"Yes, I am, but that was years ago, I haven't a clue which school she's
at now."
"Oh. She's at the local college here in town. Sorry, I figured you
knew."
"Thank you." she hung the phone up with a frustrated sigh and looked in
the phone book. She could have let Charles track Mina down, but she didn't
want him to know her plans. Thus far she'd been unable to track Darien down
either. She knew his phone number but he wasn't home. He wasn't at the arcade
either, according to the bored girl who'd answered the phone.
She slammed the book closed, "Charles!" she yelled. His quick footseps
heralded his coming.
"Yes miss?"
"Take me to the local college. This time, though, don't take the limo,
ok? And dress like you're my dad, not my chaufer."
"Miss?" he looked confused.
"Just do it, I don't want to draw attention to myself, alright?"
He nodded, "Understood. I shall see you out front in ten minutes then."
"Good." She turned her back on him as he departed and grabbed the knife
she kept on her dresser. She took her hair down and slashed it off at the
ends, cutting it to shoulder length. She checked the edge and nodded. She'd
done it enough over the years she'd gotten the angle perfected. She quickly
slipped into her only pair of black jeans, along with a white t-shirt and black
jacket before grabbing her shades. She pulled her hair back in a pony tail,
grabbed her wallet, stuffed her feet into a pair of worn sneekers and stuff her
wallet into her back pocket. She smiled, hearing the car pull up out front and
darted out, ducking into the backseat quickly to avoid the notice of the
reporters.
Charles tossed a blanket haphazardly over her in the back and then added
a couple of bags before pulling away from the house. The gates opened and the
reporters surrounded the car as it made to leave. Seeing no princess Selenity
inside, however, they backed off and turned their gaze back to the huge house.
The car sped away and turned down a side street. "All clear miss, but I
suggest you wait until we cross town before coming out."
Selentiy sighed, "Alright Charles. Go down a few more streets and then
I'll come out. I want to see Tokyo like I remember it, ok?"
She heard him chuckle, "Very well miss. Hold on."
She gritted her teeth as he made a few more turns. He reached back and
tugged the whole mass off her, onto the floor, without taking his gaze off the
road. She grinned, "Thank you, Charles." she slipped into the front seat next
to him and buckled herself in.
She stared out the windows, watching the people and the cars. She found
she was really disappointed when she failed to spy the old arcade. "Are we
almost there, Charles?"
He laughed, "Two more streets over, miss. We will be there in about 2
minutes."
"Good." she quieted down until they pulled onto the campus, "Do you
know where the gymnsium is, Charles?"
He didn't reply as he turned off a couple of streets and then down
another. Selenity let out an exclamation of surprise as the complex came into
view, "Wow!"
He pulled up in front, "When shall I meet you again, miss?"
"Oh, don't bother, I'll walk back or catch a cab."
"In that?"
She looked down, "Sure, why not?"
"The reporters will be waiting for you. Grab the bags I threw in the
back."
She did as told and opened them, laughing, "Wow, now there's something
to blow them away. Thanks."
"The least I can do miss. See you for dinner."
"Umm, no you won't. I'll see you about midnight, Charles."
He raised an eyebrow but shrugged, "As you wish, miss. Don't hesitate
to call if you wish to come home sooner, and in style."
"I won't. Bye Charles." she waved to him and slammed the door before
picking up the two bags and, grasping them in one hand, ran towards the gym.
She almost colided with a blond haired adonis as he opened the door. "Oh!
Excuse me."
He looked at her and smiled, "No no, excuse me, I should be careful when
opening these doors."
She smiled as he held the door for her, "Thanks."
"No problem. You meeting someone or can I take you out for a drink to
make it up to you?"
Warning bells went off in her head, "Thanks, but I'm meeting a friend."
He raises an eyebrow, "Alright, I can take a hint. By the way, I'm
Andrew. If you ever need a hand getting around the campus, or to have someone
open doors, just call for the track team star."
She laughed, "Thanks Andrew." she turned to go.
"Aren't you going to tell me at least your name?"
She glanced back at him over her shoulder, sliding her shades up onto
her forehead, "No." she turned and ran off into the building.
Andrew shook his head. There was something familiar about those eyes of
hers, not to mention that smile. "Hey Drew!"
He turned and let the door close as he left the building, "Hey, Dare,
what's up?"
"Not much. Did I just see you get blown off by that gorgeous blonde?"
Andrew laughed, "Yeah, she wouldn't even give me her name. Good thing
too, Rita might get jealous."
Darien chuckled, tossing his raven hair out of his eyes, "Well, since
she wouldn't let you buy her a drink, how about a rematch of that new racing
game over at Crown?"
Andrew grinned, "You just can't get enough of it ever since I bought the
place. Sure, you're on."
* * *
Selentity dated into the gym and skidded to a halt. "Mina!"
The blonde haired center smashed the ball into the other court and
looked over as she landed. A huge grin split her face. "Oh my God, can it be?
Selen-er. Girlfriend?!"
Everyone in the gym paused and Selenity's smile froze as Mina came
rushing towards her and wrapped her in an exhuberant hug. "You're here, you're
really here!"
People looked away from the happy renunion of two friends, certain
they'd heard the wrong name called. Royalty didn't fraternize with the common
college students.
"Hey, Mina, it's great to see you."
"No kidding, when did you get back into town?"
"This morning. I tried calling your house but all I got was you mother
telling me you were at practice. She hung up on me before I could ask anything
else and then the line was busy for the next two hours, otherwise I would have
been here sooner."
"No problem. Have you seen Darien yet? Oh man, he's going to freak
when he sees you're here."
Selenity smiled, "I hope so, he doesn't know I'm back yet. He's hard to
get ahold of."
"Well, he's an intern at the hospital, going for his doctorate, ya
know.. just a sec," she turned back to the court, "Play without me, I'll see
you guys tomorrow."
Her teammates chuckled and nodded, waving goodbye to her as the two
blondes made their way to the dressing room. "You wait here, I'm going to go
change and then we'll go get shakes at Crowns and catch up, alright?"
Selenity smiled, "Sounds heavenly. I'll wait here."
"Cool, see ya in a second!" Mina grinned as she raced into the change
room.
Selenity leaned against the wall next to the door, conscious of the
curious stares coming her way. Mina was excitable, she always had been, so she
hoped most people would pass her prescense off as regular.
"Hey gorgeous, you waiting for someone?"
She turned her head, sighing inwardly as the brown haired man approached
her. He looked like some kind of body builder with bulging biceps, "Actually
yes, do you mind?"
"Not at all, I'm Tony, what's your name, sugar?"
"None of your business," her tone was frosty, "I'm not interested."
"Everyone's interested in Tony."
She winced. Ouch, concieted jerks were always harder to get rid of,
"Look buddy, I'm not interested, I haven't a clue who or what you think you are
but you're below my notice. Now get lost before I have you prosecuted for
harassment."
He blinked, "Hardball player, eh? That's alright, I can wait, you'll
come crawling to me some day to go out with me," he swaggered off and she
inwardly screamed. She hated jocks. Everyone of them thought they were God's
gift to women, especially her, regardless of weather they knew she was a
princess or not.
"I'm ready! Woah, what's the matter?"
Selenity made a face, "Some jock named Tony thought I should get
acquainted with him."
"Tony? Olympic prospect Tony? Lordy, you work fast!"
"I blew him off and told him to get lost."
"You what?! Oh man, I wish I had that luxury, Selenity." Mina winked at
her and then motioned for her to follow, "Come on, I owe you a super chocolate
milkshake."
Selenity smiled, her mood already improving, "Sounds great, but this is
my treat since I'm the one who's rich, and who's pulling you out of practice
early."
Mina laughed, "Alright then, I never turn down free food."
Author's Note: Questions, comments, flames, anything you have to say, write me!
Jademax@hotmail.com
Thanks for reading!
Jade_Max
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters but the story is mine.
Chapter 1
Selenity stepped off the plane and pushed her sunglasses onto her
forehead in one fluid movement.
"Princess! Princess!" reporters crowded the lines near the plane's
private entrance and pictures snapped. She smiled easily, knowing she was
beautiful. Her hair was perfect, her makeup was perfect and she was dressed
casually, but stylishly in a navy skirt that fell to mid-thigh and a flaring
white top. Calf high boots completed the ensemble. Her navy jacket was
carelessly open in front, revealing a silver pendant resting on her collarbone.
She smiled again and then began walking towards the limo with the tinted
windows. She ignored all of the questions the reporters yelled at her and slid
gracefully into the car.
"Home, Charles," she told the limo driver in her musical voice. She
smiled at the older man and then relaxed into the all leather interior, gazing
out the one-way tinted windows. She sighed. She'd come back, eight years had
passed, but she'd finally been able to keep her promise. She stretched out and
fiddled with one perfect nail, snapping it off just to spite the manicurist.
She hated having to care about how she looked, what she said, how and what she
ate. She hated having a life in the public eye.
The limo jerked as Charles slammed on the brakes and Selenity reached
for the safety straps, "CHARLES!" she snapped, concerned.
"Sorry, miss," The old man had finally dropped using one of her titles,
much to her delight, "a pedestrian jumped in front of the car." He got them
underway again and she sat back, this time doing up her seat belt. She
wondered where Darien and Mina were. Last she'd heard Darien's friends Andrew
and Rita were engaged. Mina had a whole gaggle of friends who loved to shop
and play video games, and the most adorable boyfriend. She sighed. She'd
missed out on everything, she'd never been in one place, in the last eight
years that had been good enough for her father so had finally ended up on a
secluded island off the tip of Japan, taking home schooling and being drilled
in her royal duties. She was sick of them; she did them in her sleep.
Selenity covered her face with her hands, her fingers sliding along the
light scar on her hairline. When would this all end? Could she ever be just a
normal young woman and not have to worry about how her actions would reflect on
her pare... her father? The car stopped, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"We're here miss."
Selenity shuddered as she looked out the window. The huge house,
surrounded by the brick wall, was just as she remembered it. The only
difference was that she would have the whole house to herself, minus of course,
an army of servants, Charles, and the security people. She grimaced, "Did you
have to take me here, Charles?" she asked softly, wistfully thinking of the
home she should have but never could. If she stayed anywhere too long, her
father was convinced she'd be targeted. For what? Kidnapping, assassination,
blackmail, you name it and her father was paranoid about it. At this rate
she'd never learn to do anything normal people did.
"Miss?"
She looked up as Charles opened the door and met her gaze, his eyes full
of compasion, "You need not stay here, I'm certain we could find some kind of
hotel for your if you wish."
"Without daddy's permission? It would become a security hideout within
an hour, you know that as well as I do. No, I'll stay here, but I am going to
insist that I be left alone when going to see my friends. I haven't been here
in a long time Charles," she sighed and then smiled a wistful smile at him,
"I've missed them terribly."
"And rightly so miss, come, we shall get you settled and then look your
friends up, if they are still in town."
Selenity swung her legs out of the car and paused, "I'll call them
myself, no going above my head on this one."
He nodded his head, smiling wryly, "As you wish, miss."
She nodded once and got out of the car, "Good." with no other words she
strode past him to key in the combination. Her mind and body were humming with
excitement. She couldn't wait to see Darien and Mina again!
* * *
"Out?! Out where?!" Selenity cried in frustration. She'd been trying
to get a hold of her girlfriend for the past two hours.
"I'm sorry, but Mina has practice today, I thought I told you that
already."
Selentity ground her teeth together in frustration, "You did, but you
didn't say where!"
The lady on the other end of the line laughed, "Where else but at the
school? You said you were a school friend of hers, right?"
"Yes, I am, but that was years ago, I haven't a clue which school she's
at now."
"Oh. She's at the local college here in town. Sorry, I figured you
knew."
"Thank you." she hung the phone up with a frustrated sigh and looked in
the phone book. She could have let Charles track Mina down, but she didn't
want him to know her plans. Thus far she'd been unable to track Darien down
either. She knew his phone number but he wasn't home. He wasn't at the arcade
either, according to the bored girl who'd answered the phone.
She slammed the book closed, "Charles!" she yelled. His quick footseps
heralded his coming.
"Yes miss?"
"Take me to the local college. This time, though, don't take the limo,
ok? And dress like you're my dad, not my chaufer."
"Miss?" he looked confused.
"Just do it, I don't want to draw attention to myself, alright?"
He nodded, "Understood. I shall see you out front in ten minutes then."
"Good." She turned her back on him as he departed and grabbed the knife
she kept on her dresser. She took her hair down and slashed it off at the
ends, cutting it to shoulder length. She checked the edge and nodded. She'd
done it enough over the years she'd gotten the angle perfected. She quickly
slipped into her only pair of black jeans, along with a white t-shirt and black
jacket before grabbing her shades. She pulled her hair back in a pony tail,
grabbed her wallet, stuffed her feet into a pair of worn sneekers and stuff her
wallet into her back pocket. She smiled, hearing the car pull up out front and
darted out, ducking into the backseat quickly to avoid the notice of the
reporters.
Charles tossed a blanket haphazardly over her in the back and then added
a couple of bags before pulling away from the house. The gates opened and the
reporters surrounded the car as it made to leave. Seeing no princess Selenity
inside, however, they backed off and turned their gaze back to the huge house.
The car sped away and turned down a side street. "All clear miss, but I
suggest you wait until we cross town before coming out."
Selentiy sighed, "Alright Charles. Go down a few more streets and then
I'll come out. I want to see Tokyo like I remember it, ok?"
She heard him chuckle, "Very well miss. Hold on."
She gritted her teeth as he made a few more turns. He reached back and
tugged the whole mass off her, onto the floor, without taking his gaze off the
road. She grinned, "Thank you, Charles." she slipped into the front seat next
to him and buckled herself in.
She stared out the windows, watching the people and the cars. She found
she was really disappointed when she failed to spy the old arcade. "Are we
almost there, Charles?"
He laughed, "Two more streets over, miss. We will be there in about 2
minutes."
"Good." she quieted down until they pulled onto the campus, "Do you
know where the gymnsium is, Charles?"
He didn't reply as he turned off a couple of streets and then down
another. Selenity let out an exclamation of surprise as the complex came into
view, "Wow!"
He pulled up in front, "When shall I meet you again, miss?"
"Oh, don't bother, I'll walk back or catch a cab."
"In that?"
She looked down, "Sure, why not?"
"The reporters will be waiting for you. Grab the bags I threw in the
back."
She did as told and opened them, laughing, "Wow, now there's something
to blow them away. Thanks."
"The least I can do miss. See you for dinner."
"Umm, no you won't. I'll see you about midnight, Charles."
He raised an eyebrow but shrugged, "As you wish, miss. Don't hesitate
to call if you wish to come home sooner, and in style."
"I won't. Bye Charles." she waved to him and slammed the door before
picking up the two bags and, grasping them in one hand, ran towards the gym.
She almost colided with a blond haired adonis as he opened the door. "Oh!
Excuse me."
He looked at her and smiled, "No no, excuse me, I should be careful when
opening these doors."
She smiled as he held the door for her, "Thanks."
"No problem. You meeting someone or can I take you out for a drink to
make it up to you?"
Warning bells went off in her head, "Thanks, but I'm meeting a friend."
He raises an eyebrow, "Alright, I can take a hint. By the way, I'm
Andrew. If you ever need a hand getting around the campus, or to have someone
open doors, just call for the track team star."
She laughed, "Thanks Andrew." she turned to go.
"Aren't you going to tell me at least your name?"
She glanced back at him over her shoulder, sliding her shades up onto
her forehead, "No." she turned and ran off into the building.
Andrew shook his head. There was something familiar about those eyes of
hers, not to mention that smile. "Hey Drew!"
He turned and let the door close as he left the building, "Hey, Dare,
what's up?"
"Not much. Did I just see you get blown off by that gorgeous blonde?"
Andrew laughed, "Yeah, she wouldn't even give me her name. Good thing
too, Rita might get jealous."
Darien chuckled, tossing his raven hair out of his eyes, "Well, since
she wouldn't let you buy her a drink, how about a rematch of that new racing
game over at Crown?"
Andrew grinned, "You just can't get enough of it ever since I bought the
place. Sure, you're on."
* * *
Selentity dated into the gym and skidded to a halt. "Mina!"
The blonde haired center smashed the ball into the other court and
looked over as she landed. A huge grin split her face. "Oh my God, can it be?
Selen-er. Girlfriend?!"
Everyone in the gym paused and Selenity's smile froze as Mina came
rushing towards her and wrapped her in an exhuberant hug. "You're here, you're
really here!"
People looked away from the happy renunion of two friends, certain
they'd heard the wrong name called. Royalty didn't fraternize with the common
college students.
"Hey, Mina, it's great to see you."
"No kidding, when did you get back into town?"
"This morning. I tried calling your house but all I got was you mother
telling me you were at practice. She hung up on me before I could ask anything
else and then the line was busy for the next two hours, otherwise I would have
been here sooner."
"No problem. Have you seen Darien yet? Oh man, he's going to freak
when he sees you're here."
Selenity smiled, "I hope so, he doesn't know I'm back yet. He's hard to
get ahold of."
"Well, he's an intern at the hospital, going for his doctorate, ya
know.. just a sec," she turned back to the court, "Play without me, I'll see
you guys tomorrow."
Her teammates chuckled and nodded, waving goodbye to her as the two
blondes made their way to the dressing room. "You wait here, I'm going to go
change and then we'll go get shakes at Crowns and catch up, alright?"
Selenity smiled, "Sounds heavenly. I'll wait here."
"Cool, see ya in a second!" Mina grinned as she raced into the change
room.
Selenity leaned against the wall next to the door, conscious of the
curious stares coming her way. Mina was excitable, she always had been, so she
hoped most people would pass her prescense off as regular.
"Hey gorgeous, you waiting for someone?"
She turned her head, sighing inwardly as the brown haired man approached
her. He looked like some kind of body builder with bulging biceps, "Actually
yes, do you mind?"
"Not at all, I'm Tony, what's your name, sugar?"
"None of your business," her tone was frosty, "I'm not interested."
"Everyone's interested in Tony."
She winced. Ouch, concieted jerks were always harder to get rid of,
"Look buddy, I'm not interested, I haven't a clue who or what you think you are
but you're below my notice. Now get lost before I have you prosecuted for
harassment."
He blinked, "Hardball player, eh? That's alright, I can wait, you'll
come crawling to me some day to go out with me," he swaggered off and she
inwardly screamed. She hated jocks. Everyone of them thought they were God's
gift to women, especially her, regardless of weather they knew she was a
princess or not.
"I'm ready! Woah, what's the matter?"
Selenity made a face, "Some jock named Tony thought I should get
acquainted with him."
"Tony? Olympic prospect Tony? Lordy, you work fast!"
"I blew him off and told him to get lost."
"You what?! Oh man, I wish I had that luxury, Selenity." Mina winked at
her and then motioned for her to follow, "Come on, I owe you a super chocolate
milkshake."
Selenity smiled, her mood already improving, "Sounds great, but this is
my treat since I'm the one who's rich, and who's pulling you out of practice
early."
Mina laughed, "Alright then, I never turn down free food."
Author's Note: Questions, comments, flames, anything you have to say, write me!
Jademax@hotmail.com
Thanks for reading!
Jade_Max