(A/N: AS you all know, I do not own SM. Duh. You know, I probably could
have come up with a better name for Beauty's husband, but my brain was shot
when I tried to think up a name, so I came up with one on the spot. Please
send me a better name, and I'll change it.)
The palace courtyard they now stood in was beautiful. On this jungle-like moon, the palace had been built entirely out of cool marble, to both hold in the coolness of the stone and keep out the heat of the day. The marble's deep blue made the palace look like a sapphire set in the emerald world about it. The queen and her entourage walked up the wide steps and through the beautiful blue halls to an antechamber off of her throne room, where her Steward gathered up the various notes and messages that the nobles of the court had left for the queen. "My, your majesty," he commented as he stacked papers, "your nobles have been quite busy since you left."
"Yes," she answered. "My court always tries to think up ways to keep me glued to my throne. That makes them think they can sneak around behind my back. But I always end up catching them, and they always try again."
"It's the vicious, endless cycle of running a kingdom, Your Majesty."
"How would you know," Beauty teased.
"Well," the long-lived Steward teased back, "I did serve your mother, and her mother, and her mother before that...."
"Oh, I forgot; you're a million years old." The Queen smiled at her lifelong protector and friend.
"Do I really look it?" he answered with heavy sarcasm.
"I suppose not, but you never can tell with someone who's lived for two million years."
"Cut it out, Beauty. Just cut it out"
Beauty flung herself into his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck. "You don't really mind, do you, papa?" Vincent wasn't the queen's real father, he just fit into that role in Beauty's life after her father had passed away. So she always called him "papa" when she felt childish.
Vincent smiled and hugged her back. "No, child. Now do your homework."
Beauty smiled back and turned to her desk. She sat down and began to read the various petitions her nobles had left for her. Three hours later, she stood up again and said, "Vincent, if you bring me another petition tomorrow, I'll have the nobleman who wrote it locked in the pinnacle for a week."
"The pinnacle, your majesty?"
"Yes, the pinnacle. You know, the highest room in the palace that's crystal clear so everyone can see the poor fellow who got locked in there?"
"Oh, I remember."
"Good. Now I'm going up to my chambers to say hello to my husband and watch the Omega-rise. And I DON'T want to be bothered until tomorrow morning."
"Yes, my Queen," Vincent acknowledged.
Beauty walked pensively back to her room. Even though she'd escaped the danger on her sister's kingdom, she still didn't feel quite right. Walking past the saluting guards at her door, she entered her room and went straight for her mirror. 'Please, mirror, tell me what I need to know.' But all she said aloud was, "Show me Queen Serenity's kingdom."
The mirror flashed its customary green and lightened into an image of the Moon Palace. It was all aglow with colored lights, doubtless created with common magic for a party. But why would Serenity be holding a party when her court was endangered? "Show me the Queen." Another image formed, this time of a queen who gave every appearance of being happy and delighted with the party. But Beauty knew her sister. She could read between the lines, and she knew Serenity was worried.
Then Luna and Artemis, Serenity's two feline advisors, burst into the ballroom. "The Palace is under attack!" Luna shouted. They ran to the Queen.
"Your Majesty," Artemis informed her, "it's Beryl and her Shadows! They've come with the Negaverse to destroy the kingdom!"
Beauty put the mirror down, tears streaming down her face. She knew what was going to happen; she'd seen it in Serenity's eyes. Serenity had seen this in the mirror before, and knew that it was inescapable. Beauty crumpled on the cool marble floor and wept until she fell asleep.
Not until she heard a distant calling did she begin to stir. Someone's voice...a man's...her husband's. With some effort, she pulled herself up out of the foggy blackness of her sleep.
"Beauty?" A pair of worried dark eyes looked down at her from above. Moving slightly, the man they belonged to allowed her to sit up. Beauty started when she remembered that she was on the floor. Then she remembered why she was on the floor, and broke down in tears again. She clung to her husband, who held her and whispered nothings—as men are wont to do when they can't understand a woman's behavior—until she calmed down. Then he asked her what was the matter.
"Oh, Jounochi, Serenity is dead! Oh, my dear sister Serenity...." She buried her head in the warm velvet of Jounochi's shoulder.
"How do you know she is dead? She could have survived whatever happened." He tried to be supportive and optimistic, but Beauty shook her head.
"No, she couldn't have survived. She saw it in my mirror, and I saw it in her eyes. I witnessed the beginning of the attack through my mirror. I no longer feel her presence when I reach out for the comfort of my older sibling. Serenity is gone, as is her kingdom. Her daughter has escaped, though I don't know where. The sense of my niece's presence is distorted somehow, as if she is no longer here, but somewhere half-hidden from my search. Princess Serenity is the only remaining heiress of Serenitatis's eldest line."
"You must go find her," Jounochi exclaimed. "She must be brought here for safety. If the people who did this find her—"
"We cannot."
"What?"
"The Negaverse attacked, led by Beryl herself. She completely destroyed the kingdom, and will destroy us if we reveal her enemy's daughter. Serenity must live, wherever she is, forever in hiding."
When the queen came out of her rooms the next morning, she was dressed in the somber black of mourning. She went to her daughter's apartment, drawing looks as she passed through the halls. The queen did not wear black on ordinary occasions, and she did not mourn without letting the court know. Despite the seemingly strange behavior she knew she must be displaying, Beauty walked resolutely to her daughter's chambers. "Beauty," she called as she entered. When she got no response, she looked in the princess's bedroom, expecting to maybe find her still asleep. She did not find the princess there, so she stepped into the massive walk-in closet. Princess Beauty was there, at the back, arguing with her maid about which dress she was going to wear.
"I am NOT wearing the orange one!"
"But Beauty, it's such a lovely pale orange. The sherbet color looks nice with your red hair."
"NO!"
"But—" The woman started to say something, and then she saw Queen Beauty over the princess's shoulder. "Your Majesty!" she cried, and fell into a deep curtsy.
Princess Beauty spun around, saw the queen, and immediately dropped a flawless curtsy, as well. Then she straightened and addressed her mother, not noting the black dress she wore. "Mother, Warda is NOT making me wear that orange dress! I want to wear my pink one. Pink looks so much better with my hair than that does." She wrinkled her sixteen-year-old nose at the dress.
The queen straightened, not wanting to tell her daughter what had happened. She decided upon the issue of fashion as a way to lead off. "I'm sorry, my dear, but you won't be able to wear either of them." The princess's eyes widened, and Beauty held up her hand. "Darling, come here." The princess obeyed, finally realizing that her mother wore black. Queen Beauty saw it dawn in her daughter's eyes, and explained. "Beauty, I'm sorry. The Moon Kingdom has been destroyed, and your Aunt Serenity was killed. Your cousin still lives, but she has been hidden, and we may not go find her. You are to wear the black of mourning, Beauty. Do you understand?"
The princess nodded, her large green eyes filled with tears. "Yes, Mother Beauty. I understand."
The maid, having straightened from her curtsy, replaced the orange dress and found one of the black ones reserved for mourning. After all, one cannot wear the same black dress every day, and the same style gets boring after a few days. Thus the court tailor had made several different styles of black mourning gowns, hoping that they would not have to be used. She brought it forward to the queen, who solemnly helped her daughter into it. When the princess's hair had been combed and brushed and put up into its customary style, mother and daughter left the apartment and walked through the buzzing halls to the throne room, leaving a widening wake of silence behind them.
In the throne room, the Queen gave her Steward a command to summon all the courtiers to assembly. That done, the hall buzzing with curiosity and wonder, the Queen stood from the throne and delivered the news. "My Lords and Ladies all, I have grave news. Late last night, evil powers, led by my sister's rival Beryl, attacked the Moon Kingdom in full force." A gasp rippled through the room. "The palace and the Capitol sustained heavy damage, but the fighting was put to an end towards dawn here, when Queen Serenity made a stand against them with the Silver Crystal and the Crescent Moon Wand. She banished Beryl and trapped her Seven Shadow warriors in the Silver Crystal. Using her last strength, she sent every member of her kingdom to hiding." Beauty's voice wavered, and she steadied herself. "The Moon Kingdom is no more."
That said, the queen sank back onto her throne. The room was silent. Her daughter caught a hand in her own, and stood to say something.
"Lords and Ladies of the court, I do not believe we should spend the remainder of our lives looking back upon the Queen Serenity as a departed queen, a lost relative, a beloved leader gone. Instead, let us remember her as a savior, the Savior of the Moon. Aunt Serenity did much more than just lock Beryl away in a tower. She drove Beryl from the universe forever. She may not have prevented the destruction of her kingdom, but she ensured its rebuilding. My cousin will see everything through, and someday, when she has done what is necessary, she will come back and turn the ravaged city of the moon into a glistening Capitol once more. Lords and Ladies, I believe that not only will the forces of evil that did this be punished, they will be defeated and utterly destroyed. Thus they will come no more against the kingdoms that still hold true, but will perish even unto the last. So let it be witnessed, so let it be done!"
Amidst thunderous applause and many cheers, the princess and her mother decreed their unwavering dedication to the forces of good. Little did the queen know that her daughter's word would prove to be entirely too prophetic for both Serenity's daughter and her own.
The palace courtyard they now stood in was beautiful. On this jungle-like moon, the palace had been built entirely out of cool marble, to both hold in the coolness of the stone and keep out the heat of the day. The marble's deep blue made the palace look like a sapphire set in the emerald world about it. The queen and her entourage walked up the wide steps and through the beautiful blue halls to an antechamber off of her throne room, where her Steward gathered up the various notes and messages that the nobles of the court had left for the queen. "My, your majesty," he commented as he stacked papers, "your nobles have been quite busy since you left."
"Yes," she answered. "My court always tries to think up ways to keep me glued to my throne. That makes them think they can sneak around behind my back. But I always end up catching them, and they always try again."
"It's the vicious, endless cycle of running a kingdom, Your Majesty."
"How would you know," Beauty teased.
"Well," the long-lived Steward teased back, "I did serve your mother, and her mother, and her mother before that...."
"Oh, I forgot; you're a million years old." The Queen smiled at her lifelong protector and friend.
"Do I really look it?" he answered with heavy sarcasm.
"I suppose not, but you never can tell with someone who's lived for two million years."
"Cut it out, Beauty. Just cut it out"
Beauty flung herself into his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck. "You don't really mind, do you, papa?" Vincent wasn't the queen's real father, he just fit into that role in Beauty's life after her father had passed away. So she always called him "papa" when she felt childish.
Vincent smiled and hugged her back. "No, child. Now do your homework."
Beauty smiled back and turned to her desk. She sat down and began to read the various petitions her nobles had left for her. Three hours later, she stood up again and said, "Vincent, if you bring me another petition tomorrow, I'll have the nobleman who wrote it locked in the pinnacle for a week."
"The pinnacle, your majesty?"
"Yes, the pinnacle. You know, the highest room in the palace that's crystal clear so everyone can see the poor fellow who got locked in there?"
"Oh, I remember."
"Good. Now I'm going up to my chambers to say hello to my husband and watch the Omega-rise. And I DON'T want to be bothered until tomorrow morning."
"Yes, my Queen," Vincent acknowledged.
Beauty walked pensively back to her room. Even though she'd escaped the danger on her sister's kingdom, she still didn't feel quite right. Walking past the saluting guards at her door, she entered her room and went straight for her mirror. 'Please, mirror, tell me what I need to know.' But all she said aloud was, "Show me Queen Serenity's kingdom."
The mirror flashed its customary green and lightened into an image of the Moon Palace. It was all aglow with colored lights, doubtless created with common magic for a party. But why would Serenity be holding a party when her court was endangered? "Show me the Queen." Another image formed, this time of a queen who gave every appearance of being happy and delighted with the party. But Beauty knew her sister. She could read between the lines, and she knew Serenity was worried.
Then Luna and Artemis, Serenity's two feline advisors, burst into the ballroom. "The Palace is under attack!" Luna shouted. They ran to the Queen.
"Your Majesty," Artemis informed her, "it's Beryl and her Shadows! They've come with the Negaverse to destroy the kingdom!"
Beauty put the mirror down, tears streaming down her face. She knew what was going to happen; she'd seen it in Serenity's eyes. Serenity had seen this in the mirror before, and knew that it was inescapable. Beauty crumpled on the cool marble floor and wept until she fell asleep.
Not until she heard a distant calling did she begin to stir. Someone's voice...a man's...her husband's. With some effort, she pulled herself up out of the foggy blackness of her sleep.
"Beauty?" A pair of worried dark eyes looked down at her from above. Moving slightly, the man they belonged to allowed her to sit up. Beauty started when she remembered that she was on the floor. Then she remembered why she was on the floor, and broke down in tears again. She clung to her husband, who held her and whispered nothings—as men are wont to do when they can't understand a woman's behavior—until she calmed down. Then he asked her what was the matter.
"Oh, Jounochi, Serenity is dead! Oh, my dear sister Serenity...." She buried her head in the warm velvet of Jounochi's shoulder.
"How do you know she is dead? She could have survived whatever happened." He tried to be supportive and optimistic, but Beauty shook her head.
"No, she couldn't have survived. She saw it in my mirror, and I saw it in her eyes. I witnessed the beginning of the attack through my mirror. I no longer feel her presence when I reach out for the comfort of my older sibling. Serenity is gone, as is her kingdom. Her daughter has escaped, though I don't know where. The sense of my niece's presence is distorted somehow, as if she is no longer here, but somewhere half-hidden from my search. Princess Serenity is the only remaining heiress of Serenitatis's eldest line."
"You must go find her," Jounochi exclaimed. "She must be brought here for safety. If the people who did this find her—"
"We cannot."
"What?"
"The Negaverse attacked, led by Beryl herself. She completely destroyed the kingdom, and will destroy us if we reveal her enemy's daughter. Serenity must live, wherever she is, forever in hiding."
When the queen came out of her rooms the next morning, she was dressed in the somber black of mourning. She went to her daughter's apartment, drawing looks as she passed through the halls. The queen did not wear black on ordinary occasions, and she did not mourn without letting the court know. Despite the seemingly strange behavior she knew she must be displaying, Beauty walked resolutely to her daughter's chambers. "Beauty," she called as she entered. When she got no response, she looked in the princess's bedroom, expecting to maybe find her still asleep. She did not find the princess there, so she stepped into the massive walk-in closet. Princess Beauty was there, at the back, arguing with her maid about which dress she was going to wear.
"I am NOT wearing the orange one!"
"But Beauty, it's such a lovely pale orange. The sherbet color looks nice with your red hair."
"NO!"
"But—" The woman started to say something, and then she saw Queen Beauty over the princess's shoulder. "Your Majesty!" she cried, and fell into a deep curtsy.
Princess Beauty spun around, saw the queen, and immediately dropped a flawless curtsy, as well. Then she straightened and addressed her mother, not noting the black dress she wore. "Mother, Warda is NOT making me wear that orange dress! I want to wear my pink one. Pink looks so much better with my hair than that does." She wrinkled her sixteen-year-old nose at the dress.
The queen straightened, not wanting to tell her daughter what had happened. She decided upon the issue of fashion as a way to lead off. "I'm sorry, my dear, but you won't be able to wear either of them." The princess's eyes widened, and Beauty held up her hand. "Darling, come here." The princess obeyed, finally realizing that her mother wore black. Queen Beauty saw it dawn in her daughter's eyes, and explained. "Beauty, I'm sorry. The Moon Kingdom has been destroyed, and your Aunt Serenity was killed. Your cousin still lives, but she has been hidden, and we may not go find her. You are to wear the black of mourning, Beauty. Do you understand?"
The princess nodded, her large green eyes filled with tears. "Yes, Mother Beauty. I understand."
The maid, having straightened from her curtsy, replaced the orange dress and found one of the black ones reserved for mourning. After all, one cannot wear the same black dress every day, and the same style gets boring after a few days. Thus the court tailor had made several different styles of black mourning gowns, hoping that they would not have to be used. She brought it forward to the queen, who solemnly helped her daughter into it. When the princess's hair had been combed and brushed and put up into its customary style, mother and daughter left the apartment and walked through the buzzing halls to the throne room, leaving a widening wake of silence behind them.
In the throne room, the Queen gave her Steward a command to summon all the courtiers to assembly. That done, the hall buzzing with curiosity and wonder, the Queen stood from the throne and delivered the news. "My Lords and Ladies all, I have grave news. Late last night, evil powers, led by my sister's rival Beryl, attacked the Moon Kingdom in full force." A gasp rippled through the room. "The palace and the Capitol sustained heavy damage, but the fighting was put to an end towards dawn here, when Queen Serenity made a stand against them with the Silver Crystal and the Crescent Moon Wand. She banished Beryl and trapped her Seven Shadow warriors in the Silver Crystal. Using her last strength, she sent every member of her kingdom to hiding." Beauty's voice wavered, and she steadied herself. "The Moon Kingdom is no more."
That said, the queen sank back onto her throne. The room was silent. Her daughter caught a hand in her own, and stood to say something.
"Lords and Ladies of the court, I do not believe we should spend the remainder of our lives looking back upon the Queen Serenity as a departed queen, a lost relative, a beloved leader gone. Instead, let us remember her as a savior, the Savior of the Moon. Aunt Serenity did much more than just lock Beryl away in a tower. She drove Beryl from the universe forever. She may not have prevented the destruction of her kingdom, but she ensured its rebuilding. My cousin will see everything through, and someday, when she has done what is necessary, she will come back and turn the ravaged city of the moon into a glistening Capitol once more. Lords and Ladies, I believe that not only will the forces of evil that did this be punished, they will be defeated and utterly destroyed. Thus they will come no more against the kingdoms that still hold true, but will perish even unto the last. So let it be witnessed, so let it be done!"
Amidst thunderous applause and many cheers, the princess and her mother decreed their unwavering dedication to the forces of good. Little did the queen know that her daughter's word would prove to be entirely too prophetic for both Serenity's daughter and her own.