Serenity
Of all the stories her mother had told her
about her life as Sailor Pluto, Setsuna's favorites were the ones involving
Princess Serenity, fifth descendant of the goddess Selene, and the current
High Queen of the Moon Kingdom. Those stories were few as Sailor Pluto's
duty was to protect the kingdom from outsiders, but Lady Moira had always
spoken of Serenity in tones that were as loving as they were respectful.
Besides being the reigning princess of her generation, Serenity was Moira's
very dear friend. Setsuna had always loved to imagine what Queen Serenity
looked, sounded, and acted like, and was very eager to learn how accurate
her predictions were. Naturally, she was exceedingly disappointed when,
inside the glittering Silver Palace, they were stopped by one of the Queen's
guards.
"In the name of Her Majesty, Queen Serenity,
state your name and business." The guard ordered sharply, his voice gruff.
Setsuna was simultaneously alarmed and insulted. Why had the guard stopped
them? Didn't he know who they were? What would happen to Setsuna and her
mother if he decided they were not welcome here? Lady Moira was nonplussed.
She knew, as Setsuna did not, that all who entered the Silver Palace were
met in that way. The guard had probably recognized the pair as Plutonian
royalty by their clothing, but was doing his job as he had been taught.
Moira smiled politely.
"We are Lady and Princess Pluto." She informed
him, naming herself and her daughter by their planet as custom forbid royalty
to make their given names known to commoners—even those in service of the
Queen. "My daughter is to begin her training as a Sailor Soldier, and we
request audience with Queen Serenity so that I might present her." The
uniformed man never cracked a smile, but he did offer the Queen of Pluto
a respectful bow.
"If you will wait, Your Highness," he said,
"I shall announce you to Her Majesty, and return with her reply." Moira
smiled quietly and nodded to the guard, who turned on his heel and marched
from the hallway in the direction of the High Queen's throne room. Setsuna
gripped Moira's hand tightly, still somewhat shaken by the guard's display.
"Do you think Queen Serenity will see us,
Mother?" she asked nervously. Moira chuckled lightly. She had always
found such routines more tiresome than intimidating, but poor Setsuna was
only experiencing them for the first time. Moira was beginning to think
she should have given her daughter more of an idea of what to expect when
she arrived. The moon was such familiar territory to Lady Moira that she
had somehow forgotten that Setsuna had never been off Pluto before.
"I do not doubt she will, dearest." Moira
assured her. "Do not fear the guards, Setsuna. It is their job to be sure
Her Majesty does not receive any unwelcome guests. Setsuna breathed a sigh
of relief. But though she now knew that the guards posed no threat, her
stomach still fluttered as if it were filled with a million little faeries,
all flying about in her belly. Moira had been educating her for months
on the proper way to greet Queen Serenity when she was presented. Setsuna
could only hope she would remember everything. As she reviewed her mother's
pointers in her head, Setsuna jammed her thumbnail between her teeth and
chewed viciously.
"Please do not bite your nails, Setsuna."
Moira chided mildly. The girl pulled her hand from her mouth, freed the
other from her mother's, and began to twist them both together. Moira laughed.
"You needn't worry so, darling." She cooed.
"You have nothing to fear from Queen Serenity." Setsuna smiled shakily,
but was unconvinced. Anyone powerful enough to rule over nine worlds was
someone to fear, no matter how benevolent.
At that moment, the guard returned. This time, though,
he was not alone. A lovely female cat trotted at his heels, her tail held
high with the tip curved in a respectful cat greeting. Setsuna immediately
forgot her fear as she marveled at the little animal. Her silky coat was
completely coal-black, except for a bright yellow patch on her forehead
in the shape of an upright crescent moon. Setsuna recognized the crescent
mark. Her mother had described it as the identifying feature on the of
all Selene's female descendants. Why, she wondered, did this cat bear the
Mark of Selene? She pondered the possible reasons, until the guard's hard
voice broke into her thoughts.
"Mistress Luna will escort you to the throne room."
The man informed them, gesturing to the little black cat. Luna smiled broadly,
and touched her furry chin to the ground in what appeared to be a bow.
"Please do follow, Highnesses." Luna said in the
pleasant voice of a young girl. "Her Majesty is so looking forward to meeting
you." Fascinated, Setsuna dazedly followed her mother and the amazing cat
down the long corridor, moving toward the throne room—and the High Queen.
She knew she should have been nervous, but she was so intrigued by the
talking black cat that she forgot to be afraid.
"Might I say what a pleasure it is to see you again,
Lady Moira?" Luna said once they were out of earshot of the guard, surprising
Setsuna further.
"You know Mother's given name?" The green-haired
princess asked.
"Why, yes, darling!" Moira replied. "Luna has been
at the Silver Palace since I began my training here. Of course, she was
only a kitten then, but—"
"But I grew, just as you did." Luna finished, chuckling.
Setsuna grinned. She liked Luna already.
"But why were you at the Silver Palace?" she wanted
to know. "And why do you have the Mark of Selene on your forehead? Are
you one of her descendants as well?" Luna shook her coal-black head.
"No. My parents and I are of a small race of magic
cats made to serve the Queen of the Moon. Our race was a gift given to
Selene by her beloved sister, the faerie girl Cynthia, when the Kingdom
of the White Moon was created."
"You serve Queen Serenity?" Setsuna repeated. "How?"
Luna stuck out her furry chest in a display of immodest, feline pride.
"We are her closest advisors." Luna answered, bragging
just a little. "My mate and myself, I mean. My parents were advisors to
Her Majesty's mother when she sat on the throne. My mother also acted as
a domestic nurse to the princess, caring for her when her own mother could
not. Being the High Queen is an enormous responsibility, you know. I don't
imagine she could get along without our help." Moira smiled to herself.
Friendly, lovable, and magical though she may be, Luna was still a cat,
and magic or no, even the sweetest of cats was endearingly haughty. Setsuna,
however, was enchanted.
"What is the name of your mate, Mistress Luna?"
she asked, wishing to keep her new friend talking.
"Oh, please!" the cat laughed. "You are a future
Sailor Soldier. Simply call me Luna." Then again, even the haughtiest cat
knew her place in the kingdom.
"What is your mate's name, Luna?" Setsuna repeated,
careful to leave off the 'Mistress.'
"Artemis." Luna told her. "And while we are on the
subject, Princess Pluto, may I ask your given name?"
"Setsuna." The girl replied without hesitation.
If Luna knew her mother's given name, then she was most certainly entitled
to know the princess'.
"What a pretty name." Luna remarked, beaming at
the girl. Before another word could be uttered, they had reached the door
to the throne room. Setsuna wet her lips nervously. Moira turned toward
her daughter briefly, gave her the once-over, tucked a stray wisp of dark
green hair into place, and offered the girl an encouraging smile. Setsuna
bravely smiled back, and smoothed a hand over her billowing skirt as the
guard on duty pushed open the heavy door. Then, squaring her shoulders,
the Princess of Pluto set her jaw and marched into the throne room after
Luna. The first thing she noticed was Queen Serenity, seated on her throne.
Setsuna's breath caught in her throat.
Setsuna's most elaborate imaginings of the High
Queen did not even begin to do justice to the angelically beautiful lunarian
woman seated upon the Silver Throne. She was aptly named, Setsuna thought,
for she projected an ethereal aura of peace and tranquility, and her blue-violet
eyes shimmered with an undeniable compassion and tenderness that only served
to enhance her flawless beauty. Her head was topped by two balls of silver
hair, one on either side of her head, which harnessed a pair of impossibly
long, lustrous tails. An elegant pure white gown flowed majestically around
her delicate form, and on her forehead, the Mark of Selene burned gold.
The Queen was regal and graceful, and so lovely that Setsuna could hardly
believe she was human, but for the fact that Serenity was with child, and
nearing the end of her term. The Queen's round middle served as proof to
Setsuna that she was indeed real.
Somehow, Setsuna managed to tear her eyes away from
Serenity long enough to notice the others in the throne room. A sugar-white
cat was perched on the right arm of the Queen's throne. Setsuna decided
that he must be Luna's mate, Artemis, because he also had a crescent on
his forehead, and because when Luna entered, he'd run to greet her, enthusiastically
lapping at her furry face. After Luna had return his feline kisses, both
trotted back to the Queen's throne, and took a place on either arm, where
they sat on their haunches in quiet dignity.
To the right of Serenity's great throne stood two
lovely women, whom Setsuna knew must be former Sailor Soldiers like her
mother, for they were clothed in royal gowns of midnight blue and aquamarine
respectively. With each Queen was a daughter, also wrapped in the royal
colors of her home world. Both girls appeared to be about Setsuna's age.
The blue-clad one was tall for her age, and slender, with fair skin and
dark blue eyes. Her sandy blond hair was cut short as a boy's, and boarded
on being disheveled. She stood quietly beside her mother, her only movement
being the occasional flutter of her little hand as it brushed her hair
from her eyes.
The other girl was petite and pleasantly plump.
She was all smiles, and her big blue eyes scanned the throne room eagerly,
absorbing everything there was to see. The aqua color of her gown matched
that of the unbound tresses curling gently to her shoulders.
Setsuna's attention was drawn back to Serenity when
the silver-haired woman smiled warmly at the two Plutonians, and nodded
to the guard. The young man bowed low, and left the throne room, closing
the heavy double doors behind him. It was Luna who finally broke the silence
that followed.
"Your Majesty!" the cat began with gusto. "I present
to you Her Royal Highness, Lady Moira, Queen of Pluto." Holding out the
sides of her long skirt, Moira descended gracefully to one knee, her cranberry
eyes lowered reverently. Beside her, Setsuna copied the gesture, just as
she had practiced so many times. Serenity's smile broadened. Surprisingly
unhindered by her child-heavy abdomen, the silver-haired woman raised herself
from her throne, and descended the white marble steps surrounding it with
fluid grace. To Setsuna's surprise, the Queen walked right up to
Lady Moira, and bid her to rise. In a display that was both poignant and
dignified, Serenity and Moira came together in a sisterly embrace, holding
one another tightly.
"Lady Moira." Serenity's soft, golden voice was
thick with emotion. "My old friend. It has been too long." The two Queens
broke apart, and studied one another lovingly.
"It does my heart good to see you so well, Serenity."
Moira replied, eying the Queen's belly with a smile that was a sorrowful
as it was glad. "I offer my deepest sympathies over your loss." A shadow
crossed Serenity's immaculate face. Not long after the child she was carrying
had been conceived, her dear husband had quite suddenly taken ill and died.
His death had sent the entire kingdom into mourning even though, as most
lunarian ceremonies were, his funeral had been plain and private.
"Thank you, Lady Moira." Serenity murmured sadly.
"Carrying this child has been difficult knowing that it will never know
its father's love…"
"I am sorry, Your Majesty." Moira whispered, formal
in her sympathy. Serenity forced herself to smile.
"But I shall be alright in time." She assured her
friend. "For the time being, let us speak of happier things. I believe
you have brought your own child to be presented?" The melancholy cloud
hanging over the throne room dispersed.
"Your Majesty," Lady Moira began with much pride.
"I present to you the successor to the throne of Pluto, my daughter, Princess
Setsuna." Setsuna knew that she was supposed to genuflect before the High
Queen now, except that when the Queen had sorrowed briefly over the position
of her unborn and fatherless heir, it had prompted Setsuna to think of
her own father, far away at home on Pluto. In her momentary homesickness,
she had forgotten to rise. Ergo, she did not bother to change her position.
"Your Majesty." She murmured respectfully. "It is
an honor to serve you." She breathed a silent sigh of relief. The practiced
words had rolled effortlessly off her tongue. At the Queen's command, Setsuna
got to her feet.
"You are indeed your mother's daughter." Serenity
declared, giving Setsuna that silly little adult smile which seemed to
accompany any statement she found confusing. She certainly found the Queen's
comment puzzling. Whose daughter would she be except for Lady Moira's?
"You will most certainly make a wonderful Sailor Soldier someday." The
girl beamed at the compliment. The Queen turned back to the pair of former
warriors Setsuna had noticed earlier, and gestured to the two little girls,
who obediently came forward. She then proceeded to introduce the pair,
the aqua-clad one as Princess Michiru of Neptune, the other as Princess
Haruka of Uranus.
"They will be training as Sailor Soldiers along
side you." She explained, and again turned in the direction of her throne.
"Luna, Artemis!" The two feline advisors leapt from the arms of the Queen's
throne and trotted up to her, awaiting her orders.
"Please show these three ladies around the palace,
while I speak with the Queens." Both cats bowed low, and focused on the
girls.
"If you would care to follow us, Highnesses?" Artemis
prompted as he and his mate led the way out of the throne room. The girls
did care, and therefore, followed.
"Oh!" Haruka sighed, once they were out of earshot
of their mothers. "It is a relief to get away from there. I cannot bear
being still so long." Setsuna was mildly surprised, for it had seemed to
her that Haruka was quite comfortable standing beside the Queen's throne.
"Oh, but it was lovely in there, wasn't it, Haruka?"
Michiru gushed. Haruka shrugged indifferently, and Michiru giggled.
"Haruka is very boyish, isn't she?" The Neptunian
girl commented to the Princess of Pluto. Setsuna was startled.
"Boyish?" she repeated. "Does she want to be a boy?"
"No!" Haruka exclaimed, looking horrified by the
idea. Like most children her age, she was repulsed by the opposite sex.
"I just do not like acting all silly and flouncy all the time. It is so
dull learning to be graceful and pretty."
"Haruka of Uranus!" Michiru exclaimed teasingly.
"You are so very boyish, I hardly think you know what is either pretty
or graceful!"
"I most certainly do!" Haruka retorted, her eyes
alight with mischief. "You are!" The Uranian princess' bold statement momentarily
stunned Michiru into silence. Blushing furiously, the aqua-haired girl
clapped a hand over her mouth in a false attempt to stifle her laughter.
"If I did not know any better," Setsuna heard Luna
whisper to Artemis. "I would say that Princess Haruka is trying to flirt
with Her Highness!" Setsuna could not decipher Artemis's exact response,
but he did not sound entirely happy with the idea. Setsuna rolled her eyes.
"Well, I think you are both silly!" she said scornfully,
directing her comment at Haruka and the still-giggling Michiru. "Michiru,
even boys know what is pretty! Father calls Mother pretty all the time!
And Haruka, even a prince has to learn proper manners. It is a part of
being royalty." Setsuna knew this was true, because her mother had told
her so.
"Well said, Princess Setsuna." Luna praised. "You
are correct, as well."
"But we are going to be trained as warriors!" Haruka
pointed out. "Why do we have to learn boring things like how to behave
at parties and such?" Artemis chuckled heartily.
"Even a warrior of Her Majesty's court attends the
occasional masquerade, no? How else do you expect to meet the young men
who will become your husbands when you all take your rightful places as
Queens of your planets?" At that prospect, Haruka appeared to be exceedingly
disturbed.
"Besides." Luna added. "It would never do to have
a Queen as ignorant and uncouth as any commoner, would it? In addition
to the warrior training you will be receiving, while you are here, you
shall also be continuing with your conventional schooling." This statement
was met with groans from all three girls, for all were far more interested
in learning to be Sailor Soldiers than anything else. The royal advisors
answered the princesses' complaints with sighs.
"I am beginning to wonder if their mothers really
know what could be considered 'ready' for their training." Artemis muttered
to Luna.
"In time, in time." Luna assured him absently. "They
are still children. It is only natural that they would be excited about
becoming Sailor Soldiers. They will mature."
"I certainly hope so." The white cat whispered back
as the group reached the first stop on their tour. With surprising ease,
the two felines pushed open the door. A collective gasp arose from the
princesses, for behind the door was a most richly decorated chamber, complete
with three girl-sized beds, a tall, fancy clock, and an oval mirror with
a scalloped frame and frosted edges hanging over an elegant bureau.
"This, girls, is to be your chamber while you are
living here." Artemis informed the three speechless princesses.
"By the gods!" Michiru breathed. "It's beautiful!"
"Well, good heavens! Do not just stand about with
your chins on the floor!" Luna chortled. "Come in! Come in!" Obediently,
the girls scurried into the room, chattering happily, exclaiming over the
lavish decorations. Although lunarians had a reputation for being simple
when it came to ceremonies, it seemed to Setsuna they lacked nothing in
the field of decorating. Not even her room in the palace on Pluto was as
luxurious as this one.
Setsuna trailed reverent fingers over the smooth,
gleaming surface of the elaborate timepiece that stood in the corner of
the room. Being the granddaughter of the god of time had instilled in her
a fascination with clocks, and this one was particularly interesting. It
was as tall as two Setsunas, if one stood upon the other's shoulders, and
looked almost like a person, whose glass tummy revealed a slowly swinging
pendulum.
"Do you like that clock, Highness?" Luna asked.
Setsuna nodded.
"It is very pretty. I have never seen a clock like
this before."
"It is called a grandfather clock." The little cat
informed her. And, ever the wise royal advisor, she added, "You must always
pay attention to that clock, for it would never do if you were late for
your lessons." But Setsuna was far more interested in the name Luna had
given to the timepiece.
"A grandfather clock!" she laughed, clapping her
hands in delight. "Oh, how funny!" Haruka and Michiru eyed her curiously.
"Why is it funny?" Michiru asked.
"Because Grandfather keeps time!" Setsuna replied
with a grin, and raised her eyebrows, waiting for a reaction. But the other
two girls only exchanged bewildered glances.
"Never mind." Setsuna sighed. The failed joke was
soon forgotten, overwhelmed by the prospect of becoming Sailor Soldiers.
Excited chatter floated through the Silver Palace as Luna and Artemis continued
the tour.
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Author's Note: I LOVE imagining the outers as children! Especially
in the Silver Millennium! Okay, peeps, I still need reviews, so keep 'em
coming, 'kay?