The following day, Usagi was to be formally introduced to the court of King Endymion. Early in the day Usagi heard a knock on her door. She opened it to see the Queens of Venus and Neptune at her door.
"We have come to prepare you for your appearance at court. It is our King's wish that you be properly attired." Said Queen Neptune formally. "Besides, we wanted to get to know our new palace photographer and neighbor. I hope we can become friends." The sea-green-haired elegant woman winked slyly, showing that she spoke truthfully. The thoughtfulness was more then Usagi expected out of anyone who ruled a planet, but then again, she hadn't truly met any of the Outers in this life, and she remembered very few visits from them to the Moon.
"Same goes for me," said Queen Venus.
"Thank-you very much your majesties. I appreciate your thoughtfulness." Usagi said, truly touched.
"Please, call me Michiru."
"And I, Minako."
"As you wish." Usagi smiled shyly, playing her part of shy 'commoner' around royalty perfectly.
"Now that formalities are out of the way, we have some ideas for your dress, so we brought a few with us. And of course, you'll need a total make-over, and everything," gushed Minako, happy that she had another person to fuss over and make over.
And so Usagi spent the next four or so hours before her appearance to court in her rooms, trying on dresses and shoes, and letting the two Queens fuss over her. Their time was cut short by a young man(or so it seemed), sticking his head around the door of Usagi's room, obviously looking for something or someone. "Ah, there you are, Michiru-chan. It is almost time for us to go."
"Yes, Haruka. I was just helping Usagi here get ready. See you at court, Usagi!" Michiru left accompanied by the man, who glanced at Usagi oddly. Only once the two of them had left did Usagi figure out who the 'man' was. She shivered at the thought of the senshi of Uranus recognizing her deception. True, Haruka had been very protective of Princess Serenity during the Silver Millenium, threatening from her distant planet to come over to the Moon at any rumour of danger, but still ...
When Michiru had gone, Usagi took advantage of asking the Goddess of love
for advice. "Tell me, Minako, have you ever found love?"
"Oh, not seriously, why?"
"I was just wondering when you know who the right person for you…"
"From my extensive experience, I have found that it is when you cant seem to think of anyone but him or her, and your heart seems almost to recognize the person, and you can almost see into their thoughts if you seem to be close enough. Have you found someone, Usagi? I'd love to find out who is worthy of someone as great as you are."
"Uh, no one, really Minako. I was just wondering." I suppose the senshi of love is just as nosy as before, thought Usagi. She watched Minako leave with blank eyes, thoughts turned inward as she thought, once again, on the motives behind her leaving. Did she do the right thing when she left? What would have been different if she had stayed? Those were the maddening thoughts she had been having since she had left, and it was only the belief that her friends would be fine, if not better without her, that had kept her from returning each and every time she sensed a new enemy near Earth.
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Usagi's appearance at court went smoothly, being as it was that so many new nobility and royalty was introduced to Earth all the time. She spent the majority of the time with the Queens, and another "Lady", who turned out to be her best friend before she had become Sailor Moon, Naru. She was now the court jeweler, but didn't give any sigh of recognizing her friend any more then the senshis had. All in all, Usagi decided it was not a bad evening after all.
The only hitch to her almost perfect evening was when King Endymion insisted on dancing with her. And who Dauphinwas she, a lowly photographer, to deny him? That, she decided, had to be the closest she had come to being discovered by then, other then Haruka's odd stare. He had continually asked questions, never stopping to think that perhaps his questions were a bit too personal, at least to her. She managed to keep from him her real identity, saying that she had been born a native Japanese, but had moved to America when she was really young. She had taken up her mother's profession, and devoted her life to photography, but mainly on people. There fore, applying for the job at his court.
"I must thank you for a lovely evening, Usagi, and I hope to see you soon in regard to work." The king said to her at the end of the ball.
"Good night then, your majesty." Usagi replied, bowing before him.
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During the next few months, Usagi managed to keep her disguise working, with hardly any close calls. Again, she had come close to being discovered by Endymion when he came in to her workshop looking for her, and she had been in her living quarters staring at the sole picture she had of them before she left. She quickly hid it, but she feared that perhaps he had seen it.
Being as she was at court nearly all the time, she also got to meet the stream of hopeful women that came from all parts of the galaxy for a try at the all-powerful, yet exceedingly elusive King of Earth. It was at these times that Usagi had to keep her disguise under tight control, as she wished nothing more then to run to him, and keep as hers and hers only.
That possession of mine was taken away by Mamoru himself. He was tired of fate, he said. He didn't want an obligation from a past life. I was a wimp, is what. He saw this and was repelled by it. I have no right, now, or chance for that matter. If I had wanted it. This was another of the things she had to keep reminding herself of, to keep from breaking down and messing all that she had worked for. So, day after lonely day, she did her work perfectly, and when ever she could practiced her fighting skills in her spare time.
When she practiced her physical fighting, she didn't particularly care if anyone saw her, she had to keep in practice and this way everyone knew she was capable of defending herself should the need arise. Her magic, however, she only practiced on the few times she could go away from the city by herself, far enough away so that not even she could've felt her self train. She was careful at all times, knowing that a moment of inattention could cost the life that she knew.
However, no matter what she told herself at other times, every night before she went to bed, she would gaze at the moon, at her birthplace and heritage, and wonder "what if". Sure, there were times when she wished that she had stayed in Tokyo, but deep down she believed what she had done was for the best, for all of them. Yet, she wished that she could leave all the pettiness of her life on Earth and go home, go home to the moon. Go home, and see her mother, even if all she was now was a simple spirit, there was nothing like talking heart to heart with your mother to cheer you up. In fact she often did talk to her mother, but since starting work at the Palace, she hadn't ventured to the moon.
She thought back to the conversation she had had with Selenity about her decision to work for the King. Her mother had been understanding, but Usagi got the feeling that her mother suspected there was more to her choice then a simple wish to find more challenging work. And Usagi was afraid her mother was right.
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Well, there it is. The second chapter to Better Off Alone. Please R + R!!!!