Chapter Two: Premonitions

Mamoru sat back with a sigh and rubbed his eyes. He had not been sleeping well for several days and it was starting to show. There were dark circles under his eyes and the eyes themselves looked dull. He just looked worn out. Yet, when he put a hand to his chest, he could feel the pulsating warmth of his Crystal against his hand. Even though things had been quiet since the defeat of Chaos and Galaxia, he still found himself patrolling the city as Tuxedo Kamen.

"I guess it's been awhile since we've been able to rest for so long without another enemy to worry about. This is going to take some getting used to." Mamoru thought, as he pushed that thought aside, and tried to focus on what was bothering him. Something from the distant past was calling him, but the voice wasn't clear.

"Mamoru-sama?" a voice asked, jolting Mamoru back into reality.

"Hey, Luna. What brings you here?" Mamoru asked, surprised that the black cat was visiting him alone.

"Have you sensed anything unusual around here lately?" Luna asked, as she hopped up onto the coffee table.

"Not really, but I have been picking up something. It's like a distant echo. An echo of power. Whether it is good or evil, I cannot say. Hino-san has a better ability to pick up things like that." Mamoru said, his eyes going distant for a moment, then abruptly snapping back to the present.

"Mamoru-sama, have you had any dreams lately?" Luna asked, as she looked at the pale, tired face of the future King of the Earth.

"Not many, but when I have, they were usually of the past. Why do you ask?" Mamoru asked, now vaguely interested in why Luna was there.

"Usagi-chan had a dream last night about a long ago meeting with you. She had had an escort on one of those visits. Do you remember what he looked like?" Luna asked.

"Luna, you are asking me to remember something that happened a thousand years ago. I can't even remember my own parents' faces, much less remember some guard from the old Silver Millennium!" Mamoru grumbled, irritably, as he stood and made his way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

"This is not 'some guard' we are talking about. We're talking about someone who could possibly have the same amount of power as Usagi-chan if he is awakened!" Luna said, anxiously.

"Luna, in order for me to understand what you are talking about, you must tell me more. I can only discern so much." Mamoru muttered, from inside the kitchen. Luna remained silent; should she tell Mamoru more about Saki? Or should she keep it to herself?

"I'm afraid I can't reveal anything more to you, Mamoru-sama." Luna finally said, miserably.

"Then let's drop this subject altogether. Do you want anything to eat, Luna?" Mamoru asked.

"No thanks. I'm going to Rei-chan's next. See you later." Luna said, before leaving the apartment.

Queen Serenity stood alone on her balcony, with tears flowing down her face. She had just given birth to her firstborn child, but things had not gone as she had wanted. Instead of having the blond hair and gold moon birthmark as proof of being the heir to the Moon Kingdom's throne, the child had dark hair and a silver moon marking.

"What is wrong, dear sister?" a feminine voice sneered, causing the sad queen to turn around.

"You know what is wrong, Nehelenia. You know exactly why I weep." Serenity replied, bitterly, as a woman dressed in black joined her on the balcony.

"Hmm………………Could it be because your newborn son is cursed?" Nehelenia purred, maliciously. Serenity bristled.

"Yes. That is why. And now I have to send him away." Serenity murmured.

"But where are you sending him?" Nehelenia asked.

"None of your concern. Where he goes is my business, and my business alone. Leave me." Serenity ordered. With a sinister smile, Nehelenia slinked off into the shadows. Years passed, and Serenity gave birth again. This time to twins. To her dismay, the silver moon again appeared on her son's forehead, but her newborn daughter had the gold moon.

"My daughter shall be my heir, and her name will be Serenity. But once again I must lose a child in order to gain an heir." Serenity murmured, as she gazed sadly on the face of her peacefully sleeping son, then handed him to one of the servants, never to see him again.

Or so she thought.

Fourteen years pass, and two guards are brought before Queen Serenity. The first is tall, with long, waist-length black hair and sapphire blue eyes. His armor sparkles in the dim light of the audience chamber. The second is a bit shorter than the first, and has cornsilk blond hair and sapphire eyes. He also wears the armor of the Moon Kingdom.

"Your superiors tell me that you have both, at some time or another, deserted your posts. Why did you do so?" Serenity asks.

"Your Highness, I left my post to accompany your daughter to the earth to see what it was like down there." The first said, quietly.

"Do not lie to me. I know why she went to the earth. Her heart aches for the Earth Prince, but it is forbidden for them to even be in love." Serenity said, coldly.

"Yet, your Highness, you cannot control her heart. She may be young, as I am, but she has already fallen in love. She may not know this, but her heart does." The second guard said, gently.

"Young guard, the queen has not given you leave to speak." Another guard said, as he lashed the younger man once in the back for insubordination. The dark haired man growled, and moved to defend the younger man, but was stopped by a word from the queen.

"Let him take his punishment like a man. It is what you must now do." Serenity said, coolly, as she approached the two soldiers.

"And what punishment would that be?" the first asked, his blue eyes flashing in challenge to the queen.

"You will never see my daughter again nor have the pleasure of protecting her. Tomorrow you two leave for the far side of the moon. You will not return here until Princess Serenity is married. Is that clear?" Queen Serenity asked.

"Very. Let's go, Rishar." The first said, as he motioned to the second.

"I never knew the queen could be so cold." Rishar murmured, as he glanced back at the expressionless queen.

"Yes. A queen with a heart of ice. A proper snow queen." The first said, bitterly, before they were out of sight to the queen. And that was the last time they ever set foot into the castle.

Rei returned to herself silently. For the longest time, she sat and stared into the flames of the Sacred Fire, wondering what the vision had meant.

"It was obviously from the past, since Queen Serenity and Silver Millennium were still there. But who were those two men? And why did one of them look so much like Princess Serenity?" Rei wondered, as she stood and stretched.

"Rei-chan?" a voice asked, from a darkened corner of the room.

"Ah, just the cat I wanted to see! Konnichiwa, Luna." Rei said, as she faced the black cat.

"I wanted to talk to you too, Rei-chan. Have you had any visions lately? I just got here from Mamoru-sama's and he's restless and edgy about something." Luna said, as the miko sat down before her.

"Yes. I have just finished having one just before you arrived. It had to do with two Guards from Silver Millennium and Queen Serenity. It was so strange; one of the soldiers looked almost as though he could have been Princess Serenity's twin brother!" Rei explained, noticing when Luna's expression fell.

"What's wrong?" Rei asked.

"Rei-chan, I think it is time for a meeting. I will depend on you to call everyone together." Luna said, grimly.

"Okay. The Outer Senshi, too?" Rei asked, as she and Luna walked into the living area of the Hikawa Shrine.

"Yes, them too. They should know of this." Luna said, as Rei started dialing numbers.

"Luna, what is it that you are so worried about?" Rei asked, confused as to why Luna was so concerned about her vision.

"Moon shadows……………..I am worried about moon shadows………..and the power they hold." Luna replied, her voice heavy with foreboding.

Author's Note!

I know that this is a relatively short chapter, but the next chapter will be longer, I promise! Hope you enjoyed this chapter though!

Gemini