CHAPTER ONE
Turning Point
Marion didn't mean to be nosy. It's just that interesting things kept happening, so why shouldn't she know about them? She was the Princess of Earth after all, so everything that happened on this planet was technically her business, right? Especially if it concerned the war against the Negaverse.
At least that's what she planned to say if her parents caught her peeking into the throne room at this time of night. It sounded perfectly logical in her head, mature even. There was no way they could argue with that! Right? She sighed, and turned her attention back to the room.
In truth, was on her way to the palace kitchen for a late night snack. She had been unable to sleep, bothered by nightmares she couldn't remember now. So she got up, threw her favorite robe on, and stormed out of her room. Truth be told, she was kind of upset with herself when it happened. She was almost sixteen years old, and she figured such a little thing like a bad dream shouldn't bother her so much. For a moment, she wondered if the Moon Princess Serena ever had bad dreams, then discarded the thought. She certainly didn't want to think about her that night. Little Miss Perfect. Heir to the Moon Kingdom. The greatest at everything. Bla-bla-bla.
She passed a mirror on her way to the kitchen, and stopped to take a look. Her long dark hair was a mess, of course, but a few moments with a brush could fix that. Her skin was a shade darker than the rest of her family: she tanned very well she thought smugly. Her blue eyes, always bright, always sparkling now seemed very tired, and worried. Her parents told her not to worry about the war, that everything was under control. She may only be fifteen, but she knew a lie when she heard one. As she glanced at her reflection, she wondered how her brother, Darien, was dealing with waging the war, when the mere thought of it was enough to wake her up at night.
In the corner of the mirror, she saw a shadow move down the hall. She turned around in time to see the familiar lining of her brother's cape before it vanished around a corner.
Darien is home! she exclaimed silently. She took off down the hall at almost a full sprint. She rounded the corner in moments and took in a breath to call out his name.
She caught herself just then. Darien was slowly pushing open the double doors to the royal court. As the light from inside fell on his face, she could see the same worried expression that was on her face just a moment before. He was dressed in his battle armor and cape, his blade sheathed at his side, and Marion knew at once that this wasn't a social call. Once the doors were opened, he looked down for a moment, as if to steel himself for what lie ahead. After few seconds, he looked back up, his face firm, his mind obviously made up. He prepared to take a step inside.
"Darien?" Marion called out, her voice almost a whisper.
Darien froze for a second, turned his head toward her. He mouthed 'later', and stepped inside, the doors closing behind him, leaving only the smallest crack between them. Marion wasted no time in hurrying over to the door to see what had her brother so worried.
Their parents, King and Queen Endymion sat on their pair of matching thrones as Darien approached. They were simply dressed, obviously this was a short notice meeting, as opposed to a more official court session. Darien kneeled briefly before them.
"Oh, do get up, Darien," Queen Terra Endymion insisted in a lighthearted voice. "There's no one here tonight to impress, and we are all family."
"Mother," Darien replied while still kneeling. "Tonight, I must speak to you both as the King and Queen, and not as my parents."
"Then, rise, Prince Darien, and let us hear your request," King Endymion responded. His voice was deep and commanding. Marion often called it his "king voice" as opposed to his "daddy voice"
Darien rose to his full 6' 2'' height. "The war against the Negaverse wages on," he said. "In truth it is going badly for us, much worse than is commonly known."
Marion gasped quietly. So, the Moon Kingdom was losing!
"It is only a matter of time before Queen Beryl strikes at the Moon itself," Darien went on. He paused, and Marion had a freighting feeling she knew what he was going to say next.
"I wish to remain on the Moon, as apart of Princess Serena's guard, until the conclusion of this conflict," he finished.
The silence in the room was deafening. Until finally King Endymion spoke:
"No. You place is here, fighting in the defense of your world."
You tell him dad! Marion cheered silently. He spends way too much time on that rock anyway!
"My liege," Darien protested. "A strong defense on the Moon will be the key to winning this war. We have reason to believe that Beryl is after the Imperium Silver Crystal. Safeguarding it will protect the entire Moon Kingdom, including Earth. It is imperative --"
"My decision is final," King Endymion stated in a tone Marion had never heard him use before. It kind of scared her a little. "Princess Serena has the royal guard, the Sailor Scouts for her defense."
Darien was silent for a moment, his face unreadable. Marion looked on silently. Ever since his engagement to Princess Serena, Marion hardly ever saw him. She should be happy that his request was denied! And yet --
"Allow me to rephrase, your Majesty," Darien said suddenly in a surprisingly quiet tone. "I will be remaining on the Moon, as part of Princess Serena's, guard until the conclusion of this conflict. I am not asking your permission. I am only informing you of a decision."
King Endymion was on his feet faster than Marion could follow. "How dare you!" he roared. "You cannot walk into this room and defy my ruling!"
"I can, and I did," Darien replied simply, his voice still low and controlled. "In my place, you would do the same."
"I would never abandon my kingdom!" Endymion thundered as he began to approach his son. "I would never run and hide from my duty in a time of war! I would never --"
"Hide behind duty while your Queen was in danger?" Darien countered simply. "You cannot tell me that if you were where I am standing and it was Mother who needed help on the Moon --"
By now Endymion had reached his son. As the two men stood face to face, Marion was shocked to see just how much they resembled each other. Same height, hair color, eyes; even their stance was similar. And yet, there were also many differences. Their father's face was lined with age and scars of past battles. His dark hair was longer, and he had a full beard. Darien, however, preferred to keep his hair short, and had no scars to speak of. His face was fair, and his eyes shone with resolve, not defiance.
"You chose to speak to us as your rulers, and not your parents," Endymion reminded Darien, his voice harsh. "Do not take that approach to this argument now."
"This is not an argument," Darien replied, his tone even. "It isn't even a discussion. It is an announcement."
"You will not defy me, Darien Endymion!" the King thundered. His hand, balled into a fist, pulled back suddenly ready to strike. Darien made no move to defend himself. Marion's eyes went wide at the sight. Her thoughts began to race.
Father's going to strike him, oh Gaia, he's never struck us before --
Marion never saw her mother approach the two men, and they were so intent on their 'discussion' that they didn't notice either. It wasn't until the Queen's hands closed on her husband's fist, startling him, that they realized she was standing next to them.
"Striking our son will solve nothing," Terra stated quietly. Her husband nodded slightly before relaxing his hand and lowered it back to his side. Terra then turned to her son. "We are the Royal Family of Earth. We have a duty to this planet and its people to rule justly and to protect them from evil. That what it means to be a 'royal'. At the same time, we are a family. We have an equally important responsibility to each other. To love and support one another. The two can never truly be separated."
Marion listened to her mother words, saw the effect on her father and brother. Darien lowered his head; eyes closed as if in deep thought. King Endymion turned away, shaking his head slowly. Mom always knows what to say, she thought to herself.
"Go to the Moon," King Endymion said at last. "Protect the woman you love even as you protect the Kingdom as a whole." There was a pause and King Endymion's gaze traveled to his wife. "That is exactly what I would have done."
Tears stung Marion's eyes. Darien was going away again. She missed him, and she was worried about him, now more than ever. The Moon Kingdom was losing the war, and now Darien would be on the front lines. What if --
"Be sure to talk to Marion before you go," Queen Terra said suddenly, startling Marion out of her thoughts. "She worries about the war, and about you."
"I will, Mother," Darien replied. "By your leave," he added, and prepared to kneel again --
-- only to find himself suddenly in his mother's warm embrace. Marion had again missed Terra's sudden movement as she rushed to hold her son. Mom can really move when she has to, she thought as she watched.
"I miss you already, my son," Terra said softly. "Please come back to us."
Darien quickly got over his surprise, and hugged his mother back. "I will, Mom. I promise."
Marion decided she had seen enough. Darien was leaving again, her parents had lied to her about the war (the fact that she had already figured that out didn't really concern her at that point), and her whole family was clearly beginning to break under the strain of it all. Everything was up in the air, uncertain. She couldn't shake the feeling that some kind of turning point was upon them, some kind of event that was going to change everything and nothing would be that same, and her family may not -- make it.
"Everything's going wrong," she mumbled to herself, her voice heavy with the tears she knew were coming. She turned from the door even as her brother was headed towards her, and ran down the halls of the palace, to the only place where (she hoped) things still made sense.
The Chapel of Gaia was quite tonight. Most of the main hall was in shadow, the only light coming from a few candles spread about the room. It was a traditional set up; a single isle in the middle, with pews on either side, leading to the central altar. Just behind the altar was a life-sized marble statue of Gaia, the Spirit of Earth. As Marion entered the Chapel, her bare feet sinking into the deep red carpet, her eyes locked on the statue.
Are you there, Gaia? It's me, Marion. A smile tugged at her lips as she recalled that silly little prayer she used as a child, before she understood just what Gaia really was. But the smile quickly died as she approached the altar, her worries and her fears still very much on her mind. The Gaia statue's frozen expression was warm, with a light smile. Her arms were opened as if ready to embrace. To shelter. To offer support and guidance.
Like Mother, Marion though to herself. Some might consider such a thought odd, but it wasn't the first time she compared Mother Earth to her own mother. She shook of the thought as she approached the altar. She didn't notice the other figure there until she had knelt next to him, her fingers interwoven together, ready to pray.
"Good evening, Your Highness," came the voice of the person beside her. She jumped slightly at the sound of the voice, but quickly recognized it.
"Good evening, Squire McCloud," she replied simply.
There was silence for a while as the two returned to their silent praying. Then McCloud spoke again.
"I heard the Prince returned this evening. Your Highness must be most pleased," he said.
"I was," Marion mumbled, half to herself.
"My sincere apologies, Your highness, but I did not hear you just now. If you could please repeat --?" McCloud replied. Marion could almost hear the smile in his voice. Well fine, if he wanted to play that game --
"If you didn't hear me, then that is your fault, Squire," she snapped at him in the best 'angry' voice she could, considering she was chocking back laughter. "I am not in the habit of repeating myself."
"Perhaps, if Your Highness would annunciate when she speaks," Mc Cloud suggested thoughtfully, "there would be no reason for her to repeat herself."
Still facing forward, Marion was barely able to keep from giggling. At last he replied. "Good Gaia! Your brilliance is truly marvelous! Why am I keeping you here, when your wisdom is surely needed to fight this war! Go now! For the sake of the Kingdom!"
"Begging your pardon, Highness, but if I were to leave, who would keep you out of trouble?" McCloud responded with mock seriousness.
"I believe I can take care of myself," Marion informed him, her voice even, laughter suppressed one more time
"I seem to remember this one time --" McCloud began.
Marion knew exactly what he was about to say, and gave him a playful jab to the shoulder. "I can't believe you're still bringing that up, Vance!"
Squire Vance Mc Cloud rubbed his 'injured' shoulder as he turned to face her. "Come now, Marion, how could I not? If not for me --"
"And Heather," she reminded him.
"-- and Princess Heather," Vance added, "you could have really hurt yourself."
"Vance, that was years ago." Marion reminded him
"Five years, three months, one week, 2 days, 4 hours, 25 minutes, and 14 seconds. Fifteen seconds. Sixteen --" and Vance had to stop there, because Marion was swinging at him again, her cheeks a deep red.
"I can't believe your keeping track of the seconds!" she laughed.
"But of course! It was the first day I met you after all," Vance replied, smiling warmly. Then in a lower voice he added, "How could I ever forget the day we met?"
The smile on Marion's face vanished almost instantly. She tuned a way from him to face the altar again. "We are not having this conversation again," she said firmly, her voice empty of the humor it had only a few minutes before.
"Why not?" Vance asked quietly. "I don't think the matter is closed just yet."
"The matter could not be more closed," Marion told him. "One of us has to be the mature one here."
"I am the mature one here," Vance replied, trying to lighten the mood a bit, "by at least ten months,"
"There is more to maturity then age, young Squire," Marion replied. "We both have our place in this world, and the two do not meet."
"Did you forget who you were talking to, Marion?" Vance said sharply. "Don't hide behind your title now. That's not you."
Marion was silent for a moment. She heard Vance start to rise to his feet. "How goes the War?" she asked at last.
"Victory is within our grasp," Vance replied automatically.
"Now you've forgotten to whom you are speaking, Vance McCloud," she said. "I always could tell when you're lying."
"I didn't want to worry you," Vance answered in defensively.
"But I am worried," Marion replied. "Did you ever think to ask me why I came to the Chapel so late at night? Or were you to busy trying to re-open a very painful and very closed subject?"
"I would never call what we had painful," Vance shot back.
Marion rose to her feet, and turned to face him. "Then what would you call it? It was intense, yes. Passionate, definitely. All consuming is what it was. And in spite of all that, it had no future!" Tears sprang to her eyes. "That knowledge, that truth, the knowing of it all, and not being able to change it. If that is not painful, I don't know what is."
Vance lowered his head. "I never thought of it that way."
"I did," Marion told him. She blinked the tears back, fought to keep her voice even. "I knew what was coming. That is why I ended it, Vance. Not because I wanted to. Because I had to. For both our sakes."
There was silence in the Chapel of Gaia for a time. Marion didn't know what to expect from Vance. She had tried end it as easy as she knew how. A secret meeting, so like all the ones they had together. A whole day to spend with each other, far away from anyone's watchful eye. A day of warmth and laughter and happiness and yes passion. It was truly the perfect day.
When the Sun went down, she sat him down on the shore of the same lake where they fist met. She told him how he made her feel. He tried to reply, but she cut him off, knowing that she had to get this out now, or she never would. When she told him it was over, that they could never meet like this again, she watched his face go through several changes as emotions played across his features. Shock was first. Then confusion. There was a flash of terrifying anger. His eyes went wide when comprehension dawned on him. Then, finally, heartbreak. Her own heart broke at the sight, she got to her feet turned and ran back to the castle, without so much as a glance back. Part of her wanted him to chase her, she admitted to Heather later. Wanted him to catch her, because if he did she knew she would take it all back. She would stay with him no matter what her parents would say, what the other kingdoms would think, no matter what. But he never did chase after her, and that was really for the best, she thought. But, oh Gaia! That first night without him had been so horrible. Thank goodness for Heather! Heather was waiting for her in her chambers when she burst in, tears running down her face. Heather held her as she sobbed out her story. She stayed with her all that night, listening patiently to every word. Marion didn't know when she fell asleep that night, but when she woke, Heather was still there, fast asleep herself, holding her hand.
The memories hit here with a vengeance and left just as quickly. Behind her, she heard Vance sigh.
"I'm so glad you took it upon yourself to solve all our problems," he said. "I guess asking a silly thing like how I felt about it wasn't that important."
"Vance, please," Marion sighed, suddenly very tired. "It is over. It's been over for months. I thought that our friendship could survive it. I want our friendship to survive it."
There was movement behind her, and suddenly Vance's hands were resting on her shoulders. "What about what I want?" Vance asked her. "Marion, I --"
"I would very much like to know why a Squire is addressing the Princess of Earth in such an informal manner," a new voice inquired from the entrance of the Chapel.
Marion turned to face the familiar voice, even as Vance let go of her and fell to one knee. "My apologies, Prince Darien," Vance answered automatically.
"Still think we can be together?" Marion whispered to him.
Darien approached the pair, his gaze thoughtful. Title and rank didn't really mean much to him, but there were rules that must be followed.
"Leave us, McCloud," Darien said simply. As Vance rose, he added. "Your squad leader will be receiving a report about this fraternization...but with a royal request that punishment be light."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Vance managed to mumble.
"Dismissed," said Darien. Vance bowed sharply, and walked away quickly but with dignity, fighting the urge to look back with every step.
Once Vance left, Darien turned to face his sister. Her face was unreadable, and he had to admit that made him a little uncomfortable.
"How's Heather?" he asked at length.
"Training," Marion replied. "The Sun Kingdom hasn't been attacked yet, but they're not taking any chances." She paused then added, "I don't know why Queen Serenity doesn't ask for their aid."
"There is bad blood between the two kingdoms," Darien explained. "The Queen doesn't think they would help."
"Shows what she knows," Marion mumbled. Louder she said, "I guess the Queen has all the help she needs already, doesn't she, Brother?
Darien lowered his head. "I take it you heard about my decision to stay on the Moon."
"I've heard," Marion stated. "Why I don't understand is why."
"For Serena," Darien told her. "Because I couldn't live with myself if something should happen to her. I need her to make it. I need her to be okay. So I'm going to make sure of that."
"For love, then?" Marion asked.
"Yes, Sis, for love." was Darien's reply.
"Love," Marion decided then and there, "is overrated."
"Spoken like someone who hasn't fallen yet," Darien replied with a smirk on his face.
"You would leave your home, your family, you duty behind...for love?" Marion asked him.
"I'm not leaving forever, Marion," Darien said. "But I do have to do this. Sometimes in life, you just have to follow your heart."
follow your heart..... Those words repeated themselves in her mind.
"I'm scared, Darien" Marion confessed. "I feel we've turned a corner somehow. Something is coming, something dark and --" a flash of a forgotten nightmare crossed her mind's eye "-- and terrifying."
Darien's head snapped up, his eyes locking with Marion's. "How do you know this?" he asked quickly.
"I don't 'know' it," Marion responded. "It's a feeling I've had all night. Like a dream you can't quite remember...or a nightmare."
Darien was silent for a moment, apparently lost in his own thoughts. Finally he said, "Tomorrow morning I want you to tell this to Mother. Tell her exactly what you told me. Then tell her I think the time is right to show you the Prism."
"The what?" Marion asked.
"The Prism," Darien repeated. "Mother went back to bed already or I'd want you to do it now...one day can't hurt..."
"Darien, what are you talking about?" Marion asked, suddenly more afraid,
Darien reached over and gave Marion a warm embrace. "It will be okay, Sis," he said softly. "I'll be in contact once I get settled in on the Moon. As for the Prism, don't worry, Mom will know what to do."
There were so many things going through Marion's mind at that moment. Things she wanted to do or say. Her heart was broken anew by Vance, brother was leaving and for some reason she was almost certain he wasn't coming back. And in the corner of her mind, she could see a scene from her nightmare once more. It was an amorphous Shadow in the sky that was so large it blotted out the night stars. It had dark ruby red eyes and a wicked sneer just below those evil eyes. It reached out for --
Then it was gone, and Darien was saying something to her.
"-- be back before you know it," he said as she returned back into the here and now. He released her from the hug and turned back to the entrance of the Chapel.
"Bye Marion!" he called over his shoulder as he headed out the door. "I'll contact you tomorrow!"
"Darien --" she meant to call out the name, to beg him not to go, but all that left her lips was a whisper. There was another flash of darkness in her mind. She shivered slightly. Cold, she thought. Why am I so cold? She wrapped the robe tighter around her body. Heather," she thought. I need to talk to Heather.
Marion reached into the pocket of her robe, her hand closing on a globe of crystal, just large enough to fit in her palm. A Comm-Stone, the magical device that allowed citizens in a kingdom as vast Moon Kingdom to remain in contact with each other. As her hand closed on it, the cold feeling of dread left her, replaced by warm thoughts of her dear friend, Princess Heather Sol of the Sun Kingdom. Marion quickly left the chapel, headed for her room on the other side of the palace. As she walked, she activated the Comm-Stone, knowing it would take a few moments to connect to Heather's Stone. Marion desperately wanted to talk to her friend, and hoped that it wasn't the middle of the night there.