Once a Princess Chapter 2, a sailor moon fanfic

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Once a Princess: Chapter 2
Charlyne
charlyne_o@hotmail.com
Chapter Rating: G

Endymion couldn't seem to remove his eyes from the spot where the intriguing girl had disappeared into the palace. She'd said her name was Cleo. Perhaps he would ask her for a dance at the ball tomorrow evening. He shook his head and tried to remember what it was he'd been thinking of before being interrupted.

The betrothal, he thought. He didn't know what would happen in one month when the betrothal would officially be broken. Already his mother was trying to get him to interview potential future wives. He was sure the ball would be filled with young debutantes and their ambitious mamas, hoping to catch a prince or some other nobleman. He really ought to warn his generals, but watching them being chased by the silly girls would be amusing.

I wonder if Lady Cleo is here to find a husband.

"Stop thinking about her," he muttered to himself. He needed to take a brisk ride on his gelding, Arien, to clear his mind. He turned and headed toward the stables, intent on making his escape, if only for a short while.

"Excuse me, Your Highness, the princesses of Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Mars have arrived. Your mother and father wish for you to join them in the main hall to greet them."

Damn it, Endymion cursed silently. Could he not even leave this place for an hour or two? He ran his fingers through his hair, a habit he had when he was frustrated or annoyed.

Looking over at the servant, he nodded. "Tell them I shall be there soon," he said.

As he walked toward the main hall, his previous thoughts came back to him and he smirked at how he'd just been proven correct. Four eligible young girls and his mother wanted him to meet them, under the pretense of a cordial introduction.

He walked at a leisurely pace, taking the long way through the gardens. He wasn't at all surprised by the look of censure his mother gave him. His father, on the other hand, looked as if he were trying not to laugh. Apparently, the king was well aware of his wife's schemes. Endy sighed and took his spot beside his parents.

He blocked out the sound of his parents voices as they began to greet their most recent guests and let his mind wander. The face of the girl who'd bumped into him earlier swam before his mind's eye. He could have sworn her hair was silver. Her hair had looked nearly the exact shade of that of the Queen of the Moon.

_______________________________________________

"Your Majesty, the girls have just arrived. Would you like me to bring them here?"

Queen Serenity's gaze drifted from the view outside her window to Luna, her advisor. The woman had been with her for many years, though she looked to be only in her twenties. Wavy black hair fell to Luna's waist and her dark eyes held both wisdom and sadness. Luna was supposed to have trained Princess Serenity to be the next queen, but the kidnapping had shattered all their plans.

"Yes, of course," the queen replied.

Several minutes later, four girls entered the room. They all wore identical uniforms varying in color, the uniforms marked them as Sailor Senshi, elite soldiers of the Moon Kingdom whose sole job it was to protect the royal family. Each bowed to her queen and took a seat. They, also, had been recruited for the missing princess but they now served as guards for their queen.

"Girls, it is nice to see you again," the queen said. "You all know our reason for being here: to celebrate the Earth joining the Silver Millennium Alliance. As princesses, you are here to represent your individual planets. But as Senshi, you are here to protect me. I have a more selfish reason for wanting to be here, however. It is my hope that while we are on Earth, we can search for my daughter."

The Senshi exchanged looks. Princess Serenity had been missing for over fifteen years, very few held out any hope that she would ever be found. But if their queen wished for them to look for her long lost daughter, then look they would. They dreaded seeing the disappointment in their queen's eyes when the princess was not found, though.

After the meeting, the girls gathered in the anteroom that all their chambers connected to. Amy, the princess of Mercury, sat quietly typing numbers into her minicomputer while the others gossiped. The computer's blue casing matched the girl's uniform.

"I heard Prince Endymion was the most handsome man in the universe," Mina gushed. The flighty Venusian wore an orange uniform and was the most outspoken of the bunch.

Raye rolled her eyes. The Martian princess wore red and certainly had the temper to match. "Mina, you are so scatterbrained. Can you think of nothing but boys?"

"You do not need to pick on her, Raye," commented Lita. When Amy wasn't around, the princess of Jupiter usually stepped in to referee. The green of her uniform intensified the green of her eyes.

"Amy, what are you working on?" Mina asked. "This is supposed to be fun, not more work."

"Probabilities," Amy replied, answering Mina's question. "I wanted to see how likely it is that we will find Princess Serenity here."

"Well?"

"Considering we've checked all the planets in the Alliance, and the Earth is the closet to the Moon, the probability that the princess was taken here as a baby is about one in one hundred--fairly good odds. But, after all these years, the likelihood of the princess still being here and alive is about one in two hundred million."

"Not very good odds," Lita said.

Amy shook her head and shut down her computer. "Not good at all. But we shall look, despite the odds. There's always a chance. After all, the only amount that is impossible to overcome is infinity and two hundred million is a long ways from that."

Mina looked from one girl to the other, taking in the sadness on each one's face. None of them had ever met the princess, nor did they know what type of person she would have turned out to be, but they mourned her loss just the same. There was no heir to the Moon Kingdom and no one knew what would happen when the queen and king passed away. It was a worry weighing on everyone's mind.

"So, what are you all wearing to the ball?" Mina asked. She knew they all counted on her to lighten the mood and be the chipper one. She acted like she couldn't be serious and it helped all of them to be happy, even in not so happy times.

"Mina," the three others groaned, then all four burst into laughter.

Author's Note:
Good lord, I can't believe I left this story alone for so long! I'm so sorry, everyone. College is getting hectic. :-( Anyway, I was going to put the ball in this chapter but I decided to introduce the girls instead. I know my chapters aren't very long, but at least I'm writing something. That has to count in my favor. I may, at some point, go back and edit things but for the moment I guess you'll have to live with short chapters.

In Chapter 3: The ball! That silver-haired girl looks awfully familiar...

Let me know if you have any ideas about what I should do with this story and tell me if you have any ideas for other stories I should write. As always, don't forget to review!