Once a Princess Chapter 3, a sailor moon fanfic

Once a Princess: Chapter 3
Charlyne
charlyne_o@hotmail.com
06/18/03

The day of the ball had finally arrived. Servants rushed through the palace, their arms filled with freshly picked flowers and last-minute decorations. Wonderful smells emanated from the kitchen as the cook and her assistants prepared the feast. Queen Kaia was touring the palace, making sure no detail had been overlooked. The nobles from other planets had attended some of the most spectacular balls ever held, she didn't want to give them an opening to ridicule Earth.

"Straighten that bow just a bit," Kaia called out. Everything around her was draped in silver and white. It was an appropriate color palette, considering that they would be inducted to the Silver Millennium Alliance this night.

Kaia nodded her approval and continued on. Inside the ballroom, a dais had been constructed for the Queen and King of the Earth and of the Moon. Both sets of royalty would be the center of attention. Other chairs surrounded the dais so that the other royals attending and Queen Serenity's councilors would have a place. The orchestra was just beginning to arrive and were setting up their instruments.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, but I've been sent to tell you that you bath has been drawn."

Turning to look at the serving girl, Kaia smiled softly. "Thank you." Taking one final glance around her, the queen of Earth headed off to her chambers to get ready for the ball.

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Cleo looked with disgust at the gown she was to wear. It was...poofy. And pink. "That's what I get for having Lily pick it out for me. Ugh." She refused to wear that monstrosity. It had bows and frills and she could tell that it would make her look like some hideous dessert cook had dreamed up. There was no way she was wearing that. I guess I'll have to pick something out myself. Steeling herself, Cleo opened her bureau and peered at the collection of gowns. She knew from her very limited experience what would be appropriate for a ball. She could tell the difference between a riding habit and a day dress, though just barely. Why would anyone want to ride in a dress anyway? Breeches were much more comfortable.

The group of dresses that she could choose from was small and after looking through the first three she was beginning to think she'd never find something she could wear without gagging. Setting aside one dress after another was disheartening. She'd almost given up all hope when she had only two left to look at. The first was dark blue and made out of a heavy fabric that Cleo thought might be velvet. I was nice, and Cleo might have worn it if it hadn't looked more like something to wear in the winter instead of on a balmy summer night. Squeezing her eyes shut and praying fervently to any and all gods that could hear her, she pushed the dress aside so that the final dress was showing.

Please, please, please be merciful, Cleo begged silently.

Taking a deep breath, Cleo opened both eyes and stared at the final dress. A big smile spread across her face and she sent a thank you up to whoever had been kind enough to listen to her wish. The gown she had uncovered was a simple sheath and the fabric was a luminous white shot through with silver threads. The sleeves were off-the-shoulder and short, made so that they would drape over her arm. Pulling it out, Cleo took off the robe she'd been wearing and tugged the dress on over her head. The silk slithered over her body and clung to her curves; the scooped neck showed off less than was fashionable but she felt much more comfortable. Gazing at herself in the mirror, Cleo was amazed at the girl reflected there. Running her hands over the gown, she felt the slight patterns sewn into the fabric. They were barely noticeable but gave the dress more depth than if had just been plain. A matching tie that went around her waist completed the outfit.

Calling in her lady's maid, Cleo sat down in front of a small vanity and watched as the girl styled her hair. Silver ringlets were piled onto her head, then a string of diamonds was put around it. More ringlets trailed down her back to rest against her hips. The effect was beautiful and sophisticated. Cleo could hardly believe it was her.

"Cleo, are you..." The words trailed off into shocked silence. Lily stood in the doorway, her mouth gaping open. "Oh my good lord. Mother! Come here, quick!"

"What's wrong?" Tamara asked. She hurried into the room, followed by her husband, son, and eldest daughter. She stopped short when she saw Cleo; Alric, Gabriel, and Bethany ran into her back. "Oh, Cleo, you look absolutely stunning."

Cleo blushed. She hadn't gotten this much attention since she'd tried to break that wild horse when she was ten. Although the attention then hadn't been of the good sort. Not like this. She could see her father beaming with pride. "Thank you," she mumbled, embarrassed.

After a moment, her mother seemed to shake herself out of her stupor and shooed everyone out of the room, telling them all to finish getting ready. When they all gathered twenty minutes later, Cleo's family was still shooting disbelieving looks her way. If she would have known dressing up would get this type of a reaction she would have tried it long ago. She was always imagining ways to keep her family off balance. She had to put this one on the top of her list of successes. Trying to break the wild stallion was now number two.

As a family, they all walked down to the ballroom and waited behind the other nobles to be announced. The line moved swiftly, though, and soon the servant was announcing, "The Earl and Countess of Carmanor, Lord Gabriel, and the Ladies Bethany, Lily, and Cleo." They stepped into the crowded room and looked around. Cleo caught a quick glimpse of a statuesque woman with long silver hair pulled up into twin buns with long streamers of hair flowing down her back.

She must be the queen of the Moon. She's so beautiful...

Alric and Tamara left to go speak to the Queen and King, greeting their hosts as was polite, while leaving their children to mingle. Bethany was soon swept off to dance and Lily followed soon after which left Gabriel and Cleo standing alone in the middle of a crowd. Cleo could tell Gabriel wanted to go dance as well but she knew that he felt responsible for her and would not leave her.

"Go and dance, Gabe," Cleo told him, giving him a shove toward the dance floor.

"But, Cleo..."

"Go!"

With a slightly guilty look on his face, Gabriel left to go find a dancing partner. Cleo made her way slowly through the crush of bodies to stand next to an open door. The cool breeze blowing off the sea was soothing against her skin. After a few moments, she moved away from the door and began walking across the ballroom to a bit of empty wall that was calling her name. If she could get there, she might be able to escape notice. Halfway to her goal she was stopped by a large male body standing in her way.

"Excuse me, sir," Cleo said, trying to edge her way around him, but when she moved he stepped in her path again. Frowning, Cleo looked up at the man. Silver-blue eyes met dark blue and locked. Oh no, it's the prince.

Endymion stared down at the small girl who was looking up at him with something suspiciously like dread filling her eyes and barely held back his grin. He could still hardly believe that he'd found her again; he'd been sure that she would do everything in her power to get out of coming to this event. Letting his eyes drift over her, he felt his breath catch. She was like a vision; a goddess come down to Earth. If her coloring hadn't been so unique he would have thought her an entirely different girl.

"Lady Cleo, may I have this dance?" he asked, extending a hand toward her.

Hesitantly, Cleo placed her small hand in the prince's large one. Endymion led her out onto the dance floor and swept her into the waltz that was playing. They seemed to move together in perfect synchronization. Cleo sighed. If this was what being a girl was like she thought she just might wear dresses more often.

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Sitting on the throne delegated to her, Queen Serenity watched the dancers twirl by. She caught a glimpse of Prince Endymion as he passed by with a girl that was as fair as he was dark; their colors perfectly complemented each other. The young girl's silver hair glittered under the candlelight. Serenity felt a wrenching sensation in the vicinity of her heart; that hair reminded her so much of her own that the girl could have been her daughter. Her daughter. The words echoed in her mind.

Standing up from her throne so quickly that it nearly tumbled off the dais, Queen Serenity hurried out onto the dance floor. Looking around frantically, trying to find the girl that had been dancing with Prince Endymion, she felt the four Senshi come stand around her, their hands grasping their transformation brooches.

"What's the matter, Your Majesty?" Raye, the leader, questioned. Her violet eyes shifted around the room trying to locate the source of the queen's agitation. Using her psychic abilities, she tried to sense any evil but there was none.

"I thought I saw Serenity," the queen replied.

The four girls exchanged looks.

"She was dancing with Prince Endymion," Queen Serenity continued. "She had silver hair, the same shade as mine." She moved her gaze from the crowd of dancers to her Senshi. "Please find out who she was."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Raye agreed.

Queen Serenity retreated back to her throne, leaving the Senshi standing in the middle of the crowded ballroom. All wore an uncertain look on their face. They were afraid to give their queen any hope that finding her daughter would be this simple.

Raye cleared her throat, bringing everyone's attention to her. "First, we need to split up and find Prince Endymion. When you locate him, use your communicator to contact the rest of us. If he has the girl with him, don't let her leave. If you see a girl with silver hair--or very white-blond hair that could be mistaken for silver--ask her to come along with you."

The three other girls nodded and immediately set off in search of the prince. Mina was the first to spot him and quickly cornered him by a stand of potted plants. He was alone. She called the other girls to her and soon Endymion found himself surround by four very determined looking princesses.

"Your Highnesses, what may I do for you?" the prince asked. He looked somewhat nervous.

Lita cut right to the point. "Who was the girl you were dancing with? The silver-haired one."

Endymion blinked. "That would be Lady Cleo Stansfield."

"How would you describe her hair?" Amy asked, her mini-computer in her hand. "Silver, white-blond, or blond?"

"Uh..." Prince Endymion was past trying to hide his confusion. What in the world was this about? It sounded like an interrogation. "It's silver, like Queen Serenity's."

Amy gave him a sharp look. "Are you sure? That hair color is reserved for Moon royalty. It would be extremely unlikely for anyone else, especially someone from the Earth, to have that exact shade."

"Pretty sure," Endymion responded.

"Thank you!" Mina chirped, smiling. The four girls walked away from the confused prince and stopped outside the ballroom. "Did you hear him? He said her hair was the color of Queen Serenity's. I don't need Amy's computer to know that there is only two people in the whole universe with that color hair: Queen Serenity and her daughter, Princess Serenity."

Raye grinned, her heart filling with hope. "Let's go find Lady Cleo and question her about her background. We need to find out if she knows who kidnapped her. I can't imagine that the man she now calls her father would kidnap her, then flaunt her in front of Queen Serenity. If everything adds up we can tell her the good news."

Author's Note:
Well, I hope this chapter turned out okay. I've been working on a new story lately, called "Overcoming the Past", which has been getting a lot of reviews. Reviews let me know you care. The more reviews I get the faster I write (unless the dreaded writer's block monster attacks). I go through spurts. I read a lot, then write, go back to reading, then write again. I've just been through about a month of nonstop reading. Maybe I can do the same with writing. :-) One can only hope.

In Chapter 4: "I'm a what?!" Cleo finds out that she was once a princess...

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