Disclaimer: I don't own Sailormoon. Only this story line.

I first watched Sailormoon dubbed in Tagalog (a Philippine dialect) and I fell in love at first sight. I still prefer the Tagalog dubbed version. The Japanese version with the English subtitles comes a close second. In the Tagalog version, Damien is Endymion (which is logical, if you've read the Greek myth of Endymion and Diana, the moon goddess). Queen Serena is Princess Serenity's (Rini's) mother. I chose to use these names in my fic.

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Chapter One : A Seed to Grow

Demi fisted his hands at his sides. Hot tears slipped down his cheeks as he looked down his parent's graves. They had died three days ago from a freak accident. A crazed runaway horse had trampled them to death while they were selling their wares in the town market. His father had tried to protect his mother which had resulted only to both of them dying. Demi could only stare in shock. The sympathetic townspeople helped Demi carry home his parents' bodies and bury them near the house. Some of their friends stayed for a while to comfort Demi. But they had their own families and eventually had to go home.

Now there was no one. Ten years old. and no parents to care for him.

"I am alone."

The thought weighed heavily on his mind. He wished he was dead.

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Rini giggled. She had lost her guardians again.

She had followed a pretty butterfly to the tall grass surrounding the encampment. Then there was the frog. A hop and a skip she went following the nice froggy. Her green cloak was now grass stained. It didn't matter, she thought. They were the same color, anyway. Her nana wouldn't notice. Neither did her guardians.

Still following the frog, she arrived at a well-worn trail where a lot of colorful flowers could be found along its sides. Rini gave a gasp.

"Ooooohhh. pretty!" she exclaimed. "Mama likes flowers. Pretty, pretty flowers!" she thought, "And some for daddy!" And so Rini went along the path picking the wildflowers along the way.

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After going some ways, Rini came to a shack along the trail. At first, she was afraid. then curious. and finally, hungry. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that it needed to be fed. Her tummy prevailed.

Going past the open gate, she walked up to the front door and knocked. "Hello," she said simply. No one answered. "Hello!" Still no answer.

Now she was really hungry. Looking around, she spotted an open window to her left. Gently, she set her bouquet of flowers down on the floor. She walked and stopped right in front of the window and began jumping up and down until her hood came off and her golden curls spilt onto her back.

Rini threw a pout. She wished she was as tall as her mama. Looking around again, she found a small stool off the side of the window. After a few tugs, she had it directly underneath the window sill. She carefully hauled herself up and peered through.

No one was there. Everything was quiet. And there. in the center of the room was a beautiful loaf of bread and a chunk of cheese lying on a square wooden table.

Grumble.. Rini's face turned red. Her mommy always teased her when she grew hungry. Her tummy always made these growling sounds when she was hungry. She just couldn't help it.

Rini licked her lips at the prospect of food. Quickly, Rini stepped down the stool and scooped up her flowers. She raced towards the front door. Looking guiltily left and right, she put a chubby hand on the door and pushed with all her might. The door gave in readily. It was open. Rini tiptoed quietly across the room, looking around in case somebody was hiding in the shadows.

Reaching the table, she looked warily left and right. "Hello.. I'm hungry." Still no one answered. Rini smiled. "It's okay to eat. I warned them."

She put the flowers on the table and concentrated on climbing up a stool.

"Yummy," she said, and proceeded to eat the bread.

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A few minutes later, a crumb encrusted Rini climbed down the stool. Getting down she stretched and rubbed her tummy. She was full.

Curious, she walked up and down the small house. It was a little bit messy. "Don't they have a mama?" Rini put her index finger up to rub her nose. "It stinks."

The shack had no partitions. A stack of hay lay on one corner, covered with blankets. On the opposite wall was a hearth. The coals inside fireplace had gone cold, as if it wasn't used in days. An assortment of pots and pans hung all around the fireplace. Two windows and two doors added warmth and light to the house. The other spaces inside the shack held shelves and shelves of various stuff. clothes, books, knickknacks. And of course, in the center of the room was the little square table with the empty plate on top and three stools surrounding it.

"Mama bear, papa bear, and baby bear.."

Rini giggled. She had eaten baby bear's bread. She licked the remaining crumbs off her lips and wiped her sleeve across her mouth. "There," she thought, "Mama bear won't notice."

Having satisfied herself with her cleanliness, she headed toward the open back door. Maybe there were more flowers outside. She could pick more for her mama.

She steps out into a porch. There wasn't much to see. Plants were planted by the sides of the house. They were withered though. "Poor plants. No one was taking care of them," she thought. The rest was withered grass with occasional patches of green. A little farther on was a forest of trees. The nearest tree was about two hundred feet away. And standing in front of it was a boy.

Rini pouted. "He looks lonely," she thought. An idea begins to form in her head and she smiles. She races back to the shack to get her flowers.

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Demi could fell his eyes getting puffy. How long had he been standing there? He could not remember. He looked up and saw the sun touch the mountains far off into the west. He was surprised. He didn't mean to stay out too long.

"I better go in," he thought, "I'd better eat too. I have a lot to do tomorrow." He thought of his plans to leave the house and going to the city. "I need to pack."

He was turning around to leave when suddenly, he felt a small hand take hold of his left palm.

He almost jumped from fright.

There, at his side, was a small, forlorn figure garbed all in green. His hood was covering his face and his cloak covered the rest of his body except for the hand grasping Demi.

"Faerie..." he thought, "They've come to take me away." Demi remembered her mother's stories of how faeries came to take away little boys who get caught in the woods without their parents. of the lonely caverns deep beneath the ground.

For a moment, he thought of running away. But he changed his mind. "So what if they take me? I've got nothing and nobody anyway. But if they think I'll come quietly. they're mistaken."

Jerking his hand off the stranger's hold he takes a fighting stance.

"Who are you?! You've come to take me away haven't you? Well, I'm warning you. You won't get me without a fight!"

Giggle. Giggle.

What the?

A hand stretched out from the cloak and peeled the hood away to reveal blond hair and two crystal blue eyes shining with mirth. "You're funny. Giggle."

Extending her other hand, Rini offered him the flowers she had picked earlier.

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It was a girl.

A blond, blue-eyed, chubby little girl!

Demi almost laughed at himself. Imagine him, planning to be a soldier, and being afraid of a little girl. Then he turned sober. No one better hear about this.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Giggle.

What is it with girls and giggling?

Rini took one step closer and curtsied. "I am Se..Ser.I forgot." She smiled sheepishly. "My mama calls me Rini. I'm FIVE years old," Rini holds up one hand to emphasize the fact.

"My mama says I'm a princess." Rini's brow furrows. She looks inquiringly at Demi. "What's a princess?"

Yeah, sure. All little girls are. "A noble," he answered.

"What's a noble?"

Well, that got him. "Ummm. it's something big people make up to feel. ummm big."

"If they're already big, why do they need to feel big?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" Demi was beginning to feel cornered.

"Because. I don't know the answers?"

"Well, neither do I."

The little girl stared curiously at his face. "Why are you sad?"

"I'm not sad." Quickly, he wiped his nose with his sleeve. "I just have a cold, that's all. How 'bout you? What are you doing here?"

"I picked flowers for my Mama. Pretty ones, look!" She practically shoved the wilted flowers under his nose.

"Ugh!" Demi fell back. "I think you better pick your mama new flowers. Those won't last the day."

Rini looked at the bouquet then back at him. "Okay," she said. Rini released the flowers, allowing them to fall to the ground. After wiping her hands on her skirt, she reached out for Demi's hand.

Demi looked puzzled. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Goin' with you. You shouldn't pick flowers by yourself," Rini says seriously. "It's dangerous." Rini waves her forefinger in front of Demi's face. "Mama says so."

Demi raised an eyebrow at this remark. This girl must have been born daft.

"You also shouldn't talk to strangers. That's dangerous, too."

"Well. what's your name?"

"I'm... Endymion. Demi."

She looked thoughtful. "Demi. Okay, now you're my friend. I can talk to you now, can't I?"

Demi rolled his eyes heavenward. "This is gonna be one long night," he thought.

"Where's your mum? Shouldn't she be taking care of you now?"

"Mama's gone to my Auntie's house. My Auntie lives far away."

"Okay. Who's supposed to watch you, then? You can't just wander away, you know," says Demi a-matter-of-factly.

Rini giggled, remembering how she eluded her guardians. "There," she pointed eastwards. "Ummm," she twirled her hair with her index finger, "I'm lost."

Oh, great! Of all the places for a kid to get lost, she chooses my home! The town's a long way off by foot. Oh for heaven's sake, why me?

Demi stared at the kid. She had her big blue eyes trained on him. She was also sucking away on her free thumb.

"Well, you can't go back now. It's getting dark. You better come with me, then."

Rini studied the boy intently. She liked him. He didn't talk to her funny, like the other kids. Her guardians talked funny, too. They treated her like a baby. She didn't like that. Yup, she liked him very much.

She giggled and held his hand to her face. "Okay."

Demi tried not to notice her spittle smeared across his hand. She was only a child, after all. She didn't know better. He did wince, though.

"Okay," he managed to extricate his hand and wipe it on his back. He put his hands on her shoulders and led her to the shack. "Let's go. I'm starving."

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^_^ Don't worry, we'll get to the part where they're both grown up. eventually. Meanwhile, I ain't finished yet.