If I owned Sailor Moon, the world would be a terrible place and everyone would be sad….
Chapter Seven
Dark Lust
~By Saki Midnight
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Serenity leaned heavily on Makoto as they re-entered the gardens. They were all subdued. Serenity guessed that something had happened in her absence. She let Makoto help her up to the recreation room. Once there she fell onto a floor cushion and let Ami take a look at it.
"You have a big thorn stuck in your foot." She said finally. Ami took hold of it with her fingernails, and yanked it out. Serenity screamed in pain. "There, all done. I'll just clean the cut and put some gauze on it to stop the blood." She did so, wrapping a bandage around her foot. Serenity flexed it and smiled.
"Thanks Ami, that feels better." She looked around at them all. "Will you come with me again tomorrow?"
Minako wavered, and then smiled nervously.
"I don't know. Maybe we should wait a few days."
"Why?" Serenity asked. "Did you meet someone too?" Minako nodded, perching on the windowsill. "Well, let's go back and talk to them."
"Well I definitely want to." Rei said heatedly. She was pacing the room with the same tenseness as a caged tiger. "I want another chance at Neph."
"Aw." Makoto said patronisingly, finding a sore spot. "Did Rei find someone more stubborn than herself?"
"Shut up." The raven haired girl snapped at Makoto, who was sat on a table, swinging her legs. "He was so self righteous. Anyway, I don't see you offering to go again tomorrow."
"That's because…" She trailed off going slightly red.
"What's the matter Makoto?" Rei shot in her sugary sweet voice, pleased to find she wasn't the only one with a story to tell. "Did something embarrassing happen to you on your travels?"
"I fell out of a tree okay!" Makoto shouted. "And a man caught me."
"I also encountered a young man, dressed in grey. He looked very familiar to me." Ami said thoughtfully. Mina smiled.
"I think I scared Malachite." She giggled at the memory. "His feet left the ground."
"Serena, who did you meet?" Ami questioned from her position by Serenity. "Was it another boy?"
"Two actually." Serenity replied, catching their full attention. "One of them chased me, and I stood on that thorn. He came over and when he went to touch me, Kunzite shouted at him. Then he carried me away." She frowned slightly. "But there was something wrong with the other boy, Darien. He wanted to help me, but Kunzite wouldn't let him. He shouted for three of his friends. One of them did something to Darien. He made him pass out."
"Oh?" Minako's eyebrows shot up. "And what were his friends called?"
"I think it was, Zoi," Makoto's hands shot up to her face. "Jade," Ami's head turned sharply. "And Net....Neph." Rei gasped.
At that moment, Solandre strode into the room. Serenity tucked her foot under her dress with lightning speed, and the others stared. He sat down heavily in a chair and covered his eyes with his hands.
"Prince Solandre?" Ami asked politely. He waved a hand at her. They waited expectantly. After a while, he spoke.
"I don't care where you went." He sighed. "But others do. Artemis and Luna were going frantic when you didn't show up during lunch."
"We didn't mean to be gone so long." Serenity said quietly. "I'm sorry, So-"
"Ah-ah!" He wagged a finger at her.
"Sorry, Andrew." She lamented.
"Much better." He leaned back in his chair and surveyed them all. "So, this is little Serena's guard." He rubbed the side of his face. "The Senshi."
"How did you…" Minako trailed off. Solandre chuckled lightly.
"Oh, I'm more perceptive than you think." He replied. "I take it you're Venus." He smiled as his assumption proved to be correct. "Mars," He pointed at Rei. "Jupiter and Mercury." He nodded to Makoto and Ami. "And you, my dear cousin, are the fifth. As yet unnamed." Serenity was shocked. She recovered quickly.
"Andrew, why are you still here?" She questioned, curious as to why the solar prince had stayed, instead of returning home like all the other delegates.
"Well, a few reasons. To see my family again, to help the Senshi train and protect the princess, and to-"
"Court Setsuna." Serenity finished triumphantly for him. Solandre's cheeks became tinged with pink.
"That wasn't exactly what I was thinking…"
"Ah, but it was one of your reasons, wasn't it?" She accused.
"Yes!" He shouted in mock anger. "I want to court Setsuna!"
"Do you really?" A voice sounded from behind him. He groaned in realisation. Selenity glided in.
"Aunt Sel." Solandre rose to greet her. The girls stood also, Serenity leaning inconspicuously on the Mercurian princess. Selenity waved a hand at them all.
"Oh, sit down," She dismissed the royal protocol. "I've had enough pleasantries this week to last me a lifetime."
Serenity plonked herself back down on the floor, grateful for her mother's slight lapse in formality. She was careful to tuck her bound foot under her dress, out of sight. The other girls seated themselves more gracefully, Rei deciding to join Makoto on the table. If Selenity noticed the two girls using the furniture inappropriately, she did not voice it.
"Mother." Serenity began in a dignified voice. "If you don't mind me asking; what are you doing here?"
"Escaping the pressures of rulership." The queen replied with a smile. "Trust me, Serena, there will be times in the future when solitude will be but a daydream for you. At the moment, the closest I can get to it is spending time with you. Don't get me wrong child, I love your company more than anything else in the world, but sometimes I wish I weren't a queen."
"Oh, mama, I understand."
Solandre looked at the queen from the corner of his eye.
"I never thought that I would be able to say this aunt Sel, but I know exactly what you mean. I remember when I became the sole heir to my kingdom. Up until then I was left alone, free to do as I wished. Since I have ascended the throne, my life has virtually gone out of the proverbial window." Selenity smiled appreciatively at her nephew.
"Well, you are here for a holiday Andrew. When I took it upon myself to make sure that you were brought up properly, it was for life. You're young still, and King or no, you are entitled to a few days of rest." She rose from her seat. "For the rest of today, I have relinquished my royal duties to Lady Luna. I think that we should go for a picnic in the gardens, with all of the princesses."
Serenity jumped to her feet and hugged her mother hard.
"You mean, I get to spend the whole afternoon and the rest of the evening with you?" She asked, hope lighting up her little face. Selenity laughed, and said yes. She dashed out to the kitchens, saying that she was going to get a basket of food together. After she'd gone, they all stood. Serenity winced as she placed her foot gingerly on the ground. Solandre must have noticed, for he grabbed her up and carried her at his waist. She weighed next to nothing to him. Rei quickly gathered some sense and found a pair of shoes that slipped on with ease and covered Serenity's bandage. They made their way down to the garden, and found that Selenity had set up a huge blanket and spread an array of food across it.
"I have requested that we not be disturbed." She notified them as they drew near. "I want to share some private time with you all." Rei sat down quickly, her skirts billowing out, making her look like a cake Makoto knelt down nearby, making sure that she had plenty of room to stretch out. Minako lay on her side, picking cherries off one of the cakes and eating them. Ami smoothed her dress as she sat, drawing her knees up to her body and wrapping her arms around them. Solandre sat down cross legged, in one fluid movement shifting the princess in his arms so she was sitting in his lap. After a few minutes, Michiru and Haruka wandered over, hand in hand to share some time with them. Michiru leant her head on Haruka's shoulder in an obvious display of affection, and this time, no one batted so much as an eyelid. Hotaru soon joined them, gasping in surprise at the feast before her. She hurriedly found a place in the circle. Solandre was soon graced with Setsuna's presence. She carefully seated herself beside him, not too close, but yet not far enough to keep herself unnoticed by him. They talked and laughed, enjoying themselves thoroughly. When the sky began to darken, lanterns were brought out. Serenity soon found out that one of the cakes, that had been baked fresh this morning, was none other than one of Makoto's creations. She made sure that everyone knew that she had loved it. Mina was warned that she would get stomach ache from eating lying down, but she dismissed it, saying that she would be okay. The evening went happily. When it got even late, Selenity suggested that they played hide and seek in the dark. At this point Artemis appeared and everyone agreed that he should be it. They all ran off to hide. Mina and Selenity were the first to be discovered, as they were giggling so furiously that they immediately gave away their hiding place. Makoto, made it into a tree, but was soon found when it began to make cursing sounds. Makoto had gotten herself stuck, and tore her dress. Haruka was located with Michiru, fooling around in the bushes. They came out with red faces and silly grins. Serenity had hidden along with Rei, and they had gotten caught when a whispered argument broke out between them. Ami was spotted nearby, a few minutes after, due to a sneeze that she could not contain. They searched in vain for Setsuna and Solandre, but neither were anywhere to be found. They all returned to the blanket, and twenty minutes later, the sun prince turned up, wearing an enigmatic smile.
"I see you've succeeded in winning your maiden?" Artemis asked, brows raised. Solandre blushed furiously and glanced away. Soon after, Setsuna sailed up to where they were all gathered, and was proclaimed the winner. She was presented with a beautiful sugar spun black dahlia. Serenity was awestruck by the detail of it. She thought it looked almost real.