Chapter 3
The horrifying noise of the alarm clock going off dragged Kitenis from sleep an hour later. She gave a small scream. Over the entire night, she had had about four hours of sleep total. Life wasn't fair.
She left the room and attempted to straighten her fuku. It didn't need it. For some reason, the skirt and so forth was immune to wrinkles. She huffed and entered the dining room. The other seven Senshi were already there as well as Princess Serenity and Prince Ares.
Dalit and Tiaret were silent when the others greeted her. She almost glared at them anyway; lack of sleep did murder on Kitenis' attitude. Not to mention she was still very sore from the training the other day.
"Did you sleep well?" Serene asked pleasantly.
Kitenis frowned heavily. "No."
"Bad dreams?"
"No…inability to go to sleep," she said with a glare at Dalit and Tiaret.
Serene got the point. "Oh."
The rest of the breakfast passed a little more pleasantly than it began until Luna entered. "Lady Neptune, your mother and father have a call for you."
Caden groaned. She'd had about as much sleep as Kitenis and she was already straining with her relationship with her mother and father. On her way out, she told Luna to forget the 'Lady' and titles. Just as long as they called them their Senshi names, for they had not given them leave to call them by their true names because they didn't know them all that well.
She entered her room with a sigh. Turning on the visual for the hologram, she resumed her poker face. Immediately a diatribe came from her mother.
"We've put up with this 'Soldier' business for a while now, but enough is enough. We finally got someone to agree to meet you and perhaps arrange a marriage."
"No. I won't marry anyone and I will choose who I love."
Her father cleared his throat. "We've see who you—"
"Don't you dare start bashing on Stella! We love each other and I won't hear another word about it! I will not marry anyone! Stella and I are in love and you just have to deal with it!" she said forcefully.
She caught both their disapproving glances behind her and she felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew Stella was there. Looking up at her, hazel and silver eyes met. Stella looked away after a moment.
Caden frowned and turned back to her parents. "I'm going. Stop calling me. You know even if I wasn't a Soldier I would refuse the throne. I want nothing to do with your…betrothal man. I won't marry him. By the way, even if I could give up being a Soldier, I wouldn't. I love it and I love living on the Moon. And most of all, I love being with my friends."
"That's not all you love," her mother sneered and Stella winced. "Rumor gets around—"
"Shut up!" Caden stood up. "How dare you say that!" The strands around her face swayed madly with her abrupt movements. "I will no longer talk to you so stop calling!" She shut off the visual.
Stella moved away and sat on their bed. "Caden, you are destroying your family. And it's because of me," she whispered.
Caden knelt in front of Stella. "It isn't because of you. It's because they are too close-minded. You and I share a love just as deep as Serene's and Ares' and we are just acknowledging it. Don't worry about my parents."
Stella smiled. Caden always knew how to make her feel better. She kissed her lightly on the lips and both went in search of their friends.
Dalit tapped on her computer keys. Everything was coming up negative. Her brow furrowed in anger and frustration.
"What's wrong?" asked Tacy.
"Well, I'm trying to do some readings and everything is coming up negative."
"What are you trying to scan?"
"Anything! My computer isn't working!"
"Something wrong with the Mercury computer?" asked Jalae in worry. "Nothing has ever affected it before. Why would this be any different? What's causing this?"
"Didn't you see anything in the timeline?"
Jalae frowned at Tacy. "Even if I had, do you think I could tell you about it?"
"No, not really."
Tiaret ran up to them. "What's up?"
They explained the computer and Tiaret let out a breath of concern. "Do you suppose…something happened to it last night? I mean, it was knocked down, you know."
"It can't be that," Dalit cried. "You know how many times this computer has been knocked down and nothing ever happened to it before!"
A scream echoed in the palace. They gasped.
"Taila!" Dalit cried and they ran to the Soldier's room. It was locked and they could not get it open. The screaming increased in volume and took on a panicked note to it. They pushed harder, but to no avail. Kitenis even added her shoulder to that of the others, yet no result came. None of the Soldiers could open the door. Caden and Stella even tried their attacks, but it was impossible. Something was holding the door with some kind of magic.
The screaming stopped abruptly and they listened intently and anxiously. The door slowly opened and Taila came out, white as a sheet. The whole castle was roused, but they ordered the servants to leave. Luna and Artemis walked up, supporting Taila.
"You were in there?" Dalit cried in anger. "And you did nothing to let us in? How dare you! What were you doing to her?"
"We did nothing," Artemis told her. "She was doing a fire-reading and she started screaming. Luna tried to get her out of it and I tried to open the door, but I couldn't and neither could Luna bring her back. We had to wait it out anxiously as well."
Taila looked up at the Senshi. "We have to step up our training. In three years time there will be a war. It will have grave consequences to it and I can't foresee them."
They nodded and Jalae slipped to the Time Gate. She had to find out what was going on. However, she wished she had not looked. Her knees collapsed out from under her at what she saw. What Taila had said was an understatement. And I can't do anything about it, she thought in despair.
Two years later found no change much in the situation for the Senshi. Their lives continued much the same. Until one day…
"Serene?" Tacy called as she wandered down the hall to the princess' room. Without so much as a knock, she opened the door, thinking her friend would just be brushing her hair or something equally picturesque.
What she thought was not what she found. Serene pulled the comforter over her bare chest when the Sailor of Saturn came in and Ares gulped.
Tacy's mouth worked very hard at saying something, but alas, nothing came out. She stiffened further when she heard her name called by Kitenis.
She slammed the door shut and leaned against it. Kitenis approached her with a confused look on her face. "What is it? I was just going to talk to Serene for a few minutes."
"You can't!" she cried abruptly. "Uh, I'm mean…she's, um…BUSY at the moment."
The other Senshi approached, curious by the display. Tacy had forgotten the eight of them had agreed to meet in front of Serene's bedroom and tell her the bad news that Ares was going back to Mars for a few months. They had figured it would be heartbreaking since he had just returned from there.
"Move," Kitenis ordered politely. "Did you forget why we came here?"
"No, I didn't, but you can't…" She trailed off as Kitenis shouldered her way into the room. Tacy put her face in her hands as the other Senshi followed the Soldier of the heavens.
Surprisingly, there was silence. Tacy dared to look up at her friends. Kitenis was white and stiff as a board. Serene had buried her head in Ares' chest, avoiding the incredulous looks her friends were giving her. Ares was as bright red as Taila's fuku.
In the silence, it was easy to hear the footsteps coming toward the room. Tacy, the only one outside the door, looked around the corner and her blood froze. She turned to others and said in a striding whisper, "It's the King! If he finds them like this, we'll be preparing the funeral for the Prince of Mars!"
The other Senshi began to get in a frantic hurry. Taila threw Ares' his pants, who put them on faster than Tiaret could throw a lighting bolt.
"There's no way we can get him out of the room without the King seeing," Dalit said quietly.
All the Senshi, Ares, and Serene looked around the big room for a hiding place. Kitenis spotted the closet. She grabbed his arm and shoved him in. "Be quiet or you won't have time to breathe before you're dead." She shut the door and turned to the princess, pulling her from the bed. "Get in something! Anything will do! A robe or something; say you just got out of the shower."
"He won't believe that!" Serene cried. "I'm not wet!"
"That can be fixed," Kitenis said. "Mercury!"
"Sorry, Serene," Dalit said and cried out, "Mercury Stream Flood!"
She pointed her finger in the air and twirled around twice. A veritable flow of water fell from her finger onto the incredulous princess. She stood gaping while Caden threw her a robe.
Taila, Tiaret, and Stella ran to the door to look. Stella turned white and looked back to the others in the room. "Hurry! He's coming down the corridor!"
"Stall him!" Jalae cried frantically. "We still have to fix the bed and get rid of the rest of Ares' clothes!"
Taila, Tiaret, and Stella gulped and almost bolted down the corridor. "Hello, Your Majesty? What are you doing down here?" Stella said, forcing herself to look calm like usual.
King Dari gave them a surprised look. "I'm here to talk to Serene."
"Well, now might not be the best time…" Taila said with a glance back at the door.
"Why not?"
The two looked at Tiaret, who almost gulped. She'd never been good at lying. "Well…she…I…"
Taila grabbed her arm and looked pointedly toward the door out of the corner of her eye. Tiaret did the same and saw the other Senshi sneaking from the door and giving her a 'thumbs up' sign.
"Well what?" asked the King irritably.
"She's indisposed at the moment," finished Tiaret lamely.
King Dari huffed and moved past them. As soon he had his back to them, the three Senshi began to pray silently to their planets. They rejoined the others around the other corner of the corridor to wait for an explosion that signified Ares had breathed and was now dead.
Serene jumped when her father entered. "Daddy, I just got out of the shower!"
"I can see that," King Dari said with a smile and sat in one of the chairs. "I needed to talk to you about something."
"What?"
He stood up and walked around the room. He was never good at sitting still. He finally leaned up against the closet doors and Serene pulled in her breath. Ares didn't even dare to breathe.
"I'm sorry honey, but Ares must go back to Mars at the end of the day."
Serene attempted to look surprised and utterly dismayed. Ares had told her that that morning and that was how they had ended up in bed together. Kind of an intimate goodbye.
She was sure her acting wouldn't work, but apparently he was sufficiently convinced by her expression that she hadn't known. "I'm sorry, but his parents need him at the moment. A few final touches to deal with when he comes to live as King of the Moon."
"I see," she said nervously.
He walked over and kissed his daughter on the forehead that held the Moon symbol. When he was out of the room, Serene ran to the closet. She slammed the doors shut a second afterward when her father poked his head around the doorframe.
"Yes, Daddy?"
"I was just wondering if something is going on. Care to tell me what it is?"
"What do you mean?" Her nervousness turned into full-blown anxiety.
"Well the Senshi stopped me on my way here and seemed nervous and when I talked with you, you seem more nervous than them. And then when I came back you slammed the doors of your closet shut. As if there was something in there you didn't want me to see."
Serene gulped silently. "Why no. You know the things in my closet are all dresses. Why would you think I would hide anything from you? I always tell you everything. You must just be paranoid."
The King chuckled. "I suppose you're right." He left the doorway and Serene listened as his footsteps retreated. She inched to the doorway and peered around it, watching as her father turned the corner. When he was gone, she ran back to the closet and let out the Prince of Mars who immediately collapsed on the floor.
"I don't think my nerves will ever be the same," he muttered as the Senshi ran in and closed the door.
All were breathing heavy in relief. "You think YOUR nerves can't take this?" asked Tiaret. "MINE can't take this!"
"What did you think you were DOING, Serene?" Stella cried. "You could have gotten ALL of us killed!"
"Well, earlier Ares came to tell me he was leaving for a few months and what you saw was a goodbye."
Taila glared at Ares who had the grace to look ashamed. "I didn't mean it to end like that, but, well…" He trailed off and shrugged, looking sheepish.
The Senshi just shook their heads. There was a knock on the door and they stiffened. Taila gripped Serene's arm and urged her to be calm when she said something.
The princess cleared her throat and asked, her voice wavering slightly, "Who is it?"
"Luna and Artemis, Your Highness."
"Um…what do you need?"
"We were wondering where the Senshi were. We need to talk to them and we can't find them. We were hoping you could tell us where they are."
Luna and Artemis heard a flurry of motion from inside the room and they exchanged glances. A moment of silence and the doors were thrown open. The Senshi stood behind the princess.
"Soldiers," Luna began, "we have news for you."
The Senshi glanced at each other. Taking a deep breath, they walked from the room, each with a backward glance at either the princess or, oddly enough, the closet.
Luna and Artemis led the warriors to a war room. All along the walls and tables were maps of the universe, planets, and the cities of them. Luna closed the door.
"We have some…unfortunate news. Each of your parents wishes to see you, but we have learned more about the war that Taila said would come in a half-a-year. There will be more attempts, from what we can tell. However, your families want to see you for the next year since they haven't seen or heard from you in the past seven or more. They have threatened to pull their alliances with the Moon because they believe that the Royal Moon Family has been keeping you here, not that you simply do not have the time or the inclination to visit."
"What?" gasped Dalit. "That's…that's…impossible! To fight the upcoming war, we'll need those alliances!"
"The point exactly and the only way to keep them is for you to visit your homes. The King and Queen thought it would be best if we told you."
Caden groaned silently. More than the others, she did not want to go back to Neptune. She hadn't received any more calls from them, but she could just imagine her parents egging the others' families to call them home. A year! This was going to be hell on her nerves. A year of being away from the Moon, her true home inside her heart. A year away from her friends. A year away from the princess. A year away from Stella.
Stella obviously felt the same way for when their eyes met, hers filled with sorrow. Caden closed her silver eyes and looked away. She couldn't bear to say goodbye to her and it hurt to see Stella in pain.
"I guess we have no choice," she heard Tacy say vacantly.
She felt someone hold her hand and she knew it was Stella. She opened her eyes and they filled with tears. Quietly, they left the room for one last goodbye for a year.
"I'll miss you," Stella whispered.
"So will I. I will think of you for all the seconds we are apart."
"Caden," she began, "do you think you could stop loving me? Do you think that if you went back to Neptune that you would fall in love with someone else?"
Caden looked at her in shock. "How could you suggest such a thing? My heart will always be yours!"
Stella smiled. "I just wanted to be sure." They kissed passionately and sadly re-entered the war room.
"Are we ready?" asked Artemis.
The Senshi said their last goodbyes for the year and, with a pull of a lever from Luna, they disappeared.