All standard disclaimers that I have already used so far with any of the various stories that I now have on fanfiction dot net will apply. For your information, all of the characters that you may not actually recognize well enough in this story are original characters of mine, unless otherwise stated, in fact. So please don't steal my original characters from this story or any others, for that matter.

Now without further ado, let's get on with the story once again, if that's all right with you here, readers. And I hope that if you've read the first eleven sections of this story here, you've enjoyed what you've read of it so far. More will come as time allows, of course. And I really hope to add all of the remaining chapters for this story at least, by the end of April, at the latest. That's so that all of you people on who've followed the story well enough, and often enough, will be able to eventually read the whole story here, of course. Please read, review, and enjoy, if at all possible, quite naturally enough, for all the obvious reasons, readers!

The Beginning of It All

A The Chrysanthemum Chronicles Series Story

Main Dining Hall In The Crystal Palace

Moon City, Moon Kingdom, Moon

July 26, 986

Just before each of them were about to leave the main dining hall to do the other things that they'd planned to do for the rest of the day, Princesses Bethany, Destiny, Lita, Mina, and Amy joined them in it. Of course, Bethany was guiding Destiny through it as they went to where she had just seen her parents and Serena in it almost immediately after entering the main dining hall with Destiny. Near Bethany and Destiny, Lita, Mina, and Amy were helping the twins navigate in the dining hall. They were doing this by clearing a path through it to their parents and Serena, whenever the need arose for them to do so.

And then, just as Serenity was about to leave the table with Daniel and Serena, all five of those Princesses joined them there. So that naturally delayed the planned departures of Serena, Daniel, and Serenity from the main dining hall. Serena and her mother then spent the next ten to twenty minutes, at the very least, making up some food for all five of those girls to eat for their respective breakfasts. They did this while Daniel stuck around the other girls at least a little bit, and while he discussed various things of differing levels of interest to any or all of them, for the obvious reasons. But eventually, Serenity did release Daniel from the area, once she and Serena had brought enough food to the required table in the dining hall for all five of the other girls. She did that so he could then go do whatever he'd hoped to do, just before the girls had showed up in the main dining hall, not long before.

When he was gone from the main dining hall, Serena then asked Mina, "How are you feeling, Mina?"

"I'm quite tired, still. But because I'm quite hungry and thirsty at the current time, I'm here now. When did we all actually come back here?"

"Not long after Mom and I beat the rest of the robots that were causing trouble for us in our most recent training session on the other side of the Moon, Mina."

"And what happened to all the rest of us before you did so?"

Serena then told her, as soon as Serenity nodded that she could do so. Mina then said, "Junior Sailor Mars isn't here with us now, I see. Did she make it back here easily enough?"

"Yes, Mina. But she's still lying unconscious in Dr. Matthew's chambers, I believe. For she slipped into unconsciousness during our most recent training session. Don't you remember that, Mina?"

Mina said, eventually, "Yes, I do, come to think of it. I suppose I eventually became unconscious too, Serena, as Junior Sailor Venus. I don't remember much after Sentinel Serenity came to help us out in that training session of ours there, though, Serena."

"You became unconscious at least a while after Mars and Mercury did, and at least a while before Jupiter, Corona, and Eclipse did."

"Oh, and how did you get us all back here to Moon City?"

"Royal Sailor Serenity and I brought us all back by using our Sailor Teleport capabilities. It wasn't easy, in fact. For besides us, the cats were the only ones of us who were still sufficiently conscious at that time. We had to use two long rods to form a rectangle large enough to teleport us all from there to here safely enough. We had to hold our arms out as much as we could, and hold the rods between us in such a manner as they and our arms would form a rectangle large enough to allow us to teleport everyone back here to Moon City."

"I don't remember actually teleporting here to Moon City."

"Amy and Lita don't actually remember doing so either, Mina. But we somehow were still able to do so easily enough. And that's why we're all here now, instead of being stuck there on the other side of the Moon when we didn't want to be, and when we didn't need to be."

The Princesses often talked at great length with each other and with Queen Serenity. Even Destiny and Bethany, who were made parts of the entire conversation now being carried on by everyone else who was still in the main dining hall. This happened for them when they were either spoken to, or signed to, as the case might be for either of both of them, for the obvious reasons. Bethany was especially glad to learn about what Serena and Sentinel/Royal Sailor Serenity had done after she'd summoned Queen Serenity with the emergency beacons that she'd shot off. And what they'd done after she herself had eventually slipped into unconsciousness during their recent training session in the Rainbow Springs Palace's South Courtyard on the other side of the Moon. This, of course, was for all the obvious reasons.

Eventually, all the other Princesses finished their respective breakfasts. Then, after at least a bit more time had passed in the Crystal Palace's main dining hall here, they began leaving it. That time was time which was mainly spent in a very spirited conversation about various topics that were brought up in their discussion with each other, in fact. Mainly, everyone still in the Crystal Palace's main dining hall soon left it behind, one or two at a time. That was so that they could do whatever else happened to strike their fancy, by the way. At least for a while, if not for the rest of the day. That was if they really wanted to do so, quite obviously enough, in fact.

Serenity was the first one of them to leave the main dining hall. And she did that in order to attend to other things she'd either planned on doing that day, or to attend to other things she'd not yet planned to do that day, whatever the case might be for her at such a time. Then Mina and Lita soon left it, followed shortly by Amy. That then left Serena alone with her sisters for the first time in at least a little while.

Serena then led them both out of the main dining hall. And she brought them back to their respective chambers. That was so they could get some swimwear for themselves to wear. For one of the things that she'd told her mother earlier, before the other Princesses had joined her and her parents in the main dining hall some time previously, that she wanted to do, if she possibly could do so, was to swim for a while with Destiny and Bethany. Serenity and Daniel had been quite skeptical, naturally enough, that all three of them would be able to swim easily enough together with each other. But Serena had told them that she fully intended to make sure that at least one other person was with her and her sisters if and when they swam in a pool elsewhere on the Crystal Palace's grounds. So Serenity and Daniel finally agreed with each other, after at least a little private conversation with each other about such a matter, for the obvious reasons, to let Serena and her sisters go swimming for a while. Provided, of course, that Serena could find at least one person who was willing to watch them all as they swam in that pool.

"Bethany, we're going to have to find someone to watch us swim, if we want to swim for a while," signed Serena, as she spoke those very words out loud for Destiny's benefit as well, for the obvious reasons. This she did as she had Destiny eventually change into some swimwear while Bethany wasn't currently connected to Destiny by the usual cord between their wrists. Bethany had untied the cord at her wrist that connected her to Destiny, once she and Serena had made sure Destiny was safely enough back inside her own chambers.

"Destiny can't see, Serena, as you know by now," signed Bethany, after which Serena said out loud what Bethany had just signed to her.

"So what, Bethany? That's why we'll have to be her eyes. And she and I can be your ears, if we have to be," signed Serena, as she also spoke those words out loud for Destiny's benefit, of course.

"I don't know, Serena." This Bethany said, as Destiny made her way to one of her clothes dressers all by herself. Destiny did that by relying mainly on her memory of where things normally were in her Crystal Palace chambers, for the obvious reasons. What also helped Destiny move around easily enough in them was the different textures of the various floor coverings in them, of course. Near her bed, the usual texture of the carpet was significantly different from the usual textures of the carpet in other areas of her bedroom. Near her primary table, some distance away from her bed in it, the carpet was often much thicker than it was near her bed. While as she'd near her bathroom area, the usual texture of the carpet would become finer than elsewhere in the room, until she reached the doorway between her bathroom area and her bedroom area. On the other side of that doorway, the floor covering would generally change to tiles of varying heights, thicknesses, sizes, or shapes, of course. And a wall about knee-height, at the very minimum, that ran almost all the way around the bath would generally keep her from accidentally falling into it, for the obvious reasons. There was only one entrance point into the bath. And that was normally the only way she could get into it easily enough, without hurting herself at all.

"Trust me, Bethany. I know what I'm doing here."

Destiny then said, through Serena, "Bethany, please do as she says. At least she's not acting like a 'Meatball Head' right now, as Raye and the rest of us have all likely called her at least once before in each of our lives with her."

"Why, thank you, Destiny. That's nice of you to say of me, at least at the current time."

"No problem, Serena. I know I can't see like the both of you can, at least not as of the current moment. But I'm trusting that you know what you're doing, at least as it relates to us all right now."

"Thank you, Destiny."

"I still don't know, Destiny and Serena. It seems quite risky for us to do this right now, for the obvious reasons."

"That's why we're going to have to find someone else to watch us swim in the pool I'm thinking we should swim in here on the Crystal Palace's grounds."

"Darien?"

"If possible, yes, Bethany. But how did you know that?"

"You normally want to be with him as often as you can, Serena. We're not dumb, Serena. You often call him your 'honey,' Serena. And if that isn't enough, I often see it in your eyes whenever one of us other Princesses mentions him in any way. Especially when Raye does it."

"Oh, yeah? Try me, then!" signed Serena, in very short order here.

"Darien." Serena couldn't help but smiling at least a little bit, when Bethany signed Darien's name. Bethany did it again. And Serena then couldn't help but blush at her sister's next mention of Darien's name. Bethany then signed, "Earth." Serena did the same thing that she'd just done when Bethany had mentioned Darien's name the second time, during the current challenge that Serena had just made to Bethany.

Then Bethany began to laugh and dance a little bit as she saw Serena blush again, of course. Naturally, Destiny wasn't able to see Bethany do so now. But she was still able to feel the vibrations through the floor that resulted from Bethany's beginning to dance in her chambers near Serena, who was now near Destiny's bed in them. And Bethany's laugh was most frequently of the silent kind. Just as it was at this certain time. So Destiny wasn't actually able to tell that Bethany had just laughed when she'd seen Serena blush again after mentioning Earth, currently.

As soon as Destiny had chosen a suitable swimsuit from the necessary dresser in her bedroom area, she'd then made her way back to where she now knew Bethany and Serena were in it. Then Serena had handed her a towel from the top of the table nearest her bed. And then Destiny had gone into her bathroom area for a few minutes.

When she'd come out of it, Destiny had changed her clothes from a white blouse and a black skirt to a mostly light green and black one-piece swimsuit with no sleeves and a half-back design. Meaning that the back of the dress currently revealed about half her back between her shoulders and waist, of course. Then she had Serena help her with her hair, which was still at least a little bit unruly after she'd just changed into that swimsuit. Serena soon had most of Destiny's waist-length brown hair in two braids. And then she tucked the remainder of it under a waterproof headband that she took off the table nearest Destiny's own bed.

Then, after Destiny's appearance finally met sufficiently with her approval, she had Bethany come back to Destiny's side. And Serena soon tied the cord between her sisters' wrists. That done, she then led them all out of Destiny's chambers just as soon as she could do so easily enough. While she then did so, she also grabbed up at least one pair of Destiny's special sunglasses that Destiny would quite often wear during an average day anywhere on the Moon. If not more than one of them, for the obvious reasons.

Then she brought them all to Bethany's chambers, so that Bethany could also change into some swimwear, if she really wanted to do so here. And when they all got there, Serena then untied the cord linking Bethany to Destiny.

Bethany soon came out of her bathroom after donning a medium blue one-piece swimsuit with a low-back cut. This low-back cut to her suit was low enough to reveal most, if not all, of Bethany's own birthmark in the small of her back. But it wasn't cut low enough to be cut below Bethany's waist level in the back. She didn't take more than about ten minutes, at most, to change into that swimsuit. Mainly, if not entirely, because of the fact that she didn't have to worry about a lot of hair getting in her way. That was the case simply because she had short black hair that was about chin-length on her at the current time.

Then, after she did so, Serena soon tied the cord back on Destiny and Bethany's wrists, of course. That was once she'd made sure that Bethany's swimsuit was good enough for her to wear during their planned swimming time in a pool elsewhere on the Crystal Palace's grounds, for the obvious reasons. That was supposing that the three of them did actually get to swim in it later that very day, under enough people's watchful eyes, of course.

Then Serena then brought them both back to her own chambers. She did that so she then could also change into a swimsuit, for the obvious reasons. When she did so, she had them both sit on her bed after a while. Then she left them alone in her own bedroom area, in fact. She did that at least long enough for her to enter her own bathroom area and change into a mostly pink and white swimsuit that was also a one-piece, of course. It was cut much the same way as Destiny's, but not entirely. And it had some red roses appliqued on the front of it near Serena's hips and shoulders. It was quite good-looking on Serena, in fact.

Then, once Serena was sufficiently satisfied with her current appearance in her chosen swimsuit, she left her bathroom area to rejoin her twin sisters elsewhere in her own Crystal Palace chambers. That didn't take her very long to do, in fact, once she then did so. And then she soon came back to where they were both sitting in it.

She did this as Bethany and Destiny were still in the middle of a very spirited conversation with each other. Bethany and Destiny were now communicating with each other by touching each other's hands and faces as the need arose for either or both of them to do so. In this way, they'd often been able to communicate with each other whenever they were alone with each other, and nobody else was around to help them communicate with each other at such times. This had normally been the case for them both, in fact. Ever since they'd been old enough to do so with each other, if not other people as well, in their own mortal lives, that was often the case for them both. That was, of course, if they weren't both in their respective Sailor Scout states of being as the Junior Sailor Scouts named Junior Sailor Corona and Junior Sailor Eclipse.

Serena saw them communicating with each other in such a manner. And then she sat down next to them. Then she asked them both in the appropriate manners for each of them, "What are you girls talking about at the current moment?"

Destiny said, "Serena, I think you're in love with Darien."

"Are you serious, Destiny? He's at least ten or so years older than I am, if I'm not too mistaken here." Serena blushed again. And when she did so, she was glad to know that Destiny wasn't able to see her do so now, of course.

"So? You often say to us that you hope to marry him someday in the future. Have you changed your mind about hoping to do so?" asked Destiny.

"No. I'll still hopefully marry him. I just don't know when it'll ever happen, if it ever does, somehow."

"You don't want anyone else to get him, Serena."

"Right, Bethany. Not even Raye. Though I really don't mind so much a challenge in terms of chasing him from her, of course. She can often keep things quite interesting, can't she, Bethany?"

"Yes, I'd have to generally agree with you here, Serena, about such things. Are you in the mood to do a lot more talking about him at the moment?"

"No, Bethany. I want to swim as soon as possible, if I can. Let's get out of here so that we can try to have some fun before it's too dark to go swimming, if at all possible."

"Very well. But this matter's not over, for the obvious reasons. We'll discuss it again at greater length, I'm sure."

"Granted, Bethany. But right now, I'm not much in the mood to talk about my 'honey' much, and my current feelings about him."

Then, before she could be asked yet another question about him by her sisters, she led them both out of her chambers. As she left them with her sisters, she then made sure that nobody else would enter them in her absence, if she didn't want them to do so.

With that now done, she then went in search of Darien, of course. She soon found him in a different garden than the one in which she'd originally met Raye, Amy, Lita, and Mina more than nine years before. And in a different garden than the one where Destiny and Bethany had each recently received crystals of their own from their mother in the presences of both Prince Daniel and Prince Darien. He was now in the Crystal Palace garden that was most often called the Crossed Swords Garden by most people who normally were in residence in the Crystal Palace during the average Terran-Lunar calendar year.

Serena was the first of the three Moon-born Princesses to find him. She was followed almost immediately by her twin sisters in doing so, in fact. When she did, she soon ran to his side, almost as soon as he set aside the gardening tools that he'd been holding in his hands. He'd been working on at least a few rosebushes in the garden for Queen Serenity, after Queen Serenity had asked him to check out several of the rosebushes for her in the Crystal Palace's Crossed Swords Garden in Moon City.

He set all those tools he'd just been holding aside in a small cart near him. And then he turned the other way to look at the rosebushes that he'd just worked on, just to make sure that he didn't need to do anything else with each of them. With that done, he turned back toward the aforementioned cart, intending to take it back to a nearby storage shed. That was so he could then return the tools he'd used on the rosebushes he'd just worked on for Queen Serenity to there, of course. But by the time that he did so, Serena had come to his side. And she'd quietly grabbed him around the waist.

"Guess who, Darien?"

"Serena, no doubt. I'd recognize your hands anywhere, Serena," said Darien, just as soon as he'd looked at the hands and arms that were now encircling his waist.

"Darien, can't a girl have a little fun with you?"

"I suppose. But I'd still recognize your hands anywhere."

"I guess so."

"You want me for something, no doubt. What is it this time, Serena?"

"I want to go swimming in one of the pools here on the Crystal Palace's grounds with Destiny and Bethany. But Mom and Dad think that if we go swimming, we should have at least one person watching us all do so. And I'd like that to be you, if at all possible."

"I had other plans for the rest of the day, Serena. I was invited to a concert elsewhere in the Crystal Palace. And it's evidently supposed to begin about an hour or two before local dusk here in Moon City."

"Who invited you?"

"Princess Marina of Achilles City. It seems her brother is singing at the concert this afternoon, evening, and night at least once. If not more frequently than that."

"And how old is she, Darien?"

"About as old as I am, in Terran years, Serena."

"Will this be a date?"

"No, Serena. Why do you ask?"

"Because I don't ever want to lose you to another girl, if I don't absolutely have to."

"Because I'm your honey, I suppose, Serena."

"Well, yeah. I'm going to marry you in the future, if at all possible, and if it's truly God's will that I do so."

"She won't like it if I'm late for the concert."

"So what? I don't like her much. She often throws things at me whenever she sees me. She thinks I try to snag all of the cutest guys at all the balls that we both attend anywhere here on the Moon. That's not entirely true. Even though I do admit that I do try to snag at least a few of them at such balls."

"And you think she doesn't like you hanging around me so much?"

"I'm almost entirely certain of it. But I'm not likely ever going to give you up for any other guy I know, if I can possibly avoid it in the future, whenever that happens. Sure, we may have our disagreements, Darien. But I still really do like you a whole lot. Even whenever you call me 'Meatball Head', honey."

Darien thought about that for at least a few seconds, then he said, "All right. Here's what I'm going to do, Serena. That is, after I put all the things in my cart away, of course. I'll go watch you all swim for a while. But when I say I have to go attend to other matters, I don't want any arguments from you girls about having to stop swimming with each other. Or I may not actually agree to do this again for quite some time."

After Serena finally realized that was most likely the best offer that she and her sisters would get from Darien at the current time, she then said, "Very well. I agree. We'll do as you say, Darien. And we won't argue with you when you say you have other things to do later on." Then Darien smiled at her, and he gave her a rose that he'd cut from one of the rosebushes he'd worked on for Serenity. Then he put the rest of the roses that he'd recently cut from that rosebush in a vase elsewhere in his cart, for the obvious reasons.

That done, he soon left the Crossed Swords Garden, after he put away all the necessary tools in the appropriate storage shed there. Of course, he took the vase out of that cart as well. Then he stopped off briefly at Serenity's chambers. Where he soon met Queen Serenity again at her door. When he did so, he handed her the rest of the roses that were still in that vase.

That done, he soon brought Serena, Destiny, and Bethany to a reasonably-sized bench just outside his own Crystal Palace chambers. And he then had them all sit there, while he changed his clothes. He had them do that here so he could then watch them swim in the necessary pool elsewhere on the Crystal Palace's grounds, of course. He soon exited his chambers again, after changing his clothes from a pair of sunglasses, a pair of work overalls, a white long-sleeved shirt, a pair of heavy boots, and a wide-brimmed hat. He changed his clothes here so that he was then wearing a pair of solid black swimming trunks, a short-sleeved plain white T-shirt, and a pair of sandals.

Then he had them go with him to that pool elsewhere on the Crystal Palace's grounds. With that now done, Serena soon untied the cord that connected her twin sisters to each other. After doing that, she soon led Destiny and Bethany into the pool in the necessary ways, one at a time. Then she began swimming with them both, of course. She was especially careful to make sure that Destiny wouldn't go anywhere she shouldn't go in the pool, for the obvious reasons, by having a wall come up from the bottom of the pool to block off part of it from the rest of it. On one side of that wall, the water in the pool was too deep for Destiny to be able to get back to the surface from the bottom of the pool before her air would run out. On the other side of it, it wasn't too deep for Destiny to swim in it easily enough, of course. She had Destiny hold her breath at least as long as it took for Serena to let her know where the bottom of the pool was, and where that wall was. She did that here so Destiny wouldn't have to worry about any water getting into her that didn't need to be there. Then she brought Destiny back up to the surface of the water in the pool, of course. And she did that here so Destiny could breathe some air again before she'd begin turning blue, due to lack of fresh enough air for her to breathe easily enough here.

With that then done, Destiny soon took a breath of fresh air again, for all the obvious reasons. Then Serena showed Bethany where not to go in the pool, as well. Just in case she didn't already know where not to go in it. Then she soon brought Bethany back up to the surface again, of course.

Then she and her sisters then swam as long as they could in that pool, until Darien felt that they'd done so long enough. Of course, Serena would've still really liked to do some more swimming in it. But as she'd earlier agreed that she and her sisters wouldn't argue with him when he actually said it was time for them to stop swimming, the girls didn't argue with him about their swimming time. And so they all left that pool moments later. He then brought them all back to Serena's chambers, once Serena had put the cord back on her sisters' wrists. He then did this so that he could soon attend to certain other plans that he actually had for later on. And he did it here so that he'd not have to worry so much about them tagging along with him when he attended to those plans of his elsewhere on the Crystal Palace's grounds.

Then, once Darien had left them alone again there, Serena soon had her sisters sit down on a couch elsewhere in her chambers. She had them both do that here as she eventually changed her clothes from her swimsuit to a long dress. She took a quick bath after entering her bathroom. And then she changed into that long dress after it, for the obvious reasons.

Then she returned to her bedroom area again. And she soon had her sisters follow her out of her own chambers again. She had them do that here so they'd also be able to eventually change their clothes as well, of course. She soon brought them both to Destiny's chambers first. And then she untied the required cord again, so that Destiny could take a bath in complete privacy, if she really wanted to. Which, as a matter of fact, she now did really want to do, if at all possible, at the current time. Soon enough, then, Destiny was also wearing a long dress much like Serena's own long dress, but not entirely like it.

Then, after Destiny was suitably prepared for what was left of the day, she soon came back to where her sisters were waiting for her on a couch in the bedroom area of her own chambers. With that now done here, she then had Serena put the required cord back on, for the obvious reasons, of course.

Then the three of them soon went to Bethany's chambers, so that Bethany could eventually change out of her swimsuit into another long dress much like those of both her sisters. Naturally, off went the cord for a while, of course, once they got there easily enough. Several minutes later, Bethany soon rejoined her older sisters again, after having first put on a mostly peach-colored long dress. And then the cord soon went back on again. After which, Serena then went back to Dr. Matthew's chambers with both of them. For she'd begun to hear bells ringing from that area of the Crystal Palace.

I suppose that I'd better stop here now. For this will be where the next part of the story will take up from, in fact, readers. I hope that you have so far enjoyed the story, if you've gotten this far, and that you'll continue to read it, once I put more of it up here on fanfiction dot net. I don't know how long it'll take me to get each story in this series up fully on fanfiction dot net. But it might take a while for each story in this series, just the same, readers. Until later, then, this is "The Universal Storyteller" signing off here. Happy reading, and God bless, and all that, of course, readers! Over and out!