Sorry for taking so long, guys. Schoolwork was getting in the way. And my
muse had just decided to come back.
Chapter 3: Confrontations
Hiding a yawn, Serena served the Prince his food. 'Why does it take them so long to eat?' she wondered irritably, gaining some of her defiance that she lost when she was with Beryl. Stifling another yawn, Serena thought, 'Only if Minako didn't wake me up so early... I really need my sleep these days.' Closing her eyes, Serena's mind went back to that morning, when she woke to the sound of tapping on her door.
*Flashback*
"Serena!" a voice whispered, not soft enough so the door would muffle the sound, but not loud enough for the others to hear.
"Come in, Minako!" Serena called back. The door opened to reveal Minako, Makoto, Rei, and Ami, all dressed and ready to go.
"Why are you guys so early?" Serena asked, looking at her friends. "We don't have to serve those egotistical pigs until eight." Last night, Prince Endymion and his generals made it clear what they expect of Serena and her friends. They were serve breakfast at eight, their duties during the day would be told when the Prince and his generals were having breakfast.
"Training," Minako replied promptly.
Serena stared, "Training? How are you planning to do that? You aren't allowed weapons, and magic can be easily detected."
"We used the Elemental Swords. As for magic, well, we would be pretty pathetic if we can't erase the traces of our magic," Rei informed her.
"Then why are you waking me up so early?" Serena asked irritably. She really is more of a night person than a morning person.
Makoto raised an eyebrow at the girl's words, "We thought you might want to join us."
"I appreciate your thoughts, I really do. But can you wake me up later? You know how I like to sleep," Serena ended with a whine.
"Serena, if you want—" Ami began.
"Ami, let her go," Rei said, for once defending Serena. "She has enough to deal with as it is."
*End Flashback*
A sharp pain at her ribs brought her back to reality. Endymion had elbowed her.
"What are you daydreaming about, slave?" he spat the last word.
Rei's eyes flashed, "Get your hands off her!"
"Or what?" Jadeite smirked. He had found his temperamental slave extremely amusing.
"Or you will die a very painful death," Makoto threatened.
Nephrite laughed outright at that one, "You are very amusing, my dear Makoto. There is no way you can kill us, you have no weapons or magic."
"Do you—" Makoto began.
"That's enough, Makoto!" Minako snapped.
"You know you can't do such things," Ami added. Concern was in her blue eyes, but her voice had a steel edge to it.
Giving Minako and Ami one last glance, Makoto looked away. 'Interesting,' Zoisite thought, 'it's almost as if Makoto has to obey this two.'
Malachite cleared his throat, "You do not have any duties today, since His Highness and ourselves will be going to see the village of Taborn in the afternoon and will be spending the morning preparing. However, I suggest that familiarize yourselves with the palace. We will be testing you on the different corridors when we come back, just to see you did not idle away your day."
Jadeite looked at Rei. Was it just him or was there a smirk on her lips? "You are dismissed."
After the girls left, Zoisite turned to his fellow generals, "There's something strange about them and I what to know what."
Nephrite nodded, "Let's follow them."
***
"Come on!" Minako dragged the protesting Serena down a corridor.
"I thought we were supposed to familiarize ourselves with the palace," Serena looked confused.
Makoto laughed, "We've already done that."
"When?"
"This morning," Ami replied. "After all, knowing the secret passageways are extremely helpful."
Serena looked suspiciously at the blonde dragging her, "Then what are we going to do?"
"You still have to know them thought," Rei pointed out. "If you had gone with us this morning—"
"Rei! That was dawn!" Serena wailed.
"Hush. We don't want anyone to hear us. We are going to the gardens, Serena," Makoto said.
"Gardens?" Serena perked up.
"Yes. After all, we do have nothing to do today," Ami answered.
"Ah," Minako breathed. "Here we are, Your Highness."
Serena looked at the view before her. "It's beautiful," she murmured. Before her are flowers of every color and variety imaginable. Fountains here and there added a touch of magic to the place.
"It's really prettier during the dark," Makoto winked.
Serena groaned, "I need my sleep, Makoto." Not waiting for an answer, she raced down the stairs and ran straight to the rose garden.
The other girls laughed and joined her on the grassy patch in the middle of the gardens. "This brings back so many memories," Rei remarked.
"Too true," Makoto replied. "I can almost feel myself on the Moon, beside the Sea of Serenity."
Walking over the rose bushes, Minako plucked a blossom, "Here, for the forgotten princess," Minako bowed.
Serena laughed, a sound like the chiming of the bells, "Thank you, my lady." Carefully, Serena tucked the red flower behind her ear, but not before she got rid of the thorns.
Following her example, each of the girls went around the garden and picked their favorite flower to tuck behind their ears. Minako chose an orange marigold. Ami picked a blue lily. Makoto took a pink carnation. Rei decided on a red camellia.
***
"If I have one more person telling me that I should be honored with my marriage to Beryl, I stick my head in a rain barrel and drown myself," Endymion muttered wrathful.
His generals looked at him sympathetically, for during their journey through the halls, at least ten council members had stopped Endymion, telling him how wonderful it is to have Queen Beryl as the Terran Queen. "Surely she cannot be that bad," Nephrite remarked.
Endymion glared, "Not bad? As I recall, you were the one who said she gives everyone creeps."
"Why are we even going down this hallway?" Zoisite asked suddenly. "This only leads to the gardens."
Jadeite squinted, "They are still ahead of us, way ahead, so we are not lost."
Malachite shook his head, "I knew they would idle away their day."
"But surely they know they will be punished if they did not learn the layout of the castle," Jadeite protested.
"Yes, Malachite, I was surprised at that. No one learned the layout of the whole castle one their first day, or rather, second day here," Endymion said.
"There they are!" Nephrite pointed as they emerged from the castle.
Endymion gasped, for before him are five goddesses, laughing together. With a start, he realized that these goddesses are actually Serena, Minako, Ami, Makoto, and Rei. He swallowed hard, eyes glued to Serena. The former princess looks like a vision even in the dirty slave's garb. Endymion quickly glanced at his generals, the surprise was evident on their faces, even Malachite, who hardly ever showed any emotion, looked startled.
Unaware of his prince's observations, Malachite was staring unashamedly at Minako. The marigold in her hair seemed to sparkle like a jewel. 'She is beautiful,' he thought before he can stop himself. Then he scowled, 'Lunarian magic, they probably know we are watching them. Well, here is one Terran they will not ensnare!'
Zoisite felt drawn to Ami. When he first laid his eyes on her, he thought it was Nominalu, the goddess of wisdom, before his eyes. The serene figure, unlike her friends, was sitting near the lake, gazing into the blue depth, a striking paradox to her laughing friends. The scene seemed rather surreal, a painting, rather than a moment in time.
'Taurea,' Nephrite thought, 'no one but the goddess of forests can have such beauty.' Makoto was currently trying to tackle Serena, who 'accidentally' slipped a worm down the girl's back. Nephrite smiled briefly at the irritated beauty, 'She looked absolutely adorable.'
"Serena!" Rei cried, jumping up suddenly and slapping at her back. "What's with you and the worms?" she screeched.
Serena smiled innocently, "They are so adorable. Besides, I thought you and Makoto needs some company—"
"Not that kind of company!" Makoto screamed.
Serena only smiled, then turned to flee as Rei and Makoto both started chasing her.
Jadeite looked lost as he gazed at the glowering Rei, not noticing the tiny droplet of drool that was starting to form at the corner of his lips. He grinned when the girl stumbled, showing him a good portion of her long and smooth ivory legs.
"Ahem!" Malachite cleared his throat quietly, but urgently, for what seemed like the thousandth time. "What!" Jadeite hissed, not taking his eyes of Rei.
"Jadeite! You are drooling," Nephrite whispered.
"Am not!"
"Am too!"
"Am not!"
"Am—"
Malachite clamped both generals' mouths shut. "Quite, you fools. Do you want them to hear us?" he growled.
A snicker emit from Zoisite, "You looked so amusing," he gasped.
Jadeite glared indignantly, "At least I wasn't—"
"Quiet!" Endymion snapped. The four generals turned to look at the five women. Minako and Makoto were looking at the bushes that they were hiding behind suspiciously.
Nephrite swallowed hard as the two figures loomed closer, he had no intention of being found, "Does anyone else believe that an escape is in order?" he asked.
Four heads turned toward him and nodded. Quickly, but silently, the quintet left to pack their bags for the journey to Taborn.
***
Well, that's it. Do you like it? I am not exactly sure what to do next. Should I make the two groups enemies for a while, or should I make them fall in love right away?
Chapter 3: Confrontations
Hiding a yawn, Serena served the Prince his food. 'Why does it take them so long to eat?' she wondered irritably, gaining some of her defiance that she lost when she was with Beryl. Stifling another yawn, Serena thought, 'Only if Minako didn't wake me up so early... I really need my sleep these days.' Closing her eyes, Serena's mind went back to that morning, when she woke to the sound of tapping on her door.
*Flashback*
"Serena!" a voice whispered, not soft enough so the door would muffle the sound, but not loud enough for the others to hear.
"Come in, Minako!" Serena called back. The door opened to reveal Minako, Makoto, Rei, and Ami, all dressed and ready to go.
"Why are you guys so early?" Serena asked, looking at her friends. "We don't have to serve those egotistical pigs until eight." Last night, Prince Endymion and his generals made it clear what they expect of Serena and her friends. They were serve breakfast at eight, their duties during the day would be told when the Prince and his generals were having breakfast.
"Training," Minako replied promptly.
Serena stared, "Training? How are you planning to do that? You aren't allowed weapons, and magic can be easily detected."
"We used the Elemental Swords. As for magic, well, we would be pretty pathetic if we can't erase the traces of our magic," Rei informed her.
"Then why are you waking me up so early?" Serena asked irritably. She really is more of a night person than a morning person.
Makoto raised an eyebrow at the girl's words, "We thought you might want to join us."
"I appreciate your thoughts, I really do. But can you wake me up later? You know how I like to sleep," Serena ended with a whine.
"Serena, if you want—" Ami began.
"Ami, let her go," Rei said, for once defending Serena. "She has enough to deal with as it is."
*End Flashback*
A sharp pain at her ribs brought her back to reality. Endymion had elbowed her.
"What are you daydreaming about, slave?" he spat the last word.
Rei's eyes flashed, "Get your hands off her!"
"Or what?" Jadeite smirked. He had found his temperamental slave extremely amusing.
"Or you will die a very painful death," Makoto threatened.
Nephrite laughed outright at that one, "You are very amusing, my dear Makoto. There is no way you can kill us, you have no weapons or magic."
"Do you—" Makoto began.
"That's enough, Makoto!" Minako snapped.
"You know you can't do such things," Ami added. Concern was in her blue eyes, but her voice had a steel edge to it.
Giving Minako and Ami one last glance, Makoto looked away. 'Interesting,' Zoisite thought, 'it's almost as if Makoto has to obey this two.'
Malachite cleared his throat, "You do not have any duties today, since His Highness and ourselves will be going to see the village of Taborn in the afternoon and will be spending the morning preparing. However, I suggest that familiarize yourselves with the palace. We will be testing you on the different corridors when we come back, just to see you did not idle away your day."
Jadeite looked at Rei. Was it just him or was there a smirk on her lips? "You are dismissed."
After the girls left, Zoisite turned to his fellow generals, "There's something strange about them and I what to know what."
Nephrite nodded, "Let's follow them."
***
"Come on!" Minako dragged the protesting Serena down a corridor.
"I thought we were supposed to familiarize ourselves with the palace," Serena looked confused.
Makoto laughed, "We've already done that."
"When?"
"This morning," Ami replied. "After all, knowing the secret passageways are extremely helpful."
Serena looked suspiciously at the blonde dragging her, "Then what are we going to do?"
"You still have to know them thought," Rei pointed out. "If you had gone with us this morning—"
"Rei! That was dawn!" Serena wailed.
"Hush. We don't want anyone to hear us. We are going to the gardens, Serena," Makoto said.
"Gardens?" Serena perked up.
"Yes. After all, we do have nothing to do today," Ami answered.
"Ah," Minako breathed. "Here we are, Your Highness."
Serena looked at the view before her. "It's beautiful," she murmured. Before her are flowers of every color and variety imaginable. Fountains here and there added a touch of magic to the place.
"It's really prettier during the dark," Makoto winked.
Serena groaned, "I need my sleep, Makoto." Not waiting for an answer, she raced down the stairs and ran straight to the rose garden.
The other girls laughed and joined her on the grassy patch in the middle of the gardens. "This brings back so many memories," Rei remarked.
"Too true," Makoto replied. "I can almost feel myself on the Moon, beside the Sea of Serenity."
Walking over the rose bushes, Minako plucked a blossom, "Here, for the forgotten princess," Minako bowed.
Serena laughed, a sound like the chiming of the bells, "Thank you, my lady." Carefully, Serena tucked the red flower behind her ear, but not before she got rid of the thorns.
Following her example, each of the girls went around the garden and picked their favorite flower to tuck behind their ears. Minako chose an orange marigold. Ami picked a blue lily. Makoto took a pink carnation. Rei decided on a red camellia.
***
"If I have one more person telling me that I should be honored with my marriage to Beryl, I stick my head in a rain barrel and drown myself," Endymion muttered wrathful.
His generals looked at him sympathetically, for during their journey through the halls, at least ten council members had stopped Endymion, telling him how wonderful it is to have Queen Beryl as the Terran Queen. "Surely she cannot be that bad," Nephrite remarked.
Endymion glared, "Not bad? As I recall, you were the one who said she gives everyone creeps."
"Why are we even going down this hallway?" Zoisite asked suddenly. "This only leads to the gardens."
Jadeite squinted, "They are still ahead of us, way ahead, so we are not lost."
Malachite shook his head, "I knew they would idle away their day."
"But surely they know they will be punished if they did not learn the layout of the castle," Jadeite protested.
"Yes, Malachite, I was surprised at that. No one learned the layout of the whole castle one their first day, or rather, second day here," Endymion said.
"There they are!" Nephrite pointed as they emerged from the castle.
Endymion gasped, for before him are five goddesses, laughing together. With a start, he realized that these goddesses are actually Serena, Minako, Ami, Makoto, and Rei. He swallowed hard, eyes glued to Serena. The former princess looks like a vision even in the dirty slave's garb. Endymion quickly glanced at his generals, the surprise was evident on their faces, even Malachite, who hardly ever showed any emotion, looked startled.
Unaware of his prince's observations, Malachite was staring unashamedly at Minako. The marigold in her hair seemed to sparkle like a jewel. 'She is beautiful,' he thought before he can stop himself. Then he scowled, 'Lunarian magic, they probably know we are watching them. Well, here is one Terran they will not ensnare!'
Zoisite felt drawn to Ami. When he first laid his eyes on her, he thought it was Nominalu, the goddess of wisdom, before his eyes. The serene figure, unlike her friends, was sitting near the lake, gazing into the blue depth, a striking paradox to her laughing friends. The scene seemed rather surreal, a painting, rather than a moment in time.
'Taurea,' Nephrite thought, 'no one but the goddess of forests can have such beauty.' Makoto was currently trying to tackle Serena, who 'accidentally' slipped a worm down the girl's back. Nephrite smiled briefly at the irritated beauty, 'She looked absolutely adorable.'
"Serena!" Rei cried, jumping up suddenly and slapping at her back. "What's with you and the worms?" she screeched.
Serena smiled innocently, "They are so adorable. Besides, I thought you and Makoto needs some company—"
"Not that kind of company!" Makoto screamed.
Serena only smiled, then turned to flee as Rei and Makoto both started chasing her.
Jadeite looked lost as he gazed at the glowering Rei, not noticing the tiny droplet of drool that was starting to form at the corner of his lips. He grinned when the girl stumbled, showing him a good portion of her long and smooth ivory legs.
"Ahem!" Malachite cleared his throat quietly, but urgently, for what seemed like the thousandth time. "What!" Jadeite hissed, not taking his eyes of Rei.
"Jadeite! You are drooling," Nephrite whispered.
"Am not!"
"Am too!"
"Am not!"
"Am—"
Malachite clamped both generals' mouths shut. "Quite, you fools. Do you want them to hear us?" he growled.
A snicker emit from Zoisite, "You looked so amusing," he gasped.
Jadeite glared indignantly, "At least I wasn't—"
"Quiet!" Endymion snapped. The four generals turned to look at the five women. Minako and Makoto were looking at the bushes that they were hiding behind suspiciously.
Nephrite swallowed hard as the two figures loomed closer, he had no intention of being found, "Does anyone else believe that an escape is in order?" he asked.
Four heads turned toward him and nodded. Quickly, but silently, the quintet left to pack their bags for the journey to Taborn.
***
Well, that's it. Do you like it? I am not exactly sure what to do next. Should I make the two groups enemies for a while, or should I make them fall in love right away?