Venus stared out from her window, her chin gently resting on her palm
as her eyes sparkled against the bright light illuminating from the nearby
planet, Earth. The corners of her mouth lightly formed to a smile and
she looked out dreamily.
She could still feel the general's hand gently holding her waist as he
whisked her onto the dance floor. She didn't think that he'd be the one
to ask her to dance since he looked so stiff and so formal to everything
around him. She was even contemplating on whether she was seeing an actual
human or a statue, because nobody else would think him any less than a
sculpture of a god, archaic smile and all, with his motionless gaze.
But then, Venus felt like screaming within her, when
the moving Greek god sculpture began to ask her for a dance. It wasn't
as if she was obliged to accept, of course.
After thanking her for a wonderful dance and softly
giving her hand a kiss, she was able to see even just a warm smile on
his face, as his cold eyes finally became a few more degrees warmer. With
all her giggles and all, she was glad that the archaic man even knew how
to smile.
There isn't anything that would make me forget
anything about him, if only I could remember his name
She giggled to herself.
"Minako-chan!"
The voice came from none other than her guardian,
Artemis. Minako knew that her guardian was mad at her for being late at
the formal introduction ball, but she dismissed that fact for it was the
first time she ever got late in anything anyway. Artemis knew this and
it irritated her because he was in a very different mood, definitely not
an enjoyable one that is.
Irritated, she turned to face him with every intention of grabbing him
by the tail and throwing him out of her chamber. But she stopped short
to breath out an exasperated sigh remembering that he was in his damned
human form, making her plan impossible.
"Where were you before the ball?!"
Her handsome guardian showed indisputable anger in his jade eyes, though Minako was equally irritated at him for ruining her mushy moment, which definitely meant war, if not just revenge.
"You missed the formal introduction! I thought that Luna might have been disappointed in me and I would have been in deep trouble. You know how Luna is whenever she is mad! Do you think I would have liked -"
Artemis was cut short as soon as he noticed the
sneaky twinkle in Minako's eyes, the look that meant that she was up to
something.
So, that is the reason why he is so damned moody lately The corners
of Minako's mouth slowly turned into a very mischievous smile.
"What is it now, Venus?" He inquired
in a weary voice.
Minako could hardly stop herself from smiling slyly,
"What's with all the formality, lover boy?"
"Lover boy?" An eyebrow shut upward,
indicating that he was totally oblivious of what she meant. This only
amused the mischievous princess further as she continued,
"Ne, Artemis-san, Luna was particularly beautiful
tonight, hmmm?"
"Okay, Minako, I know where you're getting at
and it won't work this time."
"Guess you're just to chicken to admit that
Luna is -"
"Ahem, pardon me? Could you please repeat that
again?"
The mention of him being a 'chicken' always affected him and the cunning princess knew that perfectly well.
"Would you really want me to?" Her innocent
look almost killed him for her big eyes twinkled at the sight of the obvious
annoyance appearing on his face. But Artemis was too tired to be furious
at her teasing and, letting out a snort, he folded his arms over his chest
saying,
"That childish attitude of yours won't get to
me tonight for I know that I am but a fine gentleman, and not a chicken,
so there."
With this last word, Artemis stomped out of the room but nearly lost his footing, causing Minako to laugh even more at his childishness. Artemis just kept his back facing her so that she won't see his blushing cheeks. The mischievous princess wasn't finished yet and even made a clucking sound, obviously a chicken-like sound, just before he can even slam the door.
Silly sourpuss, she thought with a snicker,
mission accomplished
She thought, turning to the window once more to resume
to her previous daydreaming
***
The Lunar Kingdom
was known far and wide, not only for its powerful rule in spite the planetary
size, for its palace was surrounded by a beautiful garden rich with fountains
and of the dreamy sort. One could only fantasize having their first romantic
kiss in this splendid place for it seemed to be the only appropriate setting
for a romantic scene.
During those times, white roses were only found in the Moon Kingdom and the magnificent blooms never failed to amaze those who see it. Throughout the day, the morning dew on the petals makes it sparkle like twinkling stars at night.
But the roses weren't the only attraction in the Moon Kingdom. The marble fountains were a grand touch to the already dreamy impression of the garden.
The night looked tranquil and fresh as the soft breeze softly blew over the garden, only the gray patch behind the tree seemed alien to its surroundings. With a closer look, we see a rather handsome intruder gazing at the princess by the window, obviously trying to conceal himself from sight. He didn't need to do that anyway, for both his objective eyes could note that the thoughts of the woman he was viewing already seemed too far away to even notice an intruder. He wanted to be safe anyway, in case one of those castle guards catches him and takes him away, again.
By the looks of his clothes and the dull coloring of it, we could guess that he is but a soldier, though his looks suggested otherwise; anybody else would think of him as a prince.
His short platinum hair seemed to be in different shades of light champagne shade. His passionate eyes complemented the color of his hair for they are of the color of fresh snow; they seemed to belong to one who takes careful thought in everything, even of the smallest matters.
His expressive eyes were his best assets for they tell you everything about him, that is, if you look carefully and deeply into his eyes. He had a boyish face but his eyes knew everything for he had seen everything during most of his younger years.
It seemed that his eyes also mirror the turmoil in his heart for he was troubled ever since he knew about this princess. He heaved a sigh as he sank back against the enormous tree and, mumbling, put his face in his hands. What was he thinking anyway?
A beautiful princess like her doesn't deserve a simple soldier who isn't even remembered or known, he continued to whisper to himself. He is just a fugitive of everyone and everything, he can never ever reach her; all he can do is but look at her with sneak glances or only when he is hiding. With this, he thought that he should savor this rare opportunity to see her beauty once more, for there'd be no more if he keeps wasting his time like this.
No, he thought as he slowly got up, deciding to just go home but before that, his last gaze immediately fell upon the window. He left with a heavy heart seeing that the pretty face he seeks wasn't there anymore and there was, instead, darkness in the window where the glow used to linger.
***
Early the next morning, the bubbly girl amazingly got up earlier than usual,
but still not early enough to be in time for breakfast. When Minako passed
by Artemis, who was obviously ignoring her, she didn't forget to ask him
if he'd check on Luna this morning. This, of course, didn't fail to tint
his cheeks with embarrassment for he did check on Luna.
Nosy airhead, he thought but he could clearly see by her smile that she knew. Artemis just continued walking as if this didn't affect him but Minako just grinned seeing that she got to him.
The bubbly Princess Venus entered the dining room with smiles, especially upon reaching the azure-haired and soft-spoken Princess Mercury, otherwise known to everyone as Ami, engaged in cheerful conversation with the fiery, raven-haired Princess of Mars, Rei.
"I thought you weren't going to dance with him, Rei-chan." Ami laughed softly. Rei was about to answer Ami until Minako got into the room, as usual, jumping about happily.
"Good morning, Rei-chan, Ami-chan!" Minako greeted them happily.
Ami greeted her and Rei managed a small smile. Everyone was in a good
mood; even Rei who was usually a grouch in the morning. Minako looked
around for Makoto but didn't see her.
"She's at the terrace, Minako-chan, if in case you're looking for Mako-chan." Ami then smiled at her.
"Thanks, Ami-chan!" Minako then started to go but Rei said, "By the way, Minako-chan, Kunzite was looking for you a while ago -"
"When? Where? Why? How? What about? I mean, okay." Minako asked eagerly, her eyes became wide.
"He said he'd be gone for awhile but he'll be back to tell you about something," Rei continued. At that, Minako started squealing as she left the room leaving Ami grinning and Rei still looking and feeling indifferent.
But she just turned to Ami and said, "What were you saying before we were so rudely interrupted, Ami-chan? Oh, that, yes."
She tossed her long, luxurious hair over her shoulders and said, in a no-nonsense voice, "If the gentleman had known better, he should have noted that he just got lucky."
Ami just laughed.
***
Princess Jupiter seemed
to be in deep thought about something, for her eyes were staring out in
the open air. She still couldn't get over the insult of last night's infuriating
experience with that chauvinistic general, Nephrite.
Damn, she thought, insufferable chauvinistic pig.
She heaved a sigh as she tried to focus on her train of thought. She found that she could not concentrate, for every detail of the event last night came flooding right back.
Her emerald eyes blinked in frustration as the arrogant smile of that unbearable general came to mind. She had wondered why Nephrite was the only general who seemed to have the nerve to prove to everyone and himself the opposite of the perfect gentleman, of whom Kunzite had taken title, of course. True, he did ask her to dance, but it was almost the worst dance she's had; it almost seemed as if he was just forced to dance with her, just so he can show everyone that he is a proven gentleman.
Many times had he ridiculed the idea of women as rulers, remarking that, "A woman cannot possibly rule a whole planet! Such an idea is entirely and altogether preposterous!"
What was even more frustrating for Makoto was that whenever she tried to counter his scathing remarks, he would spin or dip her, making her lightheaded and unable to talk properly. His damned mockery tone and face didn't help either, for it just seemed as if she was rambling on and on, giving quite a bad impression on some guests.
She wished that he wasn't the one who asked her to dance, for she seemed to be the only one not enjoying the spectacle. She saw that Ami was enjoying herself with the handsome gentleman, Zoisite. She could note easily note Minako's obvious merriment as she was whisked away by the leading general, Kunzite. She was also surprised to see that the indifferent Rei had actually agreed to dance with the equally indifferent General Jadeite, even if it was for only a short time; she did notice a bit of a smile after that.
Although Makoto had to admit that her own escort wasn't bad looking, in fact, when she first saw him, she approved of what she saw. His eyes were of the color of coffee and twinkled as if they were a pair of dazzling stars in the night sky. His wavy mane had different shades of russet as it cascaded down to his broad shoulders. He might have been a dream escort if not for his bigoted attitude and his mouth equipped with sarcasm Maybe it would have been better if he was just a painting or a sculpture that she can just admire instead, anything just as long as his trap doesn't move around as much.
Jupiter
Makoto cocked her head in response. Had she been hearing things again? Her sharp eyes narrowed as she heard it again.
Jupiter
She had to admit, it was beginning to feel disturbing. She heard it again but this time it, whatever it was, murmured something, something she couldn't quite comprehend. She dashed out from the veranda and into the hallways of the castle while covering her ears with her hands, as if it would block the sound, though she still heard it in her mind.
In her fear, she didn't notice the surprise that awaited her at the corner
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