Title: First Knight

Pairing: Haruka and Michiru

Rating: PG-13

Haruka. Michiru. Sailor Moon. Not mine. Not mine. Not mine. For full disclaimers see Part 1

To everyone still following this story, thank you for your patience! Rest assured I will complete this eventually, but be warned there is still a long way to go yet. This is turning into an epic

And now onto one of the most enjoyable parts for me anyway, besides the writing, feedback!

Sailor Doc: Thank you so much for your kind review. I will definitely be considering writing Ami and Makoto!

Chan, KatFay, drake, Neko Thank you all for reading my story and thanks muchly for the review! I'm glad you are enjoying it!

Faded9wayz: Hope you had a comfy chair with all the waiting I unfortunately made you do ;; Enjoy the next part!

yo-yo: Thank you so much on the feedback regarding the history parts. It certainly helped me as a writer. And maybe, just maybe you might get your wish about seeing H&M meet in this part!

Tigonookami: Thank you so much for your kind words. Constructive feedback is definitely something every writer can use. All the history bits are original, and are a product of my imagination, though some of it is adapted from Sailor Moon S, particularly the whole Mistress9 and the daihmons bit. The only thing I have borrowed from Tamora Pierce is the concept of the Chamber of Ordeal, and even that is going to be a bit different in that Knights actually get crystal armour in my world, whereas in Tamora Pierce's it was more of a spiritual trial. And of course I borrowed the fact that the brother and sister switch places.

And on with the story!

Part 4

Haruka paused, her mouth dropping open in awe as she got her first glimpse of Mare Iridium, the capital city of the Silver Alliance. Mare Iridium meant the Sea of Rainbows and Haruka had to admit the name fitted perfectly. The entire city was made from softly luminescent crystal, in an endless array of colours which lit the air in rainbow swathes of light. The buildings looked more like elaborate pieces of jewellery rather than places you could actually live in and it was difficult to believe that the crystal they were made from was harder than diamond. Rising above everything, at the heart of the city, was the Crystal Palace, a magnificent castle made of pure white crystal.

It was certainly very different from the windswept mountain fortress of Uranus. And the people! Never in her life has she seen so many. They were almost as colourful as the city itself. She saw merchants, priests, nobles and commoners all intermingling for it was Trade Carnival time in the city. The week long festival attracted people came from all over the Silver Alliance, as it was a showcase of the best products and services each planet could offer. She watched a group of Jovian nobility pass by, their distinctive biometric leathers more a living organism than clothing, before her attention was captured by a giggling bunch of teenage Venusian girls, the constant shifting colours of their attire, designed to draw the eye to the wearer.

Haruka checked her watch and realised she had a few hours to wait before she was due to board the shuttle for Earth. Her brow furrowed as she considered her options. The shuttle terminal was all the way across the city, and it would take her about half an hour to get there using the maglev. It would definitely be safer if she went directly to the shuttle terminal. That way she minimised the risk of bumping into anyone who could see through her disguise. But on the other hand, seeing as it was Trade Carnival, there were so many people about that no one was going to pay attention to her. Her white shirt and dark blue pants was common enough, and if she kept the crystal around her neck hidden, no one would identify her as the Uranian heir. She placed her hand on her chest, feeling the shape of the crystal hidden underneath her shirt. It was from this crystal that House Tenoh got its Winged Angel crest from. She'd received it at birth and it marked her as the heir to the Uranian throne. It was a strictly matriarchal system, but luckily for her disguise, male heirs also received the crystal if they did not have any sisters.

She dropped her hand to her side and gave the crowded station platform filled with people waiting for maglevs heading to the carnival a considering look. Immediately an image of Llauron popped up in her head, his face disapproving. After a brief second of hesitation, Haruka shook her head determinedly and banished her twin's image. Then she made a beeline towards the carnival platform. After all, what were the chances of her bumping into any other royalty in the mass of people, she could see up ahead.

The carnival itself was overwhelming. It was a riot of colour, movement and sound. Sellers hawked their wares aggressively, shoving their goods at people and shouting for them to buy. Weirdly shaped fruit in colour combinations she had never seen before drew her eye, and tantalizing smells drifted from the different food stalls. It almost made Haruka wish she hadn't eaten so much aboard the Orion.

The gleam of bright metal caught her attention, and Haruka drifted towards a weaponsmith's stall. She sucked in a breath of appreciation at the beautifully crafted swords that were on display, ranging from standard metal blades, to the various powered types, including the top of the line vibroblades, capable of cutting through metal. They were a far cry from the wooden practise swords, she was used to wielding. Her father did not care much for swords, or physical fighting in general, so only invested in the bare minimum in equipment. And that was only after the Sergeant-at Arms had to remind him that Llauron would need some familiarity with weapons, before he left for Earth. However, it was Haruka, not Llauron who made the most use of the weapons. To her holding a sword, seemed as natural as breathing. More an extension of herself than anything. Forms that took Llauron months to master, she would do in days. It was almost like she already knew them and was just out of practise.

Ignoring the stall owner's suspicious glare, she reached out a hand and traced the intricate workmanship on the hilt of one of the swords. Someday she would own a blade finer than this one. After one final longing look at the swords, Haruka stepped away from the stall and back into the bustling crowd.

Several hours later, a tired but satisfied Haruka was ready to head to the shuttle terminal. Her backpack was noticeably heavier, filled with several types of candy from several different planets. The candy had been free, which was certainly a lucky break for her, since she couldn't very well afford to buy anything, given how frugal her father had been with the amount of credits he'd given her and her twin. She'd insisted that Llauron take the lion's share of the money, since she knew he would need it to buy books. Her only real worry was clothing. They'd been forced to split Llauron's wardrobe in order to outfit both her and him, seeing as she couldn't very well wear dresses while pretending to be a boy. This had left Haruka with only four shirts, and a couple of pairs of pants. She could make do with those, seeing as she would be wearing the standard page uniform for the majority of the time, but she was a bit worried about formal occasions. Unfortunately Llauron only had one formal outfit. He'd insisted that she take the navy jacket and pants, with their embroidered Winged Angel crests, leaving him with the waistcoat and shirt. She just hoped that they would last her until her father's next stipend came in.

Haruka grimaced as she thought of the conditions back home. With no active Senshi to control the winds, the weather on Uranus had become increasingly more wild, with numerous violent storms that caused widespread devastation. Crops failed more often then not, and they were forced to import food from other planets. This had put enormous stress on Uranus's already faltering economy, leaving little left over for any luxuries. Haruka's jaw tightened in determination. Her main motivation for being a Knight, was so she could help her people. She didn't see any value in going for useless senshi training. Not when there was no transformation wand. At least with a Knight's training she would be of some use to Uranus by being able to defend her home.

Curses and shouts from up ahead broke into her thoughts, making her look up. A hoverbike courier was hurtling along the crowded pathway, causing people to leap out of the way to avoid being run over. The courier appeared to have absolutely no concern for anyone else's safety, but it was obviously a common enough occurrence, because people were just shaking their fists after the rider had passed, and then going back to whatever they had been doing.

Haruka stepped off the pathway, intending to head in another direction, away from the hoverbike, when something made her turn back. She scanned the crowd on the path in front of the speeding bike, and her breath caught in her throat. An aqua haired girl was standing in the middle of the footpath, with her back to the hoverbike, her attention focused on the shell she was holding to her ear. She was totally oblivious to the approaching danger.

Glimpsed through the slit in his visor, Haruka saw the hoverbike courier's eyes widen. He started to apply his brakes, but she instinctively knew that he wasn't going to stop in time.

A woman's hand rose towards her mouth, her expression frozen in horror. The child holding onto her dress scrunched his face up in displeasure as his mother's sudden movement moved the ice-cream he'd been looking forward to, out of his reach. Another woman opened her mouth to yell a warning at the girl, and further away a dark haired man started to run towards her, his face contorted with despair.

Haruka shrugged out of her backpack in one smooth motion and then she moved, like only a Uranian could, her form blurring. There was an uncanny grace to her movements as powerful muscles propelled her through space, faster than the eye could follow. Her hair blew backwards as the speed of her passage displaced the air molecules around her. She effortlessly dodged around people, their movements ponderously slow relative to her. In the space between one blink and the next, she'd passed the dark haired man who had barely taken a step in the time it had taken her to cross five times that distance. She flung herself at the girl and catapulted them both out of the way.

And time slowed.

The crystal around Haruka's neck flashed a dark blue and floated up to meet the glowing green of the crystal the aqua haired girl wore. For an instant two figures were superimposed on the two girls. A beautiful sea-green haired woman and a tall, slender blonde.

The girl placed the palm of her right hand on Haruka's cheek. "Beloved". A woman's voice, melodic and graceful.

"M'Lady", Haruka replied. Her voice too had deepened into an adult's, but whereas the girl's had been a light and musical mezzo soprano, hers was a warm and husky alto.

"Michiru"! A frantic voice broke the spell and the green and blue glows vanished from the two crystals. Time unfroze and two bodies hit the ground.

Haruka shook her head to clear it and realized she was lying on something soft. She looked down to see an aqua haired girl trapped beneath her, a dazed expression on her face. Her own brow furrowed in confusion. She remembered the speeding hoverbike and pushing the girl out of the way. And then something else happened. Something extremely important. The memory hung tantalizingly out of her reach and she struggled to bring it into focus. Unfortunately whatever the memory was, it was lost in the next second as a hand grabbed the back of her collar, and she was lifted none too gently of the other girl.

"Michiru are you okay?" The dark haired man Haruka had overtaken on her way to rescuing the girl, dropped her unceremoniously on the ground, and then knelt beside the aqua haired girl.

"I'm all right Papa", the girl sat up gingerly in the man's protective embrace.

Haruka scrambled to her feet. The hoverbike rider gunned his engine and fled the scene, but Haruka's eyes remained fixed on the pair in front of her. Her insides turned cold as she took note of the Trident crest emblazoned on both the man and the girl's clothing. If that wasn't enough, the crystal hanging from the silver chain around the aqua haired girl's neck confirmed it. She had just rescued the heir to House Kaioh, Neptune's Royal Family. Haruka knew she had to get away before she called any more attention to herself. She took a step back intending to just fade away into the crowd. There was a startled gasp from behind her as she collided with a soft surface.

Immediately the dark haired man's head snapped in her direction. The look on his face was enough to make Haruka swallow rather nervously, but his glare suddenly softened as he focused on something behind her. She felt the gentle pressure of hands on her shoulders as whoever she had bumped into steadied themselves. Haruka turned her head and her mouth dropped open, for standing behind her was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. Long aqua hair cascaded down her back, surrounding a delicate face. She was tiny, barely taller than Haruka, the elegant green dress she wore exposing lovely curves that were doing strange fluttery things to Haruka's stomach. Amused hazel eyes stared back at her and full lips quirked into a knowing smile. Belatedly she noted that the woman's dress also carried the now familiar Trident crest, except this one had a crown underlying it. The fluttery feeling was rapidly replaced by a sinking one. There was no doubt about it. This woman could only be the Queen of Neptune.

Haruka flushed and hurriedly stepped away from the aqua haired queen. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty", she bowed.

"Think nothing off it. There was no harm done," the Neptunian queen's musical voice carried a strangely familiar accent. She gracefully waved away Haruka's apology, her attention focused on the pair behind the blonde. "Michiru, darling, are you all right?"

Haruka glanced sideways at the girl and her father who had both gotten to their feet.

The girl was frowning as she looked between Haruka and her mother. An expression that looked remarkably like jealousy flitted across the aqua haired princess's face. Some part of Haruka smirked in amusement, but a larger part of her couldn't stand to see the other girl upset. Haruka turned her head and looked directly at the princess. She smiled like it was the most natural thing in the world for her to look into those beautiful blue eyes. The princess's expression softened after a moment and she smiled shyly back at the blonde. Something in Haruka's chest tightened and she absently noted that she much preferred blue over hazel.

"I'm fine mama", the girl broke their gaze as her mother stepped around Haruka to hug her. "This...", she hesitated for a second before continuing, "boy pushed me out of the way in time".

"We owe you our thanks lad", The dark haired man extended his hand out to Haruka and clasped her forearm in a firm grip. "I saw what you did. You saved my daughter from serious harm".

"It was nothing Sir" Haruka said awkwardly. "Anyone would have done the same". She noted that the man still had one arm wrapped around his daughter, while the aqua haired Queen fussed over her. A wistful expression crossed her face as she watched the small family interact. So that's what it was like when parents cared about their children.

TBC

I know that the astronomical symbol for Uranus is actually a stylised H, in honour of Herschel, its discoverer, but I've always thought it looked like a diving angel and so decided to use that. Plus I think it definitely suits Haruka to have a Winged Angel crest, being the senshi of the heavens and all.

As always reviews would be much appreciated! :)