3 Days Later
Chibiusa stood nervously, looking out of her window to the busy city below. She reached up one more time, to touch her hair, which had been curled ingeniously, with some left straight into a bun on top of her head, secured with an emerald holder, and emerald clips holding back the curls. Her gown was yet another elaborate emerald-colored concoction.
What have I gotten myself into.... she thought miserably, gazing down at the wonderfully beautiful gown. It was designed like a kimono, with tapered sleeves, and a belt at her waist, but the belt was laced, and the bottom of the silk flared out, exposing dainty gold and pearl-embroidered slippers. The lining on the bottom of the gown was gold, as was the collar lace, and the brushes of lace edging the sleeves. The belt was the same silk as the dress, but a lustrous, metallic, gold. Combined with her bright easter-egg pink hair, it made quite a stunning colorfest.
She heard a quiet knock on her door, and turned towards it, suddenly panicked. "C-Come in!" she called, waiting. It turned out to be her new best friends, the twin Lunarians sent to get her. "Well....how is it?" She bit her bottom lip, and twirled in a slow circle, showing off her new outfit.
"Beautiful! Simply marvelous!" came the cry from the twins. Ramada came over and grabbed her hand, shaking it. "Congratulations Usa, you'll fit right in!"
"Yeah, great. Let's just hope Their Majesties don't find me....lacking. Or too outgoing. Or...strange!" She gestured at her hair and eyes. Although, she had seen, more than once, the assorted strange hair and eye colors here on the Moon. She had a feeling she was going to fit in well here. "Now or never, right guys?" She smiled weakly, as they led her towards the throne room.
The beauty of the Palace never seemed to finish astounding the young teenager. It seemed that every day, something new and beautiful was being put in this place. Not to mention the sheer size! It was much like the Crystal Palace, but she had read in a book Ranada had lent her to pass the time, that the Palace had been here for over 11,000 years, when Neo-Queen Serenity was a Princess, and King Endymion was still a Terran Prince. But, this was the part that confused Chibiusagi. It seemed that something called the Negaverse came and killed them all. Somehow, a thousand years later, the royal Princesses and the Prince were re-incarnated into 20th century Tokyo. Then they were Tsukino Usagi and Chiba Mamoru. She guessed that the last names came first. It was weird, and nothing like the Western style names they used now. When they came to a stop in front of large doors depicting each phase of the moon, gilded with the names of Their Majesties inscribed over the door in Lunarian and what seemed to be Latin.
"Now, Miss Tamasuki, please, address Their Majesties as 'my Queen, my King, or Your Majesty'. Things could go wrong if you don't show the proper respect. Also, the other Ambassadors will be there, as will the Senshi Queens. Don't be frightened, they're all very nice!" they instructed her, and she swallowed roughly before walking what she hoped was gracefully into the throne room. She got a quick glimpse of the young boys and girls around her, before she was escorted before a massive double throne. From somewhere inside her came an instinct to curtsy, and she gave a low, perfect protestation before the King and Queen of the Moon.
"Your Majesties, I thank you for your gracious hospitality, and this wondrous opportunity you have presented to me." She kept her eyes trained to the ground, but looked up when the butt of a scepter was put under her chin to raise it. When she looked at the Neo-Queen, she had a gut-deep feeling, but she couldn't grasp what it was before it vanished. The queen had a strange hairstyle, even for Lunarian standards. Her blonde hair was at least ankle-length, but it was done up in what seemed to be meatballs on each side of her head, with ponytails streaming from each. A dainty crown perched on her head, and her gown was similar to Chibiusa's, but was pure white. Her eyes were a penetrating sapphire blue, and she was smiling.
"Tamasuki Chibiusa, from Earth. Crystal Tokyo, if you're the girl I sent the Lords Tranquilitatis after. And polite. It wouldn't occur to many to thank us for our...hospitality, I believe you said?" her smile widened. "When I was your age, I didn't know that word existed!" She laughed, and it reminded Chibiusa of the girls back at her school, the ones that didn't want to grow up, but had to regardless. It made the girl smile. "And as you're the last arrival, I feel that we should introduce you all to each other."
Finally, Chibiusa was free to look around the room at the boys and girls around her. They looked to be between 12 and 16 years of age, and each one had a different look. She guessed that it was from the difference in the planetary climates. At the Queen's gesture, they were to step forward with an introduction.
"Hasekura Miliko, of Mercury." A small, pixielike girl stepped forward, with hair the color of ice against a winter sky, a faint grayish-blue. Her wide eyes, used for seeing in the wintry climate of her planet, were the color of steel. She looked to be only 12 years of age, but a longer introduction revealed her to be Chibiusa's age. When the pink-haired teen smiled at the Mercurian, a timid, shy smile was returned. She stepped back, and the next stepped forward, a boy this time.
"Fuchida Seriyo, of Venus." He was very tall, and apparently well built. When Chibiusa had read that Venus bred out some of the best looking men and women in the galaxy, and to her, it looked very true. His silvery-blonde hair looked to be Mercurian, but his sky blue eyes, full lips, and finely chiseled features, she knew this one would be breaking hearts all over the palace. He, of course, was 17, and the oldest of the bunch. She gave him a large, knowing grin, and she wasn't surprised when he gave her a suave, planned smile and wink.
"Numajiri Kyoden, of Mars." Yet another young man stepped forward, his burgundy hair falling into his face, shrouding dark violet eyes. He wasn't the feast to look at that Seriyo was, but there was something about his face that compelled her. She shook her head slightly, studying the rest of him. While not muscular, he seemed to be in control of his body strength, and was as tall as the previous male. This boy was 16, 2 years older than herself. Instead of smiling at him, like she normally would, she nodded her head, and was rewarded with a slight bow in return. He stepped back quickly when directed to, to make room for the next.
"Ezakiya Kameko, of Jupiter." The raven-haired female seemed to fairly crackle with energy. Her spring green eyes held hints of yellow that Chibiusa would've sworn were lightning bolts. Involuntarily, she took a tiny step back, her eyes widening. If anything, she seemed dangerous in the extreme, and when the Jovian girl held out her hand, she was loathe to take it, but did anyway, and felt a jolt of static electricity. "I'm also known as Princess Kameko, second Princess of Jupiter." She laughed, which called a giggle from Usa's own throat. That explained the lightning energy. It was commonly known that Jupiter's Senshi, also Queen, was the Senshi of Lightning. This girl was 13, and the youngest of them all. She stepped back, and the sudden lack of energy was overwhelming.
"Kasamatsu Chuichi, of Saturn." A pale, pale boy, about the same size as Miliko, took a timid step forward. His hair was a pale violet, not quite lavender, and his eyes were pools of darkness, a brown that was almost black. He looked to be something you kept behind glass, not someone you put out in the world. A glance at the Queen of Saturn established a connection. Saturn was a cold, dark planet, and the young Terran supposed that most inhabitants of the ringed planet looked thus. She gave him a warm, gentle smile, and got an even shyer smile than the one given by Miliko. He was also 13, but a few months older than Kameko.
"Okinata Juri, of Uranus." A girl stepped forward, and Chibiusa had to blink. Her hair was glaringly golden, almost metallic-like. She looked surprisingly like an amplified version of the Queen. Her eyes were extraordinarily blue, like the sky back home when it was at its bluest. She gave the Uranian the same bright smile that she had given Miliko. It turned out she was also the same age. She returned it and stepped back nonchalantly.
Is everyone here always going to be this mesmerizing?! She thought, almost missing the next introduction.
"Shionoya Arisa, of Neptune." This girl was breathtakingly beautiful. Her hair was the color of the Caribbean Sea, and her eyes were a stunning emerald green. Even her body was perfectly curved, at every place the teen human wished she had. Chibiusa almost laughed, when the thought that Arisa and Seriyo should become a couple and save everyone the heartbreak, since they were the same age and all, when Arisa smiled. It was full of gentle kindness, and she returned the smile in kind. Their thoughts commingled for a few seconds, before a slight swish of skirts alerted her that the Neptunian stepped back.
"And last, but certainly not least is Akutagawa Isamu, of Pluto." A burly boy stepped forward, his hair a noncommittal shade of brown. But the most extraordinary part of him were his eyes. They seemed to be pools of quicksilver, radiating almost every color and shade of the rainbow. She smiled in dreamy wonder into his eyes, looking deep into his soul. A soft grin on his face snapped her back to the present, and she almost blushed. Instead of the simple smile she gave the others, she gave him a deep curtsy, almost as deep as the one she gave Their Majesties. His eyes widened in shock, and she beamed up at him. "Thank you for allowing me to look into your soul. Like your eyes, it is truly beautiful." When she turned back to the dais, Neo-Queen Serenity was smiling maternally.
"Now, I will give you all a week to settle in, and to get to know one- another. And in a week, a ball will be held in your honor, to welcome you to Mare Serenitatis. I expect you will not disappoint." With that, she dismissed them all, and with low bows and curtsies, they walked silently out of the Throne Room, and each to their separate rooms.
When Chibiusa returned to her room, a note from Ranada and Ramada was sitting on her bed, congratulating her on her performance in front of the Royal Family.
"Performance? What performance? I wasn't acting.." She said aloud, shaking her head and undoing her hair. Another day was beginning tomorrow.