Disclaimer: *sighs* Must I? All righty then. Y'all know the characters
belong to Naoko Takeuchi (long may she be a manga-ka) but the story is
mine...all mine.
Chapter 7 - Reunion
The Queen sat, brooding, on a finely brocaded chair, placed so that it
had an excellent view of the beautiful gardens. Looking out on the roses
her husband had planted to celebrate the birth of their son Endymion,
she wondered what he would say about this when he found out. She knew
as well as anyone that the allegations were untrue but they had to be
fairly investigated just the same. There couldn't be one rule for the
poor and one for the rich.
The queen sighed and turned as the door opened and one of her footmen
stepped thru to announce the arrival of the Lady Serenity. She stood
uncertainly at the door and the queen waved her inside. Telling the
butler to close the door behind him, she invited Serenity to sit in one
of the other chairs.
Serenity looked miserable, truth be told. The queen thought anyone with
eyes could see it. She patted the younger girl's hand in comfort, causing
her to look up.
"It's all right my dear, things will work out in the end. I know that
my son would never do anything like Beryl is accusing him of but it
still needs investigating. We need to be seen to be taking this seriously
or we loose whatever credibility we have with the people we serve. Can you
see that?" she asked the young woman.
Serenity nodded, then burst out, "Why is she doing this? I wish she was
never here, I wish he'd never gone to see her. I knew she was trouble
right from the start and now this! She deserves to be thrown out of the
castle for this!"
She started crying, angrily.
"I can't believe that Endymion would do anything and I refuse to believe
it! She HAS to be lying."
Serenity slammed her hand down on the arm of the elegantly appointed
chair in anger and frustration. The queen moved behind the moon
princess and put her hand on the young princess's shoulder in comfort
and stared out into the garden.
"I think it's best that you go back to your mother now, while we sort
this out here," she put up her hand as Serenity started in indignation.
"Let me finish please. Things are in a right mess now and the fewer
people caught up in it the better right now. It WILL be sorted, one
way or another and I can promise you that we will get to the bottom of
this and Beryl will be dealt with befitting her crime if she is proven
a liar. Now, I have spoken with your mother and you are not in any
serious trouble. She was absolutely frantic you know," she smiled down
at the now shame-faced princess.
Serenity nodded, her contrition real.
"I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted..." she trailed
off.
It seemed an incredibly foolish and selfish thing that she'd done, on
hindsight and she heartily wished that it hadn't turned out so badly.
She felt that she'd let her mother and her kingdom down. The only good thing
to come out of it was the love between herself and Prince Endymion, but she
didn't know if it would be allowed to flourish or if it would die with him,
should he be convicted and executed. The thought didn't cheer her much,
despite the fact she was certain he was innocent.
The queen smiled. Maybe there was hope for her yet. She could see the
emotions on Serenity's face and it cheered her to see that tho she was
headstrong, her heart was in the right place. That was all to the good.
"Your things have been taken to the transporter and your mother is
waiting for you," the queen told the subdued girl.
"Thank you, your Majesty," Serenity said softly. "I want to see Endymion
before I go," she stopped when she saw the queen shaking her head with a
sad look on her face.
"I'm afraid that's not possible right now. He's in the jail awaiting
trial on the charges. I know you'd like to see him but prisoners, even
royal ones, are not permitted visitors. I'm sure you understand," she
said, giving the devastated princess a small hug.
"Could you see to it that Endymion, Zoicite, and Kunzite are informed
of my departure? I also am worried about Jadeite. He's not been seen
since..." Serenity trailed off, her sadness and frustration almost
overwhelming her.
The queen nodded.
"I will tell them, don't worry. I do not know if you may be allowed to
return any time soon, but if the situation changes, I will at least
see to it that you are told," she said.
Serenity nodded and the queen pulled an elegantly braided cord on the
wall beside the door. A footman opened the door and she spoke briefly
to him, nodding at his words.
"They're waiting for you now," she said, not unkindly, to the princess.
They hugged warmly, said their goodbyes, and Serenity followed the
footman to the transporter and was soon in the arms of her senshi and
her mother, all of them in tears of joy at her return.
"I'm so sorry, mother, I didn't know..." she sobbed as she fell into
her mother's arms.
Her mother hushed her and ushered the entire contingent out of the
transporter pad and into one of the rooms of Serenity's suite. There
the maids had started a fire and laid out a simple supper of cold meats,
salads, cheeses, and vegetables cut into slices. Rolls, hot from the ovens,
were also available, with pots of butter next to them. It made Serenity's
mouth water and she forgot everything to tuck into the food.
Mars looked at her sourly.
"Trust you to drop everything at the sight of food, Serenity," she said
wryly as she sat down in one of the chairs and prepared her own plate
of food with as much decorum as she could muster.
The others nodded and grinned at the young princess who blithely ignored
them all and ate her meal hastily. Everyone stared slack-jawed in
amazement at her and she finally looked up, noticing the silence.
"What?" she asked, her mouth full.
They all shook their heads, it was amazing how she could put food
away like that and yet still have the tiniest waist of them all.
"Never mind, we're just glad you're back home and safe," Venus piped
up cheerfully.
Queen Serenity waited for them all to finish before asking her
daughter about what had happened. Serenity looked at them all in
shame.
"It was awful. I thought that I was going to die - I was attacked by
some bandits but Prince Endymion came with his people and saved me.
The Queen, his mother, is such a wonderful woman, she sent her best
healers to help me and here I am," her face fell.
"We ran into a few problems though. A nasty scheming woman has
made trouble for us, accusing Endymion of the worst things. I know
he didn't do it, he couldn't have, but the only person who can
prove it has gone missing," here she almost dissolved into hysterics,
but managed to get herself under control, eliciting a small look of
surprise on a few faces. She usually allowed herself to give full rein
to her emotions at times like these and this sudden change unnerved
them.
Her mother nodded in sympathy.
"I can see that you deeply regret your actions and I am glad you are
safely home, but you do realise that your senshi are going to have to
follow you everywhere from now on. Your safety is paramount to us, you
know that, and this could have jeopardised everything. Not to mention
you had us scared half to death. We thought you'd been kidnapped or
worse." Queen Serenity didn't mean her words to sound as harsh as they
sounded but her anxiety for her daughter's safety coloured them all
the same.
Serenity nodded somberly, not looking at her friends or mother.
"I'm sorry mother, girls. I didn't mean to..." she looked down at her
hands, close to tears again.
Her friends were quick to give her hugs of forgiveness and love, her
mother looking on benevolently.
"I know you didn't mean to, and that's why you'll be given training
along with your senshi so that if this ever happens again," here she
gave her daughter a stern look, as if to say 'this better NOT happen
again', "and I will arrange for it to start in the next few days after
you've recovered from your trip."
Serenity stared at her in dismay. She knew how hard her senshi trained
and she didn't think she was up to it but she knew better than to argue
with her mother, especially after what she'd done.
Eventually she nodded agreement and they all left her to herself and
she fell onto her bed, softly crying to herself, eventually falling
asleep.
