A/N: Sorry it's so short.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.


Love and Loss

Ch 3


"But it's only our first weekend! We have to go to a ball ALREADY!" Serena screeched. "This is not fair. Especially the SAME ball." She shot a glare at her ebony haired companion.

"Relax Meatball Head, it should be fun," Darien joked lightly. However, his heart wasn't in it. He groaned inwardly at the thought of having to dress up and stand around while women admired him.

Raye hurried into the dining room, skidding to a stop. She held a letter in her hands, waving it around frantically. "Look guys! A letter from Chad!"

"Why are you so exited over a stupid letter?" Jedite asked her. He sneered in disgust at the piece of paper. "What happened to 'I'm going to marry a hobo?'" Jed's hostility stemmed from pure jealousy. He couldn't believe she was going to get so worked up over a letter from someone she didn't even know.

Raye ignored him and proceeded to read the letter aloud. "Dear Raye, I have heard that there will be a ball this weekend. He probably sent the letter before today I guess," she mused aloud then continued reading. "I look forward to meeting you there so dress extra nice. The nerve of him!" She slammed the paper down on her thigh and looked up with a furious gaze.

"Is that it?" Mina asked curiously, straining to look at the paper still clutched tightly in her friend's hands. Raye nodded furiously. "I have the perfect dress you can wear, Raye!" Mina squealed excitedly. "It's so cute. It's this little red dress that is just adorable."

"No thanks Mina, I prefer to wear clothes that leave something to the imagination," Raye said, rolling her eyes. "I'll leave the skimpy bikinis to you." Mina shrugged, unfazed.

"Oh well. More for me!" She exclaimed happily.

"No, Mina, actually, LESS for you," Zoicite clarified. Amy giggled quietly as she viewed Mina's blank expression.

"We will all be required to attend this ball, as you all know," Malachite said calmly, addressing his generals. They nodded in response. "I want you to show up in uniform. Not your training clothes, but the grey one of a full fledged member of the Prince's Guard." They nodded again.

"Oh come on Malachite, there's no threat. There's no enemy even! Serenity recalled Uranus and Neptune and that's a pretty drastic thing for Mom," Serena said. "She trusts those two with her life and she knows they're extremely dangerous. If she's taken them off guard duty then that means that there's no need to worry. Don't get all stiff." Malachite stared at her stoically, not uttering a word.

"I think that's impossible," Nephlite joked. "He's always been stiff as a board." The others laughed at him. Seemingly unaffected, Malachite simply stood and stared condescendingly at his auburn-haired friend. Nephlite, somewhat unnerved at his cool gaze, looked away and chuckled nervously. He turned his attention to Lita. "So Princess, are you going to the ball?"

"Yeah, I don't think I've got a choice," she complained. "Dad hates for me to be around any male, yet he always pressures me to go to these stupid things. I could never understand why."

"Don't touch your partner while dancing!" the King shouted as he momentarily stuck his head in the doorway. Then he disappeared as quickly as he came. His daughter sighed and shook her head.

"Will you be needing an escort?" Nephlite asked slyly. "I can be of assistance." He looked at her, eyes laughing flirtatiously. He had hoped to invoke a blush, but was pleasantly surprised when she nodded calmly. 'It seems she's gotten over her initial shyness of me,' he thought. 'I'm impressed.'

"Oh yeah, Nephlite, I forgot. There's a letter for you too," Raye said. She handed him an unopened letter still sitting in its envelope. "Who's it from?" She curiously craned her neck to see the return address on the envelope now in his hands.

"Molly," he whispered softly. The other males looked up sharply, recognizing the name. They glanced at each other worriedly.

"How do you think this is gonna affect him and Lita?" Jedite whispered to his Prince.

"Badly," Darien whispered back. "Obviously." Zoicite and Malachite pursed their lips together, waiting for him to open the envelope.

"Molly? Hey I know her!" Serena quickly stood up from her seated position at the table and joined the huddled group of people. "What's she got to say to YOU? Not that you're a bad person or anything," she hastily added, "but I didn't even know you two knew each other." Darien put a hand her shoulder, attracting her attention. She looked at him and he shook his head in warning. Serena heeded his advice and nodded, suppressing her questions.

By now, Lita was as curious as the rest of the group to know who this 'Molly' was and what business she had writing to Nephlite. 'I guess we're not officially together,' she thought sadly. 'But we definitely could have ended up together, unless this girl is something to Nephlite that I hope she's not.'

He slowly broke the seal on the envelope and took out the piece of paper inside. Gulping, he unfolded the letter and began to read. "Dear Nephlite, I'm sorry I haven't written you in so long. Things have been crazy over here. We moved! When you come back to visit Earth, come to the new address on this envelope. I heard you were having a ball though and guess what? Mom says I can come! I also heard you were going to training school with Serena. Tell her I said hi and that I really miss her. Looking forward to seeing you soon, Molly." He slowly put down the letter and stared at Lita in disbelief. "She's coming Lita," he whispered.


"Lita? You okay?" Serena tentatively asked, approaching the tall brunette. She was sitting in the woods in a meditative pose. However, her eyes were open and she gazed at the ground sadly.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I couldn't be better!" Lita replied with fake enthusiasm. "I mean, I'm happy for Nephlite. He'll finally get to be with the girl he loves," her voice faltered and trailed off. "Then why do I feel like this?" Lita implored Serena. Her eyes brimmed with tears. "We're not even together! I was stupid to think he liked me," she sniffed, brushing her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Oh Lita, anyone would have to be blind to not see that he likes you," Serena said encouragingly. She sat down next to her friend and took her hand. "I know Molly. She's a sweet girl and I'm sure you'd like her if you gave her a chance." Lita glared at Serena. "Or not," she mumbled. "But all I'm saying is that you have to trust Nephlite. In the end, the decision is up to him. I know he looks like your old boyfriend." Serena rolled her eyes. "But I also know from experience that he's not the only one." She teasingly poked Lita in the ribs.

The Princess of Jupiter smiled in spite of herself. "Yeah, you're right. I'm not gonna sit in the forest and cry over one boy. Thanks Serena." She hugged the smaller girl, crushing her in an embrace.

"Oof! You're… welcome… Lita!" Serena gasped. "Now could you… maybe… let me… go? I, huff, can't… BREATHE!"

"Oh sorry," Lita apologized, grinning embarrassedly. "I'll join you in a minute Serena. Why don't you go prepare for the ball tonight?"

"Okay. Make sure you come back though, or else Ill have to sic Mina on you." Serena narrowed her eyes menacingly then skipped through the foliage back towards the dorms. Lita smiled again.

'She always cheers me up,' she thought. 'I can't say I'm fine, but I better get back. I definitely don't want Mina coming out to get me.' Lita stood up and brushed off the dirt and leaves on her sweats. She looked up and saw a figure heading straight towards her. 'I wonder who he is.'

"Excuse me Miss, but I seem to be lost," the man said, head bent over a map. Lita could see the words Mercury on the bottom. However, the map was turned upside-down. "I'm looking for the Palace of Mercury?" He looked up at her.

Both pair of eyes stared at each other in shock.

'No way! My old boyfriend! What's he doing here!'


"Argh! Mina, you've been in that stupid closet since forever! If you don't come out, how is Malachite supposed to ask you to the ball?" Raye asked through a closed door. She knocked persistently. "Besides, I thought you already had a dress. What are you looking for?"

Mina opened the door and stuck her head out. "I do have the dress. But I'm not sure I want to wear it. I'm trying on my whole closet now, just to make sure I want to wear that one." Raye groaned and smacked herself on the forehead.

"Your closet is huge! How do you expect to be prepared in time at this rate? I'm coming in." Without waiting for a response, she pushed the door inwards and stepped inside the room. There were dresses everywhere. They littered the floor and shelves and seemed to be placed everywhere except on their hangers. "Sheesh, you're a pig," Raye muttered under her breath.

"No time to talk! Tell me which dress I should wear!" Mina urgently asked her friend. "My life could depend on this!" She clasped her hands in front of her. "Tonight, some lucky man might catch my attention and we'll live our lives in blissful peace." Her gaze was directed towards the high ceiling of her vast closet, but her eyes seemed to see the heavens. "The stars have said so, and so it will be." With a resolute nod of her head, she spun quickly and hurriedly threw dresses right and left, often pelting the unlucky Princess of Mars.

"MINA! STOP!" Raye's patience had reached its limit and her eyes glinted dangerously. She accidentally scorched a dress that hit her in the face. "Umm… oops? This dress is kinda ruined now," she muttered. "But wait, what happened to Malachite?" she asked curiously. Mina didn't look up but continued to rummage through her closet until she finally stood up, triumphant grin on her face.

"Found it!" The blonde held a small box in her hands.

"What is that?" Raye asked suspiciously.

"My earrings," Mina simply explained, taking off the lid and fastening the topaz to her ears. "A gift from my father. I just had to wear it tonight." She examined her reflection in the mirror. "What do you think? Too much? Yeah, it's too much," she answered, not waiting for Raye's reply. She quickly unfastened them and set them back in the box. "Now where's my dress?" she muttered to herself. Raye rolled her eyes and prepared to yell at her friend again.


"I feel strong in these uniforms," Jedite said, fastening a button on his generals' attire. A boyish grin was on his lips. "I'm glad Mal let us wear it tonight. He's usually so stiff about everything."

Nephlite laughed. "He was stiff about this too." His eyes sparkled. Ever since the news of Molly's arrival that morning, he had acted like he was on Cloud 9. "I wonder where he is anyways?" 'Gotta stop thinking about Molly,' he chastised himself.

"Come to think of it, both him and Lita are missing," Darien commented, looking up from his book.

"How can you be reading, Dare?" Jedite asked, mouth open. "Shouldn't you be getting ready to escort our esteemed Moon Princess to the ball?" He smirked openly.

"What makes you think I'm going with her?" Darien asked heatedly, setting down his book. "She doesn't want to talk to me, much less accompany me to a ball." He rolled his eyes for show. 'But I want to talk to her,' he thought. 'We haven't really discussed that dream yet. I didn't tell her what happened in MY dream.'

Nephlite paled, lost in thought. Any mention of Lita always made him feel guilty, provoking a belated reaction. 'Have I been leading her on all this time?' He asked himself. 'I hope not. I didn't mean to. I really thought I had gotten over Molly.' He stared at his reflection in the mirror then suddenly remembered that he already asked Lita to the ball. He groaned loudly.

"Is it possible to take back your offer once you've already asked a girl to a ball?" He asked his friends hopefully. Zoicite looked at him in disbelief. He shook his head.

"You should learn to look before you leap," he told Nephlite.

"Well I didn't know Molly was coming today! Darn Raye, if only she would have given me the letter sooner," Nephlite said.

"Hey! You leave Raye out of this!" Jedite said, turning quickly to his companion. "Don't blame her because you put yourself in this mess." He faced the mirror again, fixing his hair once more. Nephlite opened his mouth to argue, but, realizing that Jedite was right, closed it again. He nodded at his friend.

'This is proving to be a miserable evening,' he thought. "Honestly though," he asked, pushing his romantic dilemma to the back of his mind, "where do you think Mal went?"


Malachite stood nervously in front a massive wooden door. He straightened his uniform and knocked loudly.

"Yes?" A female voice carried out from the other side. However, the door still remained closed.

"I was wondering if you'd care to go to the ball with me later," he asked. When there was no answer, he began to get worried and started to leave when the door opened.

"Why, I'd love to go with you," the Queen of Venus said, smiling.


"Amy? Can you help me pick out a dress?" Serena asked. She waited for a reply from the closed door. Hearing nothing, she knocked again, more persistently this time. "Are you there?" She still heard nothing. "It's Serena, Amy." Serena waited for a while longer, tapping her foot impatiently. "Okay, ready or not here I come!" She pushed open the door to reveal Amy crumpled in a heap on the floor. "Dear Serenity!" She rushed to over to her friend. "Wake up! Are you okay?" The blue-haired girl's eyes still didn't open. "HELP!" Serena screamed. "Something's wrong with Amy!"
Back on Earth, a woman with long red hair was preparing to go the ball on Mercury. With one last glance in the mirror, she stepped out the door to join the throng of people waiting in line to use the transporter. She smiled maliciously. 'Tonight, Prince Darien, you shall be mine.'
A/N: You like? You hate? I know it's short but due to writer's block it's the best I could come up with. Insomnia led to the creation of the last two chapters. This chapter is actually just to make the events move. It was too slow for me before so this will hopefully fix that problem.

renegade-452 - Thank you so much for continually reviewing. Know that it is appreciated greatly. You seem to like both the humor and romance in my story and I want your opinion on which one you'd like more of.

lady dove of the green eyes – I'm really glad I made someone laugh. I was afraid that my sense of humor was corny and stereotypical.

Shrouded Mist – I feel so honored to be on your list of favorite authors and stories. I hope that you like the way this story is progressing.

Once again guys, thanks so much for the reviews! Keep them coming! I don't usually like to update unless I get at least a new review first. Then again, I have no clue how long this writer's block is planning on lasting. Does someone by any chance happen to know the name of Lita's famous old boyfriend?