I will not be able to update for awhile, so here you have chapter 3... I will do my best to get chapter 4 up as soon as I can. I really appreciate your opinions about this story!

So, Enjoy!

All I Ever Wanted

Chapter 3: Asteram, the sacred star

Usagi let out the breath she was holding and let go of Hotarus hand. They were standing in great white hall. The ceiling stretched high above them, and made a powerful impression. Carved columns stretched all the way up to the roof along the beautiful walls. The floor itself seemed to be made of some sort of crystal.

Hotaru noticed that there were four doors, all white. But the first door was a lot bigger than the others. Before anyone could say anything, the fourth door opened and they were meet by Bromelius. He was dressed just like the last time, and his eyes twinkled mysteriously. Serenity just stared at him, apparently concentrating on something.

Hotaru glanced at her and felt a pang of anger. Behind Bromelius four other people wearing the same attire except the belt, walked towards them. He stopped before them and gestured towards them.

"May I present your escort; they will lead you all to your rooms. I am glad you choose to accompany your senshi, Serenity. I would like to have a little chat with you later on, as you have perhaps guessed?"

He was clearly hinting something, but Serenity only nodded and remained silent. He suddenly smirked at her and turned to the senshi.

"The tournament will begin tomorrow, as I expect more senshi to arrive today. You are free to look around the palace, except if there are guards standing guard at the place you would have liked to visit."

He twinkled with his eyes and smiled. Hotaru smirked.

"You are also free to visit 'the city' as you call it, but not to leave. Dinner will be served in your own rooms. I am sure that you all would like to try our local meals down in the city as lunch? Well then, good. If anyone for any reason wishes to speak to me, you only have to ask one of my colleagues or a servant and ask for me. Is there anything else you would like to ask me?"

Usagi opened her mouth and received a light blow in the stomach from Hotaru. She hissed at her friend.

"No… Don't…"

Bromelius smiled and gestured at the 'escort'.

"Have a good day."

He strolled out of the room. As they were escorted thru the palace, Usagi looked darkly at Hotaru.

"I knew what you were going to say alright? There is no way we can rescue him without winning this whole tournament! Bromelius is way to powerful, besides, there is some kind of old power guarding this place…"

At her words, Usagi began to look around them. The empty corridors they were passing was full of weird looking gargoyles and Hotaru had funny feeling about them. Finally, they stopped. This corridor was made out of a some kind of blue stone, and Ami gazed at the stone.

"It's beautiful… I have never seen anything quite like it."

One of the people spoke up. He was dark skinned and had bright eyes.

"The senshi who will be in the tournament, please step forward."

They did so and he spoke again.

"You will stay in here. As you can se on the doors, your rooms have been chosen for you."

He turned to his colleagues and gestured to them.

"Show the others to where they will be staying."

The others disappeared down the corridor and he bowed before them and left. Michiru let go of Harukas hand and gracefully walked towards the nearest door. She opened it and walked in. Haruka followed and closed the door. Hotaru smiled, for she had caught the grin on Harukas face. Usagi nudged her and she looked at her.

"Look! We have our rooms next to each other!"

And right she was. The door beside Harukas had the Sign "Saturn" on it, and on the next door to it stood "Moon". Hotaru opened the door and stepped inside. The walls was the same as the hall, but the exception was that transparent violet curtains was hanging everywhere on the wall. The wooden furniture was dark and reminded Hotaru of her own furniture she had had in her own palace.

The memory made her flinch and she sank down on the big satin bed. Had Bromelius only guessed her taste, or had he been into her head. She clearly remembered the sensation she had felt when they had stepped into the room together three days ago. Or, had she meet him before in the past? She considered to go and talk to him a moment, but dropped it.

Something told her that it would be useless, at least this early on. Usagi entered her room.

"My room reminded me of the palace, it was very kind of Bromelius I guess… How is it Hotaru?"

She looked up and blinked. She had been lost in thought.

"Nothing. We should have a quick look at the palace. Care to join me?"

Usagi nodded and they left the rooms.

"What about the others?"

Hotaru shrugged.

"They can handle themselves. As for me… I've been lonely far too long…"

He voice dripped of bitterness and Usagi swallowed. She forgot about her own feelings, and began to think back on Hotaru and how she had dealed with her anger before. Only once she had let it all out, and she still carried so much anger inside of her. It needed to come out, or she would explode again. The anger was eating away at her soul; she was no longer the same.

Never in her life she could have imagined Hotaru have such a grudge at her mother, it had all been unthinkable back then. But now, it had happened only because her mother had been afraid. Afraid to screw up, which she had done any way. Her thought was suddenly interrupted by Hotaru herself.

"Wait."

She had stopped and was starring at a door, guarded by two guards. They glanced suspiciously at them and Hotaru spoke up.

"Which way leads out?"

One of the guards pointed to the right and Hotaru nodded at him and they continued. Usagi glanced back at them.

"They didn't look very guard like… Only a helmet."

Hotaru laughed.

"They probably have some kind of power, and then they don't need any sharp weapons. They weren't that strong, but whatever power they have, I guess it is enough even against a powerful enemy."

Usagi shivered at the thought.

They finally reached the garden. It was filled with exotic plants in all sorts of shapes and colours. A senshi was standing in the middle of all the flowers. She had long green hair that easily melted in all of the green. Her skin was shimmering slightly in a greenish colour, and if it wouldn't have been for the green or the pointy ears, she looked like she could have been from earth.

She was almost wearing nothing, and Usagi giggled.

"She looks like an elf."

Hotaru couldn't help but smile and they continued on. At the palace gate they were meet by a man in yellow robes. He looked old and tired as he was bent over a little table filled with papers. He looked up and smiled a genuine pleasant smile towards.

"You wish to leave the palace m'ladies?"

They nodded and he bowed before them.

"I am Merald, Bromelius second man. But for now, I am just the humble man helping ladies such as your selves to get in and out of the palace. Please, state your names."

Usagi stepped forward and Hotaru broke out laughing, to her own surprise. Merald was, despite his age, a very comical man. He smiled in delight.

"I am glad that such an old man as myself can cause such things as laughter."

Usagi shaked her head, but smiled. She bowed and held out her hand.

"I am Sailor Moon, beholder of the moon."

He took her hand and after Hotaru had stated her name, he bowed again.

"You have showed me respect and treated me as one of yourselves, and for that I am very grateful. So therefore, I shall give you a tip."

He blinked at them.

"At the center of El'Asteram, you will find many places to eat. But, I recommend you to eat at 'The blue Mim'. Tell them that I send you, and you shall be served a delicious meal. Until we meet again, have a good day."

He scribbled down their names on a long scroll and a small door in the big gate opened. They nodded at Merald and walked out. Usagi grinned.

"Did you se his shoes? I think I like that old man."

Hotaru nodded. They continued down the long street and walked in different directions towards the center of El'Asteram, just so they could get a good look at it. It remined Hotaru more of a village, a rather huge village that is. Instead of electronics people here seemed to be more reliable on magic.

It was, in other words, like walking in a middle age village. The people seemed to be from all over the universe, as they saw everything from red hairs with small ears to midgets with blue hair. But, most of the people were wearing the same, a simple tunic in one colour. Some had jewellery and some didn't.

They walked around for a few hours before they finally decided to seek up 'The blue Mim'. The center of El'Asteram was full of people and there seemed to be some kind of market. Usagi suddenly became excited but did her best to control herself. Hotaru just smiled at her. Indeed she still behaved like a 10-year old.

She sighed, suddenly feeling the bitterness and anger again. Usagi poked her and she broke out of it.

"Come on, I'm starving! Let's find it."

It was hard to get through the crowd, but most of the people moved out of their way and nodded in respect towards them. The Blue Mim was, as its name suggested, very blue. It seemed to be filled with every blue colour you could imagine. Everything was blue. They walked in and was meet by a small, chubby lady. Her hair stood out everywhere, and had an interesting shape. And, she had dyed it bright blue.

"I am sorry my ladies, but we have no more seats available, but would you like to wait?"

Usagi just smiled at her.

"Even if we told you that Merald send us here?"

She blinked and seemed to think. The she broke out laughing.

"That old bastard! I will stuff him up with lycills some day… Follow me, my ladies. I am Mim, the owner of this little place."

She showed them to a table and pulled some curtains around them. The sound from the restaurant almost immediately died down and she smiled pleasantly towards them. Hotaru noticed that even the candle on the table had a blue flame.

"So, if I might be so rude to ask, where are you from?"

As she talked, a pen and block appeared in her hands.

"The solar system. We both grew up on Earth, but in reality I am from the Earths moon, and Hotaru are from Saturn."

Mim seemed to consider this.

"The solar system… I do recognise it but I can't really remember. Earth you say? Hhmm… Is there magic?"

Hotaru answered by shaking her head.

"Yes and no, I am very sorry to say that there isn't. We rely on technology but there is potential."

Mim nodded.

"Then, I assume that your planet have a history of pollution? I have met some people in my days so I have heard the most."

Usagi nodded sadly.

"Yes, but the technologies have come so much far so we have taken care of it. But the nature would have looked much more different if there hadn't been any pollution…"

Mim began to scribble some notes and then looked up.

"So, would you like to test a local meal? I recommend it to 'beginners' of this kind of food. Most of you who come here always complain about it being too spicy."

They nodded in agreement and Mim hurried to the kitchen. She came back and sat down at the table.

"Now, I must tell you about Asteram. It is custody that if you ask your guest something, you have to give something back in return. And I am sure I can tell you at least something useful. But mind you, some of it are just legend."

She blinked at them.

"Asteram is one of the oldest stars, or in another name, planet. It is said that the gods who created the universe made Asteram first, and therefore it's called the sacred star. They created many more stars and some of them, they gave life. In the beginning, people lived in harmony and everything was peaceful and joyful. But soon, chaos erupted and the gods realised that they not always could help the people they had made, so they created the senshi. The senshis mission was to keep peace and often act as the leader. So, for a while it was peace. But then, some of the senshi fell under the evil and once again chaos erupted. The gods feared that the evil senshis would start up a big war, so they decided that the universe needed one sole leader, that every planet would rule under. And, if that was the case, no one would consider declaring war. And it was here the gods took one senshi, a specially chosen one. She was about to rule the galaxy, but never had the chance and no one knew why. And that's were the story ends… I am afraid that it is only a legend but many people come here just because they do consider this the most sacred star and I can't blame them for wanting to come here. I myself left my own planet to live here. It truly is a peaceful and beautiful place."

Mim stood up suddenly blinked.

"Oh how rude of me… would you like some drinks? I can recommend Diffuntea. It's local and very good I assure you!"

Before they could answer, she hurried away. Hotaru starred after her.

"I wonder where she comes from… Doesn't she look familiar in some way?"

Usagi shrugged and Mim came hurrying back with two cups of warm tea.

"Here you go my ladies!"

Hotaru carefully tasted the tea. It was kinda spicy, but good nonetheless. Usagi seemed to like it to. She looked up with an excited smile.

"Do you no were we can buy this? I would like to take some home with me."

Mim beamed at her.

"Of course! I can point it out from here, but that can wait, you must eat first."

She hurried away. Hotaru studied Usagi. She suddenly seemed sad and was clearly in deep thought.

"How are you?"

Usagi looked up and tried to smile. She failed.

"Sometimes, I just forget about him. And when I don't, I'm trying to be strong for him. He wouldn't want me to be sad. And… We will save him. So what's there to worry about?"

Hotaru who suddenly felt very odd, hugged her friend. It was a fast hug, but it seemed to help. So when Mim returned, she found them talking and joking. She put down to plates of what looked like fruit and some odd meat. Usagi poked on something small and round. It was pink and almost looked like a potato.

"What's this?"

Mim gasped.

"Oh dear, I am so sorry! This is meat from the Jarfind, a bird I guess you would call it. That's fruit from the densel bush and that round thing is Tatoes. Enjoy your meal!"

Usagi cut the Tatoes in half and tasted it.

"Not bad… tastes like potatoes and… something…"

Hotaru broke out laughing at her friend's expression. Usagi looked up.

"What? You haven't even tried it yet!"

When they had finished their meal, Mim suddenly popped up.

"Was it good?"

Usagi nodded.

"Perhaps a little bit spicy but it was good!"

Mim blinked at her.

"My… If you think that's spicy then I don't know if I want to try your kind of food…"

She shrugged and took their plates. Mim pointed out were they could by some Diffuntea and they hurried over to the stand. Usagi bought some tea and they walked around and had a good look at the market. They returned after a few hours and were meet by the sight of Merald trying to sort all of his papers.

He looked up when they arrived and bowed before them.

"I shall sign you in my ladies, just a moment."

He looked rather sour and when he looked up, his face darkened. Usagi stopped and blinked. Hotaru who already knew what he really was looking at, turned her head. A tall, long black haired senshi walked by them, totally ignoring them. Her suit was pitch black, the only thing that had any other colour was the blood red band around her waist. When she had passed them and was out of sight, Merald began to mumble.

"Such pride will have her killed one day… Wouldn't mind that…"

Hotaru paid her no mind, as she had seen many senshi that was to prideful for their own good. What she wondered was, why Merald seemed to dislike this senshi so.

"Have she done anything to you, Merald?"

He looked up and shaked his head.

"No, she doesn't care about us. She considers us 'servants'. No, she really hurt Soriel by clamping on her beloved flowers."

Hotaru blinked and bit her lip. She did her best not to laugh. Immediately she realised why he seemed to almost hate the senshi. She grabbed Usagi and they both headed towards the palace. When they were out of sight they both laughed.

"He must really like this Soriel…"

Hotaru nodded.

"I think I caught a glimpse of her when we got out of the palace. She was standing near him in bush. He was giving her discreet glances now and then. It must have been her. He is little bit crazy right; but I like him."

Usagi blinked.

"I didn't see her…"

Hotaru snorted.

"You probably had your head somewhere else."

They allowed themselves to giggle and returned to their rooms after two hours, in which they had gone through almost every corridor they could find. Usagi threw herself on Hotarus bed as they entered the room.

"Oh… I'm so tired… I have to train more."

Hotaru smirked at her.

"Yeah, you certainly have to if you can't stand me dragging you around the whole palace."

Usagi quickly looked up.

"You mean that you knew the way all the time?"

Hotaru nodded as she sank down in the chair.

"Yes. I just wanted a walk."

Usagi blinked.

"You mean… You just wanted a walk?"

She sank down on the bed and Hotaru laughed at her. Usagi smiled inside, for seeing Hotaru laugh and be more like she used to be was making her very happy and if it had cost her a two hour walk, so be it. A knock on the door alerted them of the dinner they had been promised and Usagi, very hungry after the walk, flew up out of the bed.

Hotaru smiled weakly and took the tray Usagi came back with. Fruit and bread and some water would in normal circumstances made her delightful, but now it made her feel uncomfortable. Bromelius had yet again showed them that he knew what they wanted, and in doing so, showing his power.

Or, perhaps he wanted them to believe that he was more powerful than he was? All these questions and the biggest of them all, did he have evil intentions? Or, had he done something good, as he believed? She shaked her head. She wouldn't think about such things for now. A feeling of shame came to her but she shaked it off. For once, she had a good time.

The bread was delicious, but not as delicious as Setsunas bread. There weren't many people who knew, but the senshi of time had a special talent for bread. It was even better than Makotos bread. There was a knock on the door and Haruka stepped inside. She was wearing a something that looked similar to Reis priestess robes and Hotaru smirked at her.

"What are you smirking at? Anyway, Michiru's in the bath."

She swooped Hotaru up and gave her a crushing hug. Totally unprepared, Hotaru wheezed as the air was being squished out of her. Usagi laughed at the sight. Haruka let go and Hotaru fell down back on her chair.

"It was from Michiru also, so I just squished a little bit harder than usual."

She smirked at Hotaru whom glared at her papa.

"I'm not a kid anymore."

Haruka shaked her head.

"You will always be a kid in our eyes Hotaru. Our kid."

Then, suddenly, her eyes darkened and she became very serious.

"I sneaked around in the palace, but I couldn't find Helios anywhere. Michiru checked her mirror, but the only thing she saw was Bromelius. Whatever she asked it just showed her Bromelius. We have no other way than to win, and some of us must. We do have good chances; we are a rather big group after all."

And then, her face brightened.

"And we have some spies. They will tell us all that they can about the other senshi."

She stroked Usagi on the head and turned to leave.

"I'm going to get a bath… See you guys tomorrow. And try not to worry too much. Enjoy this as much as you can! Goodnight."

She closed the door and Usagi stretched on the bed.

"I guess it's best to sleep now, or what do you say? We don't know when we will be awakened tomorrow, and I would like some hours of sleep. Goodnight Hotaru."

Hotaru starred after her friend. Suddenly, the silence surrounded her. The familiarity of the silence comforted her, despite that she began to feel alone. Usagi had certainly grow a bit, despite that she acted a bit childish sometimes. Or was it just her, that was being to grown up?

She pondered the question for a while.

Then she realised that she hadn't seen the bathroom, so she went there. It wasn't at all as she suspected. It was just a normal white bathroom. There wasn't any colour to it at all. Just white. She left it in a hurry and lay down on the bed. To much white. She grimaced and pulled the pillows closer to her thin body.

She blinked. There was something that tickled her chin. When she reached up to feel what it was, she realised what she was doing. She was crying. She was just lying there, crying silently. A numbness suddenly spread through her body, and slowly, very slowly, she sank down into the darkness of her own dreams.

Despite that Asteram, the sacred star, had no moons, the stars brightened the night. The palace silently glowered in the light of the stars, and sadly, there was only one person that was awake to enjoy its beauty. The person in question was playing an ancient game on one of the palace's many balconies, this one with a view of El'Asteram.

He was halfway thru the game, and seemed to be in deep thought. Then suddenly, he smiled in delight and made his move. A violet figure was moved, and he clasped his hands. His eyes were glowing and he sat back against the chair. Smiling, Bromelius sighed.

"To reach the top, you must first hit the bottom. A simple way of saying it, but good enough."

He looked up at the stars.

"I hope you realise this in time, Saturn."

End of Chapter 3

Thank you so much for the reviews!Hmm... More details?Yes, I will think about that and do my best. I guess I will have to look up some words for this... )