Insert the usual disclaimers here, I trust you avid fanfiction readers to know them by heart. Enjoy your read.

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"The Fiction We Live" Chapter One

by Greta

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The Moon Palace lay in darkness. It was late, far too late for normal life to take place in between its walls, yet there was still a lone light shining in the far end of its western wing to be found. Sitting in her room on a large armchair, a large book resting in her lap, the queen was trying harshly to stay awake, tiredness creeping up in her limbs. Shaking her head, she sighed as she worked through the silence of the night, flipping through page after page, a pencil working its way over different sentences of many words in foreign languages. But suddenly, the slight sobbing and weeping of a soft voice could be heard, making the queen look up at once.

A small girl was carefully entering her room. Long, silvery hair was trailing down her pale shoulders, her small arms rubbing at the tears falling from her blue eyes. Sniffling, she headed towards her mother.

"What is wrong, Princess?" the queen asked softly, laying her book aside to embrace the small body in her arms.

"I can't go to sleep," the girl answered in a small voice, sniffling. "Venus' stories scare me so."

"Why, what did she say?"

"She … she told me that … that there are big black monsters that eat small children that cry... Is that true?" the small girl asked completely terrified, her eyes wide with fear. The horror of the thought seemed to rattle her to the core.

"Oh Serenity ..." the queen started, sighing. Pulling her child onto her lap, she rocked her back and forth, making a soothing noise under her breath. "My poor baby," she said, looking down at her daughter. She softly brushed the tears away that were still making their way down the girl's soft cheek. "You must know that we all own a star within our hearts."

"A star?" she asked softly.

"A bright, shining star … You see, Light and Dark have belonged together since all eternity. And we can't live without either one … and neither of them will ever cease to exist, which is why we must learn to live with them both. But when the darkness overwhelms you, scares you, you have to think of that star shining inside of you, Serenity. By showing it your tears, your fear, the Dark will only become larger, and in the end overcome you. It is then, and only then ... that it has succeeded over the Light." She paused for a moment. "Serenity, when you want to overcome the shadows and darkness, that are a threat to your heart, you must let that star that lives in you shine forever."

Taking the Princess' face in between her hands, the queen placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Standing up, she took a small hand in her own, and led the young girl back to her room, where she stayed until the girl drifted off into slumber.

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13 years later

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Dearest Queen Serenity,

The Queen sighed, reading the letter over that had arrived earlier that day for what felt like the hundredth time, one paragraph standing out boldly from the many pages. Bad things have been happening here for the last few months, though bad somehow seems to weak a word to describe them. Awful, horrible things, that have left me trembling with shock. Revolutions have been forming again after almost 13 years of peace on every one of my planets, cold battles are being fought wherever I look to try and keep things under control. People seem to be losing their minds, turning into brutal animals, driving on their instincts that only tell them to destroy. They have stopped seeing the beautiful and the good, preferring to destroy it in any way possible to them. And most of all I can feel it, the bitter taste of the darkness claiming its space around us, inside all of us. I remember you once telling me how you were afraid that one day something like this would happen, that the balance would somehow be upset. Well, my galaxy, being far away from your beautiful Solar System, has seemed to be doomed sooner.

Yes, she had indeed feared something like this happening, something that wasn't meant to happen, that somehow the balance would slowly topple. She had voiced her fear once to her friend, many many years ago, when they were still young. She guessed some part of her had always anticipated this happening. But that fact did not make it any easier to believe in what was written down in front of her, words which finally made her fears come to life, those fears that she had managed to push away to the furthest corner of her mind for all these years. Her eyes continued scanning the gracefully swung words that were already so familiar to her that she could recite them. Frankly, I'm scared, Serenity. I'm scared for my galaxy, I'm scared for my people, I'm scared for myself. But you will understand that nothing compares to the horror I feel upon thinking that this might touch my daughter and destroy her along its way. I'm begging you to take her to you. Your kingdom and your power rivals no other. I could never live with it if I put her under the danger that is not only so quickly approaching, but that is also already amongst our midst. I ask this of you humbly, as your friend, as a queen, as a mother.

My dearest wishes,

Queen Kakyoku

Her hands shaking, she couldn't bring her eyes to leave the words written on the pieces of paper clasped between her fingers. She could take no more of those words today, they stung inside of her, made her more scared than she would ever openly admit, yet it was minutes of silence before she could finally force herself to lower the paper to her table. Oh, why, why did everyone always assume that all would be well here, under her reign, as long as she was here? Closing her eyes, she grimaced, laughing bitterly to herself. She knew the answer after all. Because they still believed her to be someone she was not.

A slight knock could be heard at the door, making her head snap up up. "Yes?"

"Can I come in Serenity?" a friendly voice asked as a black haired woman opened the grand doors.

"Of course, Armina. Please enter", the addressed replied softly, straightening her back, not willing to show any sign of the weakness she still felt gnawing inside of her.

A woman entered the room. Armina too had grown older, just as she herself, the queen thought to herself. Soft lines around her eyes and mouth, and strands of silver in her otherwise pitch black curls showed that she had seen and done much in this life of hers.

"Armina, I'm sorry to have called you at such an unearthly hour," the queen said, trying to smile apologetically. "But – take a seat first of all – I need you to read this over." Waiting for her advisor to sit down across from her, the queen ever so slowly inched the several pages of paper across the table in between them. Armina studied her face for a moment, before reaching for the paper covered in red ink. Watching Armina intently, the queen leaned her head on her hands, her mind working as she surveyed the emotions cross over Armina's face; first the mild curiosity and interest, then the disbelief and finally the shock and horror, the fear.

Looking up from the letter, Armina's eyes fixed calmly on the queen's, only her shaking hands betraying her inner turmoil. "What does this mean, Serenity?" she asked carefully.

The queen remained silent for several minutes, her hands now clasped in her lap, twisting ceaselessly, before finally saying, "I believe that we shall be expecting visitors soon," knowing perfectly well, that it was not the answer to the question Armina had asked.

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The fair Princess of the Moon cursed under her breath as she pressed herself up against a tree, trying to disappear in its shadows. Even though the sun was sinking already and she was standing in the shadows, she was scared of being seen.

"I really hate you," she whispered to the cloaked figure beside her.

"Oh, you know you don't mean that," a young woman replied, flicking her long black hair over her shoulder. "And now stop complaining. Nothing can happen to us after all, it's completely deserted here. And the sun's already gone down too. Put on your cloak and no one will see you in the dark."

"But … Rei!" Usagi wailed.

"Serenity!" she said with force, reverting to the formal name of her companion, a thing she only did when she was angry. "Don't make such a fuss! Now, put your cloak on so we can finally go."

Usagi's eyes narrowed at Rei's choice of name, before pushing out her lower lip, a pout forming on her face. "Go? I'm not going anywhere!" she screeched.

"Usagi! You promised!" Rei hissed, her voice menacing even though it was so low.

Usagi opened her mouth to reply, but quickly shut it again. The problem was that she had promised to accompany and help her friend. And yet at the same time she had also promised never ever to use the room Rei had dragged her to without permission. The moment her friend had sensed the yes forming on her lips, she had been dragged off by the Princess of Mars and led down many steps and stairs she knew she should not be passing at any cost. The Room of Teleportation lay behind many doors and corridors which were sealed to the eyes of almost all people in the palace. Normal transportation, if from city to city, planet to planet, or from one end of the galaxy to the other, did not take place here, there were all kinds of vehicles for that. The Room of Transportation was a vast room with a high ceiling held up by enormous pillars, engraved with signs and runes of old and already unknown languages. It was one of the many mystical dwellings the Moon Palace had been built upon; it was ancient, and had existed for as long as anyone could remember. It held great power – and the way it mostly was with these things, it also held great danger. You needed magic of the greater kind, and authority to put the power the room possessed to one's use. Her powers were nothing in comparison to Rei's, she knew that, but her friend had needed a true Lunarian along with her, as entrance was only allowed to them.

She guessed that they were more than lucky that they had not only managed to go unnoticed but to actually end up where they had wanted to. Or actually rather where Rei had wanted them to go. Because truth be said, Usagi was scared as hell. Scared of having intruded the sacred grounds her home stood upon and where she knew she was not to set foot in, scared because this planet seemed so menacing and uninviting with its many dark nooks and shadows, and ever so scared of being found out. Oh, why did she never think before speaking words carelessly? Why couldn't she just once think of the consequences her careless words might lead to?

"Usagi, come on."

But, what was done was done. Usagi gulped down some cold air of the night before nodding, trying to feel brave, slipping the heavy cloak the black-haired female had brought along for her with them over her long silken dress. Reaching for Rei's hand, she nodded once more.

"Do you know where we have to go?"

Rei nodded crisply, and started walking down a small trodden path Usagi hadn't seen before. They continued walking in silence, passing trees and wild flowers, which were strange to her eyes. The darkness of the night had covered everything in sight with its inky shadows, making every branch look like a threatening, gnarled hand which was only waiting for a moment of inattention to reach out for them, grab them, devour them.

The small, winding path eventually led them to a wide clearing in the wood they were walking through. The grassy meadow stretched far far ahead, the open space stretching out in all directions. In its centre, a small area was enclosed by an ancient looking brick wall. The bricks must have been a deep red once upon a time, but time had gnawed at them, the sun bleaching the red to an orange colour in some, and to a sandy colour in other places. Their crumbling texture had allowed vines to grow on the bricks, and by the looks of it they had been going strong at it for years. It looked like a soft green blanket was covering the wall. The grass and wild flowers stood high to each side of the walls, trying to tickle their calves, and the star-filled sky above them was reflected in a small brook that flowed near by them, bubbling mirthfully.

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?"

It was the first time since they had arrived, that Usagi somehow appreciated the beauty the strange planet had to offer. "Yes, I guess it is. Oh but look at the sky, it feels sort of wrong to see the Moon up in the sky instead of the Earth, doesn't it?"

Rei nodded. "I'm so glad it is beautiful here. He loved beauty," she whispered after a minute, her eyes fixed on the iron gates that marked the entrance to the enclosed space. Usagi gulped. Oh she had known that she would hate this part, that her heart would beat unbearably, that she'd be torn in between feeling guilty because she wanted to go home when her friend needed her the most and feeling terrified for herself. She didn't think she was ready for this. All the trouble she would presumably get into, seemed very unimportant and faraway at this exact moment. She should be the strong one here, she should be supportive, not the other way around, for Rei was now nudging her softly, clearly sensing her unease.

Straightening her back she tried to regain her composure, before following Rei's lead towards the winding iron gates. They looked far too grand for a cast away place like this that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Runes and carvings were engraved on the spindly iron, beautiful stones embedded in them.

Rei's hand rested softly on the handle of the gates. Closing her eyes for a minute, she listened to the silence around her, focused on the beauty surrounding her, feeling for the essence of things. And already it seemed to her, that a familiar presence, the one she would dream about every day, the one that hunted her mind, the one that she hadn't really felt in too long arise in her.

Pushing down the handle, the gates creaked softly in the slight breeze as she opened them. She walked on steadily, afraid that if she would stop, she might not make it all the way. But her feet knew their way. She had not been here very often, but she had trod this path many more times in her dreams than she had ever done in real life.

Avoiding roots and other tombstones, she drew close to one located in the far right. It was a simple white stone that had an almost raw look to it, only few words carved into it.

Jedite. 994 – 1016.

As her eyes traced the words, her legs crumpled beneath her, sobs welling up in her chest, a hot pain searing through her every fibre. It had been three years, three long years since he had died – and still the pain felt as fresh and as raw as it had on that first day that she had been told.

She had met him when she was only 15, and they became lovers not long after that. Things were somehow easier with him, life made sense in a way it had not done before. She knew that they belonged to each other, they complemented one another in their shared silences as much as in their quarrels, in passion as much as in conversation. And they both shared the burden of never being able to ever completely put the other first, for their duty bound their life to the one they were destined to protect until the very end, he bound to his prince, she bound to her princess. And it was that duty that had sent him to the far away planet of death, where the revolutions were at their cruellest three years ago. Official news had long stopped coming through, for after two years of fighting one cruel battle after the next nothing uplifting could be said anymore about the situation, hope was dwindling fast, and the fear that more revolutions would start up somewhere else grew with every day. He was among the last to leave for the doomed battle. She remembered the day so well, how she had hated seeing him off, the feeling in her gut screaming 'NO' as loud as it had never done before. It had been the last time that she had seen him, the last time that she had felt his lips upon hers, the last time she had smelt his scent, felt his warmth.

Oh these memories were merciless. Three years! Three goddamn years and the grieving had not gotten any easier like everyone else kept telling her, every image of him etched into her mind painfully, the sorrow sometimes welling up out of nowhere. Why could things not have remained easier? Why did she have to lose him on top of everything else she had been forced to give up in her life?

Raw sobs racked her chest, tears running down her hot cheeks. It was not until she felt someone take seat beside her in the grass that she tried to gulp down some of the pain that was escaping through her throat.

Usagi stared at the tombstone in front of her with wide eyes. She had never been here before. She had never been asked to come along before, but had never made the suggestion herself either. Something inside of her tugged painfully at her heart, as she watched this horrible scene, in which her friend was the lone actor. She had barely known this man, liking him well enough when she saw him, never thinking about him when he wasn't around. There was so much she didn't know about this man, this lover of her friend, who lay buried deep in the earth beneath them, his body rotting away to nothing, his soul long gone.

Her hand slowly inched towards Rei's, her fingers clasping ever so tightly around hers. She could feel so many words bubbling up inside of her, I am so sorry, I am so sorry, so horribly sorry for everything, I am so sorry that I feel like my heart is breaking too, I never asked about him while he was there to love you, and I never dared to once he was gone, I was so scared of hurting you more, but I think what I did was the worst what I could do, I feel like such a shit, I feel like such a horrible friend who doesn't deserve you. But she bit the words back with all her might, her fingers trembling around Rei's.

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Running a hand through his dark hair, he yawned widely. He had been up for far longer than 24 hours and really could not wait until he finally reached his final destination for the day. But he never passed this route without making a small detour, had never not stopped at the iron gates, and walked to the grave that held the body of one of his generals, one of his guardians, one of his friends.

Sighing, he dismounted from his horse, patting its side softly, reaching forwards to tie the reins to a tree close by, before setting off by foot. A faint sound in the distance made him stop abruptly though. Squinting in the darkness, he tried to make out what was causing the disturbance of the grass, the crackle of dry twigs being stepped on.

"Are we there yet?" He heard the voice softly in the distance.

"No, Usa."

Two women were walking away from the small, hidden graveyard he had been heading to, the graveyard that was reserved for people who had fallen while doing their duty for the Earth Kingdom. Many people he knew had found their resting place here, and he came by on a rather regular basis. Up to now he had never met another living soul here, and it not only startled but very much worried him to see these two figures heading towards him. Grimacing he kept his hand close to his sword before taking up his pace in their direction.

"Don't worry, we'll be home in a second."

'Home?' he wondered. He knew these parts well, as he did most of his kingdom, and he was certain that there were no settlements to speak of or even lone houses close by. Ever since long ago the place had been chosen to serve as a new graveyard, people had avoided the area at large, the magic hanging heavily in the air around it.

The voices slowly faltered, and he saw two faces stare into his direction. They seemed as startled as he himself was to find them here. Staring at each other, the three people stood very still, instinctively feeling that the presence of the other was somehow not right. The wind had started up in the past half hour, making their travelling cloaks billow around them. The wind howled for a second, whipping off the one woman's hood.

Stormy eyes looked at him, hostility etched into her face. Her dark hair whipped around her body, a certain threat emanating from her body.

"Don't be afraid, I won't do you any harm," he said loudly, though it was obvious that this young woman was in no way afraid of him.

No words answered his own, and he had not really though they would. Taking two more steps towards them, his hand still hovering by his sword, he raised his voice once more. "What are you two doing here this late?"

"Ah …" the smaller woman fidgeted nervously, her fingers seeking those of the other one who was still silently glowering at him.

"That is not to be of your concern," Rei said harshly while clasping her companions fingers in what she hoped to be a soothing manner. It would have been too easy if something like this hadn't happened. She knew that with being here she was getting them into an enormous amount of potential trouble. The time to get away from here had definitely come, this stranger appearing out of nowhere did not feel like a good sign at all.

He smiled at her. He had not expected much of a different answer after all. So he tried again, to at least get some clue of what he was dealing with here. "May I at least know who you are then?"

"We are just some peasants," Rei replied calmly, her voice not betraying how her thoughts were going around in louder growing circles, telling her to just get the hell out of here. On top of that, the sky was starting to cloud over, something they really did not need right now. Her power was just about enough to get them forth and fro, but without the energy of the moon to guide her, she wasn't sure just where they'd end up at all.

"I see." He raised an eyebrow at her, but said no more. Who was she trying to fool? She looked nothing like a peasant. Her hair was long and silken, and she held herself perfectly. And even though she was wearing a long cloak, he could see a fine golden necklace she was wearing. A red, brilliantly glittering stone was embedded in the tear-shaped pendant on it. Even though it was simple, the necklace looked far too exquisite for a peasant.

"And who may you be?" she asked him in return, breaking her stare from him for the first time to glance around, checking if there were more strangers lurking in the shadows.

"That is not to be of your concern," he quoted her.

Her head snapped back to him, her eyes cross, ready to reply, when the other woman tugged on her arm.

"Just leave him be. We should really get going, Rei," Usagi said. Her voice was very soft and melodic, though it rang with worry now, and made him focus on her for the first time instead. She seemed somewhat a girl still, her dark cloak not managing to hide her petite figure and delicate features. Her blue eyes looked beseechingly at this Rei, her hand tucking at Rei's. Silvery blonde tendrils of hair escaped from her hood, and there was the strangest shimmer of gold on her forehead. Tilting his head, something gnawed inside of him, a feeling that he was stupid not to recognize her. The feeling grew stronger the longer he looked at her.

"I know," Rei muttered, nodding. Leading the way, they quickly continued walking down the trodden earth path, past the young man. "Farewell, sir," she said, raising her eyes to him once more before they brushed past him hurriedly.

Still lost in thought, he let them walk by without an answer, without trying to stop them, his hand still resting on his sword. Oh, why couldn't he put his finger on it? Something about this all wasn't right. He was missing a puzzle piece, a puzzle piece he only had a faraway recollection of, a puzzle piece he knew all the same though. Shaking his head, he grumbled under his breath. This was stupid. He was just drained from this more than tiring day; it wouldn't be the first time that his mind was playing tricks on him.

He turned around; to talk to them once more, to return the farewell, to try and question them, or to stop them he didn't know. But there was no one to turn to anymore. He stood alone in grassy clearing, the two young women nowhere to be seen.

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I'm happy with everything I get; suggestions, wild suspicions, ideas, requests, complaints, and well, I'll just laugh at stupid, mindless flames, so if you don't like what you see, tell me in whole sentences and in a cultivated language, alright?

Cheers ;) Greta