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"The Fiction We Live" Chapter Eight
by Greta
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Usagi cursed herself as she lifted the layered white skirt of her dress, her pace quickening to quite a sprint. She had received note of the grand introduction of the royal guests to the Silver Millennium earlier that day but had completely forgotten about it in the course of the following hours, worries occupying her mind fully. As much as she was not interested in the obligatory formal introduction of the four people that were her guests she knew that there was absolutely no way around it. If she didn't show up to it she knew that her mother wouldn't stop at expanding her
curfew to the walls of the Palace itself. And she had better hurry, as being late would bring her a scolding as it was anyway.
Biting back the curses rising inside of her, she skidded around a corner, her feet already aching from the dainty white shoes with high-heels much too high to run with comfortably she was wearing. How she despised her duties sometimes! Pushing past a few servants harshly she felt their astounded gazes grazing her backside upon her whizzing past them in a very un-Princess-like-manner before finally rushing through the grand doors of one of the larger throne rooms of the palace. There were different throne rooms for different occasions; this one was the largest and destined for formal royal events like this. Noticing their Princess, the crowd instantly made room for her as she hurried forwards to her mother's side where she should have arrived several minutes earlier.
Trying to regain control over her quickened breath she smiled serenely at her mother, knowing that the last thing she should do was to make her lateness obvious to the crowd. Her face flushed, her chest heaving, she tried to look as serene and royal as possible and keep her real interior hidden from the rest of the hundreds of people crowded into the room. It seemed she had gotten here in the nick of time as a deep voice suddenly boomed throughout the high room.
"Introducing: the princess of the Kinmokusei Kingdom and first heir to the royal throne, Princess Kakyuu!"
A beautiful red-haired woman smiled graciously and warmly at first her mother and then at her before dropping into a low and respectful curtsy. Usagi returned the smile, noting the other young woman's beautiful appearance and especially the calmness she emanated. Out of the corner of her eye she caught her friends, who stood left and right from her and her mother, mirroring Kakyuu's action of curtsying. She always felt slightly strange when she saw them doing this act that was customary among royals. As she was the princess of the highest royal rank she was not supposed to do any such thing ever; people should only pay respect to her, not vice-versa. She could feel the colour that was still high in her cheeks deepen slightly as she let her eyes sweep over the crowd so she would not have to look at them.
It seemed that many people had been invited. There were the royals of the Moon Kingdom planets themselves, and many friends, mages, erudites and ministers of her mother's.
"Last Descendent of the Star Field Light of the Kinmokusei Kingdom!" the deep voice bellowed out once more, making her snap her wandering eyes back to where she was supposed to be looking. Repressing a snort, she noted Seiya now bowing in front of them. So that was his official title? She wondered what the last descendent part meant, not knowing anyone of that status.
As he straightened Seiya's gaze fell upon her. He had not seen her since she had turned her back on him after slapping him the day before. Truth be said, he was usually not treated like that by women, as they tended to like him. It took him no effort to win them over; their fondness for the tall, dark-haired sword-fighter with the seductive grin was obvious from his first glance to them. For the most part, he corrected himself as he noted her flushed face staring defiantly at him. Raising one eyebrow at her, his expression cold and expressionless, he turned away quickly, his steps a tad too heavy.
"Last Descendent of the Atmospheric Light of the Kinmokusei Kingdom!"
Usagi clenched her teeth together in self-control. Only seeing him had made the emotions run high in her! She had not forgotten what he had said to her yesterday – oh, she would never! They had been few words that they had exchanged, but they had been definitely well chosen as they had stung her exceptionally. Forcing a smile unto her face she looked up at the brown haired young man now before them, the very one that had found Rei.
Suppressing a sigh, she let her gaze wander back to her friends; there they stood, the Princess of Venus, the Princess of Mercury and the Princess of Jupiter. Only the place where the Princess of Mars should be standing was empty. Her friend had not awakened ever since she had fallen unconscious and was lying in her chambers at that very moment where Usagi had left her mere minutes before. She had stayed at Rei's side the rest of the day before and most of the new day; she hadn't wanted to leave her friend's side thus making her late.
"Last Descendent of the Night Sky Light of the Kinmokusei Kingdom!"
Oh, couldn't they get these useless formalities over with already? She felt impatient and out of place as it was and knew a place she'd rather be in that moment. But what was there to do? Nothing but sit it out and smile like the doll she felt she was at times like these.
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Breathing in deeply, the raven-haired girl stared at the ceiling of her room that stretched high above her, her features furrowed in troubled thought, as she was - to say the least - confused and shaken. What exactly was it that she had witnessed deep within her? She wasn't sure how much time had passed since then, as all she could make out from her room was the inky darkness of the night outside.
But the things she had seen were still so vivid and clear-cut in her mind. Those images had been so jumbled that she wasn't sure what had been real and what had been added by her own thoughts and memories of long ago – for she was indeed certain that the images she had witnessed and that had brought her to her knees had indeed been real on not just some twisted fantasy her mind had conjured up. Bringing her arms up to rest on her forehead heavily, the one thought persistently nagging in her mind bringing a sigh from her lips.
She did not want to believe that these images could fathom along the thing she dreaded the most. She wanted nothing less than another war to rage in the galaxy, as too much had already been lost in the one that was still so vivid in her memory.
It had been five years now – five years that seemed to be eternally long and short at the same time. Five years that had taught her what it was to suffer and what it was to never forget. It had been five years now since he had been killed.
His name had been Jadeite. He had been sent to Mars when she had still been a mere child – but she had loved him ever since the first time she had laid her eyes upon him. He had only been a few years her senior and yet he had already seemed like a real man even back then; tall, strong and handsome with his untamed locks of sand-coloured hair and stormy blue eyes.
But it wasn't his looks that had drawn her to him; there had been something other than that, something inexplicable that had bound their souls together and had drawn them to one another. He had been the first to understand her fully for who she was.
He had come from the blue planet Earth, unknown to most habitants of the Silver Millennium, in want to train and become stronger for his life's mission. The planets of the Silver Millennium each held their own powers that differed greatly from one to the other – Mars was the mysterious planet and was the place to learn what was considered to be the supernatural.
And so he had come one day to her planet of fire, claiming to want to learn and train, so that he could protect his Prince once the time had come. She remembered watching him from afar as he dropped to one knee in front of her mother, the Queen of Mars. She remembered tracing the outline of his face with her gaze, somehow amazed and transfixed from the very beginning. Once the queen had spotted her she had told her to come closer, laughing warmly upon seeing her daughter half hiding behind a high pillar of the throne room. Upon hearing her approaching steps he had slowly lowered his eyes from her mother to raise his gaze to her flushed face. She remembered that moment as if it were yesterday; she remembered every detail, the scene playing in front of her inner-eye in slow motion.
She had fallen in love in that one moment, in a way that resembled the blaze of a kindling flame.
She had been ten years of age back then, but age had had no play in the matter. She had stayed at his side as often as she could, seeing to it that she could train and learn with him as often as possible. They become close companions, he teaching her what it was to fight and she teaching him to discover his inner voice that could – in his deepest moments of need – help him better than the best fighting skills. He had stayed on Mars for three years; and on that day he was bound to leave for Earth once more she had finally kissed him.
She had never told Usagi just why exactly she liked Earth so much. The reason was simple: she had spent her most wonderful moments with him there. She too had left her home planet soon after him to live on the Moon, making meetings with him scarce. She had managed to get to Earth as often as was possible for her, grasping every opportunity to do so.
But five years ago the war on Saturn had started. It was a brutal and unneeded war in her opinion, but who was she to argue with the Queen's opinion? But things were not going very well several months into the war. The queen of the Earth then lost no time to grasp the chance to strengthen her alliance with the Silver Millennium in offering her support in the war, which Queen Serenity gratefully accepted. Rei had never forgiven her Queen for making that choice as it resulted in Jadeite being sent off to Saturn. The war had been won eventually, but he never returned alive from the
ice-cold planet that reeked of death and destruction. He had died five years ago.
But that flame she felt for him deep within her still blazed to that very day. The only difference was that its heat had turned from being passionate and alighting her very core to being painfully scorching.
"Haruka … Haruka!" the senshi of Neptune cried out as she witnessed her companion being struck heavily by the angry mob of people with widened eyes. A cry of rage escaped her throat that was already sore from the biting cold as she saw Uranus stumble and fall to one knee. Not bothering to call out the words of her attack she summoned the energy of her planet in-between her palms by mere thought, sending it flying at the people in her way. Breaking into a run as well as she could, she headed for the blonde woman who was grasping her side as she tried to get up from the icy ground. Skidding in her high-heeled shoes, Neptune stumbled on the ice beneath her feet, which did not stop her from gathering another wave of energy in her palm to throw at the intruders that had had the nerve to hurt her lover.
Throwing herself down at Haruka's side, she ignored the skin of her knees tearing as it came in contact with the rough ice. "Haruka …" she whispered, as she brushed the other woman's blonde hair out of her eyes.
"Michi … Don't be so concerned …." Laughing coarsely, the Senshi of Uranus grinned as best as she could. "I'm all right, really …"
Forcing Uranus' arm away from her rib case, Neptune shook her head. "Don't lie to me … I feel your pain as much as I feel mine …" she whispered frantically, but stopped upon seeing the large gash Uranus had been covering before. Blood was steadily seeping through the white of her uniform, the red spreading rapidly. "Oh, Haruka … "
"We've had worse injuries, Michiru …"
"You are not making this down, believe me. I'm calling Pluto now …"
"Don't, no … She needs to stay …"
"Be quiet, fool …" Shaking her head at her partner, she raised her palm to the crystal resting on her chest, evening her breath the best she could as she concentrated upon the Guardian of Time and Space. Pluto, I need you, she whispered in her head, calling upon the one other guardian of the outer boundaries of the Silver Millennium. Please …
Her cold and merciless surroundings grew still and almost motionless, as energy flickered in front of her cowering body. Sighing in relief, Michiru bent over her partner who had already lost consciousness once more.
Materializing in front of her, Garnet Staff raised high in the air, Pluto emanated pure power. Her eyes narrowed, she scanned her surroundings quickly, before her eyes stopped at the aqua-haired senshi. "Neptune, why are you calling me?" she asked harshly, her breath rising in a cold mist. "You know that we are not to –" stopping in mid-sentence upon noticing Uranus, Pluto's eyes widened as she hurried forwards. "I
understand, Michiru," she sighed. Raising her staff once more, she concentrated her power on the three of them and transported them away from the doomed place.
"Why my dear Queen what a nice occasion to come together once more! I've always said that the strengthening of relationship between the separate galaxies should be paid more attention to," the counsellor of one of the Solar System's sister galaxies bellowed out loudly before laughing equally as loudly, his deep tenor drawing eyes to his round frame.
Queen Serenity smiled at him serenely, quite accustomed to his loud and always laughing nature. She had known this man, Xavier, for most of her life, he being by far older than he looked. He had already been the counsellor of all foreign relationships concerning his galaxy when she had still been a princess, and her own mother had still reigned over the Silver Millennium.
"It's been some time, Xavier, you're right."
"And what lovely guests those four are! I dare say that I've never met Kinmoku's princess before, as I've only had the pleasure of meeting her mother up until now. But now, she's nowhere as lovely as your own daughter, my dear Queen!" Xavier's loud voice rose once more, his deep laugh covering many a conversation that was going on close to him.
The young Serenity shook her head as she laughed daintily at the compliment directed at her. Smiling at him as best as she could, she suppressed the urge to just to stab her finger into his heavy chest and tell him to stop saying such slobbering things. For one thing she felt she deserved no comment like that at all. The fireball princess was easy to make out in the crowd of people with her alluring cloud of crimson, conversing easily with everyone who spoke to her while showing what seemed to be real interest and perfect politeness. And apart from playing the part of the princess perfectly she managed to somehow emanate such an alluring energy of
womanly beauty that Usagi felt exceptionally jealous looking at her.
" … Serenity? Serenity!"
Snapping her head back to her mother, Usagi quickly smiled while raising her eyebrows questioningly. "I'm sorry, mother. Yes?"
"Oh let her be, Serenity!" Xavier said laughingly before the Queen could raise her voice once more. "Go off to your friends, dear Princess. You're too young still to have to listen to all our boring babbles!" Laughing, the round man waved into the other youth's direction.
"If you say so, Counsellor," Usagi replied, before grasping the chance being offered to her and quickly turning from her mother.
"Xavier …" the Queen sighed.
"Oh Serenity! Let her enjoy herself for a bit! She's a girl as much as she is a princess; you know that, don't you?"
"What you are saying is nothing new to me after being her mother for almost 18 years now."
"I should think so," Xavier laughed as he looked around for one of the servants that were crossing the room with their tablets of petit four. Spotting one, he cheerily waved the servant over before helping himself to a handful of the small appetizers. "I should think so, Serenity. After all, you weren't much different from her when you were her age."
"Now, was I?"
"Oh, you were a handful when you were young, Serenity. It's only that everyone who knew you back then has either forgotten or chosen not to mention those facts anymore."
This time even Serenity replied with a genuine laugh. Yes, much time had passed since she had risen to be the Queen of this galaxy. Over 20 years had passed since her mother had passed away, leaving her to rise to the throne when she had been as old as her daughter was now. But it was not only the others that had forgotten how she had been when she had still been young herself; somehow the memories had ceased to emerge inside of her for the longest time. But now that Xavier was mentioning it … hadn't she too snuck out of the palace late at night? Hadn't she even run off to meet a man? Yes … But then he hadn't been just any man … Oh, how much time had passed.
"Say Serenity, aren't we in for an announcement still?" Xavier asked good-naturedly but curiously, forcing Serenity from her thoughts.
"An announcement …" Serenity repeated under her breath, knowing that quite some task was still awaiting her. A task she was definitely not looking forward to, now she thought about it. Why did plans like this always seem easier thought than acted? Sighing, Serenity nodded at Xavier who was still curious for an answer. "Yes, an announcement still awaits us."
All this conversation had gone unnoticed to the young princess though, who had hurried away as soon she had been informally dismissed. Her mother would not disagree or put her opinion against one of her guest's in a trivial matter like this, so it had solely been a matter of grasping her chance. Smiling, Usagi turned to look for her friends. Too bad that they seemed to have disappeared from sight without telling her where they'd all gone off to. Seeing as she had no interest in staying around to be talked to death by people who felt it was their need to do so she quickly hurried
around one corner and another before she reached the exit she so sought after.
As soon as her foot crossed the threshold that led from the throne room to a normal corridor that was in no way at all part of the festivities anymore a heavy sigh left Usagi's chest. Raising one hand to her forehead to rub her temples, Usagi warily and much slower than before made her way down the darkened marble hallway. Usagi loved the light and pretty; but somehow the dim and dark corridor with its long and dark shadows had a soothing effect over her just now. Just why did she feel so distraught? Trying to bring order into her confused thoughts, Usagi
closed her eyes, all the while seeking for an answer to the question she was asking herself. But who was she trying to fool? Today was not a day to find answers to her questions; she could feel that much deep within her bones.
Closing her eyes, she sighed as deeply as she could, while she continued making her way blindly down the corridors of her home, the soft clacking of her shoes the only sound surrounding her. It wasn't until she felt a hand clasping on her wrist, that her eyes snapped open once more.
A shrill shriek rising in her throat, Usagi instantly pulled her wrist back towards her body as forcefully as she could, while trying to distance herself as much as possible. "L-l-leave me be! I'm – I'm calling the guards!" she continued, panic surfacing in her voice. Her wrist was instantly released, making her stumble a few steps backwards
uncoordinatedly, while she strained her eyes to recognize the person that was well camouflaged in the inky darkness.
"Hey … Sh … Don't act as if I'm hurting you!" an angry voice broke through Usagi's panicked babbles. Perking up upon hearing a voice that she felt far too familiar with after only knowing it for such a short time, she immediately straightened her body, her proud and erect posture trying to hide the fact that she'd been very scared moments ago.
"You! Are you following me?" Usagi spat out at the person that was undeniably Seiya.
"Who'd be interested in any such thing, eh?"
Clenching her teeth together, Usagi was short of growling at him. "Shouldn't you be at the festivities being held in your honour then?" she hissed menacingly, stepping into a pool of light the moon was casting on the marble floor through a window.
Raising his eyebrows at her, Seiya smiled mischievously. "I'm sure that three out of four is good enough for anyone who is even vaguely interested in us … And I'm sure that my missing is nothing to worry over when the Moon Princess herself doesn't show her face at the festivities she is supposedly giving," Seiya said, mimicking her hiss with a smirk.
Taken aback, Usagi paused for a moment, mouth slightly agape. Her face turned from him, Seiya couldn't make out her expression, only that she was shaking her head slowly, before her voice spoke up again. "Even you must have guessed, that I'd rather be anyplace else than in that damned throne room right now."
Cocking his head at her, Seiya chuckled. It deemed him strange how her mood could switch from enraged to serious in a mere matter of seconds. Shaking his head himself, he turned away from her to face the window side of the corridor. Propping his hands up on the wide marble sill of a window that reached far above his head he sighed while surveying his mirrored reflection for a moment. But it wasn't only his face that was staring back at him; behind him she stood, the innocent Moon Princess, one hand curled at her chin, her eyes staring intently at a spot far away in the distance. Reaching up, he opened one of the large windows to let in the cold air of the night before turning back to face her.
"Are you alright, then?" he asked after having breathed in the refreshing air deeply for a few moments, his eyes fixed on the wall across from him.
Pursing her lips, Usagi looked at him in surprise. "Why are you asking?"
"You've made me wonder what has made you turn your back on that 'damned throne room'."
Usagi wasn't quite sure if she should laugh or not. "Don't act as if my emotional state is of any concern to you."
"Hey, don't make me sound heartless …" Seiya muttered his eyes still not on the princess. Ah, what was he doing here? She was right after all; her emotional state really shouldn't be among any of his concerns. He had enough things on his mind as it was. But … he knew that he would hate himself for evermore if he didn't at least listen to her. It was strange, really; she was still as aggravating as she had been the days before, with the superior airs she was putting on and the childish comments she threw at him, but something was different. Letting his eyes finally look at her once more, he sighed. She looked sad and lost standing there in the middle of a dark
corridor with no one at her side; wanting to listen to her problems was one thing - he could always convince himself that he was after all only wanting to help – but why on Kinmoku was there some side inside of him reacting to her loneliness by wanting to answer it with going over to her side and never leave her?
He was making her uncomfortable. His eyes were fixed on her face, looking at her as intently as she hadn't been looked in – well, she couldn't remember being looked at like that by a man ever before. Breaking their eye contact, Usagi shook her head slowly from one side to the other and instead let his words run through her mind. Heartless …hmm ... maybe that was a bit harsh, yes … but - "You've given me no reason to assume you are anything but," she muttered after a few moments of silence. "And that in not even two days! Shall I congratulate you?" she continued, not hiding the mockery in her voice.
"Well, should I in return remind you that you haven't been exactly sugary sweet either?" Seiya replied bitingly. Rolling his head, he turned his gaze away from her once more. He knew it. He had been stupid to think that concern would reward him with anything worthwhile.
Usagi blinked hard for a moment feeling a bit … stumped. What was making her feel so was the fact that he was right. Biting her lip she took a deep breath before slowly walking over to where he stood leaning against the window sill. She felt like she was being treated like a child? She felt like she didn't deserve his snide remarks? Well, it definitely didn't come from nowhere; it was her own fault if she wasn't acting any better than him. Her hands clasped behind her back tightly, she came to a halt in front of him. "I … I'm sorry. I acted stupid as well. I'm sorry, really."
Cocking his head at her Seiya locked gazes with her for a moment. "Well, Princess, now that you're apologizing I'd feel bad if I didn't as well."
Usagi's gaze turned hard for a moment, her mouth opening to bitingly ask if that was the only reason why he would apologize, before she got a grasp on her childish side and instead just glowered at him for a moment.
Upon seeing her silent anger, Seiya couldn't help but laugh out loud. "What's wrong, Princess? Aren't you going to voice your anger? I can still tell what you're thinking anyway."
"I … I, well, I mean, no, I want to refrain from voicing any more unpleasant things, thank you very much. I am a Princess after all, you know."
Seiya couldn't help but laugh once more, louder and much more felt this time as well. Switching from rows on the corridors to a careful choosing of her words, from cursing him to apologizing, from the actions of a teenager to those of a child and those of an adult and back again … What a Princess indeed.
"I know that you're a Princess. And I'm sorry as well. Really. And not only because you apologized first."
"You're forgiven," Usagi said solemnly, nodding her head graciously at Seiya, who in response only started chuckling once more. Feeling a grin break out on her face as well, she joined in his laughter. "Let's take this as a new start then, shall we?"
Smiling softly, Seiya nodded. Without giving it much further thought, he reached towards her right hand, clasping it in his own. "Let's dance, shall we?"
"Dance?" Blinking slightly taken aback, Usagi repeated her short question once more. It wasn't that she couldn't dance. And it wasn't that she was surprised that he could dance. She couldn't explain it, but it just deemed her almost ridiculous to be dancing with that person.
"Yes, dance. To begin this new start adequately," Seiya said, grinning at her wolfishly, before placing his hand on her backside and waltzing her around the lonely corridor to the music that reached them from the festivities they both were supposed to be attending in that moment.
Gasping in pain, her hold on her staff tightened as a surge of pain swept through her uniform-clad chest. Clenching her teeth together tightly as she closed her eyes, she brought her garnet staff down harshly to the ground, a thunderous boom resounding as the two came in contact with one another. Though she desperately tried to refrain from showing just how much energy this had cost her, her knees buckled beneath her without her having a say in it, bringing her to the ground harshly.
Prying one garnet-coloured eye open, the senshi of time and space looked at her companion, now noticing for the first time that her fellow guardians of the Silver Millennium looked as if their fight had not gone all too well and according to their satisfaction. Leaning heavily on her trusted staff, Pluto tried to get up, but to no avail. Teleporting three people – one who was completely drained of her energy in the bargain – from the one planet of the solar system upon which numerous protective magical spells lay when she was already having enough on her hands wasn't exactly
making her a happy skipper.
"What happened, Neptune?" she said, deciding to stay kneeling on her knees for a few moments longer to gather some more of her needed strength. "I thought they were just a small mob of rebels …"
With the unconscious senshi of Uranus lying heavily in her arms the turquoise-haired woman, flinched as she shifted into a position that allowed her to face Pluto. "They were, Pluto, that's exactly the problem. They were twenty at the most … But they fought with magic, Setsuna …" Her voice died into a whisper as she shook her head, the shock of finding energy that was undeniably strong being thrown at her still deep within her.
"Magic on Saturn?" the green-haired senshi whispered aghast, her eyes wide and her fingers now clenching the garnet staff now almost painfully tight. "Magic on Saturn, the one planet sealed away to such from the inside and outside?" she repeated, adding the thoughts that fearfully sprung up in her mind. "It can't be …"
"I'm afraid to say that there is no denying it … And Setsuna, I'm sure I recognized the energy of the one casting the magic …" Michiru's voice had dropped to a fearful whisper. "It was an energy that originates from Earth."
She had to admit that she felt surprised if not somewhat taken aback. Having been sent out by the Queen to come and fetch her daughter, Minako had not expected to find said daughter waltzing down a dim corridor with a man she had glowered at and cursed about hours before. She had been watching the two dancing together for the past minute or so, and still had not stepped up completely. She knew that she couldn't put it off for much longer though; the Queen had seemed rather irritated at not being able to find her daughter anywhere as it was, and she was sure that Usagi would only get in trouble if she didn't show up at the festivities sooner or later. Taking a deep breath, Minako drew a hand through her golden locks absently before fully walking towards them.
"Sere … " she said loudly enough to make the two syllables echo in the vast corridor. It did the job Minako wanted it to do, as the two people stopped dead in their tracks upon hearing her voice. Sighing, Minako placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head while clucking her tongue. "Really, Sere, what are you up to now? Your mother's been wanting to make some announcement for the longest time now but refuses to do so until you're there, and here you are, dancing in dark and lonely corridors with some handsome man," Minako said in a lecturing voice that undeniably held a smile though.
"Minako …" Usagi muttered, glancing over her shoulder to look at her friend. Noticing that she was still grasping Seiya's hand, she felt a blush rise in her face as she let go of it abruptly, quickly stepping away from him as well. "I – well, I wanted to get away for a moment and went looking for you lot, but then I, we, I mean – "
"Oh Sere, stop stuttering around. I'm the last to deny you some fun with handsome strangers from far away galaxies," Minako said, a big grin on her lips, before winking at Seiya coquettishly.
Seiya raised an eyebrow at the blond damsel Yaten had chosen to follow the day before, rather unsure of what emotions he should approach her with. He had enjoyed dancing with the Moon Princess, there was no denying it; her voice had echoed closely in his ear and her lithe body had moved easily with his. But at the same time something inside of him was protesting, which made his mind yell out that they were only dancing in defence, upon which he was first presented with the thought that if he was actually defending his deeds there had to be some part inside of him that thought far too much of this all. He didn't like this, really; it confused him, and left feeling more insecure than he would have liked to feel. Shaking his head while breathing in deeply, he ignored his jumbled thoughts as best as he could.
"Well, Moon Princess, it seems we need to return to that 'damned throne room' after all now," he muttered, grinning lopsidedly.
Drawing up her shoulders for a moment before releasing a big breath of air, Usagi sighed deeply. "I guess so … But stop calling me Moon Princess please. I'm just Usagi," she said before walking off towards where she was expected.
Following her slowly walking away figure, Seiya smiled. "Alright Usagi. Thank you for the dance."
Glancing over her shoulder, the young woman only smiled.
"Hmm …" Her hands crossed across her chest, Minako cocked her head questioningly at the two people walking away from her. Who would have thought … ? Shaking her head softly, her eyes turned to the floor, tracing the tiles beneath her feet for a moment. But she would be the last to utter any of the words that were running through her mind in that moment, for she had a feeling that she was still the only person aware of anything, including the two retreating people.
Picking up her orange silken skirts slightly, she followed their steps briskly. The two had already entered the throne room when she reached it, getting there just in time to hear the Queen speak up.
"Serenity, would you please step up?" the Queen asked as soon she had spotted her daughter in the crowd, a cool smile on her face as she motioned for her daughter to come closer.
Smiling, Usagi tried to mirror her mother's calmness in the best way that she could. For somehow, without any real reason for it, a nervous knot had started building in the pit of her stomach, which only grew in size when the many guests parted to make a path for her. Forcing her smile to remain on her face she couldn't stop the nervous feeling inside of her growing. Stepping up to her mother's side, she then noted the two people standing beside the Queen for the first time. Two people she had never seen before, one of them a beautiful woman and the other a scowling young man, that looked quite discontent upon being where he was at that moment.
Nodding her head at her daughter shortly, the Queen raised her voice once more, directing it at the crowd. "I would like to announce an engagement tonight," she started, pausing to smile first at the two guests at her side and then at her daughter. "Meet your fiancé, Princess, the Prince of the Earth, Endymion."
Usagi's eyes snapped open as the rest of her body seemed to lose its ability to move. Her heart beat away wildly, the loud thumping sound echoing in her mind and body. What had her mother just uttered? "My … fiancé … ?" she whispered under her breath, the disbelief that her petrified body wouldn't portray in her voice. "My … fiancé …?" she repeated slightly louder before finally finding the strength to snap her head to the side and stare at her mother.
The Queen cringed inwardly upon seeing her daughter's hurt eyes that accused her of betrayal. But what was done was done. Breathing in deeply, the Queen closed her eyes for a moment, before offering her offspring a small and sad smile.
Smiling. Her mother was smiling at her, the last she felt like facing in this situation. She would have liked to pretend that this whole announcement was nothing but a bad joke, nothing but some stupid mistake! But that one smile told her all she needed to know; and it hurt and stung and angered her and left in her in nothing but sheer disbelief.
The joyous clapping of the crowd reached her ears distantly as her eyes swayed back to the man that was to her husband. Her husband … the person she was to spend her entire life with … and yet he was nothing but a strange face she had never intended to get to know!
"No …" she whispered under her breath, the soft sound being drowned by the tremulous clapping. "No!" she repeated fiercer than before, before finally crying out: "Never!" Spinning on her heel she left the three people standing on the heightened platform without another glance to push her way through the crowd of people.
Watching the silver-haired girl run away frantically, Endymion sighed. "At least one of us voices our thoughts."
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If you haven't noticed yet, the Generals are gonna be a bit butchered up. Hell, the whole storyline is being butchered up. I honestly hope you don't mind. (grins)
Review for God's sake – or even better for mine. ;-)