No character's created by Naoko Takeuchi belong to me, the idea however, is mine.
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Prologue - A Voice of Destiny
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The Lunarians were a strong, though peaceful, race. They were the power in the galaxy, and thus, almost all other Kingdoms would rally to them in an alliance. Although, there were those that did not wish for the Moon Kingdom to rule, and so they sat, plotting the rise of their own Dark Kingdoms. Though their uprising would not come for many years, they were still watched...feared. But the fear was lost to such peace and many soon forgot that there were enemies, still, to the Moon Kingdom and it's allies in the Silver Alliance. And so we watch, as the beginning of our story takes place inside one of the many rooms in the Silver Palace.
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As the earth rose from behind the mountains of the Moon Kingdom, a small child bearing the crescent moon of the Lunarian Royalty was born. The Kingdom rejoiced, for this was their beloved Queen's first, and only, child. She was small, bald, but altogether one of the most beautiful babies you can imagine. The King and Queen smiled through tears of joy at their new daughter, thankful to be blessed with such beauty. They were surprised, as the baby did not cry, but instead, she opened her eyes to reveal the most wondrous sky blue that one could imagine. Stories told about her would say that the Goddess Selene took some of the sky and gave it as a gift to the small child, if only to make her more beautiful. Those endless depths of sky looked around her curiously, spotting what her unconscious mind told her were her guardians and parents.
"Serenity...that's what she will be called." The Queen stated and was unchallenged by her husband. He thought it was the perfect name for his darling daughter.
After a few moments of content silence, a midwife bustled in, followed by a few maids. She frowned at the King but it held no feeling. Her face cracked into a smile as she eyed the threesome happily and stepped further into the room, addressing the King, "King Taranis, you know your wife and daughter must rest now." The statement certainly did more than imply that the King needed to be out of the room, though in a respectful way.
"Sleep well dearest Selenity," Taranis whispered to his wife as he slowly began inching away. He turned to his newborn daughter and brushed a kiss on her forehead with a smile. "Good night, my lovely Serenity." And with that Taranis turned and left the women to do what they must.
Selenity smiled at her retreating husbands figure but immediately returned to gazing lovingly at her daughter. She had waited so long for a child and her wish had finally been granted. It had certainly been worth the wait for such a lovely child. The Queen's thoughts were elsewhere, barely hearing the midwife and the few maids bustling about until they came to put the child to sleep. Selenity looked up at the waiting midwife and smiled, "Oh please...just a few more moments?"
The midwife knew the feeling of being a new mother and nodded, giving the Queen her few more first moments with the child..
As Selenity continued to just stare at Serenity, a strange feeling seemed to be building up inside her. It was like letting a droplet of sweat continue to drip down your body without wiping it away. When finally she thought that she could stand the feeling no longer, a voice sounded inside her head. It was deep womanly voice yet every word chimed through her mind as clearly as a silver bell.
'All the planets will rally..Their warrior shall return..And Serenity shall have the protection of one clad in Silver..
Forget this warning not my Queen, for it holds your daughter's destiny along with the entire galaxies..'The voice slowly echoed into nothing inside the Queens head. Her expression was slightly abashed, but turned to curiosity as the words that had been spoken rolled around in her mind. She would have to ponder the meaning before she told anyone...even her husband. And that voice had seemed so familiar to her, who had been speaking? The Queen was thinking furiously to herself about all these things. Her mind relaxed a little as recognition of the voice dawned on her. Of course Setsuna would speak in riddles...now all Selenity had to do was unravel the riddle. Maybe then she would speak to Setsuna about it.
After that last thought, the midwife made her way to Selenity once more. "It's past time the two of you were gettin' some rest Highness."
Selenity acquiesced with a slow nod, lifting Serenity up slightly for the midwife. She watched as Serenity was swept off to her waiting crib, Serenity was already asleep before she had even made it there. It took a little more, however, for Selenity to get to sleep. She was still trying to piece together the puzzle of riddles going through her head.
'All the planets will rally...' Did that include the Moon Kingdom's planet?
'Their warrior shall return...' Only one? A planet's one warrior?
'And Serenity will have the protection of one clad in Silver...' Selenity had clearly heard the capitalization of the word Silver. And what could that possibly mean?
None of it was yet clear to her as her eyes started to droop heavily. She really was rather tired and she should get some sleep. Selenity tucked away all the thoughts that had gone through her mind for later perusing. Within a matter of seconds, the Queen was also fast asleep, her daughter only a few feet away, neither of them knowing how Serenity's destiny would shape the future for them all.
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As Taranis swiftly made his way down one of the many corridors, his mind was obviously elsewhere. He simply let his feet carry him wherever they willed, and he soon found himself nearing the only place that he ever went to think. 'What need did he have to think?' He thought to himself, sitting himself down into a large cushioned chair near the back of the library all the same. Only a few came to this section of the library and that was precisely why he had chosen this spot, oh so long ago. Everyone in the palace knew this to be his 'spot' and so, left him in peace as he lounged there, sometimes with a book, other times simply staring off into oblivion.
Taranis let the rich smell of the mahogany bookshelves wash over him, mixed with the smell of the leather, binding the sweet smelling paper together. He never thought there to be a more fantastic library. The keeper kept everything clean and well organized, Goddess forbid something should ever happen to his precious books. Taranis chuckled to himself at the thought but was suddenly overtaken with a peculiar feeling, one similar to getting butterflies in your stomach. The feeling did not last long and he immediately recognized a voice in his head to be Setsuna's. She spoke clearly, in a prophetic sort of tone.
'He who was born of the Queen of Terra shall hold the key to your daughter's heart...'
The statement was short, and yet it held so much at the same time. What did Setsuna know about his daughter's future? He knew Setsuna would never give away more than she deemed necessary so it was almost always unprofitable to speak with her.
'My daughter's heart..' Did she mean that this boy will be my daughter's love? But her statement had reeked with double meaning, and Taranis knew that his thought, though important, wasn't of enough importance to be spoken of by Setsuna. And somehow he knew...his daughter's destiny...his daughter...was important.
Taranis sat pondering the statement but could not fathom what the second meaning could possibly be. The only thing he truly knew was that this boy was the Prince of Terra and he needed to find out who he was. Taranis assumed that it was too soon for a child born on Earth to be put into the history books as of yet, so he needed an alternate source of information. Would Setsuna tell him? No, if she had wanted him to know right away she would have told him. Taranis silently cursed Setsuna's riddled way of speaking. If only she could just explain things a little clearly... Shaking his head he set out to find someone who might know the goings on of Earth. He had messengers from Terra since they were part of the Alliance. Why wasn't he told of the birth of the Queens son sooner?
The hour was growing late, and Taranis needed to find one of those messengers before they all went to their chambers. He needed to settle his mind on the subject.
He strode along the warm welcoming halls of the palace, though now, they just seemed to loom. He wondered now why the palace was so big, nobody would ever be able to find someone in here, though that was just his need talking. Taranis passed dozens upon dozens of maids and servants in the halls, but they would know nothing of someone's whereabouts. He sighed in frustration, no longer looking around him. It wasn't until he almost ran straight into someone that he noticed they were there. Making quick apologies he made to set off again when he noticed the person in front of him happened to be just the messenger he had been hoping to find. Taranis broke out into a smile before addressing the man.
"Sir Artemis, how good it is to see you. I was just looking for you...I am in need of some information you should have.." At that, Taranis' face became gravely serious. The man named Artemis nodded quickly and turned to enter an empty guest chamber nearby. Taranis followed him inside and shut the door.
"What is it that you need Taranis?" Artemis was a long time friend of the King, and one of the few that had no need to speak the honorific title of 'King'.
"Artemis, I have just received some...interesting information about someone on Earth, and it has to do with my daughter. Please, Artemis, tell me everything you know about the Queen of Terra's son." Taranis decided not to dawdle and get straight to the point. All his wandering about had only let his curiosity grow.
Artemis had listened closely, for the King seemed to find this to be a very serious subject. Confusion leapt onto his face as he heard mention of the Queen of Terra's son. The Queen didn't have a son. What was Taranis going on about? Something to do with his daughter? The King must have become slightly paranoid after the recent birth of his child. Artemis made it plain that he had no idea what the King was talking about.
"The Queen of Terra doesn't have a son Taranis..." Artemis thought Taranis might possibly be joking with him, so he said it rather lightly, but soon found out that the King was completely serious.
"What! But Setsuna-" Taranis cut off, he wouldn't share that information about his daughter with Artemis, no matter how close they were. "That will be all Artemis, thank you." He gave a slight nod and dismissed himself, leaving behind a slightly bewildered Artemis to his thoughts.
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Selenity woke early into the morning feeling refreshed and ready for the day. It was a week since the birth of Serenity, and the both of them were doing fantastically well. She got out of the bed silently so as not to wake her husband, but turned around to find that he wasn't even there. Looking around the room ,she put on her morning robe and went into the antechamber where the morning tea was already waiting. It was there that she found Taranis, awake and dressed.
Taranis looked up as Selenity entered and smiled lovingly, pouring her a cup of tea as well. "Here you are love. I've been meaning to talk to you about something." His voice had gone from loving to rather serious, but it stayed soft.
Selenity raised an eyebrow but sat in one of the chairs, sipping her tea. Her silence spurred Taranis to continue with the conversation. "The night Serenity was born, when I left you with the midwife, I ended up going to the library." There was no need for him to lengthen this conversation, all he needed was to give the information in hopes that Selenity might have something to say on the subject. Taranis continued, "And when I got there a voice, Setsuna's to be exact, sounded in my head." At this, Selenity's eyes widened, she wondered if what had been said to Taranis had been the same as what was told to her, but either way, she knew today was the day she told her husband of what she had heard that night as well.
Taranis' voice went on, "She told me, 'He who was born of the Queen of Terra shall hold the key to your daughter's heart...'. But before you say anything, let me finish," he said quickly. "So I then went to find Artemis so he could tell me who this Prince of Terra is. I was already confused at why we wouldn't know of one of our allies having a child, but what makes it even more confusing...is that Artemis told me, and I know he wouldn't lie to me, that Queen Gaia...doesn't have a son."
Selenity listened closely and was just as baffled by it as Taranis. When he had repeated the statement, he had successfully reenacted that the statement held a double meaning and she knew he had done it purposely. This truly was a mystery to her. She had never known of Gaia to have a son, and Artemis' information just confirmed it. But the statement...Setsuna would never tell them something that wasn't true, and it clearly said that Gaia's son had already been born.
"I think...I think we should forget about it for now though, since it seems we're obviously not gonna get any information on her... 'son'." Selenity countered. There really was nothing they could do about it right now, and she really needed to speak to Taranis about what she had heard that night. "But there's something I need to tell you as well."
Now it was Taranis' turn to raise an eyebrow. He nodded his head and waited for his wife to speak.
"That night, I also heard Setsuna's voice, but she told me something different." Selenity paused so the words had time to sink in and so she would be able to remember exactly what had been said.
"She told me, 'All the planets will rally..Their warrior shall return..And Serenity shall have the protection of one clad in Silver..' and I have yet to figure out what it means... She also told me that this 'warning' holds our daughter's as well as the galaxies destiny. Do you have any idea what the riddles may mean? It sounds to me more like a prophecy..." Selenity let out a breath and looked up at her husband. The words were still processing in his mind. He would need time, just as she had to try and uncover the mystery of it.
Taranis was silent for a long time, letting the words continue to wash over him. Two fingers hand found their way to resting upon his lips, a sure sign of thought on his part. He removed his fingers and took a breath to speak. "I will have to think on the rest, but one thing is clear to me now...our daughter and this...Terran boy, hold the fate of the entire galaxy. But how? I cannot even begin to fathom..."
The two parents stared at each other for a long time. They let this thought boil over them in their silence. No words were uttered but a world of understanding passed between the silent duo. Nobody must know of their daughter's importance, it was too big of a risk. And if she was to lead a somewhat normal life, they could not tell her for a long time yet, it was too big for one so small. Then there was also the matter of this boy, this...Prince. They needed to find out about him, on top of finding him.
With that, the King and Queen stood. The two would not mention this topic again for a very long time, and until then, they had a beautiful daughter to raise as royalty. That in itself was enough to keep their minds off of the subject, but again, they were the rulers of a very powerful Kingdom. They had to attend to matters of the state so they could keep the peace in the galaxy.
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And somewhere, on a planet called Earth, there was a boy of three winters. A boy oblivious of his heritage, of his past, and of his future, struggling to survive what people seemed to call life.
And there it is! The prologue for my first Fanfic! I'm very excited about this and I hope everyone enjoys it. I do plan on making the chapters quite a bit longer, I just had to get all this info out so I could get the story up and running.
And please, read and review, because any encouragement is appreciated!