Chapter 3: The New Generation
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Princess Serenity screamed as a bucket of ice-cold water was dumped on her and her friends as they passed under a large willow tree in the Palace grounds. Out of the tree fell the bucket, and a black figure zipped out of the tree and towards the Palace entrance. The five girls gave chase to the figure, whom they all knew. "Koaru!" Princess Raye of Mars yelled, "When I get a hold of you, I'm gonna hurt you so bad!"
Koaru smirked as he heard Raye's words. To him, three six and two seven year old girls were no threat. However, the man that turned the corner was a threat, and a major one at that.
Artemis watched as Koaru attempted to stop and run the other direction, but, he was running way to fast to do that, so he ended up in a crumpled heap at the soldiers feet. Artemis looked down at him, hands crossed. "Koaru, what have I talked to you about?" he asked. The eight year old looked up at him, his eyes filled with fear. "Not to pick on Serena and her friends..." he mumbled, turning his gaze to the five girls, all who had just rounded the corner, puffing and gasping. Artemis smiled as he shook his head slowly. "What did you do this time?" he asked, figuring that he didn't need to from the look of the girls' dresses. "I splashed them with water from the lake." Koaru replied, then dashed out from under Artemis' feet and into the Palace.
Princess Serenity, or known better as Serena, which she preferred to be called, ran up to Artemis and started to rant. "Why didn't you grab him? He splashed me and my friends! Where's mommy?" Artemis held up and hand, and the young one fell silent. "Serenity," he began, "You know that he won't get far before Luna gets him." Serena giggled, remembering the time that Koaru had pushed her into a snow bank, and Luna then threw him into the same bank, only he went in so deep that only his feet remained unburied.
Koaru's punishment turned out to be the worst one yet, he thought, as Luna carried him over her shoulder, set him down beside Artemis, and looked at him, shaking her head. Then she turned him to face the girls. "Koaru, do you have something to say to these girls?" she asked him. Koaru looked at the ground, then mumbled, "Sorry." Artemis suddenly got an idea. He leaned over to Luna, whispered in her ear, and they both began to shake with silent laughter. Luna, attempting to keep a straight face, looked back at Koaru. "Koaru," she started, "in order to make sure that you never do that again, you have to kiss one of these girls." Koaru's breathe caught in his chest, and he whipped his head around to look up at Luna with a look of complete horror. Artemis looked at the five princesses, and, trying to keep his voice even, asked, "Anyone want to volunteer?" The five girls were giggling, and all but Serena was blushing. After a moment, one of the five stepped away from the others.
Princess Amy of Mercury was only six, but she felt that if Koaru was this terrified about kissing a girl, which to her didn't seem that bad, then he should have to do it, and she wanted to do it as payback for the time he had caught her in a trap in the trees and left, leaving her dangling upside-down for over half-an-hour. A slight wind picked up, and her storm blue hair blew around her head and across her face as she approached the squirming boy.
Koaru felt like the galaxy hated him. Then he remembered, Luna said only a kiss, she didn't say how long it had to last. Therefore, he twisted out of Luna's grip, and ran towards the approaching girl.
Amy felt slightly disappointed when she saw Koaru escape Luna's clutches, but jumped when she saw him speed towards her. She then felt his lips gently brush against hers, then in a small fountain of dust and leaves, he vanished, leaving her breathless and red as a tomato.
Artemis and Luna stood side by side, both staring, bewildered at what Koaru had just done. "Guess that threat won't work anymore." Artemis said, feeling let down, since some of his best laughs had been from giving that threat to Koaru. Luna gulped, "Wait till the King and Queen of Mercury hear about this."
Amy returned to her friends, silent as a statue. It was Serena who broke the silence. "Amy! You kissed a boy!" The others erupted into laughter, and Amy blushed harder then ever. A short way away, Koaru was sitting in a tree, thinking about what he had done. "Why did I kinda like that?" he wondered, trying to get the image of Amy's face out of his mind, trying not to remember what her lips felt like on his. (he's 8, how would expect him to feel?)
That night, as Luna tucked Koaru into bed, he looked up at her and asked, "Why did kissing that girl feel ok?" Luna stared at Koaru, bewildered, then started the long explanation.
Over in Serena's room, Queen Serenity came to kiss her daughter goodnight. "What was all the shouting about today?" she asked as she sat down on the bed. Serena sat up, a big smile on her face. "Koaru kissed Amy!" she happily stated, then launched into the story of how it had happened. Afterwards, the Queen left the room, smiling. "I guess there is hope for this generation after all." she said, walking towards her own room.
