Chaperones
The princess was missing. Again.
The first time Aphrodite checked on Princess Serenity in the middle of the night and found her luxurious canopy bed empty, a pillow hidden underneath the blanket serving as a poor substitute for a human body, she had been worried out of her mind, imagining all the horrible things that might have happened to her.
The second time, furious. She had told Serenity in no uncertain terms that she was forbidden from sneaking down to Earth to visit the Terran crown prince, and her willful disobedience had made Aphrodite's blood boil with rage.
This third time, however? All she could do was sigh with exasperation and turn back around, automatically pulling out her Venus wand in preparation to teleport. There was no need to look for Serenity anywhere else in the castle; she knew exactly where the princess was.
Elysion.
The worst part about the whole thing was that Aphrodite understood. She was the sailor guardian of love and beauty, of course she did. All it took was one look at Serenity and Endymion together for her to realize that the two of them were destined lovers, the bond so strong between them that they could only be called soulmates. In any other circumstance, she would be their greatest ally and supporter, doing everything in her power to bring them together.
But their love was also star-crossed – a love that wasn't meant to be, for it was forbidden by holy law for Lunarians and Terrans to meet. If anybody else found out about their secret trysts… At least Serenity was smart enough to only sneak away on the nights when she was on guard duty. Aphrodite didn't want to imagine what would happen if she tried such antics with any of her other guardians, as much as they all loved her.
With a shout of "Venus Power, Make-up", a blast of golden light surrounded Aphrodite as her silk gown disappeared, replaced by the uniform of Sailor Venus. She then closed her eyes and focused on her desired destination, her skin tingling with energy.
The teleportation was almost instantaneous. Still, Venus kept her eyes closed for several more seconds, knowing from previous experience how disorientating teleporting to Earth could be, with its stronger gravity and different atmosphere. A soft wind tousled her hair, the scent of some Terran flower tickling her nose.
When Aphrodite was reasonably certain she could handle moving without wanting to hurl the contents of her dinner, she slowly opened her eyes.
As she suspected, she found Serenity in the arms of her forbidden lover, the two of them kissing in a passionate embrace in front of the fountain in the center of the royal family's private rose garden. Neither of them seemed to have noticed her arrival, the two of them lost in their own little world.
One person had noticed her intrusion, however. He loudly cleared his throat, Venus involuntarily jumping from the sudden noise.
"So, we meet again, Sailor Venus," Kunzite said. "I've been expecting you. It must be difficult having such a bundle of curiosity for a princess."
"I could say the same of your prince," she retorted back, spinning around in her heels to face him. As always, Venus felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of his handsome face, but she did her best to ignore it, focusing on the matter at hand. "Tell me, is he always such a trouble-maker? Prince Endymion should know better by now not to invite Her Highness to visit."
He sighed, rubbing at his temple. "His Highness is a willful man when he puts his mind to it. He will not listen to reason. Believe me, I've tried, but it does no good."
Venus might have been more annoyed at his apparent resignation to the situation if she wasn't in the same boat with her own princess. "Oh, honestly, what are we going to do with those two?" she asked with a shake of her head. They still had not given any indication that they realized Venus and Kunzite were even there.
"I don't know," he admitted, frowning as he crossed his arms over his broad chest, his gray eyes staring at the couple in question with a worried look. "I just don't know..."
Venus didn't know either. The only thing she did know was that she and Serenity needed to leave as soon as possible if they didn't want to risk their absence on the Moon being noticed by anybody else. As much as she hated to do it, she marched over to the fountain and tapped the princess on the shoulder.
"Princess, you're here again?" she lectured, hand on her hip. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from Earth? You know it's forbidden."
Princess Serenity pivoted around. "But, Venus –"
"I don't want to hear it. We need to go home, right now."
The princess opened her mouth as if to protest once more, but realizing it was no use, she sighed and dropped her shoulders. "I understand. May I at least say goodbye to Endymion before we go?"
Though it went against her better instincts, in the end, Venus couldn't say "no", her heart too soft as always when it came to the princess. "Fine, you have one minute – not a second more."
Giving them some privacy, Venus walked back over to Kunzite, who raised an eyebrow. "I know, I know," she said, raising her hands in faux surrender.
"I didn't say anything."
"But you wanted to. I can tell."
He only smiled in response.
DISCLAIMER: "Sailor Moon" doesn't belong to me.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Written as a gift for Zellie/AlexandriaAndrews. Hope you enjoyed the story!
Some dialogue lifted from the manga.
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