Terran Palace – Silver Millennium

"Where's Endy today, Jadeite?" asked Zoisite, the seven-year old Shitennou-in-training, tugging at his friend's flowing sleeve. "He's not training with Kunzite, is he?"

His companion, a sunny blond boy of eight, screwed his face up as though faced with the prospect of eating a rotten parsnip…or indeed, any vegetable. "Nah. Kunzite said he had to go talk to some girls from out'r space. Some queen of someplace came and brought princesses an' they've gotta be en'ertained. Bet he's bored silly."

"Probably," agreed a third boy, sounding as lofty as his superior ten years allowed. He tossed his mahogany brown locks back out of the way as he opined, "Princesses are stuffy and prissy." He grinned, sapphire eyes twinkling with amusement, and waved his wooden sword about. "Hey, I know. We're s'posed to be Endy's protector's one day. Let's go rescue him from the girls now. It'll be fun. And then we can play combat."

Jadeite grinned broadly, his azure eyes twinkling with the prospect of mischief. "That's a great idea. He'll thank us for it. Come on Zoi. Let's us and Neph save Endy!"

The three boys trooped through the castle, finally tracking down their friend and future sovereign in the anteroom adjacent to the Terran palace throne room. The Prince of Earth was perched on a velvet chair before the fireplace, flanked on either side by a five-year old girl.

The Crown Princess of Mars, Raye, sat rigidly upright in her seat. She was garbed in the simple, elegant flowing robes of her people, in a shade of silvery-lavender that complimented her large purple-violet eyes, which were the rich color of pansies' hearts. A tiny amethyst studded silver tiara swept back the raven's-wing fall of her hair. A small plush toy of a black bird just peeked out from her wide, bell-shaped sleeve. She was making proper genteel conversation, child style, with the prince.

By contrast the heiress apparent to the throne of Jupiter, Princess Lita, was clad in a dress that was a confection of tier upon tier of sugar pink ruffles and point lace that made her bright green eyes seem to shine all the brighter. She wore a double circlet of gold around her forehead and on either side, above her ears, sported enormous Jovian pink poppies, each as large as a grown-up's hand. Beneath each poppy, her hair fell to her waist in a long red-brown pigtail. She was swinging her feet back and forth in a constant motion, looking like she would prefer to be anywhere but there, so it was with interest that she observed the newcomers, cocking her head to one side as they entered.

"H'lo," she greeted the boys, waving at them and smiling brightly. Jadeite took one look at the brunette princess' pigtails and began to laugh, whispering something in a loud stage whisper to Nephrite about, "…like my spaniel's ears." Lita's eyes narrowed ominously, especially when she noticed the brown-haired, blue eyed boy straining himself not to laugh.

The little Martian princess glared down her patrician nose at the blond. "You're a very rude boy," she informed him, her tone tart. He grinned unrepentantly, not in the least cowed by her scathing words, and gave her a saucy wink.

"Hrmph." She turned away, her face going red, and wrinkled her nose in distaste. Jadeite crowed in delight.

Zoisite was the one to speak, merely intent on collecting someone who could even the odds in a training battle. "Endy-kun, let's go. We wanna play swords. With you we can have a fair fight, two on each side."

Prince Endymion frowned. He wanted to, really, but he'd been told he had to entertain the two young royals while the grown-ups discussed a treaty of some sort. He was about to say as much when the pink-clad princess seemed to brighten, leaping down to the floor in a flurry of ruffles. Wrapping a fat russet curl around one fingertip, she chirped, "That sounds fun. I wanna play."

Not about to be outdone, the princess in lavender climbed down from her chair and added her voice. "Me too."

"No way. Girls can't fight," Jadeite pronounced, looking distinctly smug at having been born a boy. "Ev'ryone knows that." He looked over at his partners in crime for backup. Nephrite shook his head briskly in agreement, though Zoisite merely looked worried, twisting the end of his copper-tinged ponytail anxiously.

"Can so," insisted Raye, looking obstinate.

"Yeah," Lita stuck out her lower lip in a pout a bird could have perched on. "We can do anything boys can."

"Can't." Jadeite swaggered over, brandishing his wooden practice blade in front of Raye tauntingly. She batted at it with the stuffed raven in her hand, parrying his thrust.

"Yeah," Nephrite agreed, sneering at the little princesses, particularly the one in pink. "You might muss your ruffles." He reached out his hand, tweaking a pigtail, chortling when he heard her squeal of indignation. "Why don't you two go play tea party or something? Girls can't fight with blades."

In actual fact, the little pink-clad princess normally would have had no objections to playing tea party, it being one of her favorite games. But she certainly didn't mind fighting either. And most importantly, she detested being teased. Lita's face flushed angrily and she glared at the brown-haired boy, hands going to her hips where they bunched into fists.

As for Raye, NO ONE had ever told her she couldn't do something just because she was a girl. She wasn't about to let anyone do it now.

Lita and Raye exchanged glances and a moment of silent communion seemed to pass between them. With nary a word spoken, they turned as one toward Nephrite and Jadeite, their emerald and amethyst eyes glittering dangerously. Without warning they pounced, yelling together, "CAN!"

Nephrite and Jadeite found themselves each wrestling a kicking, screaming, scratching, clawing, and punching scrap of spitting mad female royalty. The attack coming out of the clear blue as it had, they never stood a chance. They went down in a tangle of petticoats and ruffles as the girls pummeled them furiously. Jadeite's practice sword was the first casualty, snapping in two as he fell under the Martian princess's attack.

Endymion, Zoisite and every other person in the room gawked, completely speechless. It became clear immediately that none of the servants or guards had a clue what the socially correct response was to a brawl started by two spitfire galactic princesses. The boys, therefore, were left to defend themselves as best they could.

The sound of grunts and squeals and shouts and the sharp sound of ripping fabric filled the air, punctuated by the sound of small fists meeting flesh. There were even flashes of green and red light. And then quite suddenly, over the din a voice could be heard, though only because the speaker was yelling at the top of her lungs.

"VERITY LITA! DIVINITY RAYE!"

Both future planetary sovereigns flinched, froze, then glanced guiltily over their shoulders as their nursemaid glared at them, crossing her arms over her ample bosom and tapping her foot.

"I am shocked, I tell you. Absolutely shocked. Come along this instant!" She pointed at the door. Her voice brooked no argument. "Just wait until I tell your parents about this."

The tiny raven-haired princess stuck her tongue out one last time at Jadeite, who stared at her dumbstruck, swiping absently at the blood which trickled from his battered nose. She smirked at him and spun away with a regal flounce, head held high.

Nephrite couldn't resist provoking the hot-headed Jovian princess one last time. After all, her nursemaid was here now. What could she do to him?

"Hah!" he snickered, "You're going to get it."

The pigtailed princess curled up her lip defiantly and hit Nephrite one last time, the sucker punch a blow to the eye that smacked his head back against the stone floor as well. He would later swear that he heard a thunderclap at that moment, although the servants assured him it was just his hard head striking the slate tiles. While he lay there, stunned and seeing stars, she hurled his wooden sword into the fire where it sizzled and was gone in an instant. The princess then righted herself, re-fluffed her ruffles, straightened her torn sleeve, and stormed away, pigtails flying.

Jadeite and Nephrite lay on the floor for a long moment, staring at the door through which the two girls and their nursemaid had disappeared and wondering exactly what had happened.

Neither Jadeite's broken nose, nor Nephrite's black eye, nor even Kunzite's blistering scolding after the fact stung as much as Endymion and Zoisite's hysterical laughter over Nephrite and Jadeite's having been trounced by a pair of princesses who were far younger than they. But both boys had learned something important from the encounter with the two planetary princesses. One thing had been crystal clear.

At least when it came to girls, they didn't grow 'em like that on Earth.

(Note: Lita's headdress is similar to Ozma of Oz's from the illustrations in the Oz books)