She is luminous by starlight.
Her chestnut curls have fanned across the pillow like a waterfall. Impossibly long eyelashes now hide from him the sparkling emerald eyes of his love. She is asleep in his arms, energy spent, completely at peace. Her face is flushed and soft. Her lips, swollen from his attentions, are tipped up at the ends in a smile that even utter exhaustion cannot take from her.
They lie there together, him spooned behind her, their legs intertwined. He smoothes a hand over her soft cheek in a gentle caress before reaching down to interlace his fingers with his. He cannot help but take delight in seeing the band of gold and gemstone on her hand. It is a token of a promise not yet fulfilled, but brimming with hope.
It still fills him with wonder that she accepted him. How is it possible, that a princess could want a commoner like him? Could love him as he does her?
His lips curve and he brushes a kiss to her ear, breathing in the sweet scent of roses that he now associates only with her, and drawing a soft murmur of contentment from her, though she does not wake. Her answer to his question would be simple and self-mocking. She's a lousy princess. She is wrong, though, he knows. She can be regal when she needs to be. And much more.
He did not fall in love with her at first sight. Quite the opposite, actually.
He'd stolen through the farthest gate, seeking his prince, and been promptly knocked on his backside by a blow he'd never seen coming. He could only assume she'd thought him a spy or assassin out to kill her princess, but he wasn't sure, since he'd learned better than to ask her about it again. Rightly assuming himself under attack, he'd gone after her. Their short-lived battle had been like a warrior's dance, with neither one able to gain the upper hand and neither willing to bow out.
The Moon Princess and Earth Prince had come running at the sounds of combat, their shocked cries breaking up the scuffling of their respective guardians.
He'd laughed then, and said something mocking about hot headed people who assumed too much and thought too little. Her face went crimson then with mingled rage and humiliation, she'd used a foul phrase he'd never before heard from a woman's lips, and she'd decked him before stalking away, leaving the Moon Princess to apologize and try to pour oil on trouble waters and his prince to help him back to his feet.
She has a mouth on her sometimes, his beloved does, and a passionate temper to match his own, though much quicker to rise.
He didn't see her until the next day, she having made a very clear point of not attending the formal presentation where he and his fellow Shitennou and the Earth Prince were introduced. A woman's pride can be a fierce thing, and she is proud. It's part of both the princess and the warrior in her.
He did not see her the next morning either, though he now knew whom she was, the princess of Jupiter. He actually stumbled across her in the kitchens when he and Jadeite decided to sneak a bit more of the incredible pastries they'd eaten to break their fast before their very early scheduled training. Mischievous Jadeite had suggested the mission, but he'd thought it a great idea, and agreed. Half the fun and most of the challenge was in escaping from Kunzite's notice.
They'd managed to sneak away with some difficulty, and a promise to bring Zoisite some as well, for covering for their absences. He'd expected Jadeite to have to sweet talk one of the cooks. His partner's brash, swaggering charm and blond good looks worked wonders in such cases, usually, but instead they'd found the kitchens seemingly empty.
He'd snagged a cream and jam filled tart and been bringing it to his lips when the pantry door opened, he'd heard a soft gasp, and he and Jadeite had frozen guiltily, caught red handed by a pair of quick green eyes. He'd been so surprised at seeing her walk in toting a mixing bowl, her silk gown swathed in an apron, that he'd missed his mouth entirely when he'd tried to hastily swallow the evidence of his crime.
A pretty picture he'd made then, whipped cream and sweet jam on his nose, the very picture of guilt. Jadeite had laughed out loud, even as he'd blatantly, shamelessly pocketed another two sweet buns and popped a cream horn in his mouth.
The Jovan princess' eyes had sparkled with mirth as she began to giggle. She'd clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the sound, but it had to come out and she finally laughed as heartily as Jadeite had, shoulders shaking, then passed him an olive branch in the form of her handkerchief.
She'd had him when he heard her laugh. Though the plate of pastries she'd packed him off with didn't hurt either.
At that night's gala he'd searched for her and she for him.
When she caught his eye, she'd flashed him a merry smile, clearly recalling the shared memory of him decked out in jam and cream. If not for the smile, he would have been truly irked. But that smile lit up her whole face until she glowed like a star just for him. Because of him.
That's when he'd fallen for her. Hard.
Jadeite, of course, noticed it right off. He'd elbowed Zoisite and commented how unusual it was for their friend to take his head out of the stars and take interest in more 'earthy' matters. He made a mental note to kill, at first opportunity, both Jadeite and Zoisite. But especially Jadeite, who'd all but cackled at the blush he'd brought up on his pal's cheeks.
She'd approached them without any of the simpering coyness that tended to irritate him in other maidens. Holding out her hand, she swept him out onto the dance floor without a word. A jolt, not unlike an electrical current, shivered up his spine at the touch of her hand on his own and his hand on her slim waist. The color in her face seemed to indicate that she felt it too.
That first dance had lead to another and another. He had been quite unreasonably vexed when she left his side to perform the duty dances that protocol required, even when her partner was his own prince. Still, she always returned to him with that secret smile that he now wanted to claim for his own. It would be like holding starlight in his hands.
Evening's end found them alone on a secluded terrace beneath the stars and the full Earth. Quite unexpectedly she turned and snatched a quick, unsatisfying kiss from him.
He stared at her, amazed, and she blushed faintly beneath his frank gaze.
"One small theft for another, my lord Nephrite," she muttered, her boldness failing her. Embarrassed, she'd swung away, tightening her hands on the railing that overlooked the garden walk, looking out blindly into the night.
"Princess…" he'd started to speak when she shook her head, her upswept curls falling forward to hide her face while they bared the vulnerable nape of her graceful neck .
"I…" She couldn't think of how to apologize for her unbecoming forwardness.
"Juno," he'd said the, exercising a rather shocking boldness of his own in using her given name without leave, "do not. There was only one thing for which you might have need to apologize."
"And what sir, might that be?" She could not face him.
"Not letting this be our first kiss."
Taking matters into his own hands, he drew her into a close embrace and pressed his lips firmly to hers. Her arms slid up of their own accord to loop around his neck and his hands burrowed into her silky hair to hold her as the heat flared between them and they kissed each other quite breathless.
When a lack of oxygen forced them to part, they'd stepped back, gasping slightly, unable to take their eyes off of one another. Finally she'd said softly and with true sincerity, "I do humbly apologize, my lord Nephrite. You were quite right. The second was much more…" Scarlet color suffused her cheeks as she broke off, and he'd laughed, spinning her around in his arms as if in a waltz.
He'd begun inviting himself along on her morning rides. She'd engineered it so that she could observe his combat training sessions. They managed to meet by 'accident' in the halls too many times to recall. They waltzed at the nightly galas and, far from the palace, watched shooting stars wheel through the night skies. Sweet embraces and passionate encounters followed as surely as night follows day.
Their liaison was the worst kept secret in the entire Silver Millennium.
It was a scandal, certain parties whispered, that the Terran dared to court, however clandestinely, a princess of the realm. He'd smiled smugly at that. He'd done far more than court her and she'd been with him every step of the way. She'd accepted him in her life, her bed, her heart and then gladly accepted his ring when he'd asked.
She has promised to speak to the lunar queen and her own royal parents at first opportunity, to secure the necessary permission for them to wed. She says it will not be forbidden, for is he not now all but a king in his own land. She swears she will wed no other than her king, for that is the right of every princess. Even the oldest fairy stories say so, and love will conquer all.
But no fairy tale, however beautiful, can last forever. Rumors of unrest and tumult have begun to make their way to the Moon. The kingdom's glitter is drawing those who wish to destroy beauty in a lust for power. Blood has already been spilled. And he has been called to fight in the battle. It is his duty, but he will do it for her, to secure her peace. Then he will return to her, his Juno.
If he returns to her. Or she to him.
A frown mars the chiseled planes of his handsome face as he presses an urgent kiss to her bare shoulder. Now that passion has been spent, he cannot help but brood over what he saw in the night sky before they retired. It makes his blood run cold, though he did not tell her of what he saw, not wanting to spoil their last night together before he must leave for battle.
All his divination training and learning have taught him one thing. The stars do know everything, but tonight all he can do is hold her and pray that he and they are wrong. For when he attempted to ask if she would survive the coming darkness to live with him and be his love, they gave him the one answer he never wanted to find and cannot accept.
Not in this lifetime, General…