AN- Ok, so I believe everyone who likes some good romance will enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer- I do not own any Sailor Moon characters; I'm simply borrowing them
Chapter 9- Wedding Chaos and Jealousy
It was absolutely perfect. The children of the galaxy suddenly started idolizing royalty rather than the famous singers and actors. Well, there were two royals they were interested in particular- Crown Prince Endymion of Earth and Crown Princess Serenity of the Moon. It seemed like no one could get enough of this unbelievably good-looking couple.
Suddenly, Serena and Darien found their faces everywhere and their names on everyone's lips, but they didn't care. They were too busy being young and in love and of course, helping to run their kingdoms. After a few months of officially being together, the princesses and the generals found significant changes in both Serena and Darien. It seemed like the two of them really suited each other and made the other a better person. Serena wasn't as sarcastic and kick-ass as she was earlier. She was no longer quick to get angry. Darien, on the other hand, improved his diplomatic skills.
"They are perfect for each other," Mina commented one day. The group was on vacation on a beach on Mars anxiously awaiting the marriage of Prince Hayden and Princess Abigail. The wedding was going to be on Mars as it was customary for Martians for a wedding to take place where the bride lived.
"Yeah, but you've said it like eight trillion times already." Lita replied. "It's starting to get a little old."
"I heartily agree," said Nephlyte. There was a plus in Darien courting Serena; the generals could unofficially court the princesses. The unofficial part was due to the fact that none of the princesses (minus Mina, but Malachite made up for that) wanted to find their faces plastered everywhere like Serena and Darien's faces were. They wanted to keep it simple.
"Man, I wonder if they'll ever get married." said Mina dreamily. "It will be beautiful. Serena will be in a beautiful white dress, Darien in a tuxedo, and you girls and I in beautiful bridesmaids' dresses. It will be so romantic."
"I think that Mina has said that a zillion times." said Lita. "I think one wedding is more than enough more me right now. Why don't we concentrate on being good bridesmaids to Abby, Mina?"
Mina sighed. "I guess so." she said. Then she turned to Malachite, who was going through a few political documents. She grabbed them out of his hand. "Enough work, sweetie. Gosh, this is supposed to be fun, and all you do is work!"
Malachite tried to grab the papers back, but Mina was too quick for him. "I enjoy doing work that will aid my king and queen." said Malachite. "Why does that bother you?"
"Wow, Malachite," teased Raye, "I'm surprised you don't know the answer to that already. Mina can't have fun until everyone else is having fun, well a kind of fun that is acceptable to her."
"Not quite queen material eh, Princess Lumina?" teased Nephlyte.
"Not quite the loyal-lover material eh, Nephlyte?" shot back Mina. "I mean come on, you're courting Lita, but you still flirt with the maids!"
"Mina!" yelled Lita. "That's rude!"
"Yeah, now you're ganging up on me." said Mina angrily. She got up. "I think I'll go help Abby with the last-minute preparations. Excuse me." She ran back to the palace without looking back.
"Good going, you guys." Amy said. She was eating a sandwich along with Zoicite. "You just had to hurt her feelings, didn't you?"
"It was all in good fun." insisted Raye. "We didn't know she'd go off the deep end."
"Whatever," said Amy, "I'm going to go check up on her." Amy got up.
Zoicite got up as well. "I'll come as well." The two of them walked hand-in-hand back to the palace.
In Abby's Room
"Can you believe it?" yelled Abby. "The florist has the gall to tell me that gardenias and white jasmines would be better than red roses and white lily-of-the-valleys!"
"Abby," said a frustrated Serena, "The florist suggested that gardenias and white jasmines would be better than red roses and white lily-of-the-valleys. We've already gone through this."
"It's my wedding. I think I am the best judge of which flower arrangement is better." said Abby angrily. "I mean red roses are my favorite flowers, and white lily-of-the-valleys are Hayden's favorite flowers. I think if they are entwined together it will be a good omen for our wedding."
Serena sighed. "Look Abby, I didn't know that, so I am sure as hell that the florist didn't know that. She didn't mean to offend you or doubt your judgment. She was doing her job, which involves suggesting the best possible flower arrangement. And you need to calm down," said Serena. Mina walked in just as Serena finished talking. "Oh, thank god you are here, Mina."
Mina grinned. "Princess Lumina to the rescue, how can I help?" she asked.
Serena rolled her eyes. "You can start by calming down Bridezilla over here. She's driving me nuts. Trust me; I'm seriously having second thoughts on ever getting married. I don't to ever be like that," she said pointing to Abby who was playing "he loves me, he loves me not" on a red carnation. "It's too dramatic for me."
"What, so you are giving up thoughts on ever marrying Darien?" teased Mina.
"Darien will leave me at the alter if I act like that!" laughed Serena. Mina giggled.
"Ok so there was this priest and rabbi, and they entered a bar," said Zoicite as he and Amy walked in.
Serena raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Mind explaining what you just said?" she asked.
"I thought you guys were must be having a joke session because you were laughing so hard. I never miss out on a good joke fest," said Zoicite.
"Wow for a smart guy, you're pretty stupid sometimes," said Mina.
"Mina!" said a surprised Amy.
"Well even smart guys have their blonde moments," said Mina.
"Hey Mina, don't insult blondes! I'm blonde!" whined Serena.
"Uh, Serena, so am I." pointed out Mina. "I was using it as a figure of speech. I didn't really mean that blondes are stupid." (AN- I don't think they are either. The smartest girl in my grade is blonde, and she's also one of my best friends.)
"People!" screamed Abby.
"Yeah Abby?" asked Amy.
"Everyone get out of my room right now! I need to meditate!" yelled Abby. The group fled out of the room.
Once they were outside Serena said, "That's it. I'm never getting married. I'll remain a spinster for all my life."
Zoicite looked slightly alarmed. "Really, surely you don't mean that?"
Serena nodded. "You bet I do. I don't ever want to turn into that." she said pointing to the door. "Besides, I like being unique. Anyways, people tend to remember unique rulers. I would definitely be way more historic if I were to be dubbed the "Virgin Queen" or the "Queen Married to Her Country." I like the sound of that. Auf Wiedersehen!" She walked off.
Mina and Amy shrugged their shoulders. "Well we'd better be off. We need to warn my brother of Bridezilla over here," said Amy.
"Toddles," added Mina. The two of them walked off in search of Hayden.
"Oh, oh." said Zoicite. He walked off in search of Darien.
In Darien's a Few Minutes Later
Darien was lying down on his bed playing with a diamond ring. It was a pretty ring. It had three square-cut diamonds- a big one with two smaller ones on either side of it. It was set on a platinum band.
Malachite was polishing his pride and joy- his bejeweled sword. He had received it from Queen Daphne when he became the chief general. He looked upon Queen Daphne as a mother. He had never known his own. He was orphaned at a young age. His uncle was a lieutenant in the Terran army. He had lived with his uncle for a year. However, his uncle looked upon him burden and useless. He was cold and heartless. One day, he brought a six-year-old Malachite to the palace when he had to meet the king along with his regiment. Somehow, Malachite had wondered off, and he bumped into a four-year-old Prince Endymion. They were some kids teasing the prince, and Malachite didn't like that these boys were making fun of a little, defenseless boy, so he stood up to the bullies. Somehow, he scared them off. Queen Daphne witnessed all of this, and she came over and talked to him. She asked him questions about who he was, what he like to do, etc. His uncle found him talking to the queen, and he had assumed that Malachite had made trouble. He started to beat the young boy in front of the queen. This time, the queen stood up for the young boy, and she told his uncle, "This boy is no longer in your charge. He is to stay in Elysian with us. One day, he'll be a great general; you'll see." She then held out her arms for the little boy to run in. That was the last time Malachite saw his uncle. He later found out that his uncle died in battle some years later.
Nephlyte and Jadeite were playing cards. They were not really interested in the card game though. They were too busy day-dreaming about their girlfriends. Zoicite walked in suddenly with a distraught look on his face.
"Who died?" asked Jadeite.
"Shut up, Jadeite." said Zoicite. "Major problem, Darien."
Darien stopped playing with the ring, and he sat up. "Ok, shoot," he said.
"Serena doesn't want to get married," Zoicite said sadly.
Darien looked confused. "What makes you say that?" he asked.
"She said so herself," Zoicite replied.
"That doesn't sound like a very Serena thing to say," commented Malachite, who had stopped polishing his sword.
"Yeah, what exactly did she say?" asked Nephlyte.
Zoicite sighed. "Well Abby was being a complete monster, pre-wedding jitters or some crap like that. Anyways, so Serena said she doesn't want to ever get married because she doesn't ever want to end up like Abby. She also said that being called "The Virgin Queen" or "The Queen Married to Her Country" would make her more famous anyways. I'm really sorry, man," he said.
Darien smirked and then burst laughing. "Poor guy, it probably hasn't sunk in yet," whispered Jadeite.
"What are you laughing about, Dare?" asked Nephlyte.
"Guys, you are seriously worried about that?" asked Darien, who was still laughing. "Has it ever occurred to that Serena is just about the most sarcastic person alive? Half the stuff that comes out of her mouth when she's frustrated or mad, she doesn't really mean! I mean, come on guys!"
"So the proposal is still on?" asked Zoicite.
Darien laughed one last time. "Definitely," he said once he stopped.
"Good," said Malachite. He then resumed polishing his sword.
The Next Day aka The Blessed Event of the Joining of the Royal Houses of Mariner and Phobos-Deimos through the union of His Royal Highness, son of King Hermes and Queen Athena of Mercury, Crown Prince Hayden and Her Royal Highness, daughter of King Ares and Queen Vesta of Mars, Princess Abigail through holy matrimony
Abby had hit complete freak mode. Everyone stayed away from her including Raye. Nobody wanted to get anything thrown at them like Rainier did when he came into her room. So, the girls spent the morning just relaxing and getting ready. Raye was going to be the maid of honor, and the other girls were going to be bridesmaids. Amara, Michelle, and Trista had arrived that morning, and they all enjoyed catching up and gossiping.
About two hours before the wedding, Amara, Michelle, and Trista left to get ready. Raye was the first one ready, as usual. She was wearing a crimson halter dress that had a full skirt and a subtle gold sparkle to it. The rest of the girls were wearing scarlet Grecian style dresses that had one-strap and an A-line skirt.
Abby was looking gorgeous. She was wearing a strapless pink dress with a full skirt that was so light that it looked white. She had refused to wear white. She had originally wanted to wear a red wedding dress because she said, "Red is my native planet's official color. I want to wed wearing it." However, Queen Vesta had disagreed and said, "You don't want the people of Mercury thinking that you are more partial to Martians after all. You are going to be Queen of Mercury, not Mars. Keep that in mind, so wear white." After many arguments, they finally settled on pink.
The girls waited in the lobby of the wedding hall (AN- They're not Christian, I think so I guess they wouldn't get married in a church) while they waited for the wedding to begin. Suddenly, the music began. First, Rainier escorted his mother down the aisle. Then, Amy went down the aisle escorted by an old school friend of Hayden's. Lita went next, and she was also escorted by a school friend of Hayden's. Mina went next, and this time it was her turn to be escorted Friedrich, who had surprisingly lost a lot of weight. He looked like a normal twelve-year-boy now. Serena went next, and she was escorted by Ulrich, Duke of Olympus Mons, which was a mountainous area on Mars. He was a childhood friend of Hayden's. Next, Raye went down the aisle escorted by Isaac, who was Hayden's best man. Then everyone rose as Princess Abigail walked down the aisle escorted by her father, King Ares of Mars.
When she reached the end of the aisle, Abby let go of her father's arm. He kissed her on the cheek, and he gave her away to Hayden. While the vows were being said and other wedding customs were being done, all five girls couldn't help but imagine themselves getting married just as they had always dreamed of. However, there was now a man playing the groom rather than just a made-up face or shadowy figure. Amy dreamed of getting married in Caloris Manor. It was a small, but elegant mansion. She imagined getting married in a small, peaceful wedding with her and Zoicite's closest family and friends at the countryside mansion. Raye imagined getting married in a simple wedding in the Sacred Fire Temple on Mars. She didn't want any glamour or hordes of people at her wedding. She just wanted Jadeite, herself, a few close friends and family, and a priest. Lita dreamed of getting married to Nephlyte in the palace on Ganymede. It would be a huge affair with wonderful food. Mina wanted to get married on the beach on Neptune. She had always dreamed of getting married in some exotic location. She wanted it to be a huge wedding with lots of dancing, music, and opportunities for her to be a matchmaker. She wasn't sure, however, if Malachite would approve of a wedding like that. Serena wanted to get married in the Lunarian palace because it was her home. She wanted a wedding that wasn't too small but was also not too big. She wanted all of her friends and family to be there, but she also didn't want random people she didn't know there either. She thought that Darien would definitely like a wedding like that.
The girls all woke up from their day-dreaming, just as Hayden kissed Abby. Everybody started to clap as the new Crown Prince and Princess of Mercury made their way down the aisle. The girls started to move down the aisle with their respective escorts. Then, the girls all went back to their rooms to dress for the reception ball that was occurring later that evening.
"Wasn't that the most romantic wedding ever?" sighed Michelle. "I hope I get married just like that. The orchestra was just so melodious and wonderful!"
Amara rolled her eyes and pretended to choke herself. "It was too lovey-dovey for me, personally. When and if I ever get married, I don't want a wedding like this at all. My fiancé, a priest, and I, that's all I need," she said.
"You don't want any of us there?" asked Trista, who was playing chess with Amy.
"You guys will always be my friends. That won't change just because you aren't at my wedding," insisted Amara. Trista rolled her eyes in response and concentrated on her game because Amy was crushing her. In the corner Mina was playing with Serena's hair. They were both giggling and imagining their own weddings. Raye wasn't in the room. She had been stuck with the job of trying to calm down her hyper sister. Everyone knew that she wasn't exactly the best person for that job.
About two hours later, the girls started to dress. Raye wore a halter top wine-red dress with an A-line skirt with a large slit on the left side. Amy wore a strapless dress with a full skirt. It was sky blue and had silver embroidery on the bodice. Lita wore an emerald-green dress that had one sleeveless strap and one spaghetti strap. It had a full skirt that went to her ankles. Mina wore a pale yellow dress with puffed sleeves and a square neckline. It had a gold sash under her upper-chest. Michelle wore an aquamarine two-piece dress that showed her mid-riff. The top part was like a tankini top with spaghetti straps. It had lots of gold embroidery on it. The skirt was an A-line skirt with a subtle sparkled skirt. (AN- for anyone who is Indian, it is practically a ghagra.) Amara wore a simple navy blue dress that was sleeveless and had a V-neckline. It had a slight full skirt. Trista wore a black off-shoulder dress that had a full, crunched skirt. Serena looked the most stunning, well at least after the bride. She wore a white dress with an A-line skirt. It had silver straps that were one-inch wide. The dress also had a one-inch wide silver sash right under her upper-chest, and it had a short train. Abby was wearing a crimson dress. It had two straps on the right side, and the left side was bare. They were all ready to go. (AN- Sorry for that rant, but I love making up dresses in my head.)
The bride entered the ballroom escorted by her new husband. She had never looked more beautiful. "She looks so happy. I'm so happy she found her soul mate," said Mina while she watched Abby and Hayden open the ball with a waltz.
"Me, too," said Amy, "and I'm so happy, I'm getting a sister like Abby."
"And I'm so happy I'm getting rid of her," joked Raye. She tried to mask the fact that a few tears were running down her face.
Serena put an arm around her. "It'll be ok, Raye." she said soothingly. "It's not like you'll never get to see her again. She will just be living on Mercury instead of Mars. She's just moving one planet to the left. It'll be fine, you'll see."
"But it won't be the same!" sobbed Raye. "She's married now. She'll be too busy trying to be a good wife, crown princess, and daughter-in-law that she won't have time to be a sister to me!" All the princesses joined in on large group hug.
Meanwhile on the Other Side of the Ballroom with Darien and the Generals
"Wondering what's going on there?" asked Jadeite pointing to the princess-hug.
"They are hugging," said Zoicite.
"Thank you for informing me." said Jadeite sarcastically. "What would I do without you?"
"You'd die," replied Zoicite. Malachite and Nephlyte rolled their eyes.
Nephlyte started to walk away from the group. Darien stopped him. "And where are you going?" he asked Nephlyte.
"I'm going to go ask Lita to dance," Nephlyte replied.
"Oh, no you aren't." said Darien. "Here I am freaking out, and all you care about is dancing with Lita????!!!!"
"Dude, why are you freaking out?" asked Jadeite.
"Well, I'm sorry if I'm not calm. I mean aren't most guys calm when they ask the loves of their lives to marry them?" said a psychotic Darien.
"Well, I can tell you that Serena doesn't want to marry a psychotic maniac!" exclaimed Jadeite.
"Yeah, you'd better calm down." said Malachite. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd better do my duty and congratulate Hayden and Abby." Malachite walked away.
"Yeah, right," snorted Jadeite. "his duty. I bet he's not going anywhere near Hayden and Abby. He's going to ask a certain blonde in a yellow dress to dance."
"If that was the case, why didn't he just say so?" asked Zoicite.
"Zoicite, Zoicite, Zoicite," said Nephlyte shaking his head, "first of all, he didn't want to get his head chewed off like me by Prince Psycho over there." He pointed at Darien. "Second, it's so un-Malachite like for him to just say he's asking a girl to dance. For some reason, he thinks we'll tease him about it"
"Which we will." added Jadeite. He turned around looking for Raye, but he suddenly said, "Oh, oh."
"What's wrong?" asked Zoicite, turning around.
"It looks like Duke Ulrich of Olympus Mons is asking Serena to dance," said Jadeite.
Darien swung around. "What the hell?" he demanded. "Who does that guy think he is, dancing with my princess? There are so many princesses here; why is he picking mine? Look, there's Amy. She's free. Why didn't he ask Amy to dance?"
"Hey!" exclaimed Zoicite.
"Leave it, Zoi." said Nephlyte. "He's in his own little world right now." They watched as Serena and Duke Ulrich danced. Darien was furious and very jealous. The duke was handsome with red hair and green eyes. (AN- just imagine the guy who played Bingley in the new Pride and Prejudice) He was obviously saying something charming and funny because Serena was giggling nonstop during their reel.
"Ok," said Darien. "that guy messed with the wrong prince! I'm going to kick his ass!" He started to stomp towards the dance floor, but he was held back by Nephlyte and Zoicite.
"Oh, now you aren't." said Zoicite. "First of all, even if you're married to Serena, that won't stop her from dancing with other guys. Second, that guy is doing nothing wrong. He isn't trying to act in an inappropriate way with her. Last, just ask her to marry you for goddamn sake because I want to dance with Amy, and you are keeping me from doing that!"
Zoicite and Nephlyte let go of Darien just as the reel ended. "Do it now," said Nephlyte.
Darien took a deep breath. "Ok, I'm doing it before some other guy dances with her and tries to steal her from me," he said.
"Oh and another thing," said Jadeite. "Be glad, Serena didn't hear you say that because she would yell at you. She would say she didn't belong to you."
Darien grinned and walked to Serena, who was talking to Michelle, Trista, and Trista mother, Queen Persephone of Pluto. He bowed to them. The four of them curtsied to back. "I was hoping I could whisk off Princess Serenity over here for a moment, milady," he said to Queen Persephone.
Queen Persephone smiled and said, "Of course, Prince Endymion. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find my husband." Darien bowed once more at the queen. She walked away in search of King Hades. He didn't see Michelle and Trista give Serena a sly look.
"Um, we'd better go over to Amara. Count Gregory is trying to flirt with her again, and I think this time she'll try to strangle him," said Michelle. She and Trista curtsied to Darien again and quickly departed.
Once they had left, Darien turned to Serena. "There's something I need to ask you," he said shyly.
Serena smiled and said, "Ok, shoot.'
"May we could do it in private?" he asked. His cheeks were turning red.
"I guess. Shall we take a stroll in the Fire Gardens?" Serena asked.
"That would be lovely," said Darien. He offered Serena his arm, and she took it. They departed towards the gardens.
Meanwhile with the Four Inner Princesses
All of this had been witnessed the four princesses. "What do you think they are doing?" asked Amy. "It's not like Serena to leave during a ball, especially a reception ball!"
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Mina, who was smiling.
"What's obvious?" asked Lita.
Mina smacked her forehead. "You guys are so clueless!" she exclaimed. "You are really sorry excuses for princesses!"
Raye crossed her arms and exclaimed, "Hey, we are not sorry excuses for princesses!"
Mina rolled her eyes. "But you are clueless," she said.
Lita interrupted, "Could we get to the point, please?"
Mina smiled again. "Of course," she said dreamily, "I was going to say that Darien is going to propose to Serena!"
Amy jaw dropped. "No way," she said, "Serena is too young to get married."
Raye thought for a moment. "Not really, Serena is twenty-two." she pointed out. "That's not really that young. Besides, Serena's mature for her age. I would say she's ready to get married."
Mina sighed. "Another wedding, can you believe it?" she asked.
Back with Serena and Darien
"So," Serena said as she sat down on a bench, "what is it that you wanted to ask me in private?"
"Well, um, I was just wondering, if you'd like to unite with me," Darien stuttered.
"Um, that just sounded like some government crap. Unite with you to do what?" she asked..
"Wouldyouliketomarryme?" asked Darien quickly.
"Would I like to what?" a confused Serena asked. "I didn't understand what you said after 'would you,'"
Darien took a deep breath. "Serena, will you marry me?" he asked.
Serena frowned slightly, and she stood up and crossed her arms. "That's not quite the proposal I dreamed of as a little girl," she said.
Darien looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. He turned around and walked away.
"Hey wait a minute!" Serena called out.
Darien turned around and asked, "What is it?"
"Come here," she said. Darien walked back to her. "Prince Endymion, you are the prince of the Earth, so behave like one. Get down on one knee, and ask for the lady's hand."
Darien smiled. He got down on one knee. "Princess Serenity, I love you more than life itself. I want nothing more than to make you happy. Will you marry me?" he asked.
Serena was silent for a moment. Then she smirked. "I guess," she said. She held out her hand, and Darien slipped the ring onto her left hand ring finger. Then they kissed for a long time. When they broke apart, Serena said, "I guess we'd better go back in before anybody starts wondering where we are. We don't want to offend the royalty of Mercury and Mars. I don't want us to start a galactic issue. Besides, you have to ask my father for my hand."
Darien smiled. "Ok," he said. They walked back to the ball hand-in-hand. They broke apart when they entered. Darien walked towards King Apollo and Queen Serenity. Serena walked towards her friends, who were all huddled together.
When Darien reached Serena's parents, he bowed deeply. "Your Majesties, I have a request for you," he said.
King Apollo smiled. He could sense what it was Darien wanted to ask him. "What do you desire of us, Prince Endymion?" he asked.
"I request the hand of your daughter, Princess Serenity, in marriage. I have already asked her, and she has accepted my proposal," said Darien.
"Well, you've already asked her. Why did you need to ask us?" asked King Apollo.
"She wanted your blessing on our engagement," answered Darien.
"That's our Serena." said Queen Serenity. "If she approves of you, then we give our blessing to your marriage."
"Thank you," said Darien. He bowed deeply, and he went in search of his parents.
Meanwhile with the Princesses
"So where are they?" asked Raye for the zillionth time. "They'd better not be doing something stupid."
"Serena is not stupid." said Amara. "They are probably just talking, like every other couple in love."
"Wow, Amara, you're the one that's stupid." said Lita. "You really believe that's what every couple does when they are alone? I'm betting they're having a full out make-out session!"
"And I didn't even get to watch it," said Mina sadly. They all turned to Mina, who simply shrugged her shoulders.
"There she is!" said Trista. They all turned around to see Serena walk over to them with a big smile on her face.
"Why are you so happy, Serena?" asked Michelle.
"Yes, do tell us!" said Amy eagerly.
"Well, girls, I'm…getting married!" said Serena, excitedly. The girls all erupted in a cacophony of screams and laughs. They talked happily for the rest of the night.
AN- I hope you guys aren't mad that the proposal came so quickly, but the real story begins once Darien and Serena are married. Please Review!