"The Slumber"
Chapter 1
~The Curse Fulfilled~
By: Willow Mae

Time passed slowly on the Moon, joy once more taking over throughout the planetary kingdoms as the curse was forgotten and their princess grew older, kinder, and lovelier at each passing day. The children of the five inner sorceresses spent their time with the young Serenity, laughing and loving as though they were sisters. Soon, however, the young princess neared her eighteenth birthday. It was only then that the dreaded curse was remembered, but no mention was made to the lovely Serenity for fear of frightening the young woman.

"Princess!" A cheery voice called out over the gardens. Serenity turned away from where she had been gazing at the Earth, a red rose held tightly in her hand. Of all the flowers in the palace gardens, the rose was her favorite. Her caller approached, a girl slightly younger than the princess herself with blonde hair and blue eyes. Serenity smiled broadly and executed a small curtsy before wrapping the girl in a warm embrace.

"Lady Venus!" The daughter of the Venusian sorceress laughed as the princess released her.

"Please Lady, have we not been friends for the past seventeen years? Call my Minako." A smile painted the princess's pale lips.

"Of course Lady Minako…and yet despite your insistence that I call you by your given name, you still insist on calling me Princess or Lady instead of Serenity?" Minako grinned.

"It's only proper, Lady. You are royalty."

"Lady Serenity!" a new voice called out. Three more women approached. Anyone in the palace would easily recognize this group as the personal guardians of the young princess. The girls held themselves regally, being raised in the palace, and each carried a strong individual power given to them by their enchantress mothers. They were addressed formally as the Ladies Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter, though to the princess there were simply Minako, Ami, Rei and Makoto. She regarded them as friends, even sisters, for there were none that she felt more compelled to protect and cherish as these four; her guardians. A smile warmed her lips as the three drew near.

"Ladies, Ami, Makoto, Rei…how good to see you all so well!" Lady Rei of Mars poked her finger at Serenity, a taunting smile on her ruby lips.

"You forget the day, Lady." Serenity tilted her head and smiled, her eyes reflecting a glint of mischief.

"Do I? Then pray, what day do I forget?" Makoto took her arm and led her towards the palace.

"Your birthday, Lady, your birthday! Have you forgotten that you turn eighteen this day?" Makoto dragged the laughing princess behind her as they entered the royal hall. "You have so many presents to open, and the guests are all waiting!"

"You're right, it's time to celebrate." Serenity loosened herself from the young woman's grip and approached the ivory double doors that led to the reception hall. The doors opened and the princess was greeted with a roar of applause. Her lips pulled back into the brightest smile, illuminating the room with happiness. She dipped a curtsy to the crowd and her guard led her forward to the seat of honor. Queen Serenity stood and began the celebration. Soon, the hall was filled with the sounds of merry chatter and fine eating. A group of musicians played on a stand slightly raised above the dance floor, where couples swirled in intricate patterns. The princess' face shone with laughter, and as the day's festivities slowed the time came for her to open her mountain of birthday presents. The Court waited anxiously as each present was opened. The biggest fear was that, somewhere amid the pile of packages, a spinning wheel waited to be unwrapped. The princess held up a tiny, unnamed box no larger than her delicate hand. It was beautifully wrapped, and the ribbons shimmered in the light. Serenity smiled.

"Who might this be from?" her light, musical voice drifted through the room. No one replied. Princess Serenity shrugged daintily and unwrapped the gift. In her hand, she now held a moving picture. In the small frame, an old woman sat in a rocking chair, embroidering a silken cloth. She lifted her tiny head and smiled at Serenity, holding up the cloth to her. Embroidered on it were the words: "Happy 18th birthday, my princess". Serenity's smile broadened as the old woman set back to her work. "It's charming! Won't anyone tell me who it's from?" She exclaimed brightly. Still, no one answered. She smiled again, though inside she was slightly disappointed. She was upset that she could not thank the giver personally for such an exquisite gift, and one that so obviously took much magic to create.

***

Serenity ran a brush through her long silver blonde hair. The day had been one of the best in her life, and now she could truly be called an adult. Humming happily to herself, she set the small moving picture next to her bed. The old woman looked up and held out a new piece of fabric. 'Pleasant Dreams, Your Highness.' Serenity couldn't help but to smile.

"Thank you. Sleep well yourself." The woman held her embroidery once more. 'I will. Thank you.' Serenity drifted off to sleep, the events of the day swirling together into the most wonderful dream.

The old woman sat in her chair, rocking slowly to the rhythm of her stitching. A smile spread slowly across her lips and her eyes lit up with a blaze of hatred. A bright red glow settled about her and the needlework, slowly transforming the scene to a young woman with fiery red hair and brilliant purple eyes spinning wool at a spinning wheel. The clacking of the wheel's pedal as it hit the ground echoed a haunting beat. The young woman smiled, revealing the slight point of her clean white teeth. "Princess, wake up." She whispered, a green mist arising from her mouth as she spoke. With a wave of her hand, the green mist drifted silently from the picture by the bedside table of Serenity. It drifted about her sleeping head, filling her nose and mouth. Slowly, the young princess opened her eyes. It was as though she was in a sleepwalking trace, for no life shone in their sapphire depths. The woman in the portrait stood and reached out a hand to the princess. "Come to me child, I have something to show you." As the slender hand reached through the picture, Serenity took it in her own pale hand. A bright light surrounded the sleeping princess as she stepped into the tiny picture frame.

Down the hall, four woman sat bolt upright in bed. Minako quickly slipped a robe on over her nightgown and stepped into the hallway, her bare feet chilled by the cold marble. The other senshi met her in the darkened passage.

"Did you feel it too?" Rei asked quietly. Three pairs of heads nodded.

"The princess…" Ami's blue eyes widened as she quickly checked her calculations. "The sun will be about to set down on Earth! Quickly, the princess!" The four raced down to hall, their feet leaving an empty echo as they stopped in front of the royal door. Through the crack in the bottom, Venus saw a bright flash of light.

"Princess!!" She screamed, flinging the door open. The four young guardians stared in shock and horror as they witnessed their princess, their friend, disappear into the picture. "Serenity!!!!" Minako screamed, eyes stinging with frightened tears. Rei was the first to act. She picked up the picture and began to chant, the ancient power of Mars encasing her in a red light as she tried desperately to find a way to her princess. The woman in the painting looked at Rei, her face contorting into a mixture of hate and amusement at the girls' futile efforts. The four guardians gathered around, watching with growing terror as the woman led the sleepwalking princess toward the spindle.

"Serenity!!" Ami screamed, her hands flying to cover her mouth. She shook her head violently. "No, Lady Serenity, wake up!!" Ever so slowly, Princess Serenity lifted her hand, placing it gently on the turning spindle. The woman in the picture smiled, turning to taunt the senshi as Serenity collapsed in a heap, her silver hair blanketing her limp body. Makoto growled, her tears turning to rage.

"Damn you! Give us Serenity back!" She yanked the picture out of Rei's hands and threw it violently to the floor. The frame shattered, and the woman, princess and spindle rose from the remains. The woman cackled gleefully.

"You pitiful people. The princess is dead, as I decreed on her coronation day! The Moon Kingdom shall crumble, and from its ashes a new age shall be born, with Earth as the leading planet!!! I shall rule the entire solar system, nay the universe. May the name Beryl forever engrave fear into your pitiful, weak hearts." With those words said, she dispersed in a cloud or thick grey smoke.

"My Lady!" Rei knelt down beside the still form on the ground. "Oh gods, I know you can't be dead…wake up, Serenity!" Ami rested her hands gently on the older girl's shoulders and moved Lady Mars out of the way. She knelt by Serenity's side, placing her fingers below her thin, cold neck.

"She lives…I feel a pulse."

"So, the time has come. I hadn't realized it was so soon…" A woman stood in the doorway. The four senshi stood and bowed in respect.

"My lady." They murmured in unison. The Jovian sorceress smiled wryly. Makoto stood.


"Mother, what are you doing here?" The woman smiled and entered into the room, followed by three other women. None of the newcomers looked older than their late twenties, but logic told that indeed, these women were all middle aged, and all very powerful. Ami, Rei and Minako looked aghast as their mothers surrounded the princess.

"Mother, why are you--why aren't you--what's going on?" Minako stammered. The Sorceress of Venus placed a loving hand on her daughter's cheek.

"We came to fulfill our part of Serenity's coronation gift." She stated simply. Ami's mother knelt beside the princess, and finally laid her eyes on the four guardians.

"You were not born yet, and Rei would have been too young to remember. The Earthling Sorceress, Beryl--"

"Yes!" Rei interrupted, her eyes flashing angrily. "That was the name that horrid woman gave us. She told us that the Lady was dead…" The Martian sorceress laid a finger on her daughter's lips, silencing her so the others could finish the tale.

"Indeed, that was her intent, to kill our princess. However, we managed to alter her spell just enough so that Serenity lives, she only sleeps. Her sleep is long and deep, for she will not awaken until the kiss of true love revives her."

"Let me guess, your doing mother?" Minako turned to her mother, who smiled.

"You know me well daughter." Minako shrugged.

"I should, I am your daughter after all." The Jovian sorceress turned to the four young girls.

"We vowed your allegiance to the Lady Serenity before your birth, bonding you as her loyal guards and friends. Do you wish to save her?" four heads nodded. "I thought as much. In a few moments, the second part of our spell shall take effect, placing all of the planetary kingdoms in a state of dormancy, until the princess awakens again." The Martian sorceress held out four small vials to the girls.

"Drink these and you shall stay awake to protect your princess." Four pairs of hands reached for the containers, but the woman pulled them away. "You must be warned. It is uncertain how long it shall take for true love to find our princess. This potion will keep you from aging, as long as you stay within the kingdoms on the moon. You shall stay seventeen until the day comes when your princess is awakened, and then time shall resume as normal for everyone. However, should you try and venture to any of the other kingdoms, or try to travel between the planets, the potion will fade and all the time that you have spent on the moon shall be thrown back at you." Rei's eyes searched her mother's face.

"So you're saying, if we spend forty years on the moon, then I want to go back to Mars before the princess wakes up, I'll immediately age forty years?" The sorceress nodded. "I'm willing to stay and protect my lady."

"As am I." Minako clasped the vial in her hands.

"And so shall I." Makoto took the small container.

"We all shall…mother?" Ami's face turned in shock to where the sorceresses were beginning to sleep.

"Drink…the vial…Ami…" Before the spell could take hold of them, the four guardians hastily took the potion. Moments later, they were the only ones still awake.

"So," Makoto glanced at her fellow warriors. "We're alone then."

***


Centuries passed. The girls stayed in the royal palace, never wanting to leave their princesses side. As told to them, never did they age. Their friendships grew, broke, and rebuilt themselves again. Soon, the people of Earth, the only planet no longer part of the planetary kingdoms, had forgotten of the incidents on the moon. Lady Beryl, assuming her curse had come to a completion, reigned over the planet with a wicked hand. The Moon and her kingdom were completely forgotten, leaving the senshi feeling more alone than ever before. No one from earth visited, until, three hundred years past the time the spell was cast, a northern kingdom and it's prince decided to rebel.

"The Slumber"

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