A/N: I do not own Sailor Moon it belongs to Takeuchi Naoko. All OC's belong to me; any similarity to other fan-made characters is purely coincidental.

Thanks again to my beta: ObsessiveJemima, I owe her big time.

Reaping Cherries

Book 1 Chapter 2: Tours and Fights

The next morning when I left my room to go to breakfast I found Talya standing guard outside.

I rolled my eyes and headed in the direction of the dining hall. The sound of boot-steps on the marble floor told me Talya was following.

"I trust you slept well last night Princess?" He asked politely.

"I did not. I have been back less than a week and already I am being told what to do," I answered shortly.

"My apologies, Your Highness, I did not mean to upset you," he said.

I sighed, "It is not your fault Talya, you were simply being polite," I said as I offered a small apologetic smile for my slight outburst.

He offered a small smile back and we continued on our way to the dining hall.

"Good morning Princess, Guardian," My handmaiden Ariana, whom I had known all of my life, greeted with a small bow.

"Good Morning Ariana," I smiled as we sat down to eat. "We will be having guests sometime today; Prince Thaddeus of Uranus is coming to visit."

"Really? He is such a lovely young man Your Highness," Ariana smiled.

"Yes, well apparently I am to marry him come my twenty-first," I said sourly.

"You are? That is wonderful news," Ariana insisted.

"Did you know?" I gave Ariana a serious look.

"Know what, Princess?" She looked confused.

"Of the deal my mother made with King Umbriel, to wed me off to his first born son in exchange for her to not marry the king herself," I explained.

"No, I was not aware of any such deal Milady," Ariana shook her head.

I knew she was telling the truth so I let it go, "I guess I will just have to spend time with Thaddeus and pray to the Gods that we do not have to marry."

"I know this is none of my business, but I am curious as to why you do not wish to marry Prince Thaddeus, he seems decent enough," Talya spoke.

"It is what my mother wanted, and what my mother wants usually does not have my best interests at heart," I answered.

"After all these years you still have not forgiven her have you?" Ariana asked.

I was about to answer when a servant hurried into the room, "Pardon the interruption Your Majesty, but Prince Thaddeus of Uranus is on the video comm."

"Thank you, I will be right there. We shall continue this discussion later," I nodded to each of them and went to the communications room.

Prince Thaddeus smiled as I walked into view, "Good morning Princess, I hope I did not wake you."

"You did not," I smiled politely, "You did however interrupt my breakfast," I said with a slight smile.

He must have noticed the humor because he chuckled, "I called to ask if it was alright if my sister came along as well. She wishes to find a new sparring partner; none of our swordsman will spar with her."

"Princess Amara is more than welcome to come, I am sure she shall find a willing sparring partner here," I said.

"Thank you, we shall arrive within the hour, until then Princess Nehellenia," Prince Thaddeus nodded his head respectfully.

I did the same, "I shall be waiting."

When the call ended I left the room and went back to the dining hall.

"Is everything alright Your Majesty?" Ariana asked as I sat down to finish my breakfast.

"Yes, he simply wanted to ask if Princess Amara could come as well, I said she could," I answered.

~dream~

Nearly an hour later I stood in the Ark chamber with Talya, waiting for Princess Amara and Prince Thaddeus.

When they arrived we exchanged formal greetings.

"If you would like, Guardian Talya can show you to our practice fields. I am sure you will find a decent sparring partner there, Princess," I told Princess Amara.

"Of course, thank you," She nodded and followed Talya to the practice fields.

"Perhaps you can show me around the palace? I have only been here the one time and I did not see much of it," Prince Thaddeus said.

"I would be delighted to," I said with no real enthusiasm and took his offered arm and we began to walk.

"You have seen our Ark chamber and main dining hall, so I will not bother you with them. Here we have the throne room," I walked inside the brightly lit room. The crystal lights on the walls reflecting off the polished stone making it seem brighter than it really was.

"It is much different than the throne room of Miranda Castle," The Uranian prince commented.

"I once read that each castle reflects the vision of the Gods who created it. The Mirror Palace is a reflection of the God Morpheus of Dreams, and the Goddess Aletheia of Truth. You must look within yourself to see Truth and Dreams, thus, mirrors," I explained.

"And what do you know about Miranda Castle?" He asked as we left the throne room.

"Well, the navy blue and sun gold reflect the skies that Uranus represents. The airy, open feel of the room allows one to feel connected to the sky, even inside a closed room," I explained.

History had always been my favorite subject, so I knew a lot about the history of each kingdom and what they represented.

"What is this room?" He asked pointing to a closed door.

"The communications room," I said offhandedly.

"Yes, of course," he answered.

I led him out of the palace, toward the gardens. It was filled with white chrysanthemums, purple tulips, bittersweets, ferns, magnolias, and cherry blossoms. It was a beautiful place and had not changed much since I was a child. Fountains and benches were placed at strategic points along the paths.

"And I suppose the flowers have meaning as well?" Prince Thaddeus asked lightly.

"I have never really thought about that, but I suppose they might," I answered truthfully.

"I know you have a fascination with history, but tell me something Princess, what other interests do you have?" He asked as we walked through the gardens.

"I enjoy a number of things, I write, and I also enjoy training to use my Sailor powers and other abilities. I might spar with Princess Amara sometime. I hear she is a good warrior," I said.

"Yes, Amara is very good; she and Princess Lita are the best, especially with hand-to-hand combat skills."

"I have trained with Princess Lita on one or two occasions, she beats me every time," I smiled.

"May I watch you practice sometime?" He asked as we left the gardens and headed toward the practice fields.

"Perhaps. I have never been one for practicing with an audience unless they were sparing with me," I answered.

We reached the practice fields and I heard the sound of swords clashing.

We passed the small armory and saw Talya and Princess Amara (as Sailor Uranus) crossing swords.

We stood there for a few moments watching them. I had to admit Talya was pretty good, he was holding his own well against Sailor Uranus who was hands down the best sword fighter out of every Kingdom, and she was a scant five years older than I.

After a few more moments they broke apart for a break. Talya spotted us first and bowed, "Princess, Prince."

"Guardian," I greeted with a nod. "Sailor Uranus," I nodded respectfully.

"Queen Serenity picked a good one for you Princess. Guardian Talya is very good with a sword. He nearly disarmed me at least three times," Sailor Uranus said as she let the Space Sword vanish.

"I am glad to hear it. Would you like to join us inside for lunch?" I asked.

"It would be an honor Princess," Sailor Uranus let her transformation fade and we went inside for lunch.

~dream~

During lunch Princess Amara described the sparing match in detail.

"He lunged with a thrust, I parried to the right and caught him in the jaw with my fist," she made the motions with her hands.

"Actually you parried left Your Highness," Talya corrected.

"Yes, thank you," she said, "So I parried left and caught him in the jaw. He stumbles back and barely blocks my next attack."

"Yes, you are quite the formidable opponent, Princess. You rightly deserve the title of greatest swordswoman in Sol," Talya told her.

"So, Princess Nehellenia, did you enjoy your walk with my brother?" Princess Amara asked.

"It was nice, we spoke of history and the meanings behind the design of the Mirror and Miranda Palaces," I said.

"Yes, the Princess really knows her history," Prince Thaddeus nodded in agreement.

"If you are up for it Princess Amara, perhaps you and I could spar after lunch? I missed my morning workout giving Prince Thaddeus the tour," I said.

Princess Amara took another bite of food before answering, "That sounds good to me Princess and you can simply call me Amara. You are going to marry my brother so that practically makes you family."

"Alright, and you can call me Nehellenia, both of you," I told the Uranian royals.

"Then you may call me Thaddeus," Thaddeus said.

"And I am Zenas," Talya interjected with a smile.

"You are not being very funny Guardian," I told him but my tone was not one of malice.

"My apologies Princess," he bowed his head.

Amara slapped him on the back, nearly causing him to choke, "The man has a sense of humor – I like that."

Talya smiled weakly and Thaddeus shook his head, "Leave the poor man alone Sister."

Amara smiled and took another bite of food.

When we were finished with lunch Amara and I walked down to the training area, the men followed.

We both transformed with a thought.

"Do you want to fight with weapons or hand-to-hand?" Uranus asked.

"You are the guest, you decide," I told her.

"Weapons first," She drew the Space Sword.

I walked over to the weapons rack and pulled out my favorite weapon: a dagger.

"You cannot expect to beat me with that, do you?" Uranus asked.

"I fully intend to," I smiled and took my stance.

She kept her blade sheathed so that it would not harm me and the blade of my dagger was dulled enough that it also would not cause damage when it hit an opponent.

Uranus swung first, aiming for my exposed left side. I spun to the right and kicked out when she was behind me.

She caught my ankle and pulled up, flipping me head over heels. I pushed off with my other foot to give myself enough leverage to land on my feet.

I quickly spun to face her and used the dagger to parry a blow coming straight down.

We continued like this for several minutes, Uranus was beating me but not overwhelmingly so.

I dodged her next sword swipe but had left myself open for the punch to the midsection.

My breath rushed out of me and in a flurry of moves, she had me pinned to the ground. Her sword pressed gently to my throat.

"I yield." I knew when I was beaten.

She smirked and climbed off of me and offered her hand.

I took it and stood, "You fight well Sailor Uranus."

"I could say the same for you as well Sailor Dreamer," she smiled. "You certainly were not kidding when you implied you could beat me with that dagger. You almost had me a couple of times."

I nodded in agreement.

"You fight well Princess," Talya said when we reached them.

"Thank you Guardian. You were not so bad yourself."

"It is a bit warm out here, perhaps we should go back inside for a drink?" Thaddeus suggested.

"A very good idea Brother," Uranus said.

Together the four of us walked back inside the palace.

I spent the rest talking with Thaddeus and Amara. Both were pleasant company and we made plans to spend more time together.

I felt that even if I never fall in love with Thaddeus, I would at least be his friend. I know it is an odd thing to stay after only spending one full day with him but I see the Truth in all things. Thaddeus and I may never fall in love, but we shall at least remain friends.