Poisoned From Within

By Bashfulglowfly

Chapter Five

Mamoru was shocked. "Cursed? Why do you think that they are cursed?"

Usagi took a deep breath and rested her head against his chest. "I don't remember who told the story to me. I've always known it, I guess. But somehow I just know in my heart that it is true."

Mamoru stroked her golden hair. Kissing the top of her head. "Will you tell me this story?" he asked softly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear it but he needed to know why Usagi felt the way she did about the Senshi. He still firmly believed that she was Serenity despite his brothers' cautionary words. He knew that they were trying to protect him from heartbreak. But he just knew that Usagi was Serenity even though she didn't seem to have any powers at all.

Usagi nodded and began to speak.

"Once a long, long time ago there was life on the Moon and all of the planets of the galaxy. A great civilization that lived in peace and harmony. A beautiful queen ruled on the moon and was the leader of the Great Council of Planets.

"The queen had a beautiful daughter that she loved very much. The princess was supposed to become a warrior like her mother and lead a group of warriors, one from each of the planets, to protect the galaxy. But it was discovered that the princess didn't have the talent or skills to be a warrior, no matter how much or hard she tried. So the queen named the princess' cousin as the leader of the Guardians. Four to protect the princess and the inner planets, one to guard the Gates of Time and Space, two to guard the Outer Reaches of the Galaxy and one to sleep until the End of Time.

"All of the Guardians of the current generation were the princesses of their respective planets so they were perfect to serve the Moon Princess. Since they were of equal rank, the Moon Princess couldn't use her rank to try and intimidate them in letting her get her way…not that she would have ever dreamed of treating them like they were beneath her.

"While the Moon Princess didn't have the talent to be a warrior, she did learn how to rule and enjoyed it. She studied History, Philosophy, Economics, Politics, Healing Magic and other lessons at the hands of her teachers and her mother. She and her personal Guardians became close as sisters. They lived and learned together, they told secrets to each other and comforted each other in times of heartbreak.

"The princess knew that one day she would have to take her mother's place and be the ruler but she didn't want to do it alone. She wanted someone to love her for herself not for who she would become. But the love that she wanted could not be found within the Court of the Moon. More and more she found herself gazing at the forbidden planet known as Earth. She didn't know why it compelled her so but she thought that it was the most beautiful planet in the galaxy. The glorious blues of the oceans and the bold greens and strong browns of the land captured her attention. So much so, that one day, she decided to go to the prohibited planet.

"The princess made her plans and tricked her Guardians into believing that she was studying in her room and using her magic, she went to Earth.

"But the princess was naïve and knew nothing of Earth and was nearly killed by a terrible beast. But a man of princely form and manner slew the beast and rescued her. For he really was a prince. The prince of the Earth.

Mamoru smiled at the memory of the terrible beast…a stag that been grazing where Serenity had transported herself. A stag that Endymion was about to kill when Serenity arrived. Not that he ever told her that, he rather liked that she thought he was a brave hero.

"The prince was fascinated by the girl in front of him. He knew instantly that she was not of his world because he could see the crescent moon on her forehead.

"Despite the objections of his own Guardians, the prince fell in love with the princess and she fell in love with him. Soon his Guardians met her Guardians and they fell in love as well.

There had nearly been an all-out brawl between the Shitennou and the Senshi but Kunzite and Venus managed to stop it before it got deadly. His Shitennou had been painfully surprised at the strength and power of such "little girls."

"The queen was pleased that her daughter was happy and the prince's parents were happy because by marrying the Moon princess would help bring greater prosperity to the Earth.

"But there were those who were not happy about the new lovers. One was a young Earth woman who felt the Moon princess stole the prince from her…despite the fact that he didn't know that she even existed.

"The young woman became obsessed with gaining the prince for herself and started walking the path of Black Magic. One day she came upon a demon. The demon was quite old and knew of the Moon Kingdom and its powerful queens but thought it could use the jealous woman to gain what it wanted, the destruction of the Moon. So it told the woman of a way that she could gain the Earth prince and kill her rival but she had to give her soul to the demon. The woman foolishly agreed to the demon's terms. And because of that, she gained the blackest powers any witch could learn.

"The demon knew that they would not be able to get near the Earth Prince or his Guardians because the Prince and the Guardians would be able to see their evil. The same was true for the Moon Princess and her Guardians, so another path had to be found. The witch began to tell the people of Earth that the Moon was planning to enslave them with the complicity of the King of Earth while the demon manipulated their minds. Slowly they fomented rebellion against the King of Earth, starting a war that would eventually encompass the world.

"But the witch and the demon still needed a way to kill the Moon Princess. To that end, they sent spies to the Moon to find the perfect weakness. And they found it in a man who was obsessed with the Leader of the Moon Guardians.

"The witch approached the man and told him that she knew of his love for the Leader and how she and her sisters had been bewitched by the Guardians of the Earth Prince. The man was horrified at the news and begged her for a way to free the Leader and her sisters from the vile clutches of the Earth Guardians.

"The witch was amused at the man's stupidity. The demon didn't even have to manipulate his mind. He was ready to believe anything negative that was said about the Earth Guardians.

"The witch handed the man a vial filled with a mysterious liquid and told him that it was a potion that, along with her magic, would free the Moon Guardians. She told him that the Moon Guardians only needed to drink it.

"The man put the contents of the vial into a bottle of wine and gave it to the Leader of the Moon Guardians saying that it was a birthing day gift. The leader was pleased and thanked him prettily for she greatly enjoyed receiving presents. She took it to her sisters and her princess to share it. The princess refused the drink because she believed that she was with child. The Moon Guardians were delighted for their princess and drank the bottle to celebrate their sister's birthing day and the joyous news of their princess.

Mamoru bit his tongue to keep from crying in anguish. He hadn't known that Serenity was with child. He remembered that she hadn't felt well for a few days but never put two and two together.

"But their joy was not to last. For just a day later they learned that the King and Queen of Earth had been murdered. But, to their relief, the Prince of Earth and his Guardians escaped to the Moon. The Moon Princess held her lover as he cried for his parents and his people. She didn't tell him that they were going to have a child and forbade her Guardians to tell his Guardians. She didn't want him distracted because the woman and the demon had formed a great army and was preparing to invade the moon.

Oh my darling…I wish that you had told me so that we might have had a chance to rejoice together however short of a time we had left.

"The Prince and his Guardians joined the Moon Queen and her advisors and began to devise battle plans. The Moon Princess stood by her lover's side and helped the best she could but eventually she became tired and she was sent off to bed. Her Guardians went with her.

"The witch and the demon brought the army from Earth to the Moon and attacked the Moon Castle. The Army of the Moon defended it with the Prince of Earth and his Guardians leading them.

"The man who was obsessed with the Leader of the Moon Guardians saw the army from Earth and saw that it was led by the woman who had 'helped' him. He saw that she had a demon by her side and realized that he had been played for a fool. He tried to run to the Prince to tell him of what had happened but one of the witch's spies killed him.

Mamoru frowned. He vaguely remembered seeing a man with a sword running towards him, screaming. He had been cut down by one of the men assigned as one of his personal guards. The guard told him that they'd been watching the man because he'd been making threats against the Shitennou and himself when the man was in his cups. He had thought nothing more of the incident because of the battle.

"The witch decided that it was time to use her black magic against the Moon Guardians. So she cast her spell. That terrible spell caused the Moon Guardians to believe that the Moon had fallen and that they needed to murder their princess then kill themselves so that they would not fall into the hands of their enemies.

"The demon took advantage of the witch's weakness after casting such a powerful spell and took over her body. But it didn't realize that such a possession would also leave it weak. The Prince of Earth spotted that weakness and he killed the demon.

Mamoru remembered watching the witch and seeing her cast her spell. He saw her start to stagger and watched with surprise as the demon attacked her. He remembered what his Magic Instructor told him that casting great spells left the mage weak. He figured that the witch's body would be doubly weak from the spell and the possession. Without saying anything to the Shitennou, he leapt off the Castle walls into the thick of the battle and managed to get past the surprised attackers to behead the witch. He wasn't surprised to see Kunzite beheading the demon. He turned and saw the scowling faces of his brothers and knew that he was in for it later.

"The army from the Earth was freed from the spell they were under and the Army of the Moon celebrated. But their happiness was not to last.

"The Prince of Earth ran to his beloved's rooms to tell her of the victory. But he found her on her bed with her throat cut, her Guardians dead on the floor by their own hands. The Prince of the Earth went mad. He held his lover and begged her to awaken. His Guardians also collapsed in their grief on seeing their dead lovers.

Mamoru remembered saying to the Shitennou "Let's go tell the girls!" But he didn't remember anything after that. He didn't know if any of the others remembered anything…they never said if they did. He was actually glad that he didn't remember seeing Serenity dead.

"Just then the Moon Queen entered the room and before she could be stopped, she saw her dead daughter in the arms of her insane lover and her daughter's Guardians dead on the floor. The Queen called forth the Guardian of Time and Space and ordered the Guardian to show her what had happened to her daughter.

"The Guardian of Time and Space showed the Queen what had happened. The Queen lost her own mind. She called forth a crystal that contained great magic of it own. Then she called forth the Guardian who Slept who was actually the Guardian of Death and Rebirth. She used both to end the Galaxy as it was known and caused it to be reborn with only the Earth able to sustain life.

"Letting the Earth be the only planet to live was to punish the Guardians who did not protect her daughter. Four of the Guardians she cursed to stone, including the Guardian of Time and Space who showed her what had happened to her daughter and the Guardian of Death and Rebirth who the Queen used to destroy the Galaxy, because they and the other two who guarded the Outer Reaches did not know that her daughter was in danger. But the worst punishment she reserved for the ones who had murdered her daughter. Those four were cursed to serve the witch and the demon, never knowing their princess or love or emotion until they are forgiven by the Prince of Earth and the Princess of the Moon."