Kunzite paced back and forth in the richly furnished suite in the Moon Palace. During the first week on the Moon, he had met with the King, Queen Serenity, and several of the Moon Kingdom warriors to discuss defense.
The warriors of the Moon were of the "If it has always worked in the past, it will work now" mindset. He had been informed that the defenses of the Moon were perfectly adequate, thank you.
There was no talk of plans to retake Terra.
But just because they were on the Moon didn't mean that Kunzite's warriors had a break. He kept the Shitennou under him to the same training and practice schedule as ever, ignoring complaints. Even though they were on the Moon, they were still the Shitennou - the four great Terran Lords, and guardians of the King and Prince was his only response to the complaints.
The second week he spent on the Moon, he explored the palace thoroughly. If this was to be his new base of operations, he wanted to know it from top to bottom. In the library, he was able to find a floor plan of the whole palace.
By mid-week, he could find his way unerringly to every room in the palace, storage rooms included – and so could the other three Shitennou.
It wasn't a waste of time. The four of them discovered lots of out of the way places.
Kunzite made a mental note to check these locations whenever one of his men went missing. The rumors about him and the Cytherean Princess from Venus were just that, rumors, but the rumors about the other Shitennou were a bit more well founded.
The next day he was summoned by King Endymion, and it was politely suggested to him that he find something else to occupy his time. Something that would not drive some of the maids to hysterics at finding a strange man where one should not be.
This left him pacing his suite restlessly.
There was a knock at his door. He went over to the door and opened it warily.
"Kunzite-san," the blonde Cytherean Princess greeted him with a warm smile.
"Princess Isisa," he gave a bow.
"May I come in?" she asked.
He gave a nod and stepped aside to let her enter.
The Princess looked around the room with an approving nod. "This is a nice place."
He made a non committal sound in response.
"It's one of the nicest suites in the palace," she continued, "Queen Serenity wanted you to be comfortable here."
"So she said," he replied with a nod.
"What do you think of the palace?" she asked, "I've heard that you explored it."
"It's nice I suppose," he said, "Defensible. Logical layout."
"Tactician through and through," she said with a smile. "I could have given you a tour if you wanted."
"I didn't mind exploring by myself," he said.
"I'm sure there are a few places you haven't seen," she said.
"That would not surprise me," he said, "But I am not to investigate."
"I'm sure no one would mind if you were with me," she said, "We wouldn't scare the maids at least."
"Alright," he agreed finally, "Let's go."
He followed the blonde Princess out of his suite and up a flight of stairs. It was something to do at least.
"We're going up to the east dome?" he asked
"Oh, you've been up there?" she asked, looking disappointed.
He nodded.
"I thought I'd come up with somewhere you hadn't been," she said, pulling down the ladder, "There's a nice view of the grounds from up there."
He helped her pull the ladder down and let her climb up first. He held the ladder steady, standing out of the way of the yards of golden fabric that made up her skirt.
Once she was safely on the platform, he climbed up after her.
He blinked at the sight that awaited him. The Princess sat up there with something that looked suspiciously like a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"Care to join me?" she asked, holding out a glass to him.
"Did Prince Endymion put you up to this?" Kunzite asked evenly.
"He asked me to see if I could help cheer you up," she said innocently.
"I should have guessed," he held the glass still so she could fill it.
She smiled and then filled her own glass, toasting him.
Kunzite sipped the weak wine and went over to the window, looking out over the garden. The Lunar landscape was not as colorful as the gardens at home, although it was lovely in its own way.
"You seem far away," she went over to him, "What are you thinking about?"
He set the glass down, "I should not be here…"
"Oh it's alright," the Princess said, dismissively, "It's not forbidden."
"I mean on the Moon," Kunzite said, "I should be there…" he pointed, "On Terra. My home."
"Terra will always be your home," she agreed softly, "But you are here now."
"Not of my own free will," he muttered.
She blinked at him.
"By forcing us to come here, King Endymion has condemned Terra!" he slammed his fist down on the windowsill.
She jumped at that, spilling her wine on the corner of his cape.
He didn't notice.
"I cannot believe he just gave up on Terra."
"He didn't give up," she said softly, "He's giving your planet a chance to survive."
"By surrendering?"
"The demons would not have stopped until they destroyed everything and everyone," she said, "All of the forests that you treasure so much… all would have been gone. This way, you will still have a planet left to go home to. With no one to fight against, the destruction stops."
"I do not like running away."
She set a hand on his. "Queen Serenity could help."
He looked to her.
"There is a rumor that the royal family of the Moon possesses a great power," she said, "That's why no one has ever successfully attacked the Moon – and why most don't try."
"What sort of power?" he asked.
The Princess shook her head, "I don't know. No one knows for sure. Princess Serenity doesn't even know."
"Then that puts us back where we started," he said, turning away.
"You mustn't give up," she said softly, "That's another way these demons work…" She put her hand on his arm, "Try trusting people."
"I apologize, Princess Isisa," he said equally softly, "I am under a lot of stress."
"You were," she said, "But now, you are not fighting alone."
"I am not fighting at all," he said, "Not any more."
"But you are still needed," she replied, "We need you to protect us… to protect the Moon…"
He looked to her.
She held out his glass to him, "To protect me."