Authors note: As always, I would like to thank my Beta reader, MegTao, and Ala Verity. And for everyone who reads my drabbles, thanks so much for staying with me!
'12. Present
Usagi woke from the dream with tears in her eyes.
Serenity walked down the stairs into the ballroom. Below her were hundreds of Lunarian couples smiling, laughing and dancing to the music that drifted from the performance hall next to the ballroom. The men were dressed in black tuxedos, contrasting starkly with the vibrant attire of the ladies, who wore gowns of every imaginable colour. As it was a masquerade ball, men and women alike wore masks of all styles covering their eyes, and sometimes their whole faces.
The ballroom itself was decorated for the occasion with streamers, coloured lights and silk table cloths. Beside the staircase Serenity was standing on, the stone banister was also draped with silk, giving the cold, lifeless stone a warm look. The windows were open, revealing a starry night sky.
Looking up to the Earth's night sky, so much like the one viewed from the Moon, Usagi could almost smell the ladies' perfumes, the food on the tables surrounding the room, and the smell that drifted into every room of the palace. The smell of home.
As Serenity walked gracefully down the staircase, the chatter of many voices reached her ears. Above all, one voice caught her attention.
'May I have this dance?'
Smiling, Serenity took the hand of Prince Endymion as he led her out onto the floor.
Even in her dream, Usagi could feel the happiness radiating from the couple. She knew she was remembering something that had happened many years ago, in the times of the Silver Millennium.
They danced in perfect time with the rhythm of the music, perfectly attuned to each other. They seemed like two halves of one whole, perfect flower, which in a way they were. She was the beautiful petals, bringing life and colour to the bloom. He was the sturdy stem,standing perfectly upright to show off the beautiful flower-top. When they were together, they made a breathtaking blossom that managed to look incredibly strong, while still maintaining its stunning beauty.They both wore smiles that lit up their faces like two shining stars. Everyone around them could see how perfect they were for each other, and stopped to watch the Lunarian princess and Earth prince weave a magic spell over the room.
Usagi sighed. Maybe she had been happy then, but in the present she knew her Prince was as far away from her as her old life on the Moon.