Reunion
By Bashfulglowfly
Chapter 5
Four little girls stood before an elegant woman with silver hair pulled into two buns that trailed silver streams. Next to her, one hand clamped tight to the woman's skirts and hiding her face, was an even smaller girl whose golden hair was styled identically to her mother's.
"Serenity, my darling, these are the princesses of Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter. They are your aunties' daughters. They are here to become your Senshi and to be your friends."
Huge blue eyes peeked out at the four girls standing before her. "Are they going to be mean to me?" She had whispered but the four girls heard her.
Jupiter put her hands on her hips, auburn ponytail bobbing. "Who was mean to you? I'll show 'em! I'll show 'em that they can't be mean to you!"
"I'll make them sorry too!" The violet eyes of Mars flashed.
Mercury's blue eyes were wide as she looked at the others then at the Queen.
Venus stepped forward. She smiled charmingly to the Queen. "Of course, we would never dream of committing violence to those weaker than us." She glanced at the other three. "We shall merely inform them about the rules of politeness and courtesy."
Mars and Jupiter quickly caught on. Instantly they turned big eyes to the Queen and nodded. "She's right, we would never dream hurting those who try to hurt the Princess." Said Mars with an innocent flutter of eyelashes.
Queen Serenity raised an eyebrow. She didn't believe them; after all, she had been raised with their mothers. And, over the next few weeks, she pretended not to notice the other children in the Castle who suddenly developed minor burns, mild frostbite and other small injuries. After all, if their parents weren't going to complain…but she did drop a quiet word in Sailor Metris' ear to not let the girls' get too carried away.
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Five young girls running through the gardens, trying to catch each other.
Studying together. Or not studying depending on the girl and her mood of the day.
Brushing hair into different styles, painting nails, trying on cosmetics.
Giggling over boys.
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"Don't you think the son of the new ambassador of Saturn is handsome?" Whispered Venus.
"He looks like he's the third generation of brother/sister marriages!" hissed Mars.
Mercury choked on the forkful of food she had just placed in her mouth and grabbed her napkin to hide it. Jupiter snickered while Serenity just looked confused.
Venus just laughed merrily causing people to look at the irrepressible Venusian.
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The four Senshi ran frantically through the Castle and it's gardens. They recklessly used every spell and technique they knew to keep themselves hidden. They couldn't let anyone know that Serenity was missing.
They came together in area that was as far away from the Castle as they could get without being beyond its boundaries. None of them had Serenity with them.
"We've searched everywhere!" snarled Mars.
Mercury put away her computer. "She isn't here."
Jupiter yanked at her ponytail, almost dislodging it. "Where did she go? Where could she have possible gone that we can't feel her."
Venus looked up into the sky. The Earth glowed brightly. Her eyes narrowed. "She is sooo very dead."
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The Senshi ran through the forest. Mercury was using her visor. While it wasn't as accurate as her computer in tracking down their errant princess, it gave her the advantage of having her hands free in case of trouble.
"Stop!" whispered Mercury. She knelt down to the ground. The others knelt next to her. "The tree line ends in just a few meters. Serenity is somewhere beyond that."
Venus peered through the twilight gloom, trying to see past the trees. "What's beyond the trees?"
Mercury looked grim. "A castle."
"A castle?" Jupiter looked startled then she looked up into the sky and tried to orient herself. Her eyes narrowed. "Mercury, where specifically are we?"
Mercury looked at her sisters and sighed. "Atlantis."
Venus nearly choked. "Atlantis? We are on the island of Atlantis?"
Mars covered her eyes. "Please tell us that the castle ahead belongs to a minor lord."
Mercury bit her lip. "If my information is correct…it's the castle of the King of Earth."
Jupiter punched a tree, Mars cursed softly and Venus looked like she was going to spontaneously combust.
"Okay. We go in pairs. Jupiter and Mercury to the right, Mars and I to the left. We'll stay within the tree line but circle around the castle. Let's see if we can sense her and/or find a way to get in without being seen." Said Venus.
Mars snorted. "All we have to do use magic and we'll be able to waltz past those silly Earth men. They'll never know."
Mars was surprised when Mercury shook her head. "There are reports that the Prince of Earth and some men who are personally sworn to him have magic. We just can't take the chance that they'll be able to detect us."
Venus looked at her sisters. "Do what I said. It's getting late and we can't afford to have anyone miss Serenity."
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It was completely dark except for the full moon when the Senshi finally found a place that they could leap up the wall undetected. Venus went first, followed by the others. All four kept as low as possible to keep from being silhouetted against the moon. They crept along the top to see if Mercury could get a fix on Serenity.
"She's that way!" whispered Mercury, pointing towards some gardens.
Quietly they leapt down and made their way into the gardens. Following Mercury's signals they slipped past trees and around bushes. Then they heard it.
Serenity's giggle.
Carefully they peered around a wall. In the center of an area surround by flowering bushes that had sharp thorns, was Serenity. And she wasn't alone. A handsome young man with black hair and dark blue eyes and wearing all black but trimmed in silver was with her.
It was obvious that Serenity was enchanted with this young man and he with her. He held her close as they danced without music in the moonlight. Venus could tell from the look on Serenity's face that the man gazing into her eyes had claimed her heart.
Venus closed her eyes in anguish. She loved Serenity dearly. And she knew that Serenity was not interested in the men who came to Court with the idea of becoming her husband. Serenity wanted to be loved for herself not for what she was going to become. She had told Venus that she didn't want to go the same route her mother had: forsaking love and asking for a child from the Galaxy Cauldron.
But Venus also knew that many in the Silver Alliance would have a collective heart attack if Serenity chose someone from a "barbaric" planet like Earth.
Serenity couldn't stay here. Yet, it was obvious that she had already fallen in love with this Earthling.
Venus made her decision.
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"Wait!"
The Senshi barely managed to keep from shrieking in shock at the voice that came from behind. They whirled around and before them stood four men. They all wore the same uniform but it was hard to tell in the darkness what color it was. One man had hair as silver as Queen Serenity's and was tall. A second man was not quite as tall as the first and had brown hair that fell in waves to the middle of his back. A third man had short blond hair and a merry face. The fourth had darker blond hair that was kept neatly tied back.
"Wait." The voice belonged to the man with silver hair. It was low and quiet. As if he didn't want it carrying to the couple beyond the wall. He motioned to the Senshi, quietly asking them to move away. "Please, come with us. Just for a moment. Then you can retrieve your charge."
Venus stared at him for a moment and moved to where he indicated, the others following close behind. They entered a small, vine-covered gazebo, lit by small lanterns. It was there she could see the four men clearly. Venus felt her heart pound at the sight of the silver haired man. She had known many men, but none that had ever made her feel like a giddy girl.
The man bowed. "I am Kunzite. Leader of the Shitennou. Guardians and companions of Endymion, Prince of the Earth. These are my brothers Nephrite, Jadeite and Zoicite."
Venus closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. Opening one eye, she looked at Kunzite. "I am Venus. Leader of the Senshi. Guardians and companions of Serenity, Princess of the Moon." She heard Mars hiss behind her. "Oh, stop. He already knows." She said irritably. " These are my sisters Mars, Mercury and Jupiter. Please tell me that the man our princess is with isn't the Prince of Earth."
"Sorry. I'm afraid I can't do that." Came the reply.
Venus wanted to scream. This was going to make things just that much harder. The man Serenity was infatuated with was, for all intents and purposes, equal in rank to her. He certainly wasn't going to be frightened away by threats.
Kunzite stared at her with solemn gray eyes and the side of his mouth quirked upward. His fellow Shitennou stared at him in shock. But Kunzite ignored them. "I take it your princess doesn't have permission to be here."
"Neither do we." Admitted Venus "But we came here to bring her back."
"This isn't her first visit here." Kunzite said.
"WHAT?" burst out Jupiter.
"This is her fifth time here…that we know of." Said Kunzite.
Mercury sounded strangled. "That you know of?"
"Dymion started acting strange, secretive, about two months ago." Said Zoicite. "We tried tracking him but he managed to hide himself rather well…even from Kunzite."
Kunzite nodded. "We finally found him…with your princess. We knew who she was as soon as we saw her."
Venus looked at him with narrowed eyes. "How?"
Nephrite smiled. "We have our legends. Of unearthly beings of unsurpassable beauty that live on the Moon. And you can distinguish them by the crescent moon on their forehead."
Jadeite grinned. "Not that your princess realized that marking gave her away. But she did try her best to pretend that she was from Earth."
"Your princess is a poor liar." Said Kunzite with dry humor.
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Discussions over what to do with their wayward charges led to flirtations. The flirtations led to more visits to Earth. Soon the Senshi were madly in love with the Shitennou and vice versa.
Serenity told her mother about the man she had fallen in love with. What Queen Serenity truly felt was never revealed to any of the girls but she allowed Endymion and the Shitennou to come to the Moon.
But soon trouble began both on the Moon and on the Earth. Alliance nobles didn't like the fact that the Princess of the Moon had chosen a nobody for her future husband, while a woman on Earth began to claim that the Moon was actually planning to enslave the people of Earth.
Endymion and the Shitennou worked hard to stop the woman named Beryl from gaining supporters but she seemed to bewitch anyone who got close to her.
War erupted all across the Earth. The King of Earth and his wife were murdered, the Shitennou captured and Endymion fled to the Moon.
The woman Beryl conquered the Earth then set her sights on the Moon and it's allies.
Beryl invaded the Moon. And upon her moment of arrival, she revealed her favored Generals – the Shitennou. Many nobles of the Moon Court tried to turn on Endymion but the Senshi stopped them. Tears ran down the face of Mercury as she demonstrated that the men standing outside the gates of the Moon Castle were not the Shitennou but grotesque mannequins made of flesh.
The people of the Moon fought…and failed.
The people of the Moon died.
The Senshi died.
The Prince of Earth died.
The Princess of the Moon died.
The Queen of the Moon used the Ginzuishou to try to defeat Beryl and her Master.
She failed.
But with the last of her power she managed to send her daughter, Endymion, the Senshi and her people to the future where they would have a chance to live in peace.