Title: With an oath comes questions
Author: Ree
Theme: Silver Millennium - language barrier
Genre: general
Version: Anime/Mange - early Silver Millennium
Rating: G

Most of these characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I'm just delving into their skeletons in the closet.

With an oath comes questions


AN: Bren is Selenity's dead husband's ghost, Lord Talbert is the head of the military, Lord Dalton is the head of intelligence.

As Selenity started across the room, she spotted Lord Dalton and Lord Talbert tinkering with one of the unknown machines that were scattered about the castle. 'Lord Dalton's team has been studying them recently, I wonder what he has discovered.' Catching their attention, she made a small gesture towards the dias.

They silently acknowledged her. Tapping a few more buttons on the control panel, both lords went to meet her.

The Venusians watched her walk across the room. Selenity could feel them assessing her poise. 'The senshi was right, they are judging me.' Under their heavy gazes, she started to tense. Then, Bren's presence slipped between her and them. Casting a small glance at him, she could see a faint reassuring smile. The Venusians cast their looks elsewhere. 'Why? Oh! Because they thought I was looking at them. So, they can't see ghosts either.' With their penetrating looks off of her, her confidence returned. She glided up the steps to the dais just as the two lords arrived.

Facing her guests, Selenity smiled. 'They look like fountains of gold, silver, and copper.'

Lord Dalton bowed slightly to the Venusians and then to his queen. "Queen Selenity, I have the honor of presenting to you Lady Amathia, Lady Cymodoce, and Lady Halie of the planet Venus." Selenity could tell that Lord Dalton was having some problems saying the ladies' names.

"Requen Selenity, A sone contrista Rean Amathia, Rean Cymodoce, tre Rean Halie con soren Venus."

The ladies didn't react to his slight mistakes; they were too busy looking around the room. Selenity restrained herself from doing the same thing. "A voice... where did that voice come from? And what did it say?'

Lord Dalton continued as if nothing was unusual. "Lady Amathia, Lady Cymodoce, and Lady Halie, this is Her Majesty, the Queen of the Sihde, Queen Selenity."

"Rean Amathia, Rean Cymodoce, tre Rean Halie contrista Reqena, Requen con Sihde, Requen Selenity."

The ladies' eyes flitted once again about the room before settling on Queen Selenity. Bringing their right hand to their forehead, they swooped them towards their waist, and inclined their head the barest amount as their hand came out towards Selenity.

Selenity marveled at their beauty as she bowed slightly towards them. 'Not a hair out of place, their faces are perfectly formed. Their eyes are as rich as the colors that they are wearing.'

"Welcome to the Moon." She waited to hear if the strange voice would speak again.

"Varrin cin Moon."

"Allahema, Requena." Lady Amathia stepped slight forward, her golden dress shimmering as the light played across the fabric.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lady Halie spoke up quietly from the back of the group. "A sennse orro holatra listeisan?"

"I perceive that our visit is unexpected?"

Selenity nodded slightly. "We were not expecting guests this soon." 'Or ever.' Fighting the need to look at the ceiling, she hoped the unknown voice wouldn't read her mind.

"As listeises holatranias tahin."

Watching their faces, Selenity waited for their reaction.

Lady Cymodoce glanced at her companions. "Sonean ic qiaken quen. Sonean hugrer fummilu?"

"It has been a year since you reclaimed your throne. Has it been that difficult settling in?"

'Did the thought translate, or are they are searching for weaknesses? What can I tell them... what will not be seen as a weakness?' She felt a hand rest on her shoulder. A quick glance showed that it was Bren's. His voice, the barest whisper of what it had been in life, made it to her ears. Steady. They are as bad as the ladies of Mother's court. You handled them, you can handle these ladies. Her confidence returned with his words. Courtiers were courtiers no matter where they came from.

"Difficult? No, but it has been time consuming." Selenity kept a civil smile affixed to her face hiding her disgust of these word games.

"Hugrer? Xo soneras lihstrial vennari."

Lady Cymodoce smiled in an understanding way. "A hutla as soneran lihstri ic. As Requen alk contris as sorena imagata."

"I thought that we should have waited another year. But our Queen wished to honor our kingdom's promise."

Lady Amathia frowned slightly at her, stopping her from saying more. "Ashibana alkiate." She looked back at the silver haired queen, not giving the disembodied voice a chance to translate. "As ultaita as sorena goto Requen con Moon, Maquena con Sol."

"Of course she wished to."

"We are here to swear our Kingdom's loyalty to Queen of the Moon, the Empress of Sol."

The Venusians sank to a squat, their right hands held out towards Selenity. Their eyes were focused on the Moon queen as they watched her, judging every movement, every expression.

Selenity kept her face passive as she recoiled inside in surprise. Empress? That is what the senshi called me. Why would another planet swear its loyalty to me? What does this entail for my people? I can't casually accept this... but how can I refuse?' The Venusians were waiting expectantly for her response. Selenity could feel their eyes resting on her.

Bren's hand squeezed her shoulder. Accept it.

She wanted to question him, to find out why he thought she should. But she couldn't, not here. 'They would think I was crazy talking to the air.' Putting her trust in him, she smiled at the three expectant ladies. "Thank you. I accept your kingdom's oath of loyalty."

"Allahema. A deneba uas sorena wergoto."

Selenity watched as the ladies relaxed slightly. 'This is going to be a long visit. I have a feeling they are going to want to know everything that is happening. And I am going to have to find some way to thwart them.' Keeping her smile firmly in place, she remembered she was raised to be a queen. "I am sure you had a long trip. Please allow Lady Alanna to show you your rooms where you can rest. I shall see you at dinner."

"A trogh uasa joi hola. Sere magat Rean Alanna rewan uasa goba dema uas pemon. A non fei uasa niygura."

Watching as they did their bow, Selenity waited for them to leave. Once they stepped out of the room, she turned to Lord Dalton. Gesturing up towards the ceiling, she shrugged with a puzzled look on her face. The look that crossed his face while he crossed the room confirmed her suspicions. Following him over to the panel, she watched as he tapped some buttons. "It is a translator. They're all over the castle. I have a crew running about turning them on in the public rooms."

Selenity eyed it warily. "Would it translate if they are not in the room? That will become annoying if it does."

Dalton's eyes sparkled. "Not now. Once this one knows who to translate for, it will only do so if they are present." His fingers ran lightly over the top of the panel. "That was the addition we added. And it appears to have worked."

Selenity sighed, one worry lifted off her shoulder. Then her eyes widened as a thought struck her. "What if you hadn't discovered what this did? How could have we talked to them?"

Talbert looked at Dalton. "Luckily we don't have to worry about the differences in language, but if we had to you would have found a way."

Accepting his answer, she moved onto her next worry. "We have two hours to figure out what they eat. If anybody needs me, I'll be in the library." The two lords bowed as she walked away. 'Maybe she will know, or there might be a book on Venusian cuisine in there somewhere.' Her footsteps sped up as she left the meeting room.