Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, Teen Titans, or any character from either franchise.
Author's Note: This fic was inspired by RavenBloom's "The Rising of the Sister Senshi".
The Dark Princess
Chapter 1: Princess Karasu
It was a cause of celebration for the Silver Millenium. Queen Serenity now had a daughter. The Moon Kingdom had an heir. At first, the Queen wanted to name her daughter after her but, upon looking at the newborn Princess' eyes, she sensed some darkness that didn't fit the name so she changed her mind. 'Maybe I'll give my name to the next daughter.' She thought.
"My Queen, how shall your daughter be named?" Moon cat Luna, one of the Queen's top advisors, asked.
"I, Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, hereby declare my firstborn daughter's name shall be… Karasu!" The Queen proclaimed.
Once all the formalities have been settled, Luna went to her office, where her fellow advisor and moon cat Artemis was waiting for her. "Is everything okay, Luna?" The male cat asked.
"Our newborn Princess is a healthy baby girl upon whom Queen Serenity bestowed the name 'Karasu', Artemis." Luna replied.
"Karasu?" Artemis asked in surprise. "Anyway, I know you, Luna. I can tell something worries you."
"It's Princess Karasu, Artemis." She told him. "I sensed some darkness in her."
"In a newborn?" Artemis found that hard to believe. "I mean; I know the Moon Kingdom already had its share of royals who draw magic from the dark side of the Moon but I never heard of anyone where people could see the darkness coming this soon."
"True." Luna nodded. "Even Queen Serenity seemed to have felt something as I believe she would give the Princess another name before seeing the Princess' eyes."
"Should we talk to Her Majesty?" Artemis asked his female companion.
"Yes!" Luna answered and the two cats went to Princess Karasu's room, only to see Queen Serenity leaving it. "My Queen."
"Quiet, please." The Queen whispered. "Karasu's sleeping. If you want to talk to me, we shall meet at the throne room."
Luna and Artemis silently nodded and the three of them met at the place chosen by the Queen. "Now, I presume you want to tell me about the darkness you sensed in my daughter." Queen Serenity said, shocking Luna.
"H-how?" Luna asked.
"Luna, I sensed Karasu's darkness as soon as I looked into her eyes." Queen Serenity stated.
"Then you know what will happen once people learn about Princess Karasu's darkness." Luna said. "Don't you, my Queen?"
"They will fear the idea of being ruled by a Dark Queen." The sadness in Queen Serenity's voice was so evident nobody would miss it.
"Then you must give birth to a second daughter and hope she will be light as usual for the royal family, my Queen." Luna bluntly stated.
"Luna, she hasn't fully recovered yet." Artemis scolded Luna and then turned his attention to Queen Serenity. "Please forgive her, my Queen. She said it without thinking."
Luna angrily hissed at Artemis and was about to scratch him when the Queen motioned for them to stop. "Luna, Artemis, you both are my top advisors and I understand it sometimes requires suggesting difficult things to do." She stated and the cats nodded. "That said, while I understand the wisdom of having a spare to the throne, any other children I might have in the future will be just that unless Karasu is unable to rule or the Silver Crystal itself rejects her. And besides, it's not the first time a royal is born with dark energy."
"But it's the first time a dark royal is an heir to the throne, my Queen." Luna argued.
"As much as my people might fear the idea of having a dark ruler, I'm certain all protests will cease once the Silver Crystal chooses her." Queen Serenity said.
"If it chooses her." Luna replied.
"Yes." Queen Serenity said in conformity.
Two days later, nobles from the Moon and from planets subordinated to the Moon Kingdom were at the Moon Palace to celebrate Princess Karasu's birth. As Luna expected, most of them felt uneasy once they got close enough to the Princess. Fortunately, all of them knew better than making a scene in front of the Queen.
"They reacted better than I hoped." Artemis whispered to Luna.
As the months passed, Queen Serenity made sure to spend as much time as possible with her daughter. "Sweet little Karasu. Who's a good girl? You are." Queen Serenity also saw to it that all of Karasu's clothes were of light colors out of hope it'd make the darkness in the Princess give way to light.
Around the time Princess Karasu was two years old, her days as an only child were over. She now had a younger sister named Serenity after their mother. "At last we have a Princess who isn't dark." Luna commented.
"Dark?" Princess Karasu asked, shocking Luna.
"I mean, how long were you behind me?" Luna asked.
"You were between Mommy and me." Karasu answered. Luna was speechless. She knew she feared Karasu's darkness but she didn't realize how deep her belief the Queen and the other Princess needed protection from the Dark Princess was.
"Karasu, come here and meet your little sister." Queen Serenity called for her firstborn.
"My Queen, are you sure…" Luna tried to ask but the Queen interrupted her.
"Luna, I am sure." Queen Serenity firmly replied. Reluctantly, Princess Karasu approached her mother and her newborn sister. "Serenity, this is your big sister Karasu. Karasu, this is your little sister Serenity."
"No." Karasu said. "You are Serenity."
"Yes." Queen Serenity replied. "And so is she." It confused Karasu but she decided not to push it further.
Like it happened during Princess Karasu's birth, Princess Serenity's was also celebrated with a ball. Upon seeing how less stoic Princess Serenity was in comparison to Princess Karasu, several visitors made comments like "Now that's a Princess I can trust to be a future wielder of the Silver Crystal." Princess Karasu understood those people liked her sister more than they liked her but it didn't bother her since she barely knew them. Her family loved her and that's what mattered.
As the years passed, the contrast between the two Princesses became even more obvious. Princess Karasu became a seemingly stoic girl who was feared by most who met her and preferred to wear dark clothes, mainly a black dress and a dark blue cloak. Her dark magic became so powerful people were divided between being afraid she'd become a tyrant and glad she hasn't. meanwhile, Princess Serenity became a bubbly and friendly girl who was loved by everyone in the Moon Kingdom. "Princess Serenity will make a great Queen someday." A servant commented.
"Isn't Princess Karasu the heir to the throne?" Another servant asked.
"She might be Queen Serenity's first born but I doubt someone so dark and emotionless can use the Silver Crystal." The first servant said. "The Silver Crystal will likely choose Princess Serenity over Princess Karasu."
"You're right." The second servant agreed.
"A-hem." They heard a voice and it turned out to be Princess Karasu's. "I'd like some cookies."
"Yes, Your Highness!" One of the servants exclaimed in fear, worried that Princess Karasu would punish them for that they said. To their relief, she simply left without saying anything other than a "Thank you."
"Phew." One of them said.
"We should avoid talking about her in the palace. We never know when she's within hearing distance."
As Princess Karasu was walking back to her room, she saw her sister coming from the other direction. "Karasu, what're you carrying?" Princess Serenity asked.
"Cookies, little sister." Princess Karasu answered. "Would you like some?"
"Yes, thank you!" Princess Serenity happily replied as she took a cookie. Princess Karasu then levitated another one into her own mouth. "Your powers are so cool, big sis." She commented.
"But why are you here, Serenity?" Princess Karasu asked. "Shouldn't you be in your room doing your lessons?"
"They're boring." Princess Serenity complained. "And why should I bother with those if you are the one who will become the next Queen?"
"Serenity, until the Silver Crystal chooses one of us, it's not clear which one of us shall replace our mother as Queen of the Silver Millenium." Princess Karasu replied. "And besides, you shouldn't dodge your lessons. What would Mother or the advisors say?"
"You're not telling them, are you?" Princess Serenity asked in mild worry.
"She doesn't have to, Princess Serenity." Luna answered, revealing her presence.
"L-L-L-Luna!" Princess Serenity screamed in shock. "Please, don't tell Mom!"
"I might consider not telling her if you go back to your room right now." Luna firmly stated and Princess Serenity ran away.
"'Might consider' leaves room for interpretation, doesn't it?" Princess Karasu asked Luna, who said nothing in response. "Anyway, I presume Artemis already told you I've finished my lessons."
"You're correct, Princess Karasu." Luna formally replied. The moon cat didn't like Princess Karasu but couldn't show much hostility towards the Dark Princess without evidence of wrongdoing.
"And you've been following me ever since I left my room, haven't you?" Princess Karasu asked.
"I was worried about a Princess wandering on her own, Princess Karasu." Luna formally replied. Her main worry what that Princess Karasu might resent Princess Serenity to the point of trying to poison her own sister but the moon cat knew better than trying to voice such an accusation without proof.
"Your concern is appreciated, Luna." Princess Karasu replied. The Dark Princess didn't really believe the moon cat but was willing to remain civil for as long as Luna did the same.
At that moment, Artemis approached them. "Excuse me, Your Highness, Luna, the Queen requests the presence of the both of you at the throne room immediately."
"Understood, Artemis." Princess Karasu replied. "Do you and Luna want some cookies?"
"No." Luna quickly replied and glared at Artemis so the male cat wouldn't say 'yes'. The Dark Princess and the two cats then went to the throne room where both Queen and Princess Serenity were waiting for them. "Karasu, Serenity, Luna, Artemis, you must be wondering why I summoned you here." Queen Serenity commented.
"Does it have something to do with the fact I'm about to become 16 years old, mother?" Princess Karasu asked.
"Indeed, my daughter." As usual, Queen Serenity was amazed at how perceptive her first born was. "As all of you know, people are unsure about who will take over as the next ruler of the Moon Kingdom once my days as Queen are over."
"Mom, shouldn't Karasu be the next Queen since she's my older sister?" Princess Serenity asked.
"It's not that simple, Serenity." Queen Serenity nicely answered. "While it's true that, under normal circumstances, Karasu being older than you would make her my unquestionable successor, there are questions that need answers."
"Like if someone like me can ever wield the Silver Crystal." Princess Karasu stated, shocking everyone. "What? Did you think I wasn't aware of how people fear the idea of being ruled by a Dark Queen or how they doubt somebody who isn't open with emotions can wield the Silver Crystal?"
"Well, I was hoping to spare your feelings, Karasu." Queen Serenity commented.
"Like a Dark Princess like Karasu has any feelings." Luna whispered to Artemis.
"Did you say something, Luna?" Queen Serenity asked, shocking Luna.
"N-n-n-n-no, your Majesty!" Luna fearfully replied.
"I'm glad to hear that, Luna." Queen Serenity commented. "Now, there's only one way to solve that."
Two days later, there was a ball to celebrate Princess Karasu becoming 16 years old. "Attention, people of the Moon Kingdom." The Queen said, getting everyone's attention. "Today we're here not only to celebrate my daughter Karasu's birthday but also to learn which one of my daughters shall become the Moon Kingdom's next Queen."
Now everyone was paying even more attention to the Queen than ever. "It must be Princess Serenity." One of the nobles commented. "Princess Karasu is too dark and emotionless to use the Silver Crystal."
"In order to have no doubts, I shall ask the Silver Crystal to decide." Queen Serenity announced. "O, mighty Silver Crystal. Thy humble guardian asks you to choose which one of my daughters shall be thy next guardian."
As instructed by the Queen, both Princesses knelt on one knee each and opened a hand as if ready to receive the Silver Crystal. To the surprise of no one except Princess Serenity, the Silver Crystal chose her.
End chapter.