Old Friends
Selene and Midas entered the garden, where an uneasy truce had come
between Serenity's Guardians and Prince Endymion. Serenity had insisted
upon it since they were even now. Selene's grey-blue eyes surveyed
the scene, and they widen in horror and shock when they fell
upon Serenity's hair.
"Bunny! What has happened to your hair?" She demanded of her daughter. "And
why is Endymion soaked?"
Serenity turned to her mother, a little shocked to see her. "Well, mother,
it was all my fault."
"You cut your own hair and dumped water on the Prince?" Her mother questioned
knowing full well that was not the case.
"Well, no, Endymion cut my hair, and Ami hit him with water, but please
don't punish them." She quickly added to the King and Queen.
"Serenity, I want the full story this instant."
Serenity proceeded to relate the mornings events to the Moon and Earth
royals. Both of who got a good laugh out of the whole fiasco. When the
whole story was done, Selene thought to herself, 'So this is what they
were up to yesterday with all that pink.' She once again smiled at their
mischief. She turned to her daughter and the young Sailor Soldiers. "Bunny,
see Allegra this afternoon to fix your hair. Ami, Minako, Rei, and Makoto
starting tomorrow we will be stepping up your training with Artemis."
Endymion raised an eyebrow at this, training; he liked the sound of that.
"Queen Selene would it be alright if I trained with them on my swordsmanship?"
"Swordsmanship?" Minako broke in, "You will be against the best. Everyone knows
Venusians are known for their swords skills."
The Queen smiled. "Yes, Endymion, that would be fine with me, if your father
agrees."
The boy looked to Midas, who just nodded with approval.
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Selene and Serenity were seated in the princess bathroom waiting for Allegra to
arrive. Allegra was Serenity's nursemaid. She was a pleasantly plumb middle
aged looking woman, who had also taken care of Selene as a child. She always
wore her salt and pepper hair in a long braid. She came bustling into the room
with her teal dress sweeping about the floor.
"Serenity, child, what have you done to your hair?" she exclaimed
"I didn't do it! Endymion did!" The princess protested.
Allegra looked outraged at the young prince. Selene quickly stepped in to sooth
Allegra's anger. "To be fair to Endymion, Bunny here decorated his room in pink
first."
Allegra rolled her navy eyes at the princess. "Miss Serenity, ladies do not go
around pulling pranks on people."
Serenity opened her mouth to protest, but decided it best to leave it alone.
Allegra pulled out her scissors and comb to fix the young girls hair.
When she was done, Serenity once again had two even pigtails, just a
lot shorter.
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Four men stared wearily at the ominous mountain. It shook and groaned like a
wild beast wanting out of its cage. An ancient evil, sealed away a millennia
ago, stirred within it. It raged against the seal wanting to finish the job of
devouring the worlds that it started with it first approached this solar system.
After watching for what seemed like an eternity, the man with sage hair and grey
eyes spoke. "How do you think the meeting is going?"
"No news is good news," answered the tan one with amber eyes and hair. The man
with crimson hair and blue eyes nodded in agreement with him.
Behind them stood their leader with chocolate eyes and ebony hair. He once again
regarded the Mountain and whispered. "God help us if the seal is broken."
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Rei sat in the garden filled with Fire Lilies. The lilies were a gift from
her parents to Queen Selene. They reminded her of home, so she came here when
she needed to think. The past few days had been brutal. It made her wonder why
Queen Selene stepped up their training sessions so suddenly, usually they
did not become this intense until they achieved their full transformation.
She closed her eyes and took in the fragrance of the garden. She sensed she
was no longer alone. The sound of laughter filled the garden. She scanned the
area looking for the source, and found four chocolate eyes staring at her through
the flowers. She smiled as two twin toddlers popped into the walkway. She ran
over hugging both of them. "Phobos, Deimos, what are you doing here?"
A voice behind her answered. "Because their mother was needed on the Moon."
The young Guardian of Fire turned with all the excitement her body could
contain. "Aunt Pele!" She ran and jumped into her favorite Aunt's arms. The
former Sailor Mars, Pele, was tall and graceful. Her red hair reached to her
waist and swayed when she walked. Her hazel eyes were soul piercing, but that
was all part of the package of being psychic. The twins soon ran over to join
in the reunion between the Fire Guardians. Deimos had the same red hair as
her mother, and Phobos hair was ebony like his father. Both had the chocolate
eyes of their father.
"Why have you come to the Moon, Auntie?" Inquired Rei, "And will Uncle be coming
too?"
Pele looked thoughtful before answering. "I have come to aide in your training,
and he maybe visiting, too."
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Serenity stood above the training area watching Minako and Endymion spar below
her. She wished she too could train. She did not want to be a helpless princess,
who relied on others to protect her. She wanted to be a Sailor Soldier like
all her friends, but her mother said it was impossible and would not allow her
to even try to train with them. A leggy blonde in a skirt, almost too short
to be descent, came and sat upon the railing next to Serenity. Her blue eyes
filled with laughter. "It is no fun just watching, is it?" She turned to Serenity.
Serenity opened her mouth to greet the women, but was hushed before she could
utter a word. The mischief gathered within the women's eyes. "Let's spice this
match up a bit."
With a flick of her wrist, Minako's and Endymion's swords flew from their grasp.
The blades began to dance around the sparring yard in an elaborate waltz.
"No fair!" Endymion yelled. "You promised no powers."
"I am not doing this!" Minako retaliated. Her eyes widen with knowing. "Freyja!
I know you are there."
"I guess the game is up." Freyja mock pouted as she leaned over the rail to
wave down at them.
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Ami made her way down a quiet hall going to the library. The library is where
she went to think when she did not want to be disturbed. She knew her fellow
guardians would only come for her there is it was absolutely necessary to
find her.
There was much she wanted to think about and research. She overheard Queen Selene
and King Midas whispering about a Mountain with worried looks upon their faces.
She wanted to know more about this Mountain that would cause the Queen's
serene face so much trouble. She went straight to her favorite spot armed with
as much as she could find about mountain references.
To say that the young Water Guardian became engrossed with what she was studying
was an understatement. She became filled with facts and thoughts of the Mountain.
The world around her disappeared and she no longer noticed her surroundings.
It did not occur to her that she was no longer alone. A woman had been watching
her for quite some time. The woman keenly observing Ami's every move with
her teal eyes. In her delicate fingers she played with her braided hair, only
slightly darker shade than her eyes. After watching the young soldier for
about an hour, she decided to make her presence known. "Ah, sweet Ami, I should
have known you would be here."
Ami startled that she was not alone, turned to face the woman. Upon seeing who
she was, Ami smiled. "Aunt Maia, I am so happy to see you."
Maia walked over and embraced her niece. "Now, what could be so important that
you have blocked out the world?"
Ami looked down at her studies, her brow furrowed in concentration. "The Mountain
I heard the Queen and King Midas discussing. Do you know anything about it?"
"I should have known that secrets are hard to keep from you, but everything
will be explained. All in good time, Ami." Maia replied.
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Makoto was busy gathering ingredients for her Stardust Brownies. She loved
to cook, even at her young age. It helped her to relax. After the rigorous
training of the past few days, she really needed to unwind. Their training
was getting tougher, and that was getting to Makoto both physically and mentally.
She had working very hard to perfect her Stardust brownie recipe. It was good,
so everyone told her, but she wanted it to be the best. Each time she changed
just a little to see if that was better or worst.
She just pulled the latest batch out of the oven, when her thoughts were interrupted.
"Mmmm, Those brownies smell wonderful." The voice came from a very tall woman
with brown and pink streaked hair, and emerald eyes to match Matoko's own
eyes.
Makoto looked up from her baked goods. "Aunt Callisto!"
Callisto smiled. "I wish I had gotten that cooking gene like you Mako. Your
Uncle Kale is so glad we have cooks because I burn everything."
"What are you doing here?" Makoto probed of Callisto.
"I had a craving for brownies." Callisto laughed.
Makoto eyed her warily. She knew brownies were the reason for Callisto's trip
to the Moon Kingdom, but she let the questioning end, for now.
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Selene organized an ice skating party for her guardians and best friends return
to the Moon. She knew it was something of all the Sailor Soldiers, former
and new, enjoyed. She sent everyone new leotards for the occasion to match
their home colors. For Ami and Maia deep sea blue with sequins that looked like
bubbles flowing across the stomach. For Minako and Freyja, a light orange flecked
with gold in the skirt. For Rei and Pele, a crimson body and black skirts. And
for Makoto and Callisto, emerald green with pink pin stripes. She even sent
one to her own daughter made of silver and white.
Everyone gathered at the ice laughing and excited for the party. Even Midas
and Endymion joined them, although the King decided to it was safest just to
watch. He sat with Phobos and Deimos, who were too young to skate, and watched
the merriment and mayhem on the ice. Selene marveled at the girls and how each
had grown so graceful. Even Serenity, who was prone to klutz attacks, became
an elegant skater. The girls were all having so much fun, sometimes at the
expense of poor Endymion. The young Prince had not quite mastered ice-skating,
but he was determined not to be out done by a bunch of girls. Selene was glad for
moments like these because she was sure the days ahead would not be so carefree.
AN:
I know that it does not seem like a whole lot was accomplished in the chapter. I do
feel that it was an important one to write. It gives an introduction to the
former Sailor Soldiers, and lets you in a little on the current ones personalities.
I love the character of Pele, and she will come to have a bigger role. It also
clues a little on the Mountain, which is very important in the next chapter.
FYI, how I came up with the Former Sailor's names, each has to do with their
planet or Guardianship.
Maia- Mother to Hermes in Greek Myth
Freyja- Norse Goddess of Love
Pele- Hawaiian Goddess of Fire
Callisto- Moon of Jupiter