Chapter VI. Introductions
Despite Venus's novice landing skills, Mercury managed to help control the speed at which the ark approached the ground. They landed safely in a forest clearing, not far from where Serenity and Jupiter had been visiting.
Jupiter was the first one off the ark. She flattened herself on the ground, nearly worshipping to some unknown entity that they were alive.
"Oh, stop being so dramatic, Makoto. I will get the hang of it," presumed Venus, whipping her long blonde hair back and retying her red ribbon.
"If I get back on that infernal contraption, it will be too soon." Jupiter raised herself from the ground, wiping the dirt off her green dress.
Mercury stared in wonder at the greenery and scenery surrounding them, while Mars crossed her arms and stared at the sky. "If we are gone too long, it will be suspicious," stated the fire senshi.
Jupiter replied, "We should be fine; after all, our guardians said we needed to explore more of our world. This is just a little beyond our world."
Mercury took in a deep breath. "The atmosphere is considerably thicker than it is back on the moon. I suppose because of the greater gravity that is in force here."
The others rolled their eyes. "Ami, must everything be so scientific?" inquired Venus.
"Well, this is quite an exploration." She whipped out a small note-scroll and a quill pen and began jotting down notes and sketches.
While Ami was concentrating on her journaling, the others walked towards a path that led to the gardens. Mars asked Venus, "Do you not think that someone would notice a giant ark coming from the sky?"
"Rei, do not worry so much," assured Venus. "As fast as we came in, it would surely be a blur to them."
"Or perhaps a warning," a strange male voice said.
The girls froze. Jupiter asked, "Who is there?"
"Do you not recognize me, Makoto?" Nephrite, in his full dark blue uniform came from behind a tree. "I expected you to come back soon, but to bring others…well this is quite a party. It is good to see you again, Serenity." Nephrite bowed to her. "Prince Endymion will be thrilled to see you again. He has been going on nonstop about you every chance he gets to talk."
"Oh really?" Serenity blushed.
Makoto sighed in relief. "I thought for sure you would be out tending the roses, not exploring the woods."
"The woods are like my second home. I used to camp out as a child all the time," replied Nephrite.
Ami put away her scroll and pen in a short sling-bag around her shoulder and approached the girls. "Oh, have we met someone already?"
"I suppose I should make proper introductions." Makoto introduced the girls by their names and not their titles, though if she had known what Nephrite was about to say, it might not have been necessary.
Nephrite nodded to each of them, saying how it was nice to meet each of them formally. "You do know, Serenity, that Endymion has disclosed who you are—but don't worry," he said quickly in response to her worried look, "we will not tell another soul. Even Jadeite is comfortable with the situation. I suppose if you were anything but royalty, he may have an issue with it. He will never admit it, but he does have something of a soft spot."
"You actually told him who you are?" asked Mars incredulously. The princess's naivety infuriated her.
Serenity shrugged. "I had no reason to lie to Endymion. He seems so trusting."
"And I assure you, that trust is not misplaced," Nephrite added. "Shall we proceed to the rose garden? I believe Endymion and a few of the others were walking where he first met Serenity. I think he was expecting a visit, though maybe not so soon." He smiled and gestured towards a stone path on the right.
"Then let us go," said a happy princess. She and Nephrite walked side by side, while the others followed behind them. Mars scowled, unhappy about her disclosed identity, but secretly intrigued by what lay ahead.
As they approached the famed rose garden, they heard several men talking. Serenity recognized the voices as Endymion and his other Shinnetou. "Come on, girls," she whispered. She hurried her steps and made her way to the prince and his men.
Endymion was in mid-sentence when he noticed the approach of Nephrite and the girls from the moon. He knew not who they all were, but he recognized Serenity, and assumed the others were the senshi she had spoken of. "Well, dear Princess, it is good to see you again." He came forward and kissed her hand.
Serenity blushed and nodded. "The same here."
The other Shinnetou stared at the other girls momentarily before hurriedly making their introductions. The girls giggled at their nervousness.
"Well, it seems we have quite a group here," remarked Prince Endymion. "Surely you don't expect me to explain all of this to my father?"
"Not yet, anyway. They were simply interested in making sure I was safe."
Endymion looked over Serenity's shoulder at the senshi. "Have no fear, girls. As long as she is with me, I will keep her safe."
Rei retorted, "We shall see about that." Impressed by her boldness, Jadeite smirked.
"I was just thinking of going down to the river. Would you care to join me?" Nephrite asked Makoto, taking her hand.
The brunette smiled widely. "But of course." She turned to her friends. "Do you wish to come with us?"
"Why not?" Minako asked excitedly. The three of them started to walk down another stone path. Kunzite walked up to Minako and started making conversation with her. With moments, she was gaily laughing and having a good time.
Serenity and Endymion followed, with the prince discussing how boring his morning rituals were. Apparently greeting dukes and royals from far countries was not his idea of a good time.
Zoicite walked over to Ami, who was bent down, examining a blue rose. "This is quite extraordinary," she remarked.
Zoicite nodded. "Yes it is, but I have seen something even more beautiful."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"You."
Ami's eyes widened and she stood straight up. Without a word, Zoicite offered his arm to her, and they made their way down to the river as well.
Rei stood off to the side, her face scrunched up in disgust. "How can they all be so trusting?"
"It is amazing, is it not?" inquired Jadeite.
The raven-haired girl snapped a question at him. "What is?"
"How they pair off like that."
"That leaves only you and me. And if you are even thinking—"
Jadeite interrupted coldly. "I was not thinking anything of that sort. You are surely far too intelligent to fall for that sort of thing."
Rei's eyebrows were raised, impressed by how perceptive he was. "Well, at least you understand me."
"No. What I understand is far beyond that. I understand women like you are hard to impress, so there is simply no point in trying." And with that, Jadeite stalked off after the others.
Rei stared at him for a moment. Looking around her and realizing she was alone, she stomped her foot. She ran and caught up with the strange Shinnetou. "You are really something, you know that?"
"It would not be the first time someone has told me that," Jadeite replied smugly.
….
At the river, the pairs sat and talked throughout the afternoon. Makoto and Nephrite discussed the plants of the land and how to grow them. Kunzite and Venus stood near the water, playfully splashing one another and laughing like old friends. Zoicite and Ami were looking at the scroll Ami had written, with Zoicite discussing some finer points of gravity and physics and Ami furiously taking more notes. Rei and Jadeite, who at first had said nothing to one another, were in deep discussion about reading the stars and signs in the fire.
Lastly, Serenity and Endymion were holding hands, watching the others and talking of their worlds.
"It is amazing, is it not? We are from two worlds, yet look at all of us: it was as if it was meant to be," remarked Endymion.
Serenity smiled and laid her head on the prince's shoulder. "'Tis a shame that we will have to leave soon, for people will wonder where we are."
"Perhaps we should make these trips when people are sleeping."
"That would be brilliant, but what would I do without my beauty sleep?" teased the princess.
Endymion stroked her face. "You will be beautiful no matter what."
The princess turned a dark shade of pink after hearing this compliment. She looked out at her friends, all enjoying their precious time. "I wish I could stay here forever."
"Perhaps one day you will."
The moon princess shook her head. "My home—my rightful place—is on the Moon. I have a Kingdom that one day I will rule; I cannot desert my responsibilities."
The earth prince nodded in agreement. "The same goes for me—I belong here with my father, for one day I will rule this kingdom."
"It seems so unfair."
"That it does."
The couple were silent. Ami was nodding to Zoicite and stood up. She walked over to the royal couple and asked, "Princess Serenity, is it not time for us to be going?"
The moon princess nodded reluctantly. "Come on girls, we shall come another time."
Her senshi stopped their conversations and looked at their leader. Knowing that it was time, they said their goodbyes to their partners and hugged them. In return, the gentlemen kissed their hands.
"I suppose we shall see each other another time," remarked Kunzite.
Minako nodded. "We will. I had a great time."
"Me too."
"I was glad to see you again, Makoto. Next time, we will have to cook up something together," declared Nephrite, making a stirring motion.
Makoto smiled and agreed. "You will have to tell me the secret of those blue roses too."
The brunette soldier exclaimed, "But of course!"
Jadeite and Rei had both looked away—as much as they did not want to admit it, they had grown attached to each other in such a short amount of time. "I suppose it would be a waste of time to tell you all the things a gentleman would tell you," Jadeite started to say.
"Oh, shut up." Rei leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. They were both so startled by this sudden movement that they recoiled back for a brief moment before kissing once more. When they came apart, Rei whispered, "Thank you for understanding me. I can read your soul as you read mine, and I feel that we will have no secrets."
"For there will be no reason to do so," agreed Jadeite. He took her hand into his.
Zoicite walked over to Ami. "I suppose this is goodbye, for a short time. I will be looking forward to what your calculations of your days as compared to our days will be."
"And I would be interested in hearing more about your theories in mathematics and physics. Perhaps next time we can play chess?" Ami suggested. "Do you—"
"I do, as a matter of fact. I wonder if we follow the same rules. It will be interesting to see how we each play the game." The two stared happily at each other.
"Princess…." Endymion whispered.
"Yes?" Serenity turned to face him.
"Until we next meet, I shall think always of you," he promised.
She replied with stars in her eyes, "And I, of you."
The girls departed, leaving all the guys waiting by the shoreline, waiting to see them again.
"That was not so bad, was it Rei?" inquired Serenity after they were some distance from the river.
Minako giggled. "Yes, and I believe you were quite attracted to that gentleman—Jadeite was his name?"
"Oh shut up," snapped Rei.
The others smirked. Their toughest senshi had found her match, just as they all had.
…..
A/N: Please leave reviews! They help me be inspired to continue the story, as long as someone is reading. More than likely I will reply to you personally, as well.