Serena looked around at the papers that were stacked everywhere. "This is going to take us forever," Kaden said as he walked in, paper shredder in hand.
"I know. I didn't want to wake you, you looked so peaceful," Serena said.
"That's my line," Kaden teased.
"I thought I always looked restless, even in my sleep," Serena said.
"Not always. I think you look like an angel," he said and kissed her. "So where do we start?" he asked.
"The desk. She has papers everywhere, and I need to set my computer down," Serena said.
"I came prepared," Kaden said, holding up a wet, white cloth. He wiped the desk quickly, and they were both surprised to see dark cherry wood under the dust and papers.
"It's gorgeous," Serena said.
"Yes it is. Do want an old man's help?" Trenton asked, walking in, a bucket of steaming water in one hand, furniture polish and white cloths in the other.
"Sure, Daddy. If you want, you can help Kaden and I move papers to the now wiped desk so we can wipe off everything else," Serena said.
They moved the stack of papers to the desk, and moved furniture around so they could get to a far window. Trenton and Kaden opened it. It grated against the wood since it hadn't been opened in over a millennia. "Ahh we did it!" Trenton said as he took a deep breath of fresh moon air. Kaden laughed.
"We'll need vinegar and newspapers to clean those windows," Serena said.
"Why not just use Windex and paper towels?" Trenton asked.
"For the same reason you don't use a tree branch to write on. It doesn't work. Vinegar will, especially with all the grime and dirt on them. Water first though," Serena said and took the wet cloth and wiped it across the window. More sunlight filtered in. She wiped the whole window clean of dust and grime, then simply threw the cloth away. "Do you think that you men can handle that while I try to salvage some of these papers?" she asked.
"We can do this, Sere," Kaden said.
Together they worked for half an hour wiping all the windows clean. When they were done, sunlight filled the room. Then they removed the covers from the filing cabinets that needed to be replaced.
Kaden opened one. "Hey, Rena, what's this?" he asked, holding out a long intricately carved wooden box.
She took it and fingered the lock. She gave the lock a good hard tug and it broke in her hand. She opened it and smiled. "Just what I thought it was," Serena said. Both men looked, but the box looked empty to them.
"What is it that you see that we don't?" Trenton asked.
Serena reached inside and lifted the false bottom. Inside lay a very gorgeous sword. "Whose is it?" Kaden asked, practically drooling.
"Sailor Serenity's," Serena answered.
"Who's Sailor Serenity?" Kaden asked, confused.
"Either Ariana or me," Serena said.
"You're Sailor Moon," Kaden pointed out.
"I know that. No one knows how the Serenity Crystal disappeared. It just left one day, and never returned. I was five," Serena said.
"So call for it," Trenton said.
"I can't," Serena said.
"Why not?" Kaden asked.
"Because it only comes to the person its meant for," Serena said.
Kaden looked at her. "So you can't call it?" he asked.
"I don't know. I haven't tried, and I'm not going to," Serena said.
"Why?" Kaden asked.
"Because I don't want to. What if it comes to me? Then what?" she asked.
"Then you're Sailor Serenity," Kaden said, confused.
"With even more power that I don't want," she said.
"I understand," Kaden said finally. "So what will you do with the sword then?" he asked.
"Nothing. I'll put it back in its magic case, and lock it up and throw away the key," Serena said.
Lilly and Ariana came back about then. "Serena, I couldn't believe that the check you wrote was real," Ariana said.
"Why not?" she asked.
"Because it had to many zeros behind the three. When you said three, I thought you meant three hundred dollars, not three hundred thousand," Ariana said.
"Well camera equipment is expensive. I figured that would cover everything you needed, and give you some spending money for later," Serena said, confused.
"Why would I need it when the camera only cost around seven hundred dollars?" she asked.
"I don't know. The computer the software, the editing programs, those kind of things," Serena said.
"I didn't think of that. Still, it would only be around three or four thousand dollars. Serena, what were you thinking?" she asked.
"I don't know. If you don't want the money you can spend what you want, and give the rest to someone who does," she said.
Ariana stood there speechless. "Money has no value to you, does it?" she asked softly.
"No. I gave you a nice small chunk of money to do what you pleased with. I made at least that much per shoot when I was twenty," Serena said.
"And it doesn't bother you to just write a check and walk off?" Ariana asked.
"Ari, let me explain something. I am a tightwad. I like my money, and I don't like to spend it. I paid the bills, bought things that were needed, and not top of the line stuff either. I took the girls to JC Penny's and Sears when they needed clothes because they grow so fast, it wasn't worth spending a hundred dollars on a pair of jeans that they would wear two or three times before they were out of them. I spent twenty-five dollars on a pair of jeans that they could grow into and wear for a longer time. I have more money in my personal accounts than I can spend in this lifetime," Serena said.
"So it's a big deal that I was given the money?" she asked, confused.
"Yes. I gave you what I thought you could use to make things better for yourself. I don't know what you like and dislike. Go on a shopping spree. Have some fun. We're making money hand over fist, and no one's been around to supervise things much for the last millennia. Think about what will happen when we open up the stables again for breeding. Or when we do charity auctions and children's tours. People will want to trade with us, and us with them. Money will change hands," Serena said.
"OK. I'll use it, but don't say you weren't warned," Ariana said.
"Then you have ideas?" Serena asked.
"Yes. Tons. Since we already have the camera, I'll start taking pictures. We bought several memory cards, so I wont have to upload them right away," Ari explained.
"How many cards?" Serena asked.
"Five cards, 128 gigs each, and i talked her into a nice tablet." Lilly said.
"Good thinking," Serena said.
Ari beamed with the praise. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that you have a good head on your shoulders?" Serena asked.
"No, not exactly. I was usually told that my best could always be better. She wasn't really rude, just pushy. I was lost when she was killed. I wanted revenge. That was before I really knew everything though," Ariana said.
"And now that you know everything?" Serena asked.
"I want to be like you. Is that weird?" she asked.
"Yes and no. I guess since your older, I would think to aspire to be more like you, but since you didn't really have a way in the world yet, I could see why you'd want to," Serena said. Ari smiled. "OK. Weird now," Lilly said. Serena laughed softly.