Chapter Twelve

After they feasted on the finest cuisine, Venus got ready to leave and Kunzite offered to escort her to her destination. It had been a good night, and they both felt a heavy weight lifted from them, even if neither of them knew where this was going.

"When will I see you again?" He brushed a piece of hair from her face. "I hope it's sooner than the last."

She looked up at him and smiled. "I can't promise that. We've got a lot going on with preparations for the ball. And now I need to speak with my advisers on who they can spare to come back here with me." She reached for his hands, and took hold of them with her delicate fingers. "I promise it will be as soon as I can. Patience."

He drew her hands up to his lips and placed a kiss on them. "I have a feeling I will be needing a lot of that in the future."

She replied back playfully, "Most likely." They both chuckled and she placed a kiss on their entwined hands as he had done. "I must get going now. So, until next time."

"Until next time."

With that, Venus disappeared in that brilliant flash that she always did.

Venus wasted no time once she'd returned in speaking with the Moon Queen. The news regarding the evil that had appeared on Earth, it not just being a simple uprising, was something she could not keep to herself. They'd spent weeks before with the outer planet's delegates, assuring them that it was nothing more than that—a simple uprising, that could be calmed without any sort of intervention from the planets. In fact, they had stated, that letting the Earth's leaders deal with it would be best. People there had claimed that the Moon and other planets were too involved, so letting them sort it out seemed like the best option. Prove that they could stay out of matters. But it seemed, that wasn't the case and something needed to be done. Selene and Venus agreed that before they alerted the other planets, it was best to send some Venesians to assess the situation. If after the evaluation, it seemed that more assistance was essential, they would alert the others and the necessary actions would be taken.

It had been a long day, but the blood was running through Venus' veins. She always felt a certain amount of adrenaline rush through her when matters such as this arose—and this was far bigger than anything they had encountered. Sleeping was not an option today. She awoke her faithful companion and friend, Artemis, and the two left for their home planet in the early morning hours.

Once there, she woke up a few people and held conference in a private room, where no one could overhear what was said. The last thing she wanted was the other planets catching word of what was going on and taking matters into their own hands—as some had threatened to do only weeks before. After the situation was explained to them, the men helped her choose two hundred of their finest to accompany her down to the blue planet.

"Very well," she stated as she rose from her chair. "Inform those selected to assemble at dawn tomorrow. Do not reveal where they are going. I will personally tell them before we leave. It is important that word does not spread."

The two men whispered a bit to themselves as Venus and Artemis left the room.

"Was it really necessary to wake them so early? And myself, too?" He paused, letting out a small yawn, she was not looking at him, only walking steadily down the hall. "Have you slept?"

"No. No I haven't."

Her pace did not slow, and she still did not look at him. "You are either very concerned, or something else is bothering you."

"Go rest, dear friend. You will be busy while I'm absent."

After a few short hours of rest, Venus briefed Artemis on her plans, and what she expected him to do while she was gone. She would return to and from the Moon to assist in security details of the ball that was coming soon, but he would be in charge of taking care of all her royal arrangements, so far as her attire for the evening and anything else that might come up. He was also to sit in on anything she was not there for and inform her about it when she came back. Her goal was to be in both places when she needed to, but she recognized there would be a time or two when she missed something important.