A/N: Alright, I must stop here for the night, but I plan on working on Frozen Hearts more after work tomorrow. Enjoy young Makoto for the win. I really do like her and Sakura as sisters. Yes, I created the other character because I felt that she may not be as alone in past lives as she was in PGSM. Remember that this is the Fifth Kingdom. That refers to the number of times the Crystal has restarted the universe. Also, to clear up any confusion about why Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus already have pledged to the princess, let's just say that since they are from the Outer planets, their mothers were less likely to wait on the royal decree to start getting busy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. I just wish I did.
"Mommy? Why do I have to learn this?"
Makoto was clearly irritable. Her attention wandering around the room before she idly picked at her tanned hide pants, the three year old princess wishing she was outside watching the soldiers spar instead of stuck inside of this room and learning a bunch of rather boring things about life in a place she had only ever heard of. Even her sister had far more time to herself, and Sakura even enjoyed these stupid lessons. The only lessons Makoto really loved were from the palace guards on combat theory. Her green eyes were narrowed in distaste at the many notes on etiquette and the short but rather gaudy sounding vow she would have to take before the Court of the Crescent in two years. Couldn't she just go and play, or do something with her sister? Even wearing a dress was preferable to this!
Akira sighed heavily, the child slowly wearing on her patience. This was the fourth time they had this discussion this week. Sakura was far more at ease with her lessons, granted they were different that her elder twins' courses. The more laid back brunette would hopefully never need to fend off a horde of enemy combatants while wearing the flowing robes of the court in her lifetime, and that was the way the queen was determined to keep it. "Mako, you need to learn this because you will be one of the Senshi. You will live at the Moon Palace, and you have to know their rules." She set aside the large tome and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Perhaps she was trying to get the girl to focus on too much for one day, however she still needed to start on the Vow of Chastity once again. "Tell you what. If you recite the Vow for me three times, then you and I will spar. How does that sound?" The queen offered.
The expression of joy on her daughter's face was overwhelming, hazel eyes watching the emerald hues scanning over the words before the three year old pursed her lips. She was confused, that much was clear. However, she took a deep breath and spoke as clearly as she could manage.
"I, Makoto, Princess of Jupiter, do swear to remain face-ful only to the Moon Princess. I vow to up... uphold my pure-city and remain cel... celi... celebrate in honor of the pureness of the Moon Kingdom. I take this salmon vow of cat-city and celery on this day, in front of the Court of the Crescent, and will put no other above the Moon Princess."
Akira was struggling to hold in her laughter at her daughter's fumbling attempt at the most serious vow a Senshi could take, bursting out into riotous laughs when the girl asked, "But Mommy? Why do I need to take a vow of celery? I don't even LIKE celery!"
Sakura sighed as she looked at her flowing green dress, wishing her twin was with her once again as her green-hazel eyes moved to the long strand of her chocolate brown hair that had escaped her bun. At least when Makoto was around, things were always fun and she wasn't expected to act perfect; her sister was the more wild one, but she always tried to help her more timid twin come out of her shell. It certainly didn't help that everyone treated her like glass, even a three year old could see that they were almost afraid to hand her too much. 'But Mako always tries to show me how to spar and use my lightning...' The princess mused, creating a small batch of sparks in her palm.
She wasn't supposed to be learning how to use lightning yet, but she really had wanted to. Every time she damaged something, Makoto always took the blame for her before she could even say it had been her, and then they would return to practicing the moment they were alone again. She knew she wouldn't have much time left with her sister, and that did upset her greatly. This was her twin, her other half. Though they weren't identical, they still understood each other far better than anyone else could hope. Sakura sighed and let the energy fade, looking out the window as the sky darkened with another approaching storm; they were so very common on Jupiter that it was more often than not rain was considered good weather. She knew the elder twin would be disappointed to not be able to watch the guards spar after lessons, but she was a bit glad that it would mean that they would get some time to themselves.
The sound of the door opening and slamming shut drew the girl's attention from her thoughts and to the large oaken door, the scowling face of her sister comically pressed into the wood. Sakura grinned, standing up and rushing over to hug the other brunette, ruffling the reddish brown hair playfully to get a grin from the other Jovian princess. "Mako! What did you learn today? Anything exciting?" She prompted, her sister smiling softly as they sat on the floor.
It was clear that they were sisters, almost identical in many ways. The same sun-kissed complexion, the same strong, stubborn jawline, the same lips, nose, and build. However, Sakura wore cloth dresses while Makoto preferred leather pants and shirts. Both of them hated their thin golden circlets, the oval emerald that dangled from the center to rest just between their eyebrows a nearly constant source of debate for them and the queen. Sakura was far more likely to give in, Makoto usually arguing it over until she and the queen both were on the verge of a tantrum. The green eyed twin already was adopting a more masculine posture, the green-hazel eyed girl easily more demure in her mannerisms. "I had to learn the Vow of Celery. It sounds so STUPID! Saku, I don't wanna go! I wanna stay here with you and Mom!" The future guardian whined, looking near tears.
The gentle girl wrapped her arms around Makoto, hugging her firmly as she remained silent a while. "You won't be gone forever. I'll visit! You know I'll visit." She wanted to shout at whatever thunder gods had caused them to be the first two females, destining them to be forced to be without each other for months if not years at a time. "I hear the Court is very pretty."
"I don't want pretty! I want to do stuff. I wanna run, and fight, and stay here. I don't wanna give salmons and cats to cities. I wanna stay here." She could hear the tears her proud sister was fighting back. "I wanna stay with you."
Makoto hated knowing that she would be taken from her family in a few years. She would have to stay at Court and reside with the Princess of the Moon. Sure, she would have her own room, but it was connected by a door to the girl she was supposed to be pledging all of that stupid stuff to. Unlike the other guardians. They would have their own rooms, with their own privacy, and she would have a joined room and no Sakura there to make her laugh when she was mad. It wasn't fair at all. Finally, after sniffing and wiping her eyes on the back of her hands, Makoto finally calmed down enough to smile at her sister gratefully, asking in a hushed tone, "Wanna see a new trick with lightning?"
Three months later, Queen Akira sat in the study with Makoto, watching her daughter writing notes in a sedated manner. The twins' fourth birthday was approaching, and time was growing shorter and shorter for her to have a chance to spend it with Makoto. Why did the fates have to take both Motoki and Makoto from her? Why did she have to give up her daughter too? It may not have been to death, but she would rarely see the warrior after her ceremony, even less than Sakura would if she chose to visit her sister. The Jovian woman stood, watching her daughter's attention turn to her as she smiled. "Wanna go outside?" The queen inquired, watching her daughter's features light up for a moment before looking back at the pages strewn around her. "Don't worry about the lesson. It will still be here when we get back with Sakura."
At the mention of the three of them spending time together, the papers were swiftly forgotten, Makoto almost leaping from the seat to rush to her mother's side, the woman striding to the door and opening it to the large wood passage way. Like many homes on the large planet, the palace was crafted of wood with smaller pieces in stone. In some places, the panels had started sprouting despite all reason, always confounding all the Mercucians who would visit there; they were governed by logic and reason, and anything that defied that caused them to halt and try to explain it by any means necessary. Three of the child's steps created only one of hers, Akira reaching down to hold Makoto's hand tenderly. Soon, she wouldn't have that luxury anymore. Soon her daughter would be unable to find a man or woman to love her as Motoki had loved the queen, and yet watch as her fellow guardians and even the Moon Princess could take on any lovers they desires. She would watch them be wed, but forced to remain alone and without intimacy until death would finally claim her. And since senshi and royals in general could live almost one thousand years, it would be a very long life of loneliness. "Saku, come on! Let's go outside!" Queen Akira heard her daughter command, watching as the other princess squealed happily and abandoned her own studies. Though she would not do this often, the sight of the two girls so happy was worth it.
As they left the palace, Makoto grinned at her mother and sister, asking loudly, "Want do you want as a gift, Sakura? Our birthday is next week!"
She could easily tell that the princess was excited, her more reserved sister answering only after they had crossed into the thick of the forest and were on the path to the waterfall that they all loved so much. "I want us to never be five. So then you won't have to go away."
Akira felt a lump in her throat forming as tears prickled her hazel eyes, the hand of her elder daughter releasing hers to sweep the other girl into a hug. She could feel her lower lip tremble, watching the two princesses embrace each other, the whispered words of Makoto making her heart break and the tears fall free. She didn't know how any of the queens could bear to give up their first daughter to this, knowing that the first princesses of Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus had already pledged themselves to the princess earlier this year. How did they find the strength to let them go?
"I wish I could do that for you, Saku. I'm so sorry that I can't."