Amy walked with her mouth open in awe at the extraordinary Moon Palace. As Queen Serenity had given her daughter the task of showing the Sailors around, Princess Serena wasted no time in doing so. She skipped lively in front of the four Sailors (and Princess Alysona, who had insisted she come along), opening every door and going on a long rampage about the history of every room.
"My aunt tells me that my great-great grandfather used this room as his library." The Moon Princess had just opened a large marble door that led into a room with red velvet carpet and large windows overlooking the giant fountains that were running at the front of the palace.
However, there were no books to be seen. Amy felt her stomach drop. Books were positively her favorite things ever invented. To have none would be like not living at all. How could there even have been a library with no books?
Amy felt quite stupid for pondering this last question after hearing what Serena had to say next.
"After he died, my great-great grandmother moved all the books out of here and put them in the bigger library across the hall."
Amy sighed in relief. She would get a chance to read after all.
"May we go there now?" The words issued from Amy's mouth without her thinking, which earned a scoff from the uptight Martian Princess, Raye.
"Don't be so selfish, Emily," the raven-haired girl said judgmentally, as though she weren't being selfish and rude herself. Amy had known her for less than thirty minutes, but was already beginning to dislike her. "Wait until we get there."
"It's 'Amy'," Princess Mina must have noticed some sort of unsettled expression on Amy's face because she was the one to reply.
"What?" Raye looked at Mina as though she had no idea what the Venusian Princess was talking about.
"You called her 'Emily'," Mina clarified. "Her name is 'Amy'."
And I'm not being selfish, Amy thought, feeling the heart of anger rise into her cheeks. It was just a question. Serena can go wherever she wants to take us next.
Raye shrugged her shoulders in a "whatever" kind of manner and began looking around the old room with distaste written all over her face.
"I would love to go to the library, too," Lita chimed in, although Amy couldn't tell whether or not she actually meant it or was just saying it to make Amy feel better.
"And me," said Alysona.
That was something odd to hear from the younger Venusian girl, as she did not seem like the type of girl who read books. Then again, Matthew didn't seem like the kind of person either, what with his head being absorbed in everything military-related, but he was. In fact, believe it or not, he had read more books than Amy had.
"Of course," Serena responded to the implied request. She led the rest of the princesses in their flowing gowns out of the room and down the long corridor to a room with a pair of white French doors.
Inside was a magnificent room stacked and shelved from corner to corner with practically more books than Amy had ever seen. Blue velvet chairs and a cushioned sofa were on the left side of the room, and a large window flooded with sunlight and facing the south garden was positioned opposite the girls, looking as though it were greeting them as they walked inside. A grand piano sat in the center of the room, but it looked as though it had not been played in several years. Dust was evident on the keys, even from far away, yellowing them and making them look much more fake than real.
Amy thought this quite odd. Why, in a palace so beautiful and grand as this one was, would there be a dirty piano?
However, the thought was soon blown straight out of her mind when she remembered the books that were staring at her, calling her name, waiting to satisfy her never-ending hunger for knowledge. Running merrily over to the nearest shelf, she grabbed the first book that caught her eye.
Instantly, she knew that she would like it here.
+*+*+
"How do you like them?"
Serena's eyes jerked up from her knitting in response to her mother's question. The two of them were sitting quietly in the large parlor after dinner, as was their custom. Queen Serenity always thought it best to train Serena in the line of Queen as much as possible, including before and after meals.
"I beg your pardon, Mother?" Serena asked, totally confused.
"The Sailors," her mother smiled. "How do you like them? Do they treat you well?"
Serena felt her eyes slant at the second question. All but one, she thought. But, she doesn't treat anybody well.
"Yes, my Lady. They're all very nice," Serena lied, feeling guilty immediately after doing so. Not to lie, after all, was the Ninth Commandment and was definitely something the Queen frowned upon. But, how could Serena tell her mother that Raye was stuck up and rude? She was the only Martian Princess, so if Queen Serenity were to fire her, the chances were that another girl, even more stuck up and rude, would take her place. Besides, people changed. Maybe after a few days, Raye would become nicer.
"I'm glad you like them." Serenity got up from her position on the sofa across from Serena and sat down next to her daughter. "Do you think they would be good dancers?"
Serena had no way to know the expression that must have been on her face. "What?" She asked, not aware of the tone of her voice. "Good dancers?"
Of course, she had only known them for a day, and they had not discussed dancing. How was she to know if they were good dancers or not?
"I don't know," Serena replied, wondering why her mother would want to know. "We never discussed it. Why?"
Queen Serenity let out a laugh. "Because there is going to be a ball next week."
"A ball?" Serena echoed her mother, excited. Balls had to be her favorite part of being royalty. She loved meeting new faces and greeting old ones, but the best part had to be dancing with the young boys that were there, most of whom were sons of the noble people around in the village. Serena had never actually met a real Prince, besides the four to whom she had been introduced earlier that day.
Maybe this would be her chance to finally meet the man of her dreams.
End Note: Hi guys. I hope you liked this chapter. It's kind of short, but I wanted to get it posted quickly so that you guys knew that I wasn't abandoning you. Plus, it was mainly a filler chapter. The next one will introduce Darien and the Terran Royal family. Please stay tuned and don't forget to leave a review.
Amélie