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Star-Crossed Lovers- Chapter Twelve: An Intro to Chaos
Serena's stomach turned excitedly as the carriage came to a stop. She couldn't believe that she was finally on Earth! Although she had dreamed about it for years, she never actually thought she would be able to walk on the enormous planet, at least not until she became Queen (which, admittedly, she hoped was not for quite a long time).
"We're here, Luna!" she exclaimed, almost squeakily, to the black cat perched next to her on the seat. "We're actually on Earth!"
Luna did not seem to be nearly as enthusiastic. "Don't get too overexcited, Princess. Your mother wants you to be extra careful, and that means don't just jump into everything."
Serena rolled her eyes. "I'm allowed to be happy, Luna. I've always wanted to go to Earth. Plus, I'm always careful; and it's not like I have a lot to worry about here, anyway. There are guards all over the place. It's not like anyone's going to kidnap me."
"You never know, Your Majesty," replied Luna darkly, before the coachman swung open the carriage door, revealing the overpowering sunlight. She squinted and placed her paws over her eyes.
"Welcome to Earth, Your Majesty." The squat man addressed the Moon Princess cheerfully and took her hand, helping her out of the threshold. "I hope you enjoy your stay on our beautiful planet."
Serena nodded and thanked him, quite sure that he was paid to say those lines and smile. No coachman is voluntarily that happy, she thought. Luna jumped out of the coach without any assistance and stood next to her, her eyes still slightly closed.
"Isn't it lovely, Luna?" The sky was an enormous blue bowl with the sun shimmering happily down on the inhabitants of the planet.
"Yes, Princess," she concurred, although Serena noticed she had barely opened her eyes yet. The princess was about to tell her that the sun was not all that blinding when a woman in a purple suit and black boots ran up to them. At first, Serena could think of nothing more than the oddity of a woman wearing such a masculine outfit, as she had never seen a woman or girl wear pants before.
"Hello, Princess Serenity!" the tall blonde woman bowed quickly and continued speaking fast. "I'm Zoicite, Prince Darien's newest guardian, so if I mess up in any way, please forgive me. Anyway—" she cleared her throat as she sat down and began taking off her boots—"the Crown Prince thought it would be more appropriate for a woman to escort you, so he sent me." She took the padding out of her boots and put them back inside before putting her shoes back on again. "Sorry," she said, as she stood up. "I'm still getting used to these boots. They haven't quite conformed to my feet yet, so running and walking in them are still rather tough. I have to readjust them every now and then."
She smiled nervously. Clearly, this was her first time escorting anyone, at least on her own. But, Serena couldn't blame her. She would have been nervous, too. "Come this way. The Prince is out with his mother and should be back shortly." She ran behind Serena and grabbed her bags. "He apologizes for not being able to meet you himself," she said as she appeared in front of Serena again.
"You don't have to carry those," Serena said politely upon seeing her bags looking rather heavy in Zoicite's hands. "I can certainly manage."
"Oh no!" the older woman protested. "It's my job! The Prince instructed me. This way…" She walked a bit limply in her boots as she headed toward the palace doors.
Serena glanced down at Luna, who looked mightily afraid that Zoicite might fall flat on her face or break or ankle. Thankfully, the doors were close.
It had been nearly a week since Michael had sent his letter to Beryl asking if she could come to his parents' ball, and she had still sent no reply. Of course, Michael knew she was a lazy girl by nature (he could tell from the way she had acted around Darien, barely lifting a finger and doing absolutely nothing), but a reply like this was important; and there was not even a day left to reply, as the ball was scheduled to be that night, in honor of the Moon Princess' coming to Earth.
He yawned and stretched back in his chair. If she didn't respond, then he would be forced to find another way to pull Malachite away from Zoicite. The problem was: what?
Apparently, his pondering (or perhaps, lack thereof) had led him to sleep, because about thirty minutes later, he was jolted awake by loud knocking at his door. He wiped his eyes and groaned.
"What?" He shouted.
"Sir? You have a letter." Juanita's Spanish accent was filled with its usual uncertainty, but, as usual, Michael could care less.
He jumped out of his chair and flung the door open, snatching the letter from Juanita's hand. Beryl's signature was on the outside of the envelope. Michael batted Juanita out of the room and slammed the door before ripping open the letter.
Dear Prince Michael, it read, in what was possibly the messiest handwriting an educated girl could muster, Of course I remember you! You were the only one nice enough to talk to me after Darien stomped on my heart. How wonderful it is to hear from you again! I would love to come to your ball. My guardians have consented, although I may only stay for a short while.
A "short while" would have to be long enough. After all, Michael just wanted Malachite to notice Beryl. They didn't have to get to know each other all in one night. It would do. The hard part would be getting them together and keeping Beryl away from Darien. Hopefully, though, she had gotten over him.
If not, I'll find a way to make her get over him, Michael thought.
The abrupt chiming of a large clock in the parlor announced the beginning of the party. Everyone's feet tapped across the marble floors as each entered the ballroom for dancing, but Serena was just happy to be hanging on to Darien's arm. The Prince and Queen had arrived back much later than expected. They had been in Scotland on business for most of the day and had only been home for about an hour.
Darien had endlessly apologized, but Serena calmly waved it away. She and Zoicite had had fun getting to know each other, especially since doing so took Zoicite away from her soldier duties and gave her time to work on being a lady. Serena was actually very impressed with Zoicite's various abilities that she did not think a female soldier surrounded by so much masculinity could have. She crocheted an entire purse in the span of an hour, talked nonstop about the various men she ever dated, painted Serena's nails, and had even done her make up, something Serena rarely let others do for her.
Serena thought Zoicite's own make up and dress looked fabulous, which, beforehand, she would have considered to be a feat. But the older woman certainly knew when and how to look elegant. Her blonde hair was freshly washed and scented and held in a bun atop her head, and a she wore an emerald green dress that reached almost to the floor. Serena let her borrow some of her jewelry, including one of the golden bracelets her mother had given her for her last birthday. Unfortunately, being Darien's guardian, she had to carry some sort of weapon with her. Serena had suggested a sword, but Zoicite finally decided on a dagger that she could attach to her wrist. After covering it in green cloth, it looked a bit like a corsage to Serena.
Darien's other generals seemed to be doing similar things, attaching swords to their belts, but hiding them with gold to make them look more elegant, although only Malachite seemed to care about actually joining the party and dancing, while the others, Nephlite and Jadeite, just wanted to stand next to the wall. Malachite had even begun the ball by asking Zoicite to dance, which gave Serena the idea to take Darien out on the dance floor immediately after entering the room.
"We don't have to make scene every time we dance, you know," Darien said as they began waltzing.
"We're not making it a scene. They are," Serena replied, lightly gesturing to the others around them, who had stepped out of the royals' way to form a circle around them.
"Thanks for coming," Michael said absentmindedly, glancing around the ballroom for any sign of Malachite and Zoicite, who would no doubt be dancing together.
"Of course," Beryl responded, her long dark red hair shimmering like fire in the candlelight that was being emitted from behind her. But, she had a frown on her face. "But what did want me here for?" She giggled. "Were you looking for a date?"
"With you?" Michael almost spat the words out, but caught himself just in time. "No," he said coolly. "I wanted to introduce you to someone."
Beryl's dark eyes narrowed. "Introduce me? Do you mean Darien still hates me?"
How brainless are you? Of course he still hates you! Michael felt as though his head were about to explode. "Well, yes. He's kind of dating someone else right now."
"Really? Who? Where is he? Are they here? I want to see her?" Beryl was scanning the crowd frantically.
Michael sighed inwardly and grabbed Beryl's head, pointing it in the direction Darien was in, which, oddly enough, was right across from her. He and Princess Serenity had just finished their first dance and were now standing near the wall, talking to none other than Darien's three idiot guards and the object of Michael's destruction.
Beryl glared angrily and muttered something in German that Michael was not familiar with. Unfortunately, this wasn't turning out the way Michael had wanted it to.
He clenched his fists and glared deathly at his brother. She's supposed to be over him and go after Malachite! Why does he always have to steal my spotlight?
Serena was chatting away with Zoicite, asking about how she enjoyed her first dance, when she noticed Michael and a red-haired woman glaring at Darien, and felt a bit uncomfortable with it.
"What's wrong with them?" she asked looking at Darien, who had been talking with Nephlite.
"What? Who?" At first, he stared into the crowd, not noticing who Serena was referring to, until he caught sight of them, and Serena could tell it hit them like a bolt from Jupiter. His face went from uncertainty to a mixture of hatred and absolute annoyance in a nanosecond. "Beryl…" he growled. " I hate her."
"Who's Beryl?" asked Zoicite.
"Obviously, the woman Darien's glaring at and who's glaring at him," Jadeite said.
"My parents forced me to court her for a while," Darien explained, his face turning a bit red. "They—and she-thought we were a perfect match, or would be, at any rate. Obviously I turned her down."
"Rudely," Nephlite chimed in.
"Whatever," Darien rolled his eyes. "She deserved it. What a horrid girl she is."
"Where is she from?" Serena asked curiously. Darien looked at Nephlite, prompting him to explain.
"I have Nephlite do all the research on the women I'm forced to date, so he can tell you everything," Darien smiled. "And rather well, I might add. He can explain while I go tell her to leave." With a swish of his cape, the Crown Prince of Earth marched around a dancing couple, nearly knocking over another, as he made his way toward his brother and a woman he so desperately hated.
Nephlite cleared his throat. "Well, technically, she's from Germany, because she has been raised there for most of her life. But she was originally from the Moon. Her mother died shortly after she was born, of puerperal sepsis. Beryl was sent off to Earth to live with some relatives after her father got himself mixed up in some unlawful practices, to say the least, and was jailed for life."
"'Unlawful' practices'? Like what?" asked Serena, although she was not quite sure she wanted to hear now that she had asked.
"Go ahead," Malachite prompted his colleague. "They can take it."
"Trafficking women," Nephlite mumbled. Serena's eyes widened in shock and Zoicite gasped so hard that her earrings jingled. "Evidently," the brunet general continued, "being a microbiologist was not making him enough money so he decided to go into another 'business', if that's even what it should be called." He shook his head in disgust.
"Your mother must have been glad to throw him in prison," Zoicite commented to Serena seriously.
"Agreed," the Moon Princess responded, nodding. Queen Serenity was definitely not one to tolerate such horrible practices. She could see her mother slapping such a man in the face. In fact, Serena was quite sure that if the Moon Queen were ever to install a death penalty, offenders like him would be some of the first to die.
And hopefully, Beryl was nothing like her father and would not cause that much trouble.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you thought! I really appreciate reviews!
Merci,
Amélie de Lorraine