Bullseye!

The moonlight poured into her room, a usual comfort when she's feeling frightened. Tonight, however, all it did was escalate her fears with its ghostly blue glow against her room's walls. She couldn't close her eyes for fear of seeing her stalker's face; nor did she know how long she could stay awake.

The wind was blowing off of the ocean hard enough to whistle through the few trees that surrounded the little house. Shadows of the branches crept around the walls like long, bony fingers waiting for the moment to strike.

She could feel her heart begin racing, the fingers reminding her of what it was like under Wiseman's evil scheming.

He's gone, she chastised herself. Why are you thinking of that now? Usagi turned over so she was facing the window and just stared out. Moon Kingdom, why do you abandon me tonight? Comfort me, Moonlight.

It was then that she saw it – two little round dots at the corner of her window peering in at her. A few more seconds of staring, and she realized they were eyes – watching her every move – and they were locked on hers.

Then, she saw the smirk – the same one that came to her at the jousting field earlier that day.

No, she tried convincing herself as she clamped her eyes shut. It's a shadow. He's not here. He doesn't even know where I am. Does he?

When she opened her eyes again, she saw the same eyes accompanied by the face, smirk in place.

"Mama!!!" she screamed as she tried backing away frantically, not remembering the bed she was on was smaller than the one she had at home, and promptly fell to the floor. "Papa! Mama!"

Seconds later, the lights flicked on and Usako was on the floor engulfing her daughter as best as any mother could in her arms. "Shh, shh! It's okay." She tried to soothe her pink-haired child, but found every attempt futile.

"Usagi!" her father's voice burst through her frantic sobs. Instantly, she looked at him and quieted – although her breath still came in gasps. He knelt down and peered into her frightened eyes. "Now, what happened?"

"I saw him," Usagi whispered.

Both parents looked at each other, each face mirroring the other's horrified expression.

"Where?" the queen asked urgently.

"The window…" Usagi felt her mother's arms tighten around her as she was able to barely whisper the response.

"Mamo-chan…" Usako looked to her husband, but he was already out the bedroom and heading towards the front door.

When he was outside, the queen turned to her daughter and helped her to her feet. Sitting on the bed, Usako wrapped her arms around her daughter once again. She hated this. Her daughter was trembling – more than she had been at the Faire.

"He was staring inside…"

"Usagi," her mother soothed, "It's all right. I'm here. Everything's going to be all right…"

"How did he know where to find me?"

"I don't know…"

"What does he want?"

"I don't know…"

"Why's he…?"

"I don't know…" Usako felt her daughter tighten her arms around her. "Sweetheart, Papa's looking outside for anything, and he'll be back."

"Unless this guy's some serial killer…" The princess's breathing started coming in gasps again.

"Usagi, you're getting hysterical. Calm down before I do use the crystal on you." A few deep breaths later, the queen released her daughter slightly. "Now, why don't you lie down and try to get some rest." She put up a hand to stop a protest. "I'll stay with you until you're asleep."

The quaking princess lay down and closed her eyes. After an hour or so, her breathing steadied, and the queen ventured out of the room, suddenly wondering what was taking her husband so long.

***

He rounded the corner, staring for a moment at the majestic body of water that lay before him. He had wanted this vacation, and so far, it has caused nothing but trouble. How he wished he could go back three days and do it over again!

He walked towards his daughter's bedroom window, hoping to catch some glimpse that his daughter was telling the truth, and it wasn't just the fear getting the best of her. When he reached the window, he stared inside at the two sitting on the bed. It killed him seeing his daughter clinging so hard to his wife.

Not that the two hadn't been close, but Usagi was always a free spirit. Now, she seemed to need her mother more than when she was a child.

Usako was sitting up against the headboard of the bed while their daughter slept not-so-peacefully beside her. It wasn't until Usagi's shoulders rose and fell rhythmically that his wife got up, pulled the covers around her sleeping teen, kissed her on the temple, and left the room, shutting out the light before closing the door.

I swear, the king thought to himself, I'll catch him, and he'll pay for this dearly.

He caught a flash out of the corner of his eye. He turned, instantly changing from the pajama bottoms and t-shirt he had donned for bed into the majestic king Japan had come to love.

His eyes narrowed in on a figure running away from the house, and he immediately took chase. It didn't take long before the king overtook the boy, grasping him by the back of the shirt and flinging him to the ground.

Stunned, the lad stayed down, gaping up at the violet-clad man.

"Get up," was the king's silent, but nearly deadly, command. When the boy didn't move, the king bellowed, "Now!" The boy still didn't move, and Endymion reached down and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, hauling him up, and suspending him in mid-air. "What exactly were you doing outside my daughter's window?"

The child in his arms stared the king in the eye. "Nothing. Just lookin'."

Endymion's eyes narrowed. "At what?"

The teenager smirked. "You said it before. Your daughter. Mighty pretty thing she is, too." The king's grip tightened on the boy's shirt. "Ah ah ah. I know you can't hurt me. It goes against some treaty-thingy you guys have with our country."

The king raised his eyebrows. "Oh, so you know of that treaty, do you? Then you know about the one that says any diplomat from any country has the right to vacation anywhere in another country unharmed and unnoticeable, and that any breech of said treaty would be considered an act of war." He put the kid down gently in the sand. "Congratulations. You've single-handedly declared war on Japan. Your president should be so proud."

The look of fear was almost pitiful as the king, once again, grabbed the front of his shirt, and with a barely audible "Let's go," began pulling him towards the rental office for his bungalow.

When he got there, he rang the doorbell a number of times to wake the owner. Slowly, groggily, the man stumbled into the front of the office and to the front door, barely managing to unlock it.

"We're closed…" he said while half-yawning.

"I understand that," the king apologized, "but I need you to call the police and have this boy arrested. It's a matter of safety to my daughter." To the kid, he ordered, "Sit."

The owner blinked a few times, catching a glimpse of the boy Endymion had just thrust into one of his waiting chairs. "Okay," he said as he made his way over to the phone, "but then I'm going back to bed."

"That's fine, sir. I'll wait with him."

An hour and a half later, the boy was being led out of the office by the police officers, and Endymion was finally heading back towards his wife and daughter. As he opened the door, he half expected to find his wife sitting in the living area waiting for him. He was disappointed to find she wasn't.

Come to think of it, she wasn't in their room, either. Curious, he ventured to his daughter's room. There he found his wife laying precariously on the edge of their daughter's bed with her arms wrapped around Usagi as the little pink-haired princess slept peacefully on her mother's shoulder.

He smiled sweetly as he sat down on the bed on the other side, slanting the mattress towards the other direction. The sudden shift caused the princess to turn over and snuggle deeper into her sheets, waking his wife.

"Mamo-chan," she whispered as she leaned up on one arm.

"Shh," Mamoru whispered as he brushed a strand of hair from his daughter's face. "Don't wake her."

The queen smiled as she placed a kiss on her daughter's crown. "This is crystal induced. She's out."

He got a concerned look on his face. "Crystal induced?"

"Yeah. She became hysterical when she woke back up, and you weren't back yet, so I had to calm her somehow before she passed out."

"Ah," he said as he stood up and walked to the other side. He pulled his wife to her feet, and the two of them ventured out into the living room.

Once they were settled on the couch, Usako looked up into her husband's eyes. "I take it you found something?"

"Huh?"

"Outside. You were gone so long, I was getting worried, but I figured you wouldn't have been gone long if you didn't find something."

"Oh, yeah. I didn't find something, though. I found someone."

"The stalker?" When the king silently nodded, Usako sat up straight and threw him a worried glance. "Oh, my God! Are you all right?"

"Usako, I'm fine. He didn't hurt me. If anything, I scared him a bit."

"Scared him? How?"

Briefly, he explained the small conversation he had with the boy on the beach. "The look on his face was priceless."

Usako smiled a little. "I'll bet it was." She paused only a moment to imagine what the sixteen-year-old boy looked like. Then, something dawned on her. "Mamo-chan, we don't have any treaty with any country that states a breach would declare war…"

Mamoru laughed as he pulled his wife back into his arms. "Ah, yes, but he doesn't know that, now does he?"

***

The sun crept above the horizon and into the window of the princess's room, making her face glow a bright yellow. The queen stood at the door, wondering if she should wake her, or let her sleep. After the day she had yesterday coupled with last night, rest would be what the teenager would need.

Restlessly, she turned over, and Usako ventured in to sit beside her. When her daughter's eyes fluttered open and she smiled, Usako smiled back, taking one of her hands.

"Good morning, Sweetheart," she whispered.

"Hi, Mama," Usagi answered back. Suddenly panicked, she sat up. "Did Papa ever come home last night? Is he all right?"

"Hey!" came Mamoru's voice from the door. "Relax, princess. You're talking about the man who used to save yours and your mother's hide half the time, remember?"

"Papa!" Usagi stood up and jumped into her father's arms. "I got so worried last night."

"I know; I heard. Mom had to use the crystal on you to keep you from passing out."

Usagi threw her mother a questioning glance. "Is that what happened? I thought I just freaked myself out so much I fell asleep."

"No," Usako answered, "you were freaking out almost to a point where you were going to have a stroke. I used the crystal to calm you down."

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

Usako smiled. "No, Honey. What I did was child's play compared to what I can do."

"Good. So, what happened?"

Mamoru spoke up. "Let's just say you're not going to have to worry about him anymore, and leave it at that, hm?"

Usagi smiled – a sight neither parent had seen in a while – and wrapped her arms around her father. "Thanks, Papa."

"You're welcome." He hugged his daughter back. "Now, let's go eat breakfast."

The morning went smoothly, and by early afternoon, the king found his princess sitting on the beach alone.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she answered as she took a deep breath. "I'm just enjoying the sea. Feels good not to be scared, you know?"

"Yeah, I do." He turned away, knowing his daughter wanted to be alone. "Mama and I will be in the house if you need us, okay?"

She closed her eyes and nodded.

As he approached the back door, he noticed his wife standing in the glass window. When he went inside, she asked, "She okay?"

"She says she is," he answered her as he shrugged. "She's just enjoying the beach. Let's not create problems where there aren't any. We have enough to contend with with her being a teenager, and many more where they all came from. So, let's not create anymore."

Before the queen could answer him, a knock came to the door, and she went to answer it. Standing there was Brad, the boy from the day before.

"Hi," he said as he smiled and blushed.

"Brad, hi," Usako answered him, surprised he was there.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but…" He pulled a black wrap out from his pocket. "…your daughter gave this to me yesterday, and I forgot to give it back. I didn't realize I had it until I was at home, and by then it was too late really to come over here. Is she around so I can give it back?"

The queen smiled at him. "She's down on the beach, actually."

"Oh. May I go see her?"

"Certainly." Usako stepped aside so he could come into the house. She led him to the back door, and with a quick hello and goodbye to Mamoru, Brad headed toward the pink-haired mermaid.

He smiled when he saw her. "Hello, princess," he said softly as he sat down.

Panicked, Usagi stood up and braced herself to run.

"Hey, relax…"

"How did you know I was a princess?"

"My parents told me last night who you guys were. They were friends with your dad, so they know. They felt I should know since I wanted to be friends with you…"

Usagi visibly relaxed and sat back down.

"I forgot to give this back to you. Sorry." He handed the wrap to the girl. "May I join you for a while?"

"Free beach…"

"Ah, yes, but it's your thought space. I don't want to intrude."

Usagi smiled up at him. "Please join me," she said.

Brad sat down, and the two teenagers talked into the evening.