Mother and Queen
It wasn't until late the next morning that the queen had a chance to finally sit down and curl up on the end of the couch with a good complaint sent to her by the Senshi back home. She'd spent a good deal of the morning on the phone with Washington D.C. trying to explain the tactics of her husband to two Maryland Senators and the President.
Ironically, the President found the tactic to be hilarious, while the Senators seemed severely annoyed. Not that she cared. She wanted their son to be locked away under maximum security for the amount of grief he'd caused their family over the past few days, but knew that probably wouldn't happen.
Ah, well. That's done with, and the brief in front of her is next on the agenda. She kept reading, trying to put together a solution to the newest problem the Senshi were facing. Honestly, she thought as she turned a page, this couldn't wait another week and a half?
"Mama?" a small voice called to her.
Usako looked up into her daughter's eyes. "Yes, Sweetheart?"
Usagi sat down next to her mother on the cottage's couch and immediately recognized the Royal Insignia at the top of the paper. "Mom, seriously?"
Usako looked at the papers in her lap. "I know, but Rei said it was urgent…"
"Mom, you're on vacation!" Usagi sat straight and held out her hand. "Give them to me."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Give it."
"Sweetie, this is going to take me fifteen minutes…"
"…which is fifteen minutes too long. Give."
"Small Lady," Usako said sternly, warning the princess of overstepping her bounds. "I'm going to finish this in less than fifteen minutes if I have to, and you're just…"
Usagi yelled over her mom, "Why can't you, for once, just be my mom and not the queen on top of it? Why, for two weeks, can't you do that? I'll bet you any amount of money that this is about the two farmers with neighboring farms that are having a hard time figuring out who actually has rights to the stupid irrigation ditch that runs between the properties. Am I right?"
Usako looked at the brief and then back at her daughter. "How did you…"
"They've already come after me for a solution to the problem."
"They what?" Usako sat up straighter and placed the brief on the coffee table, turning her full attention on her daughter. "Why would they bring it to you? When did they bring it to you? You haven't been in court in weeks!"
"They approached me the day I was at Juuban Park with my friends on a picnic while you, dad, and the Senshi were in a meeting with the leader of something-or-other-stan."
The queen laughed slightly. "So, uh, what did you tell them?"
"Basically, this wasn't something I could really make a ruling on, but if they wanted my personal advice, since the ditch is technically on our property, they'd have to learn to share, or I'd recommend cutting the water supply altogether to that particular ditch." She sat back on the couch. "I mean, honestly! They are bickering like children over what? Water? It's not like we're in a drought right now, you know. Find something else to argue about, and don't waste our time."
Usako sat back and thought a minute. While she didn't entirely agree with the delivery of the advice her daughter gave, she did agree with the outcome. And her daughter's logic was sound – Japan hadn't had a drought for nearly a decade, and the water table was actually higher than normal, so there should be no reason for the farmers to be bickering over this ditch.
"Sweetheart," the queen smiled as she picked up the papers and flipped to her comments page, "I think you may have just solved the issue."
"Well, good!" Then Usagi realized what her mother said. "I what?"
"I agree with your ruling on the subject, so, give me five seconds to write this down, and then my attention is completely yours." Usako quickly wrote out what the princess had said, albeit without the "don't waste my time" part, and put it back on the coffee table in front of them. "There, done. I think it's time your father and I start allowing you in on some of these things. Your solutions are very…" What was the word for it? "…blunt, but very effective." Usako, once again, turned towards her daughter. "Now, what was it you wanted?"
The princess shot her mother a questioning look. "You're done, right? Like completely? You're just my mom now? No more queen?"
"I'm completely done being queen for the rest of this trip. What's on your mind?" Usako noticed her daughter's face suddenly turn from hers. "Sweetheart, what's the matter?"
Usagi looked her mother in the eyes. "How do you know when a boy likes you?"
That was completely unexpected. "Well," Usako started, suddenly unsure of how to explain anything, "he finds reasons to hang around with you. He goes out of his way to be nice." She fixed her daughter with a narrowed glance. "Why?"
Usagi retreated visibly. "No reason…"
"Chibiusa…" The queen purposely used her daughter's old nickname. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing…" Usagi blushed and tried to move away from her mother.
"Chibi – " Usako began leaning towards her daughter like a lioness on the prowl.
"I am not 'Chibi'!" The princess tried climbing over the arm.
However, she wasn't fast enough. Usako grabbed her daughter's wrist and pulled her into her arms, her hands seeking out the teenager's weakest points – generally around the rib cage – and tickled. "Talk, offspring!"
The princess laughed while she tried to fight her mother off. "Mama! Stop!" She couldn't get out from underneath her mother's grasp.
The queen stopped for a few moments, keeping her daughter captive. "Then talk, or else!" She restarted her attack on her daughter.
Amidst laughter, the princess yelled, "Okay, okay! You win!"
The elder of the two stopped and just held the pink-haired imp. "Ha-ha. I haven't lost all of my powers."
"Yeah, we'll see." The princess turned towards her mother and smiled. "Starlight…Honeymoon…Therapy…" She stood up, and placed a kiss on the monarch's cheek.
"Not so fast, Sweet Talker." The queen reached out and pulled her daughter back onto her lap. That was one advantage to having a daughter that was small – instant restraint power. "Why do you want to know about how a boy likes you?"
The child blushed slightly. "I sort of met someone…"
"Oh, yeah?" Usako's interest was peaked. "Does this 'someone' have a name?"
"Mama, it's Brad."
Usako raised her eyebrows. "Really? Isn't he a bit old for you?"
"I don't know. He's sixteen." The fourteen-year-old turned slightly so she could look her mother in the eye. "Do you think dad would let me go on a date with him?"
"Does he drive?" she asked uncertainly.
"Yeah. I don't know what, though…" She quickly turned in the seat. "So, do you think he'd let me go?"
"When is he picking you up?"
"I don't know. I didn't know whether or not to say yes."
Smart idea, the queen couldn't help but think. "Where would you be going?"
"I don't know. Probably to see a movie, or hang out, or something."
"When would you be back?"
"Um, little before midnight?"
Usako raised her eyebrows. "Uh-uh. Try again."
"Well, his curfew is midnight…"
"I don't care what his curfew is. If we allow you to go – that's if, mind you – you are to be back no later than nine."
"Nine?!" The princess gaped at her mother. "He'll think I'm a baby!"
"You are! Compared to him, you're very much a baby…"
"I'm fourteen!"
"And he's sixteen. I'm sorry, honey-bun, but without any kind of information, I'm not allowing you to go out with him. Never mind your father!"
"But mom…"
"Don't 'but mom' me. Your father would be asking the same exact questions, and without any kind of information, he would be tying you to the bed." Mother and daughter separated as the older one stood. "Get me information, and I'll consider talking to your father about it. But I'm not going to bat for you without knowing what is coming our way."
"Mom…"
"Get me information, Small Lady. Then I'll consider changing my mind."
"I thought you weren't going to be the queen anymore."
Usako stopped and turned around, going back and sitting on the coffee table so she was looking her daughter in the eye. "I don't know of any mother who would allow her daughter to go somewhere without any kind of information, Usagi. Now, you either want me to be your mom on this trip, or you want me to be the queen. As queen, I'm forbidding you from leaving this house. As your mother, I'm allowing consideration upon information. Make your choice."
Usagi hated when her mother got that tone in her voice. She let out a sigh, "I'll get you the information."
Usako smiled. "Thank you." As the queen stood, she looked back at her daughter once again. "One more thing, Small Lady…"
"What?"
"When you talked to those farmers, you didn't actually tell them not to waste your time, did you?"
The princess produced a sly grin as she stood up. "Wouldn't you love to know?"
Her mother fixed her with a gaze. "Small Lady…"
As she walked past her mother, she bowed slightly showing deference to the queen and made her way to her bedroom. "I have a phone call to make."
***
He had gone down to the courthouse to see what was going to happen to his daughter's stalker.
"People request remand, Your Honor," the district attorney said in monotone.
"Under what grounds?" the judge asked clearly bored with the proceedings.
"Under the 'Royalty Protection Act,' Your Honor. The royal family of Japan is here on vacation and under that act, they are protected from attention of any kind…"
The judge threw the attorney a glance. "And this has what to do with the case, Mr. Harthing?"
"He was stalking the princess."
The judge turned to the defense attorney. From what Endymion could make out, he did not like this guy. Frankly, neither did he. The attorney had a slimy sense about him.
"Was the boy aware of the girl's stature?" the judge asked pointedly.
"No, Your Honor," the attorney answered, an edge of annoyance to his voice, "he was not. She did not make herself known to him…"
"Which is hardly the point," the judge cut in.
"It's not ethical to hold him in remand under that act if he is not aware of it…"
"Your Honor," Mr. Harthing cut in. "Any and all acts that are negotiated and voted upon by Washington are Public Knowledge. His parents voted on the act! The Chiba family followed the guidelines of staying anonymous…"
"Which means," the serpent cut in, "that they should be treated like any other case…"
"It means, Counselor," the judge cut him off before he could continue, "that the family is here under the radar of the media and is protected by the government from exposure, which your client, there, violated by forcing them to give their full name to law enforcers! If you intend to use the Royalty Protection Act, you'd better do some homework. She is not obligated to make her stature known to every person she meets." The judge looked directly at Mamoru. "Given the gravity of the situation, I will hold him in remand, but I also know for a fact that your parents are going to fight, and possibly win you to be released, so…" He turned to one of his secretaries. "…I want a PFA drawn up for the Chiba family. They deserve at least some peace of mind while they're visiting." He slammed his gavel on the desk. "Next!"
Mr. Harthing approached the incognito king. "I'm sorry," was all he muttered.
"What for?" Mamoru asked, confused.
"I wish I could've gotten him locked up for good."
"Well, at least he's away until his parents find out…"
Mr. Harthing shook his head. "His parents already know, I'm sure, and they've probably been on the phone all morning with your wife since you're here."
"With my daughter being a princess, do you think they'd win and get him released?"
"They've done it before. In their eyes, he does no wrong, and sadly, he'll probably walk away from this one with a slap on the wrist because of their political standing."
Mamoru considered what the lawyer was saying. "So, he's never really had to deal with consequences before?"
Mr. Harthing smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, there are still people in the world that think if you throw enough money at something, you'll get whatever you want, which is exactly what his parents do."
Mamoru reached out his hand and shook the lawyer's. "Thank you for what you can do anyway." With that, he turned and left the courtroom, some thoughts churning over in his head.
The Masters' had mentioned taking a few days and going up to another beach city that had more to do – somewhere in New Jersey. They had invited the family to come along, but at the time, Mamoru had declined.
I wonder if the invitation is still open, he thought to himself as he turned the ignition of the rental and began heading back towards the bungalow.
As he pulled in front of the bungalow, he sat in silence for a while. Which of the women in his life would he tell about this? Most likely Usako, but is it right to keep it from his daughter? And how soon would this lunatic be out? Would he show up at his daughter's window again tonight? He prayed not.
A knock on the window startled him, and he rolled the window down to see his wife's long golden locks falling into the driver's seat.
"You planning on spending the rest of the vacation in there?" she asked, half-laughing, half-concerned.
"The thought had crossed my mind." He smiled back at her as he got out of the car. He leaned against the car door. "So, did you hear from the President this morning?"
"Mm hmm. I heard from the Senators, too, on one conference call."
"How'd that go?"
She cocked her head a bit. "Pretty well. The President thought the entire thing was hilarious. She didn't stop laughing for five minutes. The Senators? Not quite so much, but what can you do? I had apologized – repeatedly, mind you – and all they seemed to want was to rant and rave. I ended up telling them that if they didn't knock it off, we may reconsider our trade agreement, which is up for negotiation in another month or two."
Mamoru raised his eyebrows. "You're amazing," he said as he chuckled a bit.
She flipped her hair with her hands. "Naturally." Then she sobered. "So, was that him? The guy from the Faire?" she asked pulling him into an embrace.
"Yeah," Mamoru answered softly, "it was."
"Unbelievable." She shook her head. "So, what happened?"
"Holding without bail until his parents fight it, and they usually win when they do."
"Mamo-chan," she breathed. "How long do you think he'll be in there?"
"I have no idea, but I'm hoping to be far away from here if he gets out."
"What do you mean? We're not going home, are we?"
The two of them walked towards the bungalow, his arm draped around his wife's shoulders. "Yeah, right, and risk the Senshi showing up here to teach him some 'manners'? I don't think so. I thought about getting a hold of Derek and traveling with his family this weekend up to New Jersey."
The queen stopped and looked at her husband. "That's perfect!"
He threw her a quizzical glance. "It is?"
"Yes. Usagi wants to go to the movies with Brad tonight, and we can invite his parents over for dinner and discuss it." She, once again, began walking. "There…problem solved."
He smiled at his wife. She had this uncanny ability to make everything seem so easy. "Yeah," he commented softly as he pecked his wife on the lips. "Problem solved."
