Grounded

"I said no. Nine o'clock is late enough…"

"Mama, most of the movies aren't starting until seven, and with previews, that means they're not going to be starting until seven-thirty." Usagi sat at the kitchen table with her mother while her father fiddled around in the kitchen. She was fighting a losing battle with the monarch, and she knew it. "Then, there's the movie which is another hour and a half to two hours, which puts us at nine or nine-thirty. Then the drive…can't you at least go with ten?"

"She has a point," Mamoru commented, stirring something at the stove.

"Mamo-chan!"

"Sorry…"

"See? You should agree with Papa…"

Usako took her daughter's hands. "Usagi, I'm not trying to be difficult; really, I'm not, but we're not in Tokyo. If we were, it wouldn't be a problem letting you stay out later, but with everything that's been happening…"

"Mom, that guy's behind bars…" Usagi pleaded desperately.

Don't raise your voice…"But we don't know for how long. I just don't want you hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt! I'm fourteen, and I want to go to the movies with a new friend. It's not like I'm asking for midnight like before! I'm asking for leeway on one hour – that's it!"

"And I said no!"

"Why?"

Well, when all else fails…"Because I'm your mother, and I said so, that's why." Usako took a deep breath, trying to suppress her frustration. "Usa…" But her daughter was storming to her room. After a moment, Usako turned to her husband. "Am I being unreasonable?"

He seemed to ponder a moment. "Unreasonable? Maybe a little…"

"I'm just concerned!"

"I know you are, and I am, too! However, you can't argue with sound logic. We're eating between five-thirty and six o'clock. Until they get done eating and get there, the earliest show they're going to make is seven. Add in the details of the pink-haired one, and you have sound logic." He sat down beside his wife and took one of her hands. "I say give her until ten, but make sure she's in by ten, and not a minute later."

Usako sighed after a few minutes of thinking as she relented and stood. She walked over to her daughter's door, and knocked. "Usa," she called softly, "may I come in?" No answer. "Usa?" She knocked again, becoming concerned. Still no answer. "Usagi, answer me." Nothing.

The queen opened the door and found her daughter's room empty. An icy chill seized her heart.

Don't panic, she thought to herself. Try to sense her before you panic. She closed her eyes as she stretched her powers out.

Nothing.

Her heart fell as she stretched further.

Still nothing.

Damn!

"Endymion!" she called frantically. Within seconds, her apron-clad husband was by her side. "She's gone!"

***

"You seem off tonight," Brad commented as he stabbed another morsel of food on his plate. When she called him and asked him to pick her up, she sounded upset, and they decided to for-go the movies and just go out to dinner.

"I'm just not really that hungry," she answered him softly.

"Why not?"

She looked up at him and could tell by the look in his eyes, he was concerned, not just prying. "I had a fight with my mom."

He gave a knowing nod. "Oh. Was it bad?"

She shrunk a bit. "Not as bad, I guess, as it could have been."

Just then, his phone rang. He looked down at the caller ID and saw it was his parents. Sheepishly, he turned to his date and said, "Excuse me a minute; I'll be right back." He stood up from the table and walked to the lobby as he picked up his phone. "Hey, mom."

"Brad, good, you picked up!" His mother's voice was hurried. "The princess is with you, right?"

"Yes, of course she's with me. Why?"

Before his mother answered, her heard her tell someone that Usagi was with him.

"Oh, thank God!" another voice exclaimed in the background.

"Mom," he said sternly into the phone. "What's going on?"

"She took off on her parents because she was upset with them, and they haven't been able to track her down. Her parents are really upset right now."

"May I?" came another female voice from behind his mom.

"Of course," his mother answered.

"Brad?" Usako's voice came over the line. "Brad, it's Usagi's mother. Is she okay?"

"I guess," he answered. "We're kind of at dinner, so there's really not too much to be said about it. She's not eating much."

"We fought…" Usako took a deep breath. "Would you please have her home by ten?"

"I'll do my best, Your Highness. I could bring her home right after dinner…"

"No, I don't want her to know you're talking to us. She'll probably take off on you, too, and then where would we be?" She paused a moment. "Thank you, Brad."

"No problem, Your Majesty."

After a few more (more like a thousand more) reassurances to the monarchs and his parents, he ventured back to his table, where the pink-haired princess sat waiting.

"Parents," he muttered as he sat back down.

The princess smiled one of those "I know what you mean" smiles and nodded slightly, however, the sadness in her eyes remained.

Brad folded his arms on the table. "So, what was the fight about?"

She just shrugged. "Something stupid," she answered him, hopefully warding off any more questioning.

They continued eating in silence. At least Brad did. Usagi just picked at hers, but really didn't eat anything. Her heart had been constricting for much of the dinner as she felt every pang of worry both of her parents were feeling.

Fifteen minutes later found the two teenagers paying and leaving with the princess's dinner wrapped in a box. As they approached his car, his pink-haired date stopped short, grasping his arm for support.

"Hey," he said as he took the bag from her, "you okay?"

"Yeah," she answered breathlessly. "I can sense things, you know? And I'm not sensing something very pleasant. It'll go away in a second."

"Possibly your parents?" he questioned cautiously.

"How did you…"

"You think it was my parents on my phone? My parents knew exactly where I'd be. They were over at your bungalow with your parents. Your mom was kind of freaking out, but asked me to have you home by ten." He held out a sympathetic hand. "We still have some time. Let's go for a walk instead of the movies and talk."

He smiled when the princess smiled and took his outstretched palm. For a moment, she felt a power surge, one of reassurance that came from him.

***

As he pulled up in front of the house, Usagi looked at the clock on his dashboard. It was ten minutes until ten, and she had a horrible pit in the bottom of her stomach. She knew this was a bad idea from the beginning, but she really needed to just get away.

She bid Brad goodnight and waited by the walkway as he pulled away, and then made her way over to her window. She figured her parents would be waiting in the living room, and she didn't want to face them yet. Slowly, she eased the window open, trying to hardly make a sound, and climbed inside.

"So," came a voice from the shadows. Usagi jumped as she realized it was her father's voice. "Was the movie worth it?"

Usagi froze.

"Answer me, Small Lady." Her father's voice commanded obedience. "Was the movie worth it?"

"We didn't go to a movie," she answered softly. "We just went to dinner…"

"Oh, just to dinner? Well, was dinner worth it, then?

"I couldn't eat…"

"Why not? All that fighting with your mother, I would've expected you to be rather famished."

She sat on the bed, her back still to her father. "I could feel everything mom and you were going through, and…"

"You felt what we were going through?" He paused a moment. "You felt what we were going through, and yet, you didn't call us to let us know you were all right – answer your communicator, maybe?" His voice was eerily calm, and the princess squirmed. "Answer me."

She bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Papa," was all she could mutter.

"And why couldn't we sense you?" another voice cut in. This one, belonging to her mother, was laced with tears, and full of the hurt she felt.

"I don't know," she barely whispered. The pain in her chest was returning, and it was making it hard for her to keep her composure.

"You weren't blocking us?"

The princess turned a tearful gaze on her mother. "I don't know how to block you! You never taught me that!"

"Do not raise your voice to us!" The walls shook as her father's voice bounced off of them. "Considering what you put your mother through tonight, you're lucky you're not heading back to Japan right now!"

"Well, it's not fair to be mad at me for doing something I don't know how to do!" She cringed very slightly, still trying to hide the growing pain in her chest.

"Usagi Small Lady Serenity, I'm warning you…" He moved to stand in front of her, his tall frame looming over her sitting one. "One more word out of you, and you're going home. Do you understand me?"

Her heart began racing, the pain no nearly too much to bear, but she grimaced through it and nodded. "I'm sorry, Papa," she barely managed to whisper.

"Yes, well," he said softly as he moved towards her door, "so are we. Consider yourself grounded for the remainder of this trip. You go nowhere without one of us, understood?" When the princess nodded, the king and queen walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.

***

It hurt. It hurt so much, her head began spinning as she bolted upright in her bed, the white-hot pain radiating in her chest. Every breath was difficult, coming in gasps, and only making her chest hurt all the more.

Fresh air. Fresh air would help, she was sure of it. She got up, pulled on a sweatshirt (nights by the sea can get rather chilly), and journeyed out into the living area of the bungalow. She peeked over at her parents' bedroom door as she crept to the front door, silently glad they were both asleep. She knew her father would pop his crystal if she was outside without them knowing.

The door opened, and she stepped onto the porch, closing the door behind her. As soon as the cool breeze hit her forehead, she breathed somewhat easier. Though, it wasn't by much.

"Going somewhere?" a voice from behind her said.

"Sneaking out again?" came another one, this one clearly her mother's.

The princess jumped as she turned around and faced the direction where the voices came from. There, she saw her parents' figures illuminated in the moonlight.

"N-no," she stammered as she regained her composure and tried to keep the pain from her voice - definitely a trait that's easier said than done. "I was just coming outside for some fresh air. Honest." She sat down on the tiny step that led to the walkway. "I was just going to sit here for a minute or so."

Her father stood up, pulling her mother with him and began heading inside.

As they were walking by the princess, Usagi stood up and faced her parents. Sobbing, she cried, "So, when are you going to stop hating me?!" That question halted them in their tracks. "I screwed up, okay? I made a bad decision! I hurt you, and I'm sorry! I can't go back and change it…"

"Usagi," Usako said gently over her daughter's hysterics, "calm down…"

"I can't…"

"You will…" her father commanded a bit more sternly.

"It hurts!" she interrupted, panting and clutching her heart. "It hurts…" The world started spinning. "…too…" Oh, here it comes! "…much!" and with that, the princess swayed, reached out for any hand-hold, but found none, so her body pitched backwards.

The king hurried to grab one arm while his wife grabbed the other.

"I'm…sorry…" Usagi barely managed to whisper before she collapsed against her parents.

The monarchs lowered her slowly to the ground where Usako held her. "Usa!" she called to the unconscious princess as she shook her. "Usagi, answer me!" When the princess didn't stir, she looked desperately up at her husband, tears beginning to fall. "Mamo-chan…"

He took the teenager from his wife and carried her inside to her bed. He positioned himself on one side of their daughter while his wife did the same on the other. They stayed that way for the rest of the night, but parents trying to revive their unconscious child.

***

Sunlight poured into the princess's bedroom window, once again illuminating her face. Beside her still figure, the queen's head lay on the mattress while one hand held her daughter's motionless one, and the other draped across her abdomen.

The queen had spent the better part of the night trying to revive her daughter, but only succeeded in taxing herself as her daughter had the night before. After a few hours, she had to stop, her energy nearly completely spent. It was that moment that she'd put herself in her current position, hoping perhaps what was left of any energy would seep into her child by the hand.

Her eyes opened, only to be blinded by the sunlight. She let her eyes adjust a moment while seeking out her daughter's face.

"Usa?" she called softly as she brushed pink tinted bangs off of her daughter's face. "Usa, Sweetheart, please wake up."

"Usako?" her husband's voice came to her from behind. She felt him grasp her arms and slowly try pulling her away from the unconscious teenager. While his efforts were valiant, she prevailed. She wasn't leaving her daughter's side. "Honey, you've been at this most of the night. You need to rest."

"I need to help her," Usako whispered distractedly as she summoned her crystal again. Laying her hand on her daughter's chest, she summoned her daughter's as well. Her heart fell when she realized the light was still out – as dead as it was the night before. She tried another energy transfer from her crystal to her daughter's.

"What happened?" Mamoru asked softly when his wife stopped.

"It's the same," was her tired whisper.

"The same?"

His wife did nothing but nod. After a moment, she sobbed, "Her crystal's not absorbing energy. I don't know what else to do." She placed her hand in the princess's as she cried, "Did we cause this?" She stood up to go into her husband's arms. "Are we the reason this is happening?"

Dear God, I hope not, the king prayed as he took his wife into his arms. "We'll figure something out," he said with much more confidence than he felt. "We've always found ways before. We'll do it again."

***

Author's Note: If you want to see a great picture of Endymion in an apron, go to youtube and search for "Royal Family Scene." It's a scene from Kaguya Shima Densetsu Kaiteiban (Legend of Kaguya Island Remake).