She is my only daughter and I couldn't shelter her. All this time and she's been running into the arms of a stranger rather than the arms that love her so.

I watched the fight between my scouts with tears streaming down my face. It was deplorable the way they spoke about my Rini, as if she were a fallen woman beneath them and not their princess.

"We should have watched her better. Whenever I tried to shelter the brat she would spurn me. She's like Serena if not worse!"

Rei made sure to glare at me as she said this, burning me more with her words than anything.

"We should let the little princess live her life the way she wants to. She's not marrying to form a treaty to save the world. She wants to be with the one she loves most. Judging by the way things are run here, we owe her that much." Amara brushed blonde strands out of her hair and huffed, "We're some hypocrites to that girl."

"I can't believe you of all people are willing to condone this!" Rei shot at her, "This is the future of the Moon Kingdom and that brat is screwing around with it! Are we supposed to stand back and let her make a lesson out of it?!"

"What we're supposed to do is watch her and help her in whatever way we can. Mistake or not, she is our princess." Lita looked to the sky and took a deep breath, "We can't punish her for something that cannot be stopped."

"Like hell we can't!"

"Listen Rei, I know you're angry, but I did a reading on Rini's body. It was weak, since I would have to have her consent, but she is too far along for us to do anything about it. Even if we could, Lunar Laws forbid it." Amy shrugged, fatigue in her movement, "No matter what, the life she's carrying is a Princess of the Moon. To do otherwise is to murder royalty, a high offense."

I felt weak at the sound of this. It was a little girl's life we were talking about; my little girl. I had no idea how to tackle a situation like this, as far as I'm concerned, it had never happened in the kingdom. If ever a love child between the minor senshi, they would be sent to live with their fathers, salvaged if they showed promise at being successor senshi. In regards to the Moon however, there is simply too much power to be given away lightly. My daughter will be thrown to the wolves of society and I haven't the power to stop it; not with my sins.

"The one who should be punished for this is Trista! Some senshi of time you are! Why did you not see this?" Darien turned his wrath onto the woman with fire in his eyes, "Why were you so blind to this?!"

"I cannot watch everything that escapes my notice. There has been so much chaos within the timeline that it made me sick just to watch. Rini's life has been completely obscured by it all, so we were caught off guard."

"I can't believe this. What the hell are we supposed to do now?! We're the Royal Court of the Silver Moon for Serenity's sake!" Rei huffed and circled the birdbath within the small garden, "Where do we go without breaking Lunar Law?"

"Well, we can always wait for the child to be born, then take it from there. Test its power to see if it shall be the next line of the Lunar Line or if it can be taken care of." Amy rubbed her hair in fustration, "If she doesn't have the prowess for the Moon, then we shall have better options."

I chewed my lip, looking to Darien for some type of comfort, but he fumed on, oblivious to my just as potent pain. I didn't want to face this, but I was going to if I wanted my daughter back. Looking on all the things that had transpired since her birth, I could see where I'd fallen short as a mother and a protector. I'd leave her side if Seiya were here and would get antsy if I tried to wait a little longer with her. Whenever Seiya was here, I would use her room to hide my sin, the only place noone would dare look for me. It was like a slap in the face for her, I knew, but I did it anyway.

Some mother I was.

I left the gathering and proceeded onto the chambers of the Royal couple. It had been centuries since the final battle and all was seemingly well ever since. The eternal love Darien and I supposedly shared was nothing but a sham, and I felt only the deepest of remorse when I kissed my new husband and felt nothing but empty dread.

It was a time where we could breath a sigh of relief and solidify our futures, so I did that, and now I pay the price. Dearly.

The hallways were filled with sympathy for me and my husband, while they chattered away in scorn of my daughter, their princess. I could only wipe the tears from my eyes as I pushed my way into our chambers and collapsed unto the bead, utterly defeated.

"Serena……what have we done to her?"

I look up with an aching in my heart. My Seiya. My darling Seiya stood before me in all of her feminine beauty, gazing into my eyes with a fierce devotion I never saw in my scouts for a while now.

I covered my face in shame, "I have taught her evil and treachery my love. I have taught her that love is not to be honored and cherished. I have taught her that she must hide in the shadows to seek righteousness. I am wicked for twisting my daughter so, and it is I that shall pay the price for damaging my own flesh and blood."

As I cried out my grief, the woman I'd come to call my soul mate came over to me and embraced me with such feeling, I could have sworn our souls touched.

"My darling moon girl, we cannot foresee what the future has for us. Rini will know in time her lesson and all will be well, but only if you allow her to learn and not shelter her. If you were to control her actions and restrain her, she will hate you for it."

"What can I do? My scouts will not heed me, Queen or not. I am backed on all sides so it may seem, and my husband will not listen to what I say."

"Forget that rose-throwing fool. You are a Queen of the Moon. And you have a duty to your daughter, the Princess of the Moon, to protect her from fools and murderers alike. If you are not to heed those words, that is what shall surely happen to the babe."

I looked up at Seiya, knowing she could smell the desperation on me, "I know they will. And as a Queen of the Moon; I forbid it."

"Forbid it? You, my dear, have no more authority in your being than an animal in a slaughterhouse."

I knew those words to be that of my former love and didn't give him the courtesy to turn around. I had grown tired of his demeaning words, the only other thing I seemed to have immunity against and held onto the hand Seiya offered me. I could hear the contemptuous drawing of breath, but like his presence in our marriage bed, I ignored it.

"Your daughter is our whoring herself to anyone that will give her the time of day and you're here doing the same. You should not cry, for you are the one who taught her such foolishness."

"That's enough of you. Serena has made her mistake and has repented. She knew what she did was wrong and had apologized to you some time ago. You have done the same, disregarding her feelings as soon as you placed the ring on her finger."

"I disregarded her when she ran into your arms. I was her dead lover! I was her one true love! But she didn't wait until the dirt settled onto my grave to run into your arms. What man would I be not to take the hint?"

My breath caught in my throat and made me gag on it. Those times where I thought I'd lost my knight in shining armor were the worst days of my life. I thought I would have died from the grief. I only had my girls and the Starlights, and it was harder still. I can't remember when I fell in love with the Starlight, but I do know that that love has only gotten stronger and that I wouldn't leave my darling's side for all the rights in the world, this I vowed over and over as she took me into heaven and beyond one star-kissed night.

"That's enough Darien."

I looked up once more to see Amara fill the doorway. Her eyes looked ready to do battle and glared at her king fiercely.

"We're not getting into that old shit again. We made the break and I suggest we keep it clean. You hear me?"

I nodded while Darien only turned away. It looked like he was to get ready for bed, so I bade my good friend goodbye with a kiss and allowed Seiya to caress me in her arms. We stood like that for a while until his clearing throat brought us back to reality.

"Will you come to me tomorrow? There is something I'd like to discuss with you." I didn't bother to lower my voice, "It's urgent, but if you are busy, I understand."

"I am never too busy to see my moon girl."

We kissed each other goodbye and I watched her speed away in a comet-like flash.

I watched and watched until I grew tired and got ready for bed. I washed up, combed down my hair, and climbed into the large four-poster bed customary to the married couples of the moon. It was colder than it usually was, but I never complained. The only time it was ever a marriage bed was our first night and the conception of Rini; both times were mechanical and without feeling. I curled myself up and forced myself to dream.

There were nightmarish visions of my crying child and her lying in a pool of blood and tears. She was suffering, crying out soundlessly and holding her middle, darkened tears in her eyes. I tried desperately to hold her, but my own scouts blocked my way.

The vision brought me back into waking. I turned over to see that my husband had fled at last. Either because he tired of my constant tears or he longed for me to finally sleep to find his mistress.

I took this as a sign to find my daughter, not bothering to put on slippers or wear a housecoat or the other rituals Darien would do to see his women. I could scent the cologne in the air as I pursued my goal; whatever happened this night, something would have to give, one step at a time, but it would crumble all the same.

When I reached my daughter's door, I hesitated, wondering if a girl so set against the world would wish to see me. I almost lost my resolve, until I remember the contempt in her eyes. She would glare at me, seething with anger when her father would bark orders at me and I would follow docilely as if I were a simpering bitch. I couldn't do this to my daughter. No more. I cannot hide behind my innocence and my good intentions anymore. Bearing this in mind, I opened her door and walked right into her waiting arms.

I was shocked at her knowing, her intuition as strong as mine. She gripped me with feeling, something we haven't shared in a long time.

"Mother….I'm sorry, but my heart is a thing of its own at times. I don't even know if it's right anymore. I'm so confused."

I stroked my daughter's hair, "I know how you feel. I was faced with the same decision. And went about it the wrong way. I love you my darling girl, and will stand by you during these tough days, because this is your journey, and I needn't interfere."

She didn't answer me, put placed my hand to her middle. It was too early to tell anything, but I could feel the warm glow of the babe's aura, as if it were the sun itself glowing inside. That's when I knew that it was too late to turn back now; a child of immense power was to grace us with their presence, and I would be there to embrace it.