Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and comments! ^_^ Keep 'em coming!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Sailor Moon characters

Chapter 4: Two Sides of a Coin and a Princess

Serenity giggled as she felt Mina unzip her dress. She slipped out of it, letting it flutter to the ground like a feather. All of the girls had gone to bed except for her head of scouts. She turned around in her slip and lifted her hands above her head, letting Mina remove it from her body before draping her in a white nightgown. The blonde bowed to her princess once she was dressed for bed and bid her goodnight.

Her blue eyes went straight to the balcony when she heard the door close shut. She skipped over to it and stepped out onto it, feeling the cool air wash over her along with the bright moonlight. She looked up at the moon and wondered what her people were gossiping about. Did the news of the engagement reach them already or was her mother going to wait and make a huge official statement? Probably the latter. She let a smile play over her face as she studied the gardens from her point of view; it was beautiful. Tall, perfectly cut hedges, rose bushes upon rose bushes, fountains twinkling in the midnight sky, and even a large willow tree in the center with an overbearing fountain that looked like it could be a mini pool for children. She narrowed her gaze at something beside the obscenely large fountain … a person …

"Endymion?" she asked herself.

As though he heard her, he looked up from the glittering water. She gasped a little bit at his perception. She could almost make out a grin trickling over his features like the liquid that was falling into the bottom pool. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself and spun around on the ball of her callused foot. She jogged out of her room, padded down the marble hallway, her footsteps making a strange sort of slapping noise as she did, and then she turned a corner to the staircase. Either everyone was asleep in the castle or they had the worst staff possible here. In the Moon Kingdom, people were always busy doing something. There was a special night staff that was taught how to do repairs and clean things quietly so that the next day, things looked practically brand new. That was something she would instill when she was married to Endymion.

When she finally made it to the edge of the garden, she relished in the cold grass against the bottom of her foot. Serenity started to stroll through the garden, her hands fanning across the bushes. Her finger suddenly felt a slight prick in it and she furrowed her brow at the image of blood dripping from a tiny cut. She sucked on her wound as she sauntered over to the center of the garden where she found Endymion tossing a silver coin in the air and catching it in his palm. He was shirtless, exposing his perfectly chiseled body like they were rocks on the shore. His feet were bare just like hers and he was still in his slacks from the ball. Endymion tilted his head at the sight of her as he kept flipping the silver piece through the crisp night. She stepped in front of him and snatched the coin out of midair while still sucking on her index finger.

"You look like a child," he scoffed as his eyes bounced along with the coin in the air.

"I cut it on the hedges," she replied.

He looked up and down and up and down until finally he seized the glittering piece out of the air and threw it into the fountain. His eyes were blazing at the annoying girl standing in front of him. She had some nerve to make such a huge decision like she had earlier that night. Granted, their parents had already set up the engagement, but she had turned a one-eighty in less than an hour. She hated the idea and then loved it. Was she going to be this flighty during their marriage? If so, no wedding plans or ideas would get pushed forward. He made a mental note to hire a wedding planner for the two of them just in case.

"What's got your briefs knotted in a twist?" she asked as she stepped toward the edge of the fountain, looking past the reflection of the moon for the piece of metal.

"One minute you're against this arrangement and then you come from the bathroom and everything is set to go. What happened? Is there something in our water that I don't know about?"

"Maybe," she replied. "Lets find out."

She stepped into the shallow pool of cold liquid. A rushing wave of goose bumps showered over her skin as she pushed through the water toward the coin. She picked it up and turned around, shocked at the immediate, overbearing presence of Endymion's chest. She tried to step away from him, but she ended up loosing her footing. She slipped backwards and felt his strong arm grab hold of her, keeping her above the threat of frigid water. She pressed her palms against his thick torso, the cold coin in her hand making him shiver suddenly.

"No change yet," he grinned as he tried to pull her closer.

She wriggled out of his tight grasp and started to flip the silver piece, "Sometimes it takes a bit more than water. You need sunlight, love, care …"

"You're talking like your personality is a plant," he said as he stepped out of the fountain and stood back on the grass.

He held his hand toward her with a glint in his eye. She ignored it, hopped out of the pool by herself and tossed him the coin. He arched an eyebrow at her as she sat down on the cement edge of the fountain.

"I think people can grow like plants," she said as she rubbed her feet against the dewy grass. "And that includes their personalities."

"I suppose so," he shrugged, sitting down next to her. "So what made you change your mind?"

"Power," she answered simply.

"Power?" he repeated.

"Yes. I want to prove to everyone out there that wives of royalty can be more than just trophies."

"Our mothers are not trophies."

"No, but my mother gained most of her power after my father died. She wasn't always this strong," she explained. "I want to carry out what she has built as a single woman in a marriage. People, women, need to see that they can have a say in marriage. It's a partnership … not an eraser."

"My mother hasn't been erased by being married to my father," he argued. "If anything, the two of them have become solid pieces that fit perfectly together."

"Is that your vision of the perfect marriage?"

"There's no such thing as perfection."

"I'd beg to differ."

"We'll agree to disagree."

She stood up and placed her feet firmly in front of him as she said, "This marriage, even this engagement, is going to be a rocky one if we continue to 'agree to disagree'."

"You're stubborn," he stated as he crossed his arms over his bare chest.

"And you're egotistical," she retorted as she placed her hands on her curvy hips.

"Well, we're never going to find common ground in the middle of the night in the garden," he said as he stood up.

"Where do you propose we will agree with one another?"

Endymion chuckled a little bit, "Interesting use of words. I think it'll happen when we're not expecting it."

Serenity shrugged and turned away from him. She was about to start her trek back up to the castle when she felt his bare arm take hold of hers. She didn't look at him, but instead let her eyes climb up to his third story balcony; his generals were there watching them intently. She stopped him from walking and stood on her tip toes to whisper in his ear.

"Think they know what we were doing?" she asked.

"Arguing? Yes, most likely."

"Want to prove them wrong? Put them into shock at a strange turn of events?"

"How?"

She tugged onto his neck and smashed her lips against his. His eyes popped open in surprise at her sudden move. She removed her lips just as quickly as she had planted them and she winked at him before he could regain his composure. Serenity started to remove her iconic pigtails, running her hands through her silver hair as she strolled through the gardens with Endymion trailing her. She could feel the men on the balcony watching her all the way to the entrance of the castle. This would be too easy. Men were effortlessly manipulated through their groins.

Endymion entered his bed chamber, finding all of his generals sprawled out across his room. He rolled his eyes at them immediately as he closed the door.

"What was that kiss about?" Nephrite asked, a smirk permanently tattooed on his face.

"She was proving a point," Endymion answered, a whining tone in his voice.

"What was the point? That she wants you?" Zoisite asked.

"No. I think she wants control."

"Control huh? Tell her to buy a new bustier; that'll give her support and control," he quipped.

"That woman will get the best of you," Kunzite declared as he leaned against the bedpost with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I can't figure her out," the prince whispered as he flopped down onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. "What is she getting at?"

"She's a woman. She's toying with you," Jadeite snarled quietly as he ran a hand through his short blonde hair.

"Yes, because all women are conniving, manipulative wenches bent on world destruction," Kunzite scoffed. He looked over at Endymion and said to him, "Look, she's probably just nervous about the whole engagement idea."

"That's the thing … I don't think she is. It's like a game to her."

"A game you will quickly lose if you keep letting her pull fast moves on you like that kiss," Zoisite pointed out.

The prince chewed on his lip for a moment, his eyes practically glaring at the ceiling as though he were staring right at her face. What was he supposed to do? How could he get the upper hand on her? What was her weakness? Hopefully he would find out within the next few days of her staying on earth.

Please review! Thank you so much for reading! ^_^