I hope you all enjoy this next installment! The wedding is coming up soon! ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own any Sailor Moon characters

Chapter 10: Last Night of Freedom

Serenity had been locked in her room all day long. Her scouts told her that she couldn't leave and made her promise that she wouldn't try to sneak out on pane of death. It was the day before the wedding and her mother was supposed to arrive the next morning for preparations for the big day. However, she couldn't understand why she had to wait for the sun to go down before she could have fun at her bachelorette party.

When the glowing orb dipped down below the valley and illuminated the sky with a lovely sunset, she was served dinner by a servant. She received a chicken breast, green beans, and mashed rosemary-garlic potatoes with a note on it from Lady Ami.

"Eat up your majesty! For when you're done, you shall be whisked off into a magical night with your closest friends. Lita will retrieve you soon. – Lady Ami of Mercury."

She started to tear into her food quickly, wanting to get out there as soon as possible. She couldn't wait! She hadn't heard any details of this party at all, but she had heard laughing and giggling from her guardians running down the hallway. If she had stuck her head out and tried to see what was going on, one of them, usually Rei, shoved her back into her room and then preceded to yell at a ward who had been given strict instructions to make sure she would not come out for any reason. Once she was done with her meal she handed it off to a servant waiting outside and then beckoned for Lita to come into her room.

"What should I wear for tonight?" Serenity asked, examining Lita's own outfit which consisted of a rather short dress with revealing cleavage.

"Something you can move in," the scout of Jupiter winked.

Squealing with excitement, she practically leaped out of her nightgown she had been in all day. She stepped into her closet and looked through the clothing she had available. Everything was long, long, and longer. She pouted at all of the options in front of her. Serenity grabbed a shimmering gold dress that she used to wear on the moon and slipped into it. When she exited the room, she asked for Lita to shorten her dress for her. The scout pointed to the skirt with her finger and they both watched as a ring of electric wire started at the bottom of the long skirt and worked its way up. Lita made it stopped about an inch above the knee, making it fringe slightly. The remnants of the skirt turned to ashes and fluttered into a dark grey ring around her feet.

"Are you all wearing shoes?" she asked.

The brunette shook her head, "Barefoot, m'lady."

"Then lead the way."

"One more thing."

Lita took out a black sash that was embroidered with little gold flowers. She wrapped it around Serenity's eyes and tied it tightly in the back. She stood in front of the princess and held a few fingers in her front of her face.

"How many fingers am I holding up, Serenity?"

"Six?" she asked.

"Half right; three," she giggled. "Okay, now you can come with me."

The princess was led out into the hallway, was spun around multiple times in the grand hallway, and then hoisted onto Lita's back so that she didn't know which direction they were headed. However, she knew that it was the garden from the sound of chirping crickets and cooling air that surrounded her. After being carried for a little bit, she felt her inner scout stop. She was told to drop down to the ground and remove her blindfold.

"Oh … my … GODDESS OF THE MOON!!" she screamed with joy.

In front of her was a grassy area dotted with a rainbow of colorful lights, a small band was playing along the water front of a man made pond, and a large, long blanket that was partially covered with sweet treats, fruit, and plenty of wine. Her ladies were sitting on the grass clapping at the arrival of the princess.

"This is beautiful!" she exclaimed. "Absolutely beautiful! Did you all put this together?"

"Yes," Ami smiled.

"Lita cooked everything," Mina explained. "Ami got everything scheduled. Rei was able to get the band together. And then of course, Lord Kunzite and I were the ones who positioned everything today."

"I'm too lucky to have you all as my ladies in waiting," Serenity said as she plopped down with them all. "Thank you so much."

Endymion lazily sat around the room with his men, sipping on their whiskey. They were waiting … for something. He didn't know what though. Nephrite said he had a surprise for the prince but it still hadn't shown up. The crackling of the fire was making the seconds that ticked by even more unbearable.

"Where the hell is he?!" Endymion roared.

"Be patient your majesty," Zoisite said calmly.

"I've been patient for the last hour! This is my bachelor party, is it not?" he snapped.

Right at that moment, a servant announced the arrival of General Nephrite. Two wards came walking in with a long cart with on wheels with a long white tablecloth draped over it. The men bowed to the prince and then walked out just as Nephrite was strolling in. He grinned at all of his comrades and then whipped off the tablecloth, unveiling the surprise. Underneath the rolling cart were five huge masquerade headdresses with large colored feathers, golden glittering masks encrusted with rhinestones along the edges. The group laughed at them and went diving for their pick.

"What's the meaning of this Nephrite?" Endymion asked as he placed one snuggly onto his head, covering up his hair and half of his face.

"I only made sure the masks were made to our standards. It's all on Kunzite's word," he answered.

"I conspired with Lady Mina for us to sneak up on the ladies tonight while they danced along at their own party on the edge of the garden," the silver haired general announced as he tucked his long tresses underneath the bejeweled cap. "When we arrive – and hopefully don't shock the ladies into fainting spells – we'll ask the princess to figure out which one of us is her future husband to be."

"And what if she chooses wrong?" Endymion inquired, his eyebrow arching behind the mask.

"There should be a penalty of dancing with the one she chooses for the rest of the night," Nephrite suggested.

"I don't know if I like the sound of that," the prince said as they started to amble out of the room.

"You get to dance with her for the rest of your life," Jadeite smiled. "Let someone else get a chance."

"Besides if she misses, it'll show you how well she really knows you," Zoisite grinned.

The group made it to some bushes out in the garden and ducked down, trying to hide their huge feathers. Endymion gestured for the men to follow him as they climbed a nearby tree, listening to the women giggle and dance to the music. His grey-blue eyes drifted down to Serenity, whose silver hair was let out of the pigtails letting it wave down her bare back, was dancing with a glass of wine hand. Her ladies were scattered all around; Mina was dancing with her, Lita was eating food with Ami beside her, and Rei was lying on the grass, letting her hair sprawl out around her as she gazed at the fireflies bouncing in the air. That's when they were caught. Rei's intuition and her violet eyes flipped up to the men who were dripping from the branches of the tree above. She merely giggled at them, making the women stop what they were doing and then look up. They gasped loudly and then shrieked with excitement as the men jumped down. They lined up and bowed to the women dramatically.

Mina skipped up to them and started to explain, "Here, ladies, we have the five highest ranking men of the earthly kingdom. Your majesty," she said, extending her hand to Serenity who gladly took it and stood next to her, "must choose which man is hers."

The women screeched with anticipation and clapped while Serenity asked curiously, "Do I get to touch them?"

"Yes, but you cannot remove their headdresses which I must say are beautifully adorned."

They watched as the princess eyed the men in front of her suspiciously. She stepped toward the middle one and cupped his groin in her hand suddenly, making him tense up and … "stand at attention". She removed her grip as the women laughed. Serenity stepped to the man next to this one and unbuttoned his shirt, examining the abs that were exposed underneath. Shrugging a bit, she went to the last man on the left and lifted her arm in the air like she was going to slap him across the face, but he aggressively whipped his hand out and grabbed onto her slender wrist. The women a few feet away oohed and aahed at the exchange as Serenity wrenched her limb back to her own devices. She narrowed her gaze at that specific man who simply put his hands behind his back like the rest of them. Running down to the very end of the row, she stopped in front of the last one on the right. She sized him up and then made a movement that looked like she was about to sock him in the stomach. The man flinched, tightening up his muscles in anticipation. She merely smirked at him and then pointed to the one next to him.

"Remove your mask Endymion," she ordered.

The princess was right. The second one from the right was Endymion who was shocked that she got it correct.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked as he untied the mask from his face.

"Body language," she answered as everyone gazed at the men revealing who they were. "When I grabbed Nephrite's crotch, you also became exceedingly tense. Jadeite, although well built, is much more sculpted than you. He has to be stronger in order to protect you. Kunzite would never let a woman hit him, even one of my stature. His grip was tight and unapologetic. And Zoisite was … well, for lack of a better term, a pansy. He was waiting to see what I would do. You were calm standing next to him, not caring what I did."

"And here I thought you were just a dumb princess," he grinned.

"And I thought you were just an egocentric prince," she retorted. "Our first impressions can change over time."

"Music!" Lita hollered to the musicians who had stopped to watch the spectacle in front of them. They did as they were told and some of the men danced with the women, some went to go eat the wonderful food, and the prince and princess went to go walk around by themselves.

"Are you scared about tomorrow?" Endymion asked.

Serenity slipped her arm through his and leaned against his bicep, "I expect that I should be, but with all of this alcohol, joy, and sweet food I can't feel it. What about you?"

"I suspect with all of the rushing around and fast paced motion of the day tomorrow, nervousness would be a wasted emotion right now." He stopped the two of them from walking and gazed at her blushing face in the moonlight, "How is it that everyone else let you walk by them? A man hasn't snatched you up yet?"

"I would say the same for you, but the first beheaded queen of your country answers that for me."

"Seriously Serenity … why haven't you been married off?" he asked, cupping her face.

"I've never been ready I suppose … nor have I ever been so forced into an engagement such as this," she sighed.

"What does that mean? Don't you hold all of the control in this arrangement?"

"No. Not necessarily. You may not have the military power we have or as much money as we do, but we don't have the resources you have. We can only grow certain foods and such. Things from your world are exotic and, with this marriage, fully provided for."

"So you're worth a few green apples and bottles of wine?" he said with a confused expression wrapped around his features.

"You question my mother's authority, but in reality, she knows what she's doing. This could also help those who are sick on my planet. You have many herbs, medicines, and some of the best doctors I've ever seen," she explained.

"But you all have powers that are literally out of this world," Endymion replied.

"Not everyone does. Only those with royal blood have certain powers and even then, it's selective," she corrected him.

"So any child we have will attain these powers?" he prodded excitedly.

"Maybe … depends on the child and their willingness to take them," she replied. "Lady Rei has an older brother who didn't receive any powers. He is the leader of their special military operatives, but to say he has any more powers other than that of persuasion would be an overstatement. The man has been known to twist more than an arm in order to get what he wants."

"Sounds like a sibling of Lady Rei," he smiled widely.

"Oh yes. You'll have quite an interesting meeting with him," she laughed.

"When do I get the pleasure?"

"Right after our wedding of course! We'll be going on a universal journey to each planet and showing off our marriage to people, maybe even arranging tighter treaties. It's customary for every royal couple to do this," she replied.

"What? I … dammit!"

Endymion looked over his shoulder to yell at Jadeite for not telling him about this upcoming schedule. But when he caught sight of his guardian chatting it up with the Princess of Mars, he decided against it. He looked back at Serenity who was staring off at the moon with her back turned to him. He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body.

"Home will be here faster than you think," he murmured. "Everyone will be arriving tomorrow morning."

"Didn't you once say that this was my home?" she asked turning around.

"Can't you have two homes?" he retorted.

"We'll see…"

"I take it that although you'll be sleeping in my bed tomorrow night. There will be nothing more?" Endymion asked.

"You catch on fast."

"I'm understanding."

"That is a quality I assume will quickly drain from your reservoir of generous traits," she said blankly.

"Why do you say that?"

"My father was the same way. Then he married my mother, gained control of the state and was ruthless. His mercy was letting those who were about to die kiss his ruby ring," she grimaced. "My mother changed all of that when she became queen."

"How did she do that?" he asked. "I've always been curious."

"My mother has a very peaceful aura about her. She just naturally emits it. She listened to what the people wanted and if it was within her means of supplying it, she did. Her charity to the poor and helpless is what received her great reviews all over the universe. She's elevated a lot of the poverty in our world and now most people live by modest means. One is only a beggar on the street if they truly choose to do so."

"That's quite an expectation to live up to."

"It's my whole life."

Endymion saw that she was getting tense during the conversation and he wanted to relieve her of that feeling. He leaned over and was about to kiss her when suddenly a giant headdress was thrown at the back of his neck. He turned around and found his generals gesturing with head nods and wafting arms in the air that it was time to head back to the castle. Serenity could even see that the scouts had cleaned up the area and were ready to go to bed. They had a big day ahead of them. The two sighed and started to walk towards their separate groups. When they reached the grand hallway in one huge mob, they cordially parted ways and the royal couple kissed each other goodnight on either cheek.

Serenity strolled into her bedroom with her scouts at her side for the last time. She would be spending the rest of her life alongside her husband like she was supposed to. Plopping on her fluffy white bed, she could feel herself start to shake a little bit as she thought about the wedding night. Endymion would of course respect her decision to not do anything tomorrow night but still ….

Please review!! Up next: The wedding! ^_^