"Solaris, can't you tell me anything about this?" I asked.
"Not much, Princess. I'm sure your memory will come back soon though." the cat replied.
"But even Serenity's memory didn't come back fully, obviously."
"No, but Serenity isn't really the princess. You are. Serenity was more of a pawn. She has a lot of power, but compared to yours, minimal."
"Then why wasn't I found first?" I asked.
"Because, Serenity could handle things before. This situation would've been catastrophic without you." Solaris explained.
"How, when I didn't do anything?" I questioned, confused.
"Just being there, your unharnessed power can do wonders and at the same time easily destroy a galaxy."
"No. I don't want that. I don't want to destroy things."
"Unlike Hotaru, Arien, you have a choice. When you come, it isn't automatically end of the world. But, being a Senshi, you'll have to learn to destroy some things." I put Solaris down and rubbed my temples. I had to think. All of this was making my head hurt.
"Solaris, do you at least know a place to go rest?" I asked. He nodded.
"I'll take you to Haruka and Michiru's." He said, lithely bounding in the direction. I ran to follow him, as exausted as I was.
Then, unexpectedly, a memory came to me.
It was painful, like someone was pounding a hammer to my head, but it was a pleasurable one. In a rush, a particular scene came back.
"What are you doing?" I asked, my hands on my hips. There goes Endyran, always doing something mischievous. He seemed unresponsive, intent on something outside of his room.
"Look at them. What good will come of those two? Endymion and Serenity." he scoffed. "They'll end up hurting each other."
"Will they?" I asked. I didn't understand why everyone didn't want them together. I walked over, seeing the two together outside. "Perhaps. But I can understand their reasons."
"How?" Endyran asked in disbelief.
"I think you know as well as I do how royalty must be treated. Always told what to do and how to do it. Who to associate yourself with. Then, you get a glimpse of something so different, so alien, and yet so unattainable. You'd stop at nothing just to see what the new thing is, until-"
"You become attached." he stared at me as he finished the sentence. He was staring at me differently, not like the authority always catching him in crazy attempts, but like someone who cared, and loved.
It scared me.
"You speak of it as if they cling to each other for their lives." I looked out again, to avert my gaze. "They grew to love each other." he stayed silent, and suddenly, I could feel his breath on my cheek, leaning in. I turned to him and our noses nearly touched.
"That could be the same thing, Arien."
He kissed me.
I was shocked out of the vision as we got to the Outer Senshi's door. My knees gave way at the power of the short moment, and I leaned my head against the door desperately. I pounded the door, my surprised tears brimming over.
"Arien, what's wrong?" Solaris asked, concerned. I didn't answer. The door opened, and I fell forward, sobbing into Setsuna's legs. She kneeled down, even though she had no idea who I was, as I sobbed into her shoulder.
"Endyran. Endyran." I cried out, bringing Michiru and Haruka to the doorway with baby Hotaru in Michiru's arms. Haruka grimaced at what I'm sure was my Sailor suit.
"Another one." she grumbled, exasperated, and went back in. "Obviously not very strong." this made me glare up at her.
"I am more powerful than you could ever imagine Sailor Uranus." I glared. Michiru sighed.
"Come in, and you can tell us what happened.
I explained what happened quickly through tears, but not the strange memory. That, I'd have to figure out on my own. These visions were obviously made for my eyes only.
"You cried out a name." Setsuna said. "It sounded like Endymion."
"No, no. I didn't." I lied, wiping my eyes. Haruka paced the room as Michiru came back from laying Hotaru down. She sat down next to Setsuna.
"Well, obviously you must stay here." Haruka stopped in her tracks.
"No." she said. "Let her go to the others. She wouldn't understand us."
"I don't have an intention to." I retorted."I'd rather be on the streets than stay where I'm not wanted."
"Haruka." Setsuna scolded.
"What? You know we don't have room for her."
"We'll make room. I'm sure she wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch!" I sighed and stood up. Obviously this wasn't working out.
"I'm fine. I'll manage somewhere else. Thank you for your offer anyway." I spat, and walked out the door with Solaris quickly.
"Well? Now what?" Solaris asked.
"I was sorta hoping you'd have a plan, you know, being my guardian." I said hopefully. He just stared up at me, and I sighed.
Go to Rei, dearest. The female voice whispered to me. I complied, dutifully.
"Do you know where Rei would be?"
"At a local shrine, of course."
"Then we'll go there." I concluded. It seemed right to go to Rei, so I might as well trust my gut.
And the little voice in my head.
I knocked timidly on the sliding door, and Rei answered, already shrouded in the Priestess gown.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I need a place to stay. I'll help around the shrine, if needed. Please?"
"Why me? You could've chosen any other girls."
"...it feels right. You don't seem as clueless as Serenity or Minako, as tomboyish as Makoto, or as Genius as Ami. You're right in the middle."
Rei sighed. "I had a feeling you'd say something like that." She forgot how Usagi is so clumsy, but... I paused when I heard the sudden thought. It wasn't mine.
It was Rei's voice.
"Rei, tell me what you were just thinking about." I said urgently.
"I was thinking about how klutzy Usagi is." Rei replied, confused.
"Okay, you may not believe this, but I can read your mind!"
"Are you serious? No, we have to talk to the Scouts about you...I know you're definitely different from the rest of us."
"Well, yeah. The Princess that everyone decided was Usagi, is actually supposed to be me, Solaris and I think, because of how developed I am even though I was just Awakened." Rei looked at me, puzzled.
"Well, you must be tired. We'll talk about this tommorrow, but I'll take out some blankets for you."
"Thank you very much, Rei. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"No problem."
In a matter of minutes, I was out of my strange sailor getup, changed out of my school uniform, and lying down. I closed my eyes as I thought about the sudden appearance of Endyran, whoever that was. The kiss had startled me so much, as if it had been happening right then to me. I could still feel his warm lips on mine, and just thinking about it made my heart race. He must have been from my past, but judging that he wasn't with the others, they must not have found them.
You'll have to find him yourself, you know. the man's voice said.
I'll deal with that. I'm guessing that no one except me remembers him?
Unfortunately, your memories do seem to be resurfacing, the work of your mother, I'm sure. My eyes snapped open.
What do you mean?
...nothing.
No! Tell me! I thought angrily. This voice had already been holding back enough from me.
It didn't answer.
I scoffed in the darkness. I'll find out somehow, was my last thought to the voices before I gave up to exhaustion and went to sleep.
"Why, Arien?" Father asked, pained and angry. "You know that isn't how things are done!"
"I don't care, Father! I love him! Borders between the ways things are done and the ways things aren't can't stop that!" I shouted back at him. I placed a hand on my flat stomach. "If you can't accept that, then let me leave. But, I promise you this, Apollo: I refuse to be locked up in that castle again. I will be with him." I reached out my other hand to Endyran's, and he took it, squeezing it.
"I'll never allow it. No son of the Earth will be your husband. It's not possible. How do you both plan on ruling the Sun and the Earth?"
"We can make it work, Sir." Endyran replied, respect in his voice despite such a grim encounter. We'd come to the Sun for Apollo, praying a reaction like this one wouldn't happen.
"Silence, boy! I'm talking to my daughter." Father boomed.
"Would you treat your future Son-in-law that way?" I asked defiantly.
"I do not acknowledge him as such. He is a dirt-sitter! And if you go a long with this, you will be as well. You will not inherit the throne."
"If not me, then who will? You know as well as I that there isn't any other heir except me."
"I will arrange it if you don't stay here and get that boy out of your mind!"
"I'm sorry, Father, but 'that boy' is your grandchild's father."
I snuck up on the two, slowly. The stone wall was cold against my shoulders, and the stones beneath my feet as well. The Moon Kingdom's realm was colder than I was used to, but the Earth would return back to the Sun in a few hours. Queen Serenity had asked me to supervise Serenity and Endymion secretly. Having nothing to do once I had gotten out of the castle back home, I accepted. It wouldn't be the place of a Sun Princess to play guardian, but it seemed like it would be a interesting experience to see the Earth first.
I peered from the corner of the wall and watched the two, sitting and talking. Endymion's head snapped up, and I immediately pressed myself against the wall. I read his thoughts to see if I was the reason for distress.
Who is it? Could it be Endyran? Or Josephine? he thought instinctively. Of course, afterward he turned back to the concerned Princess.
"Is there anyone there?" she asked softly.
"No. It must have only been my imagination." they continued their conversation.
Then, I felt warm fingers encircle my waist and close over my mouth.
"You're lucky I'm the one who caught you, Princess, instead of Endymion, Josephine, or worse, the Shitennou. How do you think that would have turned out? Of course, you are royalty, but I still think you would have been tried on the spot." I opened my eyes wide. Of course. Endyran. I had heard stories about him, how he was always too playful, but could turn so deadly in a second, being trained from a early age on martial arts. No wonder he had caught me. The man could probably hear any sound from anywhere. He probably was able to find me as soon as Endymion just slightly sensed my presence. I tried prying his hand off my mouth, to no avail. I would need a different tactic.
Of course, I was never on the playful mode, and that separated us.
"Although I'm curious as to what any of those reactions would be. They'd probably be quite amusing." Endyran kept babbling. Of course, I'd act as if I had no self-defense whatsoever.
What he didn't know is that martial arts is the sole reason I'd never been outside of the Sun Kingdom.
"So, what should I do?" he asked himself. I made a move while he was thinking, and grabbed his forearm, throwing him over my head. He flipped and landed in a crouch position. "Hmm. I should have expected that from you. Can we do that again?" he asked teasingly.
"As many times as needed." I smiled a smile that I'm sure was mocking and slightly sadistic. I used the small topaz stone I kept with me to start an attack. Topaz had a magical affect on Sun people that helped in combat. Neither one of us had been detected; We were speaking softly, and Endyran had landed softly on the ground. I pointed the stone at him. The concealed fight wouldn't be concealed for long. The topaz emitted a huge golden beam of light that would have scorched anything it had contact with. I searched around for Endyran again before Serenity and Endymion came to find us. I'd have to finish Endyran quickly.
"Honestly, must you be that rash?" he asked from behind me.
"Alright." I said, throwing the topaz on the ground. The Sun was covered with it like the Earth was covered with grass, so I wouldn't have a problem finding more. "Whatever you wish." I turned around and aimed to hit him, but his hand was already up to block mine. I kicked him in the stomach.
"I'd rather not have to hit a girl, Arien." he warned. Now I could tell he had gone deadly.
"You won't get the chance to." I replied, and proceeded to run quickly, with my skirts raised up. Of course, he was following me already, on a line of house roofs, of all things. He jumped from house to house fast, making me anxious with how to get away.
He pounced.