After watching Princess Jupiter's talented martial arts and cooking show, as well as spending some time with her in the flower garden, I went to Princess Mars's room, hoping to know the mystery behind her premonitions for the future.
Her room's doors are colored with a gradient of red at the bottom, to orange in the middle, then to yellow at the top, resembling many things related to fire and heat. In particular, it reminds me of the sky during sunset, when the Sun turns red and paints the horizon yellow. On her doors, there are symbols of Mars, as well as letters in a script unknown to me.
I pressed the button next to the door, hoping to see the last princess that I haven't conversed with on the Moon.
The doors then slid open, revealing her room - a tranquil space decorated in a style similar to the training hall on the fifth floor, with bamboos and wooden materials. In the center, there is a large flame, burning on logs of stacked firewood. The firewood were placed on an altar of stone, such that her room does not get burnt down.
Princess Mars was meditating to a stack of fire, before she turned around and greeted me. "Aurora, it's you."
Princess Mars, the one who carries world-class beauty and spirituality.
"Serenity told me that you have the ability to predict the future. Does the fire tell you anything about that?"
With a stoic voice, Mars confirmed, "Yes, indeed. Meditating to the fire often lets me look what the future might look like. These premonitions often let us get prepared ahead of the future."
I sat next to her, trying also to meditate, as if I am trying to connect with my deeper soul.
"When you have doubts and uncertainties, look into the fire, and your mind shall be clear."
What do I see?
This seemed like a great and philosophical question. The future is always full of uncertainties, and limitless possibilities.
Mars said, "I see a future. A future, where a brave girl stands fearlessly against a being of Chaos, trying to protect a young boy who she cares for. The being of Chaos was gigantic and enormous, easily invoking fear in the hearts of many."
Carefully listening to her premonition, I put in all effort to picture the situation in my mind, from the words that I heard from her.
"And yet, she knew, that through concentration in the Force, she could identify the being's weaknesses. She jumped up high, and delivered an energy slash towards that behemoth at where it hurt the most, eliminating the threat."
I pondered the meaning of the premonition. A girl slashing away a giant being of Chaos, to protect a young boy who she cares for. What could this mean for me? And what could this mean for Serenity and his sisters? Or is it something, that is bound to happen, but does not directly involve us?
I asked, "How does the girl look like?"
Mars said, "Unfortunately, I'm not able to give this question an exact answer. In the premonition I've just had, I only saw figures, or rather, silhouettes that are quite vague, and because of that, I do not know anything about her facial features. However, I do remember that she was wielding a long sword, and she seemed to wear a short skirt as well."
That was an intriguing figure. Beautiful, yet so mysterious.
"Would we be able to know who these people would turn out to be?"
With hints of uncertainty in her voice, she answered, "We don't know. Sometimes, my premonitions only give me vague figures, and this usually means that it would be some time in a more distant future."
She then shifted to a more resolved tone, "But if something would happen within the next hours, my premonitions would usually have a clear figure of who would be involved, or better or worse, who are currently involved."
Mars's description of this meticulous difference sparked my interest. "Have you ever seen a clear figure when you were meditating?"
"It is not very common for me to be seeing a clear figure in a premonition. I remembered that the last time I saw a clear figure, was when I predicted a scene where my brother, Prince Serenity, is travelling on a spaceship."
She then gave me a devious smirk. "And that is how I knew Serenity is going to the Earth. Turns out his trip to Earth isn't very 'secret' after all."
I momentarily laughed out loud, upon hearing Mars's knowledge of her brother's trip to planet Earth, but then, I looked and realized that this place was modelled after a temple, and I should not not be reacting in such a loud manner. I suddenly stopped my laughter, and covered my open mouth with my hand.
Having noticed my reaction, Mars playfully said, "You can get on with it, I'm not meditating."
I replied with a quick "Sure".
Mars then continued, "it's just that I didn't tell others about it. Well, except our sisters. It was I who used my psychic powers to calculate the time he would return to the Moon, and that was why we were there to greet you, when Serenity's spaceship landed on the docking bay."
I then noticed something strange to me about Serenity during the landing. "Mars, I want to ask, if Serenity didn't tell you about his arrival time on the Moon, why didn't he ask how did you sisters know when he'll be landing on the Moon?"
Mars said, "My brother knows very well about my psychic powers. He would already expect me to know his arrival time and tell his other sisters about it, so that we would wait for him at the docking bay. He would feel strange, instead, if we didn't show up."
The fact that Serenity has get used to his sister's spiritual powers has impressed me. "You seem to know about each other very well since you were born! Since I am my parents' only daughter, I never got a chance to experience how it was like to grow up with siblings."
Mars said, "It was really an unforgettable experience. I remembered that when I was eight, I was having a premonition of a young girl, around the age of nine, holding a sword that looked very grand, compared to her short stature. Initially, the girl and the sword appeared as a blurry shadow, but as I approached the age of nine, I was more clear about who the girl is. And days before Venus's birthday, it became clear to me, that the girl is exactly my sister. Princess Venus. I then told my brother secretly, ahead of Venus's birthday, that Venus is going to receive a sword as her birthday gift."
It was quite exhilariating to listen to Mars's memories about growing up with her siblings. I giggled, saying, "You all like to play tricks on one another, and yet at the end, it's all for fun, and inside, you care for each other."
Mars affirmed. "That's true. There might be moments where I argue with Prince Serenity or Princess Venus. And then when our discussion gets too heated, Mercury would just leave the scene. I guess she's probably thinking that she should be studying and reading, instead of watching our argument devolving into childish acts. And for Jupiter, I don't really know, though there was a time she was watching passionately, unlike Mercury. I think she believes that our arguments make us better siblings."
At first glance, it is difficult to agree with Jupiter's words, particularly when you are most engaged in a heated argument. However, judging by how close Venus and Mars appear to be, I would say that this claim wasn't totally wrong.
"Perhaps there is some truth in her words."
Nodding her head lightly, Mars agreed. "I also come to realize it when I'm in a calmer mood. However, I could easily, in fact, always, deny that, when I'm very heated in the argument, and Jupiter says something related to us being the world's best siblings."
I then thought about it. "Just like the philosophers who say, those in the situation may be obsessed with what they are doing without knowing what they really are doing, while those who are outside the situation knows clearly what everyone are doing."
Mars said, "I could agree with this quote. To let go of obsessions is a part of my spirituality, and throughout years, I have been training to make myself a princess that resonates better with the cosmic side of the Force."
The Force.
Princess Mars often makes mentions of this word, and the seemingly mysterious concept behind it. What really is it?
I asked her, "you often speak about the Force, and it sounded like a magical field of energy to me. Is that so?"
With calmness and peace in her voice, Mars confirmed, "correct."
She then drew a full circle with her arm as she said, "the Force unites all beings in the Milky Way galaxy. There are two sides to it, one is the Cosmos, and the other is Chaos. Cosmos brings order, while Chaos brings, literally, chaos."
When Mars spoke of cosmos, I immediately thought back at the aura surrounding her brother, Serenity. Both I and the fairies could sense goodness and genuineness in him. "I sense a strong Lunarian aura around Serenity when I first met him on Earth. Is that related to the Force?"
Mars affirmed, "What you are sensing, is the aura of the cosmic Force inside Serenity. We Lunarians naturally adhere to the cosmic Force, and we use the Force for pursuing peace, for defence, and for knowledge. We are opposed to Chaos, which values aggression, violence, and mistrust."
Aggression.
Violence.
Mistrust.
When I heard these three words spoken together, I could not think of any figure, other than the evil fairy who cursed me to eventual death, Maleficent. I did not remember much of her true appearance, only a description of her, as I have read in my books. The enigmatic, vague yet dangerous and threatening image of her still brought chills to my heart...
But Mars snapped me out of the chills, as she continued to speak.
"Our mother, Queen Selene, has always been strong with the cosmic Force, as are the past incarnations of the Sailor Guardians. As Sailor Guardians, we have been connected to our planets through the Force, since the first generation."
Now that Mars has explained the connection between the Force and Lunarian royalty, it made sense to me why they are that powerful and talented. "So, that explains why you all are talented in unique ways, and came together to protect your brother..."
She confirmed, "Right, Aurora. We love our brother. Do you?"
I also affirmed. "Me too. I also feel an instinct to protect him, knowing that he is a good boy and suffers from a curse similar to mine."
Mars then said, "I hope that the both you shall have your curses broken."
After meeting Princess Mars, I returned to my room, and rested for a while. Now that I have met all four of Serenity's sisters, I am starting to think, who I like the most?
Is it Venus, who was volunteered to be the first princess to meet me, gifted me my exquisite new gown, and subsequently introduced me to the ways of the sword?
Is it Mercury, who, like me, is a lover of books and knowledge, and engaged in a lengthy academic discussion with me?
Is it Jupiter, who displayed her impressive physical strength, and cooks the most savoring food in the Moon Kingdom?
Or is it Mars, who could see into the mysterious future with her psychic powers?
It is getting even more difficult for me to decide, as I think further and think deeper. Who among Serenity's sisters do I like the most?
This is a difficult question.
However, thinking about it, I have come to realize, that one thing is very certain, for sure:
It must have been very lucky and fortunate for Serenity, to be raised with these four amazing sisters. And this, is something that I could only dream about.
With my mind focusing on how lucky Serenity is to get to grow up together with his four sisters, I am now imagining the blissful scene of how they were like, and how they interacted, when they were younger. It must have been very different from what I went through when I was younger, when I only lived a commoner's life with the three fairies disguised as my "aunts". I imagine, as if I was one of Serenity's sisters, always getting to play with three very unique girls and a just-as-unique boy of my age...
I then remembered what Serenity said about his sisters. Now that I have a clearer image of what a robot is, I imagined the scenes of young Serenity happily building robots with Mercury and Venus, with Venus joking about swapping outfits with Serenity again, and with Mercury and Serenity blushing in response...
Now that I have seen to it, Serenity must have lived a pleasant and colorful childhood with his sisters, and I feel lucky for him. Now that they have entered adolescence for a year or two, I wonder, what does future has in store for their strong and unbreakable bond?
