Chapter 6: Winds of Venus

January 20, 8983 – January 21, 8983

Lilia, Kounin, and Ken'nin had wandered beyond visual range, following a trail the Jovian had spotted earlier that morning. Saiki and Eiki stayed with Haname and Jurin on the ship to catalog the plants they had already collected, leaving Ami and Makoto to collect flowers from near the ship. The Mercurian princess had stopped fighting her cousin's team assignments, just as she had started to accept that she might be mildly attracted to her tall Jovian guard. Over the past few weeks, Makoto had become a very good friend, keeping the blue-haired genius entertained and letting her enjoy an assignment that could have become tedious very quickly.

"I'm surprised King Koshu would not see you."

"Hmm? Oh, I am not really surprised. Queen Shousha would not see us, either. There was a falling out between those two and the Inner Planets before I was born, but I never found out why." Ami carefully collected a leaf and a flower from the mrakuruj plant she had found, sealing them inside a specimen container before moving on to the next plant. "All of the Uranian moons have a very harsh landscape, but Miranda is surely the worst. All of these plants are thorny or poisonous and none of them have very large flowers, and I am quite tired of the sandstorms. I would say these moons are the opposite of the ones orbiting Neptune."

Makoto nodded as she leaned over Ami, trying to get close enough to read the smaller woman's notes. She didn't seem to notice the Mercurian blush as one of her breasts brushed the petite princess's back. "Yeah, it seems that way. It makes sense, though, since Neptune prides itself on elegance and beauty while Uranus is more about graceful strength. They are some of the most fearsome warriors in the system. It makes you wonder if the people formed from the land or the land from the people."

"Considering their patron gods, it could have been either one," Ami remarked casually as she collected another sample and moved to stand, freezing when Makoto placed one hand on her back. The green-haired woman was staring into the distance, her entire body tense as she clenched her fists and readied herself to move. Jovians tended toward unarmed combat, unlike their Martian and Uranian counterparts, Ami reminded herself, wondering what had her usually calm guard on edge. An instant later, the answer leapt from the bushes before her in the form of a huge reptilian predator with long fangs and heavy claws, its tiny eyes locked on the blue-haired princess kneeling before it.

Makoto used the hand on Ami's back to push the smaller woman down and back, putting herself between the princess and the beast. It snarled as Makoto kicked it mid-leap, throwing it back with the force of her attack. It landed on all six feet, glaring at the two women through cold black eyes as Makoto rolled across the ground after it. She punched it in the jaw, grinning as she heard something break. The beast whined as it rolled away, hissing at the tall Jovian before it vanished into the undergrowth again. Makoto remained tense for several more moments until she was sure the threat was gone, relaxing her muscles and returning to Ami. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," the princess whispered, shaking as she pushed herself to her feet. Makoto wrapped her strong arms around the trembling girl, calming Ami the only way she knew how. Slowly, the Mercurian's tremors ceased, but she didn't pull away from Makoto's strong embrace. "Thank you for protecting me."

"It's my job," Makoto replied automatically, pulling back when Ami stiffened in her arms. The smaller princess looked up with pained sapphire eyes, and the Jovian instantly regretted her flippant words.

"Is that the only reason?"

"No," Makoto admitted softly, surprising even herself. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Ami."

Ami blushed, ducking her head as she tried to think of a response. The genius was rarely at a loss for words, but she had never been good at expressing her feelings. A sharp cry from the direction of the ship broke the fragile mood between the princesses, and Ami looked up at Makoto sadly before running back to their vehicle.

The frantic look in Jurin's brown eyes called them back faster, the Duke tossing a data pad at his cousin. "The Uranian army is mobilizing. We need to leave."

"Mobilizing?" Ami stared at the figures and news reports scrolling through the air before her, Makoto touching one image to magnify it. King Koshu stood on the balcony of his palace, the ten War Queens arranged behind him, a worried look in his hazel green eyes. "Why has he activated the army? We are at peace."

"The princess went missing last night, and he has not been able to find her. Also, there is a rumor that the henshin stick and Space Sword were stolen from the royal vault."

"What?! How can a princess of the Silver Millennium go missing?"

Jurin ran his fingers through his ice blue hair, watching as Lilia and her party returned to the ship. "I don't know, but the sooner we get off this moon the better. I would rather not get caught up in Uranian politics. I'm sure Princess Haruka is just at some retreat that her father has not found yet, and this will all blow over soon."

"I'm sure you're right, but it is certainly time to head to Saturn in either case," Ami concluded, nodding slowly. "This survey mission is taking much longer than we had expected, and we have enough samples from the other three moons that a few more from Miranda won't make much difference. Pack up everything we have gathered and request permission from Oberon Central Command for a departure window."

Less than an hour later, Ami stared out of the view port of her small ship as Uranus and its moons faded behind them. She was alone in the small lounge, but she could not bring herself to study her samples. All she could think about was Makoto's quiet confession earlier. What should she do? Lilia constantly pushed the two of them together, and Ami had to admit that she liked the tall princess, but until today she had no indication that Makoto liked her, as well.

"What are you thinking about?" Makoto took a seat on the plush couch beside Ami, her emerald eyes mirroring Ami's internal struggle.

The blue-haired genius sighed. "You," she admitted. "I don't know what to do about these feelings I have for you."

Makoto reached over and took her hand, forcing the other woman to turn and look at her. "What do you want to do about them?" Her tone hinted that she would be perfectly willing to let their feelings evolve into the kind of relationship Lilia had told Ami to pursue. Ami had never been in any kind of relationship before, and she had to admit that the prospect was a little frightening.

Ami blushed. "I'm not like Lilia, you know. I'm not brave or sexy or anything."

"I'm glad you're not like Lilia," Makoto replied, smiling gently at the other princess. She almost couldn't believe that Ami had feelings for her, feelings that seemed to mirror what the Jovian felt in her own heart. "Your cousin is just too independent. She doesn't want to be protected. You need me, and that's the kind of sexy I'm attracted to."

The faint pink on Ami's cheeks darkened to a dark red, the woman trying unsuccessfully to hide her embarrassment. "I would never have thought someone like you would see anything in someone like me. Without Lilia interfering, I would probably never have had the courage to say anything. Honestly, I may never have noticed that I was attracted to you at all."

"I noticed that she seemed to be throwing us together. Do you regret it?"

"No!" Makoto grinned at the other girl's admission, pulling Ami closer. The genius smiled and rested her head on Makoto's chest, letting the amazon's breathing comfort her. "I'm glad she did."

"Me, too." They sat on the couch, staring at the stars, until both of them drifted off to sleep, utterly content to just be together. From the doorway, Lilia and Ken'nin watched them for a while, silver eyes overjoyed and green eyes disapproving.

"You should not have pushed them together," Ken'nin growled, the first time he had shown any kind of anger on their long trip. "Ami is exactly the kind of person I knew Makoto would end up with someday."

"How is that bad?" Lilia knew that the Jovian was not angry at her, or even at her cousin, but at the attraction he could see between the two women. He was a warrior, and he knew that there were some battles that he could not fight.

"Because they could actually fall in love, and they certainly can't marry. I wanted to protect my sister from the kind of heartache our mother suffers."

"Heartache?" Lilia looked up at Ken'nin, demanding answers, and the prince reluctantly offered them.

"Mother fell in love with Amami when they were younger, but the Ancient Laws prohibit marriages between royal women, so they returned to their planets and found suitable husbands. Makoto has been courted by hundreds of men, but they have all been too . . . domineering for her taste. She wants someone to protect, and I fear that she has found it in your cousin. I never told her about Mother and Amami, but it might be the only thing that will make her keep her distance from Ami."

"My cousin and your sister both suffer from a lack of prior relationships. Let them be young and enjoy each other's company. It's not like they're Venusians with that weird sensing their soul mate thing, so they will eventually part ways to rule their own planets."

Ken'nin sighed and turned away from the sleeping pair, Lilia following him back to the bridge. "I suppose there won't be any harm."

"Ami! You are needed on the bridge."

The blue-haired princess jerked free of her dreams, glancing up into the sleepy emerald eyes of her guard. Turning her head slightly, she found her cousin staring at her from over the back of the couch, the urgency in Lilia's silver eyes dispelling the last of her languor. "What's going on?"

"We have been refused entrance into Saturnian space."

Makoto pushed herself to her feet, pulling Ami up beside her, letting the princess lead the way to the bridge. Lilia grabbed Makoto's arms as the Jovian passed her, grinning and nodding toward the blue-haired Mercurian. "Good job." The princess glared at Ami's cousin, silently requesting that she keep her observations a secret, relaxing when Lilia nodded conspiratorially.

Saiki and Kounin stood as Ami entered the bridge, letting the princess take the captain's chair and controls. She glanced at the reports scrolling across the screen, changing the display to show Saturn and its primary moons. "They have enacted a blockade. Why?"

"We don't know. They won't answer us," Kounin admitted.

Ami tapped a few controls, sending a message demanding to speak with Traffic Control on Titan. She waited patiently for a reply, sapphire eyes narrowing as she sent another message directly to the Palace itself. The reply to that was almost immediate. The transparent image of a harried man with black hair and dark gold eyes appeared in the air above the shuttle controls, clearly both mildly irritated and intensely curious. "This is Titan Communications. Your message carries the seal of the Mercury Royal Family. Please identify."

"I am Ami, High Princess of Mercury," she replied, letting a faint tinge of irritation enter her own voice, both for the man's attitude and his use of Saturnian instead of Sol Standard on an open channel. "And since you have now had the opportunity to identify me, I would appreciate if you could patch me through to Queen Yumemi."

The man jumped up from his chair, bowing at the screen. "At once, Your Highness."

"In Standard," she ordered. The communication turned to static for a moment, then it changed to the image of a sad woman with long, dark purple hair. "Queen Yumemi."

"Princess Ami," the image murmured tiredly. "Why are you here?"

"I am studying the plants of the solar system, as ordered by my mother. I'm sure you received a message saying that my ship would arrive."

Yumemi nodded and ran a hand over her face. "Right, right. I remember. Look, my dear, you should just skip Saturn today."

"Why?" Makoto leaned closer to the screen so the queen could see her.

"The High Princess of Jupiter, too? Makoto, if Meika is ready to pass her henshin stick on to you, now is certainly the time. In one standard month, there will be a Full Council on Titan, and every reigning Queen and Planetary Senshi will be expected to attend. You two are young, at the beginning of your power. It is best that younger senshi take over the fight now."

"What fight? What is happening?"

"You will see at the meeting. For now, you must go. I cannot allow anyone to land on Titan right now. The blockage will be dropped on February 20th for the meeting."

Ami sighed as the communication ended, tapping the controls as she input a heading to Jupiter. "I suppose we are skipping Saturn. Something very bad must be happening there for Queen Yumemi to close her borders."

She could not remember ever being in such pain. All she wanted was to slip back into the dark abyss of dreams that had protected her from the agony, but something was pulling her toward the bright and merciless light. Groaning, she slowly opened her amethyst eyes, flinching away from the lights overhead. She sensed a movement to her right, so she forced her head to turn, and the motion alerted her companion of her return to consciousness.

"Rei," the blonde breathed, leaning over the Martian. "You're awake."

"So it seems," Rei whispered, fighting the pounding in her head. "I would prefer not to be, if this pain is the price."

"Here, Your Highness, let me help." Another woman entered her limited field of vision, dressed in medic white and holding a cup of neon green liquid in one hand. Minako slipped her arm under Rei's back and helped the princess into a sitting position, wincing when her soul mate hissed in pain. The medic touched the cup to Rei's lips and helped her drink it, smiling as her patient slowly relaxed. "Is that better?"

"Yes, thank you." She waited for the medic to leave the small room before turning to Minako, her memories slowly coming into focus. "I won."

"You did."

She narrowed her amethyst eyes as the rest of the events of the battle slowly filtered back into her active memory. "You transformed into Sailor Venus without calling for the change or already having your henshin stick. I've never heard of that happening before. Does your mother even know?"

Minako shrugged, absently stroking Rei's arm. "I've never heard of it, either. I don't think she knows yet, but she will when I return. I just . . . you were going to die, Rei, and I had to save you. I don't know how I did it."

"Your soul screamed and Venus answered." The princesses looked up as a flash of golden light faded into a cascade of pink rose petals to reveal a breathtaking woman with intense blue eyes and lightly curled golden hair flowing across her shoulders and down her back. Her gauzy pink dress revealed almost more than it hid, and Rei found herself blushing at the sight. The slender woman, only a little taller than Rei and Minako, laughed as she sensed the direction of the Martian's thoughts. "Well, I am used to seeing that reaction from men, but to have a woman blush is quite the compliment."

"You look like Minako," Rei replied, forced to defend her attraction.

"No, sweetie; she looks like me," the other woman corrected, one finger raised. "She is, after all, a descendant of my line."

"Aphrodite," Minako breathed at last, breaking free of the shock that had frozen her in place. The Goddess of Love was one of the most active in the Pantheon, and no Venusian could even fail to recognize their beloved deity.

"In the flesh! I just wanted to congratulate you. Never before has my Avatar fought so hard for her soul mate. It was impressive, to say the least."

"You were watching with Ares," Rei realized, narrowing her eyes at the implication. Unlike her Venusian lover, she was not star-struck by the presence of a deity in her hospital room. She had been shocked by the appearance of her own War God in the tournament ring, but she refused to lose her faculties to his blonde companion. "Was there some mass gathering of gods to watch as I got my ass handed to me by my mother, or was this a private showing?"

"My, what a spitfire you have there, Minako! She ran Ares through with her sword and now she attempts to do the same to me with her words." Aphrodite grinned as she stepped closer to the bed, pulling a shocked Minako into her embrace. "You are so much like me, you know. You're going to do great things as my Avatar."

"Th-thank you," Minako managed, holding Rei's hand tightly in hers as the goddess moved back. "What do you mean, my soul was screaming?"

"Your soul mate was in danger, and a Venusian responds to that. When you cried out for something to help your lover, Venus responded by letting you transform. The planet has a consciousness of its own, and she decided that you needed to have her power. I have never seen it before, but I have always hoped that my lineage would evolve to have the capacity to love so much. You are the most perfect embodiment of love and beauty I have ever seen. And you had the decency to pick a beautiful mate, as well." Rei blushed as Aphrodite turned the full force of her gaze on the Martian, laughing at the mortal woman's reaction. "You should keep an eye on her, Pyro. My avatar will attract some attention, for sure."

"I will," Rei promised, watching as the goddess stood to leave. She recognized the nickname, Pyro, from one of the Olympian Histories she had learned as a girl. It was a name Aphrodite used for Ares, sometime after he won her back from Hephaestus, and she had to admit that she was a little honored that Minako's goddess would use that name to compare her to the God of War. "Are we going to be interrupted by any other gods stopping by for a quick congratulations, or are we free to live our lives in peace?"

"Oh my, I can't believe this! You are exactly like Ares. I wish you two the best of luck with each other." Aphrodite vanished, Minako's shock fading as Rei crossed her arms over her chest.

"She didn't answer my question," the Martian observed, looking up as a husky laugh filled the small space. The tall blonde who had helped her during the fight entered the recovery room, his emerald eyes sparkling with mirth. She realized that his messy blonde hair was several shades lighter that it had appeared on the dusty Martian field, though it was still darker than Minako's.

"Do you often antagonize gods, or were these two a special treat?"

Rei narrowed her eyes at the Uranian who had technically helped her win the fight against her mother. "Who are you?"

"So fiery! You didn't bother to ask my name when you were taking my advice earlier."

"Well, I'd like to know now."

"I'm Kazemaru, child of the High Duke of Umbriel."

"Why are you here?"

Kazemaru shrugged, the sword on his hip shifting with the movement. "I was traveling and happened to be in the neighborhood for your fight. I heard that you are heading to Venus tomorrow morning; I happen to be going the same direction if you two beautiful women want some company."

Minako placed a finger over Rei's lips before the Martian could reply, knowing that nothing her soul mate was planning to say would be nice or considerate. "I think it would be lovely to have you travel with us."

"Minako," Rei growled, eyes narrowed at Kazemaru as the Uranian continued to watch them with an irritating bemused look on his face. Aphrodite's words about Minako attracting attention flashed through her mind, and she decided that she was not interested in this man getting anywhere close to her lover.

The blonde rolled her eyes, clearly understanding Rei's fears. "He is the one who told you to fight for me," she reassured the red-head in Venusian. "He knows of our bond and he wouldn't break it."

"I don't like him flirting with you," Rei growled, amethyst eyes flashing.

"Maybe I should flirt with you instead, Pyro?" Kazemaru's teasing voice caught their attention, his amusement washing over them with the Venusian words. Clearly he was more fluent in Minako's native language than her lover, certainly an indication of high breeding and either boredom or strict parents. Rei sensed an undercurrent of loneliness in Kazemaru's words that he could not hide while speaking Venusian, and all of her worries vanished. He just wanted to be friends, and he did call her Pyro, even as Aphrodite did.

"Fine, flirt as you will, but remember that, at the end of the day, Minako shares my bed and not yours." The Uranian laughed, nodding in agreement as the two princesses accepted him, glad to have found friends in the girls whom he had met only briefly at Serenity's presentation so long ago. Without Koshu's interference, perhaps they would be able to enjoy each others' company.

Asakaze had been on edge all day. Shinrai sipped his morning drink—a bitter tea made from the bark of some obscure Martian tree—and let his eyes wander through the daily reports as Asakaze paced across the dais. She had banished all of the nobles earlier in the day, unable to stand their presence, and even their young twin daughters had gone off to play away from the brooding blonde, leaving the rulers alone with a retinue of silent servants and attentive guards. Shinrai thought they deserved medals for so casually ignoring the queen's strange behavior when it was driving him to distraction.

Finally, the king reached his limit. "It is not ladylike to pace," he commented sharply, struggling to keep his tone civil. It wouldn't do to fight with his wife when she was so clearly on edge.

"It is not anything I can control," Asakaze growled, pink eyes sparkling with a spiritual pain she could neither identify nor dispel. "Something has changed, something is missing, but I don't know what it could be."

"You just miss Minako," the King replied absently, a mildly fascinating story about weather patterns over Sunrise Bay catching his attention for a moment. "She has never been gone for so long before."

"She has been gone longer than any princess in recorded history on her Search."

"Well, if she had found her soul mate, she would have returned immediately. Maybe that Ritual of hers indicated someone on Mars who left just before she got there?" Asakaze knew that her husband did not truly believe in soul mates, and he often referred to it as a silly superstition, though he would never say such a thing among his wife's people. He at least knew how to be diplomatic about the customs he didn't understand.

Asakaze stopped pacing long enough to glare at her oblivious husband, finally identifying the dark fear gnawing at her heart. She had not warned Minako about the Curse all senshi carried to meet their soul's mate in a woman's body time and time again. On that day when she had visited Mars so long ago, she had found her soul mate in the eldest princess, and she still ached as she remembered their parting. Rikuriko had found the son of the High Duke of Phobos to be an acceptable partner for the Venusian princess, and Asakaze had returned to Venus with Shinrai, but she had never been truly happy. She cared about him, and he made the pain in her heart more bearable, but it was only the handful of visits she shared with Rikuriko every year that kept her from going insane. If Minako found her soul mate on Mars and was unable to make the decision her mother had, then their beloved planet would be in dire straits. She hoped that her daughter had been strong enough to resist the call of her soul, but she feared that Minako's long absence from the Court pointed toward the opposite.

A blast of trumpets announced the return of the High Princess to her palace, and Asakaze looked up in relief as Minako stepped through the golden doors of the throne room. Her daughter had chosen a golden dress for the occasion, red hearts embroidered along the hem and bodice, the modest gown and minimal jewelry somehow strikingly beautiful on the young woman. Asakaze's face fell as a second woman entered the throne room, the crimson-haired beauty a darker version of Rikuriko with amethyst eyes that promised great power. The second princess, Rei, wore a red silk gown embroidered with golden flames and sparkling with hundreds of tiny rubies to match the chains of red gems in her long hair. She walked close to Minako, her stance a clear challenge, and Asakaze knew that her daughter had found her soul mate.

"Matching dresses, Minako and Rei? How lovely. You must have become good friends on Mars." She kept her tone light and spoke in Standard to keep her emotions from showing, but Minako knew what her mother had implied with her phrase.

Minako smiled at her mother as she turned to glance at her father still sitting on his throne. "Father, Mother and I have to talk about my search for a soul mate, and I do not think you will find it interesting. If you prefer, I can wait to tell you about the exciting things I saw on Mars at supper tonight."

Shinrai nodded gratefully and stepped down from his dais, pausing to hug his daughter and kiss her on the cheek. He would never have hinted that he wanted to leave, but he was glad that his daughter could sense his unease without him uttering a word. "You are always so considerate, Minako. I will leave you ladies to your discussion. Princess Rei of Mars, will you be joining us for the meal?"

"I would love to, Your Majesty. Recent events have led me here briefly, but I must leave for the Moon in a few days. I hope to enjoy your hospitality until then."

"For a visiting princess, anything," the king promised, his amber eyes warm. "Especially the princess of my own home planet. I will have quarters arranged for you."

When the three women were alone in the throne room, Asakaze whirled on her daughter. "How could you? I thought you would understand the delicacy of the situation when you went to Mars. Is she your soul mate?"

"She is," Minako replied, reaching out to take Rei's hand. The Martian stayed silent, knowing that her lover had to fight this battle alone, as she had fought alone against her mother on that dusty training field.

Asakaze looked at their joined hands and sighed, turning away from her child and pacing back to her throne. "I have no idea why Rikuriko let her daughter be so careless, but I thought you would remember your lessons, Minako. The Ancient Laws clearly state that a great catastrophe will befall the Silver Millennium if two senshi are allowed to be together, no matter if they are soul mates or not."

"It's a mistranslation, you know." Somehow, when the queen had walked away, another visitor had slipped into the throne room. Asakaze glared at the tall blonde man leaning against the throne room door, his emerald eyes vibrant even for a noble. His accent marked him as Uranian, despite his simple suit, and the heavily jeweled scabbard on his waist looked achingly familiar.

"Who are you? How did you get past my guards? How did you bring a weapon into my palace when they are strictly forbidden on Royal Grounds?" The queen noticed that the two princesses did not seem to mind the Uranian's presence, so he had probably arrived with them. Even if he had come with Minako, she did not appreciate uninvited guests.

He shrugged, an irritating brush-off that was often a character flaw of high-born Uranians. They tended toward superiority complexes. "I am Kazemaru, child of the High Duke of Umbriel, and your guards never noticed the wind brushing past them." He tilted his head to one side, trying to decide how Asakaze would react to his words. "The Ancient Texts are written in a language that has been lost to time, but they have been translated multiple times over the centuries. You are quoting from the translation most favored on the Inner Planets, but the one favored on my world is the earliest Plutonian Translation. It says: 'the galaxy will be consumed by Time and the Moon will fall to the Earth in a harvest of ruin when two planets combine'. The word used for 'planet' is the same as the root word we use for 'senshi' but with a connotation that denotes the use of the full power of the planets. Ignoring the nonsensical moon falling to the earth bit, the senshi have not had full access to their planets' powers in thousands of years, so you have little to fear from your daughter's relationship with the Princess of Mars."

Asakaze stopped short at the man's words, pink eyes wide. "The Mercurian Translation calls for the destruction 'when two senshi are together', using the together usually reserved for a married couple. I have never heard of the planet's combining translation." She had never been the most scholarly of princesses, but she had learned the Laws as required when she was a child.

"I studied the texts for years. After I made some . . . life choices my Father disapproved of, I had plenty of free time to learn a few of the ancient languages and translate the texts for myself." He waved his long fingers nonchalantly, as if learning a new language had been a simple affair, and Asakaze had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. "The Plutonian Translation seems to be the most accurate. You might as well let them continue to be together until they decide that it is the proper time to follow your path." The Duke crossed his arms over his chest, clearly having said all that he believed needed to be said.

Asakaze turned back to Rei, her eyes narrowed in irritation. No matter the literal translation of the Laws, every princess had accepted that she could never be with her soul mate except in secret after her lineage was secure. "I would think Rikuriko would have stopped you from doing this, especially since you two have clearly become lovers."

Rei shrugged and made an odd twisting motion with her right hand, grinning as the Mars henshin stick appeared in her grasp. She still wasn't used to that warm surge of power when she called for it. "She tried," the princess admitted with a hint of pride in her youthful tone, "but I Challenged her and won the right to make my own choices."

"No, that can't be," Asakaze whispered in shock. Rikuriko had lost her henshin stick to her daughter? But she had been so powerful . . . how much stronger must Rei be to have beaten her? How much stronger would she grow? Asakaze had never heard of a Princess Challenging for the right to stay with her soul mate, and no one as young as Rei had ever won the right to be Sailor Mars in a fair fight.

"I'm sure you will receive an official report by the end of the day," Kazemaru murmured from the door, his husky voice oddly familiar to the queen. "The fight was both fair and spectacular; you ought to watch it."

Asakaze dismissed the Uranian's soft words with a furious flick of her wrist, pink eyes glaring at her daughter. "Minako, I cannot let you go to the Moon with Rei. You have to distance yourself from her and let this teenage crush fade. I can never announce to the Court that your soul mate is a woman, any more than I could announce that you failed to find the person shown to you in your Ritual. If they ever found out what I did decades ago to protect this kingdom, there could be a revolution. Knowing our soul mate and always finding them is our birthright as the descendants of Aphrodite, and our people must always believe that their Queens uphold the sacred Ritual. Until you agree to follow in my footsteps and the footsteps of countless heartbroken queens before me, I cannot let you have the Venus henshin stick." Sighing, Minako held her own hand out, summoning the henshin stick that had answered to Asakaze for decades. "What? How did you get that?" That was why she had been feeling uneasy for the past day. She had lost her Sailor Venus powers without noticing.

"It came to me when I needed it to protect Rei. My soul mate was in danger, and Venus responded by sending me this. I'm sorry, Mother, but as Sailor Venus I am letting you know that I will be with Rei for as long as I want. We are going to the Moon to train, then I will decide how I want to live the rest of my life."

"What will I tell our people?"

The blonde shrugged, turning on one heel toward the door, the Martian princess and Uranian duke falling in behind her, declaring her their rightful leader with their actions. "Tell them that my soul mate must have left Mars before I arrived, but I have decided to perform my duties to Queen Serenity as Sailor Venus before resuming my search. Or tell them that Rei is my soul mate and I will be with her for as long as possible. Aphrodite gave us this gift, the ability to know our soul mate, so that we can decide what to do with the knowledge we gain from it. I have made my decision; now it is time for you to make yours."

As the trio left the Queen alone in her throne room, she sighed and covered her face with her hands. Minako had always been the perfect princess, but her love for the Martian was clouding her judgment. Perhaps after she spent some time training on the Moon, she would be ready to take a husband. Or, her insidious inner voice whispered, she might have become so close to Rei that she refuses to ever give her up.

Meneldur: A lot of the relationships between Se and her divine family will never be fully explained in this fic. Those are part of "A Child of Darkness and Light" and will be shown there, eventually. Ares has a passion for everything that Se has never been able to understand, but his lack of restraint has always fascinated her. Aphrodite is her friend for the same reason, her boundless love and unrestrained nature. I decided to have the fight viewed from the gods' perspectives more to amuse me than anything else, but that Xena scene was entirely intentional. I was worried about having Venus interfere in the fight, but since I needed to show the Venusian side of the soul mate business, it was necessary. She might as well transform first, as the Leader of the Inner Senshi. Se is an Avatar in the true sense of the word, that she is a god born in a mortal body, and I hope it was clear enough. Se's upcoming visit with Tranquility will reveal some more about the unrest the loss of his twin sister (and Se's lover before Queen Serenity) is causing the Silver Millennium.

petiyaka: If Serenity is old enough now to be having relations with Endymion, the youngest she could be is about fourteen. If Haruka was present for her birth and she was the oldest of the gathered daughters (not counting Hotaru), then she has to be older than eighteen (Minako age already given in this story). In actual fact, she's almost twenty-one.