Chapter 41: Silence Wall

April 13, 8983 – April 13, 8983

Makoto held her arms out as Hikari tightened the laces of the warrior's corset, surprised at how well the garment was holding her breasts. Jovians had something similar, but this was working a lot better, and she had not believed it was possible, especially after Rinae's struggle with the princess's armor the day before. She had been surprised when the other woman offered to help her dress for Saturn Presentation Day, but she had not refused the help. "I haven't seen a lot of Uranian women with anything close to my . . . assets," the Jovian pointed out. "How do you have a corset that works so well for me?"

Yuri snorted as she pointed at the lacing, Hikari nodding as she adjusted it again. "Please, my grandmother was twice your size and we had corsets for her." She herself never used them, except during presentations and her Ganymede Invitational contest, but she had brought a number in Jovian amazon sizes with her at Hikari's request. The last few War Queens had arrived overnight, waiting until morning to present themselves at the senshi suite, and Hikari had jumped at the chance to get Makoto into Uranian clothing while they waited for their queens to emerge. Haruka had not been quiet the night before, and Rei and Minako had fled their room early in the morning to escape the sounds of their renewed lovemaking before dawn. Clearly, someone was trying to make up for being ordered to silence on the night of Mars Day.

"It's really comfortable, actually; I think my armor may fit a bit better over this than the one I normally wear."

"Well, one hopes you do not need armor today," Yuri replied, "but it would certainly improve the lines of a nice suit. It's Saturn Day, and those of us who balance sajink and saliis tend toward the former on a day like today. On Neptune Day, it's the opposite."

"Oh, will we see Haruka in a dress later this week?"

"I'd rather see her in a muzzle," Rei grouched as she fastened her own vest. She actually had chosen to wear a dark purple suit without prompting, just feeling that it would be a good day to do so, and Minako had been ecstatic to see her girlfriend's darker, more masculine mood since she could wear a lovely pink dress in response.

"Don't give Michiru any ideas," Setsuna quipped, grinning as the other women groaned at her. Now they were going to have that mental image all day, and a quick burst of wind across their link informed them that Haruka was done and that she had caught that particular thought image. Michiru's amusement followed an instant later, the two finally emerging from their room a few minutes later. Michiru, as usual, was perfectly groomed, dressed in rich purple shades to honor Saturn, while Haruka emerged with her vest unfastened over her warrior's corset and her hair tangled and unkempt. The servants resisted the urge to pounce on her, though one of them quietly handed a brush and box of hair ornaments to Miki while two others brought out the morning caffeine drinks.

Haruka sighed as Miki attacked her hair, forcing her into a seat to finish buttoning her dark amethyst vest, tiny stones sparkling along the hem. "Good morning to you, too, Miki."

"You don't have to come out here looking like a wild animal when your wife has time to style her hair, do her makeup, and dress herself."

"And help Haruka with her corset," Michiru added as she sipped her drink. "It's hard to get her out of bed in the mornings."

Miki pulled Haruka's sleeve up enough to show the heart-shaped welts still faintly visible against the tanned skin, grinning as the blonde huffed and pulled her sleeve back down. "I don't think it's entirely her fault, Michiru."

"Hmm, perhaps not. Could you check her corset? It's trickier than it looks."

"You did it fine." Miki handed Haruka her drink, smiling as the queen threw it back in one gulp. "Haruka, we have a full Council now."

The blonde looked up, finally realizing that she had four more War Queens that morning than she had the night before. "Wow, I must still be really tired. Welcome to our chaos, Yuri, Keiko, Tomoko, and Ayumi. I hope you got all of Ado's notes about the presentation tomorrow."

"Yes, too many," Yuri groaned. "You'd think we hadn't ever done a Presentation Day before."

"It's been over twenty years," Ado replied; "and some of you weren't even War Queens that long ago. The notes were required. I hope you all practiced your dances."

"Please, I could do all of them in my sleep," Keiko replied, putting just enough fire in her tone to annoy her mother-in-law. "And faster than you."

Ado chuckled. "We shall see if you children can keep up with us seasoned warriors. Is my little granddaughter going to slow you down too much?"

Keiko rubbed her belly, shifting the tiny gemstones on her dark purple dress with the motion. "I've adjusted to the change in my center of gravity already, but I can tell you that she's going to be a great warrior in her day if her kicks are any indication."

"Considering how well your parents fought during the Pluto Uprising, I don't doubt it," Setsuna interjected. "It's been decades since we've had a good Uranus Presentation, so I don't expect any of you to disappoint me."

If there was anything Uranians responded to faster than challenges from their own people, it was being called out by a queen of another planet. All eleven of them instantly straightened, the sleep gone from Haruka's eyes as she faced off against the Plutonian queen across the small room, Setsuna breaking first and offering a quick grin to her fellow Outer. Haruka rolled her eyes and pushed herself to her feet, grabbing her cup and heading for the kitchen area to pour herself a refill. "It'll be enough to impress even the gods, High Duke of Umbriel."

Setsuna snorted at the name, shaking her head as all of the War Queens offered her a quick bow before returning to their preparations for the day. "It would be all of you Uranians who would remember what I was up to thousands of years ago when the other outer planets, even my own, have conveniently forgotten."

"You fathered the first queen and pulled our goddess out of her self-imposed exile on Miranda, returning her to the Pantheon so she could teach us sa'usikha. Of course we remember you." Hiroko refilled Setsuna's tea and offered a quick bow to her distant ancestor before returning to the task of getting the senshi prepared for the day.

Ami brought a dark purple and green suit out of their bedroom for Makoto, helping Hikari dress her girlfriend to test the fit of the warrior corset. Rei and Sanae helped the Jovian style her hair, using a series of tiny silver combs to hold back the green strands. There were certainly knives hidden in them, something that the Jovian would appreciate even though they wouldn't be needed on a day like this. Keiko and Hiroko tied strands of amethysts in Rei's hair, using pink quartz for Minako's to match their outfits for the day. Ami didn't want anything too obvious, but she did let Sayuri put a few braids in her hair with tiny amethysts tied to the ends. She had done the same to her own braids, having explained to the Mercurian princess what each one meant to her a warrior-sage of Umbriel associated with the Silent Wind Temple. Uranians generally would not discuss something like that with an outsider, but the War Queens and senshi no longer saw much distinction between themselves.

When Serenity and Endymion arrived, the War Queens swarmed them, too. The prince was wearing a dark purple suit in a style currently in vogue on Saturn; with his dark hair he would blend in pretty well with the people of that planet, though Hiroko offered him a selection of small knives he could hide on his person for emergencies. Serenity had chosen a light purple gown, one that had been her mother's in her youth, though it had to be altered somewhat as the mother was taller than the daughter. She had exchanged her pearl jewelry and hair clips for amethysts, the favorite stone of Saturn, though Keiko was quick to tie chains of amethysts around the girl's buns so they could hang in her long hair. Yuri offered her a necklace and bracelet that matched, the War Queens ecstatic for the opportunity to help dress the young Moon Princess. Without a queen, they had been quite absent from the moon for decades, and most of them had never met the girl until this Presentation event. Serenity, for her part, was enjoying the attention from the women.

Once the War Queens were convinced that the princess was ready, they gathered around the group and led them out of the palace, not bothering to spare a glance for the guards waiting outside the suite. After Sanae told them off the day before, they were not willing to risk the wrath of even more Uranian women. The group headed out toward the courtyard, Keiko and Setsuna naturally taking the lead as the two with the most Saturnian experience.

Haruka, I have a question for you. The blonde looked up at the tight mental link, the Venusian princess by her side still staring straight ahead. So, Minako wanted to keep this private.

What is your question?

You don't have to answer if you don't want, she began delicately, but this is not an uncommon thing to ask among my people.

Ah, then it's about sex.

Minako managed to control her blush at the husky tone with a great deal of effort. No matter what Haruka said in that register, it sounded like in invitation to her bed; Haruka was always careful not to use that specific tone out loud around Rei, but her mental voice was a different matter. Ok, yes. Sort of. Look, I have an idea what Michiru did . . . the other night. We all can guess, and I'd like to leave it at a guess if you and your wife's damn talisman do not mind. She could sense Haruka's response to that, a confusing mix of emotions that she quickly blocked off. Like I said, I don't want to know more. However, I know Uranians and I even trained with a few Uranian lovers when I was learning about pleasing men and women in school. Haruka's mental chuckle answered that; it was still a strange concept to her, learning about sex clinically and methodically the way Venusians did it; she had just learned via a steady stream of female lovers in her suite. She quashed that thought before it reached Michiru; she didn't want to get in any more trouble with the smaller woman.

And what do you know about us?

You don't mind pain. As a matter of fact, most of you get off on it. You certainly do, if what we saw after your honeymoon night was any indication of your preferences.

True.

Then what was the punishment if it wasn't that?

I'm surprised you have to ask. It was your chain she used after all.

Minako's mind flashed her an image of Rei chained to the huge baythorne tree at the edge of Sunrise Bay, the Martian straining against the unforgiving magical links, desperate to reach her lover. She wouldn't let you touch her?

A terrible punishment.

Minako was silent for a moment, then the hint of a chuckle crossed the link. I guess I can forgive you for your noise last night and this morning, then.

She wore me out, making me make it up to her, Haruka replied wryly. I'll try to keep it down in the future, Light.

It might be better to just ask the queen to put in some extra soundproofing. Whatever she has now is no match for any of the senshi.

The senshi have been hiding their relationships for three thousand years; whoever built this wing of the palace could never have predicted us.

The group reached the courtyard, Keiko confidently pointing the group toward a group of booths selling food near the gate. She spotted her father, a tall man with silvering dark purple hair the same shade as hers, standing with Queen Yumemi near one of the stalls, squealing in a very un-War Queen way and dashing over to greet him. The tall man, easily a match in height for most Uranians, grinned as he embraced his daughter, the queen chuckling at the greeting.

"Kenzou, you are the only one I have ever seen reduce a War Queen to squealing."

The old man nodded and bowed toward the cluster of royals and War Queens following in Keiko's wake, releasing his daughter so he could offer Haruka a proper bow. "Good morning, Majesty. Welcome to Saturn Day."

"Your welcome is appreciated," Haruka replied somewhat formally. "How is your assignment going, then?"

"I'm always happy to protect my home world, even though I get on Yumemi's nerves."

"He's become too Uranian," the queen groused, accepting a pastry from the merchant. "Yui was an interesting influence on him, to be sure."

"Yui was a great War Queen, and sorely missed, but I would say he was a good influence on her," Ado replied. Yui had been the War Queen during the Pluto Uprising, her daughter just an infant at the time, and Kenzou had fought bravely under her command. She had been terribly injured near the end of the war, holding the line against the insurgents when her column was broken until Tomoko could bring in reinforcements. Yui held her seat until her daughter earned her Kazemaru title and then retired, finally succumbing to her old wounds not a year later. Kenzou had returned to Saturn after the loss of his wife, serving as a Duke in Yumemi's court, though he still deferred to the Uranian throne first in all things, as was appropriate for the honored husband of a deceased War Queen. "We wish she had lived longer to enjoy her retirement, but some of her wounds from the Uprising just never healed."

Minako touched Hikari's arm, catching her attention as the other queens greeted Kenzou. "Is it normal for War Queens to retire? Mari was pretty old when she died, from what we're told, so if someone was going to retire would it not be her?"

"No, usually they do not, unless it is a time of war and they cannot fight anymore," Hikari answered. "My predecessor died during the beginning of the Pluto Uprising, and she was pretty young without any daughters. Mari was old with no living daughters, both had died during the Uprising, so if she had retired there would have been a succession battle like the one I fought in three decades ago and the one Miki eventually won earlier this year. She was worried about having a battle like that with no sitting queen, and the position is for life so we were happy to have her wisdom with us for the last two decades. However, if a War Queen has an eligible daughter with the appropriate titles, she can step down at any time in favor of her. Yui led her troops bravely during the Uprising, but she took wounds that even the best medics could never heal. As soon as Keiko was old enough and earned the required titles, Yui passed on her mantle with Kazeko's blessing. If, for some reason, Yui had died before Keiko had enough titles, we would have held the seat open to allow her to complete her warrior challenges, as long as it was clear that she was working on them. Yumemi never met Keiko until recently, but she did put half of her force under Yui's command during the siege, trusting her more than outsiders usually trust our War Queens. She and Keiko have become good friends since Haruka deployed her fleets to Saturn; despite what Yumemi says about Kenzou, she likes his daughter."

Yumemi gestured for the others to join her at the booth, introducing the merchant as the man in charge of the pastry chefs at the palace. Sweet breads were a staple of the Saturnian diet, and this man made sure that the royals were well-supplied at all times. Unlike the breakfasts offered by the inner worlds, Saturnian pastries were flaky and light, impregnated with fruits, nuts, and honey, meant to be eaten with their famous breakfast teas. "It's been a long time since any high ranked Uranians were seen at Saturn Day," she commented, pointing at a sweeter tea that the Venusian princess might like. "With all of the gods popping in and the absolutely incredible performances, this is shaping up to be the most magnificent Presentation Festival ever."

Setsuna could hear the note of melancholy in Yumemi's voice, and she reached out to place a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. "The gods do not forget Saturn just because your patron is dead. They do regret that he bonded himself to your world."

"I just wish that we could have a patron god so that our senshi could be . . . normal like the rest of you. I know that power of Sailor Saturn is sometimes necessary, but it would be nice for my line to not have to live in fear of what we could become, or what our daughters could become."

"We don't intend to let Sailor Saturn rise," Setsuna replied. "We are doing everything in our power to stop it."

"I know, and I thank you for it. I just wish I could help."

"You did help," Haruka replied, "by warning us ahead of time so we can take steps to prevent the darkness that Hotaru could be called to destroy. When Sailor Saturn rose three thousand years ago, she was able to help Sailor Galaxia trap Chaos and preserve the Silver Millennium for this long. If your daughter rises, if she has to destroy the darkness that is coming, it will be because we failed and there is no other option. We don't blame her or you."

Yumemi smiled and reached for Haruka's hand, squeezing it gratefully. "You're turning into quite the queen, Haruka. I'm glad that you are the one leading the Outer Senshi with this danger coming for all of us." A servant appeared by her side, tapping her arm and pointing at a data pad in his hand. "Well, it looks like it's time for me to get to the stage and get everything ready. Please, everyone, enjoy the festival." Kenzou bowed to Haruka and gave Keiko a parting hug before turning to follow Yumemi, having taken part in the Saturn Day Festival for most of his life, even when he was married to a War Queen.

Keiko pulled the group up to the display cases so they could all purchase their own breakfasts now that they had sampled the pastries and teas to pick the ones they liked. Since none of the senshi were in the Presentation today, they felt less rushed than usual, happily choosing their food and claiming a few nearby tables to eat peacefully.

Makoto broke the silence first. "So, I've studied the Pluto Uprising, of course, as part of my normal military education, but every time we speak to someone who was there, I learn something new. Why were none of these details in the history, like which War Queen held which position, which ones died or were severely injured, which one Yumemi turned over half her force to at the tail end of the fighting, or any of the aftermath of the war?"

"The aftermath is rarely what the historians focus on," Ami pointed out. "It takes a lot of digging through first-person accounts to learn much about the Jupiter Wars of Unification, the Martian Tribal Unrest which lasted three years and took the might of the senshi to quell, or even the Uranian Civil War that Kiurani's ascension to the throne finally brought to an end. I have a Scholarship in Ancient History and even I don't know as much as I'd like."

Sayuri, who, due in part to her Mercurian ancestry, had studied the wars that Uranians were involved in quite a bit more than her colleagues, nodded in agreement. "The Pluto Uprising is the most recent war in our system, so I learned quite a lot about tactics and battle strategies while studying it, but my own mother is the one who told me that Yui had been injured so badly. She told me that Hikari had won her seat during the early years of the war and how that had affected the troop deployments for the first siege. The history books will tell how Kazeko held her own after her line collapsed, but it is a bit vague on how she processed that incident after the war. It says that Tomoko, a relatively young War Queen at the time, brought the combined forces of her troops and the Neptunian Army to support Yui's position near the end of the war, but it won't go into detail about the fight she had with Shousha to take command of the extra troops."

"Really? Tomoko, you quarreled with my mother?"

The Eighth War Queen shrugged as she sipped her tea. "Your mother is no tactician, Michiru, as I am sure you know. She has no heart for war, a softness that you did not seem to inherit. It's not a criticism of her, of course; those of us who have strong hearts and thrive on war will protect those who do not, but as Queen and Senshi of Neptune, she felt honor-bound to join the fighting. Yumemi and Asakaze did, as well, but they aligned themselves with certain War Queens for tactical decisions and support. Amami did not need much support; even though her own troops were not as well-trained as some of the others, she used them strategically to support everyone else's position and her decisions won us quite a few battles. So, with Kazeko's position weak but stable, I could see that Yui's line would break without reinforcement and I asked Shousha to join us for the assault. She refused, determined that Kazeko needed her more. With Mari's backing, I was able to convince her that our queen's position would hold long enough for us to push the rebels back from Yui's flank, and that's the strategy that helped win at the end."

"Her weakness was not her soft heart," Michiru argued; "it was that she placed the needs of her heart ahead of the needs of the Silver Millennium. No matter what, protecting the kingdom must always come first. Even if we sacrifice those we love." She looked over at Haruka with that last statement, smiling at the pride she saw in her wife's eyes.

"See, Michi, that's how we know you have a warrior's heart." Haruka waved her arm at the other senshi seated at the group of tables, seeing the same resolve in every face. "It may be necessary to sacrifice those we love for the sake of the Silver Millennium, but we would all make that choice if it came up."

Makoto reached for Ami's hand and squeezed it briefly, her smile somehow fierce and sad at the same time. "If it came to that, I would make the sacrifice, but I would follow her after." The others nodded in agreement, Serenity reaching out to touch the senshi she could reach.

"I don't intend for any of you to die," she replied, "but I am glad that my kingdom is protected by such strong warriors."

Rei cleared her throat and shook her head at the first hint of tears, leaning forward to catch Sayuri's attention. "Before this gets too sappy, can you tell us how you learned all of these details of the war and the aftermath that were never printed in books?"

"The warrior-sages of Umbriel delight in hidden knowledge, and we little care how we have to come about it as long as we can learn. My duty was to interview the War Queens and I managed to speak to most of the ones who had been there."

"I want you to understand that the girl was all of ten when she came into my home and started asking me the most detailed questions about my participation in the Uprising, my relationship with Queen Kazeko, and the fight for the Fourth seat," Hikari chuckled. "She was a skinny thing with barely any meat on her bones, but she wore the crest of the Silent Wind Temple's sage branch on Umbriel so I answered every one. I even told her a few things she didn't think to ask. The warrior-sages will publish what they learn if they feel that it is relevant enough to most of the populace, but everything they release is in Secret Umbrien, a language that many of our own people cannot read. We do not even teach it to outsiders. It was pretty good, though, and I learned a few things about Yuri's time after the war that I had not heard from her directly."

"There are similar books from other wars," Yuri pointed out, choosing to ignore Hikari's last comment. The senshi perked up at that; what had the War Queen been up to after the war that was both a secret and interesting enough for the sages to record it? "We have one or two from the Jupiter Wars of Unification, at least one from the Martian Tribal Unrest, and some older ones. However, I have never seen a book from before or after the war on Antares. I think Nao did not want one published, and the War Queens who returned would not speak of it."

"She didn't," Haruka answered confidently, subtly reminding her people that she carried the soul of their glorious former queen. "It was a tough war for all of them, and the loss of her son was a pain that would never be able to heal. Our people called her Nao the Conqueror, but in the end she felt like she failed everyone she loved and she didn't want it to be glorified in song or verse."

"She didn't fail, Haruka," Ado answered firmly. "I know that you saw more of what happened than any history book will tell us, but what I know is that she was a great warrior, she and her troops suffered terrible losses, but she managed to lead them to a bloody victory and bring most of them home."

"One of the planets in the Antares system was destroyed by Sailor Saturn," Haruka argued. "Most of the active Star Senshi were lost in the fighting, and it was only pure luck that kept all of our Planet Senshi alive to return home just to take their own lives days later. We've been weak, unable to access our full senshi powers sense then, and Nao blamed herself for that. No matter what happens with this coming darkness, even if we win, I will always have this memory inside my heart of the time I didn't."

Setsuna, who was seated next to Haruka, surged forward and wrapped her long arms around the blonde, startling not only the senshi but everyone else around the table. The dark queen was known to be aloof, impartial, and unfeeling, but here she was holding a Uranian on the verge of tears, her own eyes suspiciously wet. Slowly, Haruka leaned into the embrace, having not expected it or how much she needed support, her arms wrapping around Setsuna's waist as Michiru placed a supportive hand on her back. "You did not fail, Nao," Setsuna whispered as soon as she felt the blonde return her hug. "You did what had to be done, and your own god understood that! We would never have won that war without you and without your son's brave sacrifice; he died to save you and the entire system, so don't you dare devalue that final act of love. His sacrifice and yours and the other senshi's brought us three thousand years of relative peace, three thousand years where the Silver Millennium was not threatened by outside forces, so how can you say that you failed?"

Haruka slowly relaxed in Setsuna's arms, the others silently watching. Whatever had happened at the end of the Antares Uprising, Setsuna might be the only one who could really speak to the part of Haruka that was still Nao, that still blamed herself for how everything had ended. "Thank you, Setsuna. I never thought of it like that. Well, she didn't. There are moments when it's hard to separate her memories and my own, even though I had such a brief vision of them."

"Yeah, I can understand that," the Plutonian replied wryly, leaning back in her seat and releasing Haruka. "Part of your people's Kaniihk'cha ritual involves coming to terms with your previous life. I think you may still have some of that to go. Nao was a great leader who suffered a terrible loss at the very end. Don't let that one memory sully everything else she accomplished."

Haruka bowed her head in acknowledgement of Setsuna's words, looking up to find her War Queens whispering among themselves. Yuri made a sharp gesture with her hand and the others silenced, accepting her wisdom as one of the older War Queens, even if her rank was in the middle. "You know, I had some issues with my Kaniihk'cha, as well, and it took me years and the support of my fellow War Queens to work through it. My last life was full of tragedy and heartbreak, so I vowed to make this one better, to be a fine warrior and have a good family so that I could make up for what I lost last time. You should focus on that; maybe in your previous life you lost a son and suffered greatly during the last war when Star Senshi walked among us, but you have a new life now, you have found your soulmate early, you are our honored queen, and you have the chance to save us from a great darkness and build a new family, with daughters and sons who will inherit your magnificence. Surely that is just compensation for some of the pain and suffering you remember from when you were Nao?"

"Perhaps. I wouldn't mind if you shared any techniques you used to come to terms with your past, Yuri; all of us performed the Kaniihk'cha and none of us are happy with how everything ended. All of us could use a little more guidance."

"I will help you as much as I can, Haruka, and I can tell you that the priestesses of the Silent Night Temple have a few rituals that assist in focusing your mind after the Kaniihk'cha. I will have some of them chosen to assist you, as well."

Setsuna leaned forward and rested her arms on the table, a strange memory teasing the edge of her consciousness at Yuri's words. "Ami, did you bring a copy of that book of prophecies you found on Earth in a vault that I was sure was sealed against intruders?"

Ami nodded slowly, not understanding why Setsuna wanted it but willing to assist. She reached for a small data pad in her skirt pocket, pulling up her list of files and opened the scan of the decrypted version of the book, passing it across the table. "Is there something in specific you are looking for? A lot of them don't make much sense."

"Some of them didn't make sense when I saw them in the Time Streams," Setsuna replied casually, scrolling through the book floating over the table. "However, recent events have shed light on a few, and something Yuri said is triggering a memory. I buried all thought of these for so long that even I cannot recall certain obscure ones. Ah, yes, here it is." She cleared her throat and quickly translated the Ancient Lunarian into Sol Standard, performing the same mental calculations Ami had used on the Prophecy of Rebirth to keep a decent rhyme and meter.

Planets race across the sky

Chaos swirls near a red eye

Too slow and silence will break

Too quick and chaos will wake

Scythe and flower lock away

What brought pain that final day

Break the stones and save them all

Power brings the kingdom's fall

Haruka blinked at Setsuna's words, shock preventing her from offering any other reaction. The other senshi also stared silently at the dark queen, the War Queens not entirely sure what was going on. Ami recovered first, starting at the words floating in the air above her data pad. "I read that one the first day, but I didn't understand it then. That's the Prophecy of the Shattered Star. Honestly, I never looked at it again after we saw what happened during the Antares Uprising, but that's what it's talking about, isn't it? The planet part means the senshi who went to the red eye, Antares, and fought Chaos."

"The scythe is Saturn, surely, and probably the silence, too, but what is the flower?"

"Hanami," Michiru answered, having reached that part of her memories from the day Haruka found her crystal faster than her wife had. "Her name means 'flower gazing' in the Ancient Lunarian dialect spoken when she was born thousands of years ago. She took Chaos into her own body at the end and presumably still contains it as Sailor Galaxia. The part about breaking the stones refers to what our past selves did. We did, in essence, break them when the keystones locked away the full power of the planet crystals."

"That last line is concerning," Minako pointed out. "It says that power brings the kingdom's fall in the couplet about breaking the stones. Does that mean it would have brought it about three thousand years ago if the senshi did not lock the stones, or does it mean that whenever they are unlocked the kingdom will fall no matter what?"

"I don't know," Setsuna admitted. "I understood very few of my prophecies back then, and I can't really say that I know more about them now. I only thought of it because of the line about silence when Yuri mentioned the Silent Night Temple."

"I'm sure it meant in the past that not locking the stones would have ended the kingdom, which I'm guessing was the Antarean one," Serenity replied. "We have other prophecies about what can happen here, so this is probably just confirmation that the senshi made the correct choice three thousand years ago and saved Antares."

Rei reached across the table and slid the data pad back to Ami, the Mercurian bookmarking that page before turning it off and returning it to her pocket. "If you remember any more disturbing prophecies, Setsuna, perhaps we can wait until after the Festival to read them? We're still trying to decipher the Prophecy of the Fall and your Time Knot; there's only so much we can take."

"Fair point; I will refrain from remembering any other prophecies for the next few days. Many of them were jumbled and chaotic, but I think I agree with Serenity on this one. I think that prophecy is about the Antarean War only and has no bearing on the future. It just confirms that the decision made at the end to seal the stones was inevitable, and it seems that it was just as inevitable that you unlock your stones now in preparation for the coming darkness."

"I hope you're right."

"Saturn's main industry is shipbuilding and repairs; most of their decently sized moons have ship yards in orbit," Keiko explained, leading the large group to a series of booths selling trinkets, small weapons, starship parts, and models of the most popular warships in the system. After the revelation of a new prophecy, the group had managed to finish their breakfast peacefully and head out to start shopping. The merchants were watching them from across the courtyard, all of them eager to sell to the group of senshi, War Queens, and the Moon Princess with her dark-haired partner. The Saturnians were rightly curious about the tall man, most of them wondering if he was some noble from their own world they had never seen before. He could be some third or fourth son of a duke, unlikely to inherit much but clearly having caught the eye of arguably the most eligible young woman in the entire system. "These models are sold for collectors; they are too precise and delicate for children, though there are many toys that represent the ships we build and maintain for the rest of the system."

"Well, if it isn't old Kenzou's daughter," the old man in the booth greeted. "War Queen Keiko, do you remember when your father brought you to my shop decades ago, when it was in the Old City? You liked the Uranian Klihjhau-class warships the best, and you had me paint one with the symbol of the Seventh War Queen, the seat you would one day hold."

Keiko chuckled as she offered a warrior's greeting to the old man, his hair white from age but his purple eyes as bright as ever. "I do remember you, Akihito. I still have that model, though I have the ships for real now."

"Yes, yes, a full War Queen and recently married to First Endou Ado's son Kenji. You've come quite a way from the skinny little girl. And you have remembered to visit my shop this year!"

"Of course; you make the finest models I have ever seen. I've brought all of the War Queens and senshi with me this time, as well as High Princess Serenity and her Prince Endymion."

The man looked around and clapped his hands with glee, calling toward the back of his shop for his children to bring out his best new models. "Queen Haruka, we have made something special for you this year."

"For me? You cannot possibly have known that I was coming."

"I heard that you attended a meeting on Titan and I watched your coronation live on a special feed only provided to families of the high nobles. Being good friends with old Kenzou gets me a few perks, like the special War Queen code for Uranian broadcasts, and I was moved by what I saw that day. I knew that you had to choose a time to come out the rest of the kingdom, and this is the perfect opportunity. The ship is finished; would you like to see it?"

"Y-yes, of course." Michiru laughed into her hand at Haruka's flustered tone; she was always amused when her wife was caught off-guard. The merchant waved at his children, carefully taking a large model from one of them and placing it on the counter in front of the queen. It was a perfect replica of her flagship, delicately painted in a chrome dark navy paint with lighter blue and gold accents, the symbol of Uranus on the bow engraved in gold leaf. The chrome almost glowed in the sunlight, tiny gems in various colors along the hull for the windows and lights inside shining through them to cast a rainbow of colors on the countertop. This was the largest ship in the Uranian fleet, only ever used for the Queen herself, and so had been in space dock for twenty-one years. Haruka had only seen it once, but she knew for sure that this model was perfect, even down to the oversized engines that had been installed by Chisaki to help the ship get to the inner worlds faster, not that it had been slow before. She knew now that the former queen's purpose was to see her lover, the senshi of Mercury at the time, but no one outside of the senshi group would be able to guess why.

"This is amazing," Haruka murmured, watching as it floated above the table and moved closer to her. The ship floated in front of her, seemingly examining the Uranian as she examined it. "You truly made this for me?"

"Your flagship, Majesty; I could hardly have made it for anyone else. I intended it to be a gift, a late gift for your coronation."

"I will accept your gift, but the craftmanship is too fine to not pay for it, for your expertise and years of experience creating such works of art. What is the price, Akihito?"

"No price."

Haruka looked over at Keiko and gestured toward the ship hovering above the counter. "Keiko, do you know the value of this piece?"

"Yes, I can give you a reasonable approximation."

"Then make a donation to Akihito shop or his favorite charity for the value of this piece from my personal accounts. And have this gift logged with the duchess in charge of such things."

"Of course."

Akihito raised his hands to protest, but a sharp glance from Keiko silenced his words. If the queen wanted to pay for it, she would be allowed to. He was the finest model artist on his world, so he had already been willing to write off the materials cost and time it took to build the model, but if the Uranian Queen wanted to make a donation to a Saturnian charity, he could hardly say no. Bowing his head, he brought out his next piece and placed it in front of Keiko. "This is the same as the one you got as a child, but with the newest technology and design elements, and I used your own personal crest in addition to the Seventh symbol. Of course, I did not know what crest you would eventually use when I created the first one."

Keiko examined the beautiful little ship and peppered Akihito with questions while Haruka showed her model to Michiru, pointing at the tiny window that marked the royal suite. "You know, I should have the ship summoned here so we can ride back to Uranus in style."

"Isn't it amazing how they used the gems here? Was your ship originally built on Saturn?"

Haruka nodded. "Yes, many generations ago, and some of the upgrades and refits have been done in the Rhea shipyards. Most of the royal flagships were made there." She got a faraway look in her eyes as she stepped back from the booth, her thoughts consumed by a hurricane of uncertainty. Michiru gestured toward Ado, who asked Keiko to have Haruka's present boxed up and sent to the palace and to finish her own purchase quickly. Michiru took one of Haruka's arms and Setsuna the other, carefully moving her toward a nearby set of benches as she stared into space. Most of the War Queens and senshi moved to the next booth, one that showed holos of the shipbuilding process, taking Serenity and Endymion with them. Ado and Hikari sat on a bench across from Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna, waiting patiently for the Uranian to work through whatever revelation she had reached.

"They all have their own version of it."

"Of what, my heart?"

"Every planet has its own version of sa'usikha. Mercurian study music, create holo-projectors that can be used for art or war, and are the best strategists in the system. Venusians take pride in their beauty and art, but Minako is the one who taught Michiru how to desire victory in battle above all else, even the instinct for self-preservation, and the Elite Swords are an effective force when called to war. Lunarians lead us in religious art and worship, but they also unite everyone in times of war and help us overcome our differences to keep the peace. Martians are warriors who learned how to make fireworks, not only the ones they shoot in the air but by the ones created by hitting two arrows together in mid-air. Jovians make the best armor in the system, but not a single set is plain or ugly. And Saturn makes warships with diamonds. I thought this was a purely Uranian concept."

Setsuna chuckled, a sound echoed by the two War Queens. "It took you a whole week of this festival to learn that? Haruka, we are all more alike than you seem to believe. You each have your own strengths and weaknesses, but you complement each other and all of the planets are better together. There was a time when they tried to live in isolation, and I solved that by having the gods breed powerful queens to truly unite the separate planets at last into one kingdom under the leadership of the Moon. You knew it, that day on the Moon, when you were a small child."

"I forgot, living along in my palace. I'm truly glad we came to Presentation Day this year."

"Are you done with your crisis, Haruka? I was really hoping to see the collectibles made by the other merchants. I hear that one of them has figurines of all of the senshi."

"All of which senshi, Hikari? Us? Our mothers? Or some of the more ancient ones?"

"Well we won't know until you get up and get moving, will we?"

Haruka chuckled and pushed herself to her feet, offering an arm each to Michiru and Setsuna to help them up. Ado and Hikari led the trio over to the larger group, delighted to see that they had moved on from the ship holos to one of the booths that did, indeed, sell figurines of senshi and other collectibles. Hikari moved to the front of the group to examine the Sailor Uranus figurine, amazed to discover that it wasn't one specific person, but it represented every carrier of that specific henshin stick.

"You can change the figure in two ways," the shopkeeper explained as she pushed the figure closer to Hikari, clearly sensing a chance for a sale. "If you touch the base and move your finger either left or right, you will scroll through all of the options. You can also just hold your finger on top of the base and ask for a specific one."

Hikari looked over her shoulder briefly at Haruka and touched the base of the figurine. "Show me Nao." The senshi figurine's blonde hair darkened and grew longer, a braid flowing around the senshi with feathery bangs framing her face. Nao had always worn her hair in a long braid in senshi form, rarely using another style outside of her own palace at all. When the observers leaned in for a closer look, it was also clear that the figurine had a pale scar running across her face from the left eye to the right cheek, the scar that Nao had earned though her bravery in battles before the Antares Uprising. "Wow, that looks just like the historical records."

Michiru leaned forward and examined the figure, frowning just slightly. "The Space Sword is in the wrong place here. Nao tended to cast her attacks with her left hand instead of her right, so she carried her sword on the left to draw it more easily with the other hand. Haruka does the opposite, as did most carriers of this talisman."

Setsuna's eyes widened as she realized the other senshi was correct. She hadn't even noticed that tiny detail, happier to focus on her dead friend's face and hair, but the sword was in the wrong place. "Not bad; I didn't remember that."

"The memory is more recent for us," Michiru replied, Haruka turning to the side and testing her own sword position, comparing it to what she remembered from linking with Nao. "There were plenty of battles to relive during the Kaniikh'cha ritual."

"I think I could do it both ways," Haruka commented, flexing her fingers as she mentally tested using her non-dominant hand for her primary attack. "I could do both at once that way."

The shopkeeper pulled the figurine back to her side of the counter, pulling up a pad and tapping a few commands into it. The Space Sword moved to the other hip and then the image scrolled through three thousand more years of senshi before settling on Haruka herself, left hand raised to the sky for the World Shaking attack, Space Sword in her right hand. "There we go. Thank you for the first-person account, Majesty. Many of these figurines were made by people who met the great senshi, but Queen Nao was notoriously difficult to speak to. She always said—"

"She said 'a great warrior does not brag," Haruka interjected, "and a weak one never stops.' A lot happened at the end of her life; it's not surprising that a few minor details were forgotten."

"Ah, but this does look exactly like you," Hikari pointed out. "I want to put one in the main hall of the Miranda Palace so visitors can see our history." She touched the front of the base and scrolled it back one image, Kazeko staring back at her from the tiny eyes. The figurines were a set height, only the face, hair, and accessories changing, but she thought it caught her cousin's elegant height and slender form. She had not been an imposing warrior, but she had been strong enough to lead her people on Pluto, and no War Queen had ever questioned her right to hold that position. "Here's your mother."

"So it is. I think it would be a good idea to have one on display."

"Oh, then please allow me to make a custom one for you; the standard models are made without any gemstone or precious metals, but I do create more beautiful custom ones. Also, the custom one has a second setting to show each queen in her coronation dress and crown if an image existed of that day. Otherwise, I use a different public image from a formal event around that same time. If you were to provide me a holo-image of Queen Haruka from that day, Fourth Hikari, it would be my honor to add that to your custom order."

"Hmm, yes I think I can deliver that. Do you make figurines of all of the senshi?"

The shopkeeper smiled as she tapped notes into her data pad for the custom order. "Yes, and I even made a figurine of the few Sailor Saturns that have risen and saved us from Chaos through their sacrifice, with all of the queens in their coronation attire on the second setting. Queen Shousha ordered a custom version of Sailor Neptune for her own palace, but I do not have a holo-image of Queen Michiru at her coronation, as she has not been crowned on Neptune yet. I was going to use the one from her birthday party, but the one from her Uranian coronation would fit better, I believe."

"Queen Shousha ordered a figurine?"

"Yes, all of the other queens did." The shopkeeper looked expectantly at Setsuna, the dark queen laughing at the implied request.

"Well, I think it would be appropriate if I order one, as well. I think the senshi of my lineage may be a little more identical than some of the others, but it could be amusing to have something like that in my entrance hall."

"I am happy to provide both of the requested figurines. They will be delivered by the last day of the Festival; should I send yours to the palace?"

"Yes, that's where we are staying." Hikari and Setsuna hammered out all of the details with the shopkeeper, the rest of the group moving away slightly so other customers could approach the counters. Haruka looked around at the other patrons, amused at how much space they gave the group of senshi and War Queens, freezing as she spotted King Otou with his graying, Plutonian-black hair and dark amethyst eyes. Holding onto his hand, a tiny figure beside him, was the little princess who might be called as Sailor Saturn, Hotaru, who couldn't be more than twelve years old. She was slender, her dark purple hair cut short, wearing her finest lavender and purple dress for Saturn Day. She was too young to participate in the presentation itself, but she had been in the audience every other day, and she was clearly excited to see so many wonderful vendors from her own world. She tugged on her father's hand, pointing at the figurine vendor, and the tall king nodded as he headed over to the booth.

He paused when he spotted the senshi group, bowing his head in greeting. Haruka bowed her head back, stepping forward to meet them. She crouched down so she could look into the young princess's eyes, trying to see the senshi of ruin and rebirth in those amethyst orbs. All she saw was a young girl, clearly excited to be at this festival. "I know you, you're Queen Haruka of Uranus, right? I saw your coronation!"

"Yes, little princess, I am Haruka. I'm also Sailor Uranus, the leader of the Outer Senshi."

"Yeah, that's pretty cool. My planet doesn't have a senshi except when something's going to go wrong, and then everyone is afraid of her."

"Are you afraid of Sailor Saturn?"

Hotaru shook her head. "I'm not afraid because I know what she is for. She has to save us when a normal senshi is not strong enough and a great sacrifice is needed. The only other senshi so powerful is Sailor Moon, and we haven't had one of those in thousands of years."

"That's true. Sailor Saturn has been called a number of times in the past."

"Yes, I learned about that from my tutors. Don't you think she wishes she could be a normal senshi and fight by your side? I wonder what powers she has other than the glaive."

Haruka's eyes widened as she remembered the image Setsuna had shown them of the future, Sailor Saturn in an evolved form standing next to the other senshi. "Maybe one day she will be able to, little princess." She reached out to cup the girl's face in her hand, offering whatever comfort she could. This girl could still rise as Sailor Saturn any day now if they failed to stop the coming darkness.

Hotaru reached back, touching Haruka's cheek but then moving down and running her fingers over the gems on her vest. "It's a pretty vest; amethysts are my favorite. You were dressed as a man at Michiru's party and used a fake name, but then you wore a really pretty dress to your coronation. Why do you change back and forth like that?"

"My people are known to do that. Which did you prefer?"

Hotaru tilted her head and bit her lip. "I think you looked more comfortable in the dress, but maybe that was because you were hiding from Queen Shousha before. You look beautiful today and I don't think you are uncomfortable in your presentation at all."

"Thank you, little princess. You look beautiful, too. Are you here to see the figurines?"

"Yes; Papa said maybe we can get one."

"Well, we will leave you to your shopping. Enjoy the festival, little princess."

Haruka returned to the others, letting Michiru link their arms again as they walked away. "What did you see in her eyes?"

"Just a girl, Michiru. I didn't see any hint of Sailor Saturn in her. She wishes that Sailor Saturn could one day fight beside the other senshi with whatever other powers she might have."

"Does she have other powers?"

"Perhaps," Setsuna answered as she walked slowly beside them. "None of them have ever lived long enough to use any other power. No matter what called them, they had to use their final power, Death Reborn Revolution, to destroy the darkness. The first one did have a defensive power called Silence Wall and a smaller attack that she cast with the glaive, but she did not fight much and that was before we infused the lineage with the power from Cronos's bones. I don't know if she could still do that."

"Well, your vision did say that it's possible she can stand with us in the future. I would save that little girl if I can."

"I hope you can," Serenity whispered, the hint of tears in her voice. "Even if she does rise as Saturn, I hope you can save her."

"We'll do our best, Princess."

Yumemi stretched her arms over her head, checking the fall of the beads on her sleeves before reaching down and adjusting her skirt. Saturnians had a few traditional songs using instruments not seen on other worlds, and she was one of the best performers on the hammered dulcimer on her world. Once she had reached the age where she could be called as Sailor Saturn, the young then-princess turned toward music with a determination to be known for something other than her crown or the curse on her lineage. Her mother had encouraged it, of course; Yumemi was an only child like many of her ancestors, so tutors would be found for anything that struck the girl's fancy. Some of her music teachers had been from Neptune, but the instrument she preferred had been a favorite on her own world.

Saturnians also enjoyed the fiddle, bagpipes, accordion, tambourine, and lute, and all of those instruments were on display today. Practice had gone well, the bagpipes specifically in good form today, and the singers were doing final adjustments to their outfits in the front area of the stage. Saturn generally kept the same demonstration every year, though a different set of songs was chosen, proud of their planet's instruments and determined to show them off. The many instrument vendors did not open until after the midday presentation, some of them the same people who had sold ship models and senshi figurines earlier in the day. Because most of their instruments were so odd, people were not encouraged to try them out or purchase anything until after they had heard it in person. The sales model had worked well for decades.

The conductor cleared her throat loudly and moved to her position in front of the first row of players, shooing the singers back to their raised platform in the back. She raised her baton, tapping her music stand to get everyone's attention, the last few stragglers returning to their sections and their instruments. The bagpipe players raised their pipes to their mouths and watched the conductor for her signal, the curtains rustling behind her. The woman raised her baton and pointed at them, and the concert began.

The bagpipe solo silenced the crowd as the curtains opened, the dulcimers joining in shortly after as the tambourines began to offer a rhythm. As the bagpipes quieted, the singers began, and the crowd listened in rapt attention to the ancient song. Saturnians only sang in one of their native languages at Presentation Day, and this song was in modern Rhean, so many of the guests in the crowd had a chance to understand it. Some of the songs chosen for today would be in Dionian or High Tethyn, then only people of Saturnian ancestry or certain Mercurian scholars were likely to comprehend. It didn't matter much, anyway; the point was not the words, it was the music and the feeling of it. Saturnians valued the experience of music more than the comprehension of it, and entire schools were dedicated to teaching how to inject the right feeling through the notes of the dulcimer, the wheeze of an accordion, or the sigh of a bagpipe. Today, Yumemi could feel how moved the crowd was by their song, and she was pretty sure this was the best presentation of her life.

Setsuna started as she felt a powerful presence pushing against her consciousness, looking up in shock as she spotted all six of Cronos's children floating invisibly above the crowd, enjoying the musical performance. Demeter and Hestia were in the front of the group, Poseidon and Hades on one side with Zeus and Hera on the other. The current song, the last one planned in the lineup, was actually a song about the gods, one that Setsuna remembered helping the Queen of Saturn compose six thousand years earlier, one that relied mostly on the hammered dulcimer section Yumemi led.

Demeter and Hestia floated forward and stepped down to the stage, Setsuna leaning forward in shock as they appeared when the last note faded. Demeter was garbed in her harvest best, a golden crown in the form of stalks of grain on her head, leaves of emerald green embroidered on her pale golden dress. Modest Hestia wore a skirt of white with a tunic lightly embroidered in the symbols of her station, a veil covering her own dark hair. They stood in front of the stage, eyes locked on Yumemi, and waited patiently for the shock and whispers to die, gesturing for the bowing mortals to rise.

"I know this is a bit of a shock," Demeter began, holding out her hand to the queen. Yumemi walked down from her section, reaching out to take the goddess's hand as the conductor moved back into the accordion section. "Cronos has been dead a long time, and we know that it's not fair to you that your planet has no patron god, so we came to honor you today."

"Honor me? You're gods."

Demeter nodded. "Yes, but we're also the ones who infused the bones of our father into your line. We knew that it would give you great power but we never knew the consequences. We needed what you could become, so we used you, and we do regret it. If you had a patron god, it would have been different, but we killed our father."

"You had to in order to protect the younger generation of gods from his madness. Chaos took Cronos and he was a danger to these worlds. I don't regret that we have the power to save our system and even others from Chaos, I just wish we could be normal senshi."

"Some of the elder Titans have said that one day you can be. We believe it, and we also believe that one day your world will have a patron god of its own. Until then, I hope we can substitute." Hestia's voice was softer than her sister's, but she spoke with the same love and conviction.

Yumemi smiled and bowed her head gratefully, spotting her young daughter in the crowd sitting tall in her chair and watching the interaction eagerly. "You honor us, Demeter and Hestia. I would be happy to install shrines to both of you on my palace grounds so my people can see that we are not forgotten by the gods."

The two bowed and vanished, returning with their siblings to Olympus as Yumemi stepped to the front of the stage and raised her arms to the sky. "Every year, I end our demonstration the same way. I tell you that we used traditional Saturnian instruments and sang our ancient songs, and I ask you to visit the booths of our craftsmen and perhaps choose one of these to learn on your own. I play the hammered dulcimer, and you have also see the accordion, the lute, the bagpipes, the fiddle, and the tambourine. I will still encourage you to do that, but for the first time in my life or the lives of any of my ancestors for nine thousand years, I can also happily say that we dedicate this demonstration and the rest of our Presentation Day to the goddesses Demeter and Hestia who blessed us with their presence here today. We worship many gods on my world, and you will find shrines to both of them here today, so please stop by and make offerings if you have time. And enjoy the rest of the Festival!"

The normally mild-mannered crowd erupted into cheers and screams, calling out the name of the queen and both goddesses in their jubilation. Setsuna looked over at the other senshi and slipped into their link, her own mental voice carrying a hint of joy. She had not expected her aunts to do what they did on stage. I suppose we must go shopping for musical instruments now.

We can do nothing else, Makoto agreed. Zeus was here, and I think Hera was, too.

And Poseidon, Michiru added, having instantly sensed her soul-father's arrival.

And Hades, Setsuna confirmed somewhat unnecessarily. All of the children of Cronos came.

It's turning out to be quite the Festival.

"It's just like a piano, except you have the hammers in your hand instead of using the keys to have hammers hit the strings. You can play some very beautiful songs with it."

Haruka glared at the hammers and waved her hand dismissively. "I think I'll stick to my piano. It's the only instrument where my long fingers make a difference."

Rei, Minako, and Setsuna reached out and each clapped a hand over Michiru's mouth, the first hint of a mental image along the link slammed into silence by the dark senshi. None of them were interested in knowing what else Haruka could do with her extra-long fingers. "I learned how to play the dulcimer once, though I don't know how much I remember," Setsuna offered, stepping away from Michiru with a quick mental warning. The younger woman, shaking off Rei and Minako, smiled in response, returning to her wife's side and sending a mental image along their private connection, eliciting a quick blush from the Uranian.

The shopkeeper handed the two hammers to Setsuna and moved her into position behind the dulcimer, tapping the embedded data pad at the top of the instrument. Sheet music floated into the air, the shopkeeper scrolling to one of the easier pieces at the beginning of the file. Setsuna raised an eyebrow and moved fifty pages down to Visions in the Time Streams, a song from her own world that lent itself to the hammered dulcimer quite well. She had started learning musical instruments almost three thousand years earlier, during her first life after Nao and the others died. It was one of her coping mechanisms, and actually the one that worked the best, though she hadn't tried the dulcimer for another two thousand years. Still, she was pretty sure she remembered how to play it.

Setsuna sharpened her memory by running through the scales, testing the tuning of the strings of the instrument at the same time. It seemed to be in perfect tune, so she looked up at the music and raised her hammers. With the felted side down, she struck her first note, smiling as she realized that she did remember how to play. The others listened in rapt attention as she moved through the song, some of her notes a bit slower than she preferred, but in general quite good for a woman who had not played in three lifetimes. She finished the song and placed the hammers back on the bottom of the dulcimer, starting at the spontaneous applause from the gathered nobles and guests. "It's been a while since I played."

"Her Majesty is too modest! Some of our best musicians cannot manage that piece. Do you have a dulcimer at your palace?"

"No, it's been too long since I played."

"Oh, well you must have one. This is my most finely decorated one, and you can see that I was able to use black opals from Pluto here along the edge. And these diamonds are from Saturn's Rhea mines; it's hard to get black ones that have that purple heart."

"I don't know that I need one," Setsuna deflected, but Yumemi appeared by her side and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You play pretty well for someone who hasn't practiced in a while," the queen murmured. "I find it to be quite a relaxing instrument."

"Well, I guess it would be nice to have something to play again. I didn't enjoy the piano much, though my mother was an expert."

Haruka joined Michiru near another vendor at the same booth, this one showing the Neptunian how the fiddle worked. It was nearly identical to her own violin, though the bridge was flatter and the strings were steel for a sharper sound. The one he was showing her also had a fifth C string, and he demonstrated one of the popular Saturnian folk songs that was specifically written on the five-string fiddle. Michiru watched intently, accepting the offer to test the instrument as she looked over the music. The merchant gave her a few pointers as she started to play the song, urging her to increase her speed and nodding excitedly as she managed it. Makoto was learning the tambourine at a nearby booth, Ami fingering the lute curiously. Rei was trying to figure out the movement of the accordion and Minako was watching as one of the vendors demonstrated the bagpipes, wondering if she could learn to play something like that. She had always been a singer rather than a musician, but she had the breath control to manage something like the bagpipes if she could learn the rest of the movements to produce its unique sound.

Moved by Yumemi's speech, the senshi were willing to see about learning some of these ancient Saturnian instruments, Endymion and Serenity fascinated by the accordion while the attendant War Queens argued amongst themselves over which of them would be the most interesting the learn. Haruka, persuaded by Michiru's purchase of a fiddle and a book of fast-paced songs to learn on it, did try out a very simple tune on the hammered dulcimer, deciding that maybe it would be nice to try something new since she was so proficient on the piano already. It didn't take long for each of the princesses to also buy something new, Endymion and Serenity declining in favor of helping the senshi practice their new acquisitions. They all agreed not to learn the instruments in their suite, each of them mentally searching for a place they could practice in peace without disturbing their friends or any of the guests of the Moon Palace. Yumemi watched them and the other customers gathered around the musical instrument booths and made a mental note to stop by the shrines for Demeter and Hestia to thank them for their part in the success of the Presentation Day. Never in her life did she truly believe that the gods cared for her planet much at all, but it had become clear on this day that even Saturn, with no patron of its own, mattered to the Pantheon.

AN: Merry Christmas!