Oceanus Procellarum: A Silver Millennium Adventure
Oceanus Procellarum: A Silver
Millennium Adventure
By Lady Moon Goddess
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. The wonderful Naoko
Takeuchi is the creator and owner.
A/N: Second chapter of my first Sailor Moon fan fiction. I
am really happy with my first chapter and can’t stop writing. Loki-sama came up
with the wonderful title of this story and he is my editor. I do love Loki.
And that is why I dedicate this story to Loki-sama and all
his moon kitties. *glomps & bows, handing Loki a bushel of roses*
I asked Anja if I could put the ages of my characters like
she did with All’s Fair in Love and War, which helped me understand and not
have a hassle with keeping everything straight and writing down the ages
myself. So, I thought that it would be a big help to do the same. Pretty smart
that Anja is.
Age Name Mother Father Sibling Age
Eight Mercury Maia Dopropan Hermes (brother) Nine
Ten Venus Ven Sukra Eris
(sister) Seven
Seven Mars Kasandra Ares Kasei
(brother) Ten
Eleven Endymion Gaea Aarde Tierra (sister) Eight
Six Serenity Selenity Sirius No
siblings
Eight Jupiter Moshtari Jove Thor
(brother) Ten
Seven Saturn No mother Kronos Rhea
(sister) Nine
Nine Uranus Tennousei Oranos No
siblings
Eight Neptune Amphitrite Poseidon Kaiousei
(brother) Eight
Nine Pluto Persephone Plutus Dorian
(brother) Eleven
~*~
Chapter
Two: Quarrels
Six long years had passed and as
yet, no war had come to their corner of the stars. Selenity sat on her throne,
head resting upon her hand, trying to figure out Beryl’s thought process. What
is she planning –was the question that kept running through Selenity’s mind.
She leaned back against the firm upholstery of her high-backed seat of power and
let out a deep sigh. Her eyes closed for a moment as she turned her head towards
the throne parallel to her own. Her eyes slowly opened and she gazed upon the
vacant seat. It had been empty for some time now.
Her arms supported her weight as
she pushed herself to her feet. She stood before her husband’s throne and
looked at it for a long time, imagining that if she remained where she was for
long enough, he would step up behind her and wrap his strong arms around her
waist and she could lean back against his chest and feel the love and security
she had always known in the past. She bowed her head and slowly turned away,
stepping delicately down from the dais and moved into the hallway below.
She was immediately passed by three
running whippersnappers -- her dress caught in the slipstream that followed in
their wake. She turned to tell them to slow down, but they were already gone.
Young Uranus sped towards Selenity and
stopped short before bending over, putting her hands on her knees, to catch her
breath. After a few seconds, she regained her composure and straightened her
posture, looking up into the cerulean-blue eyes of her queen. “Have you seen
Eris, Neptune, and Kasei running by only seconds ago?” Uranus put her hands
behind her back and shuffled her feet from side-to-side as the girl stared down
at her feet. Selenity sighed, nodded and pointed down the hallway in the
direction the three youngsters had gone. Uranus flashed a smile that liberated
her little face from its forlorn little pout as she bolted in the direction
Selenity had indicated.
Selenity smiled to herself and kept
walking. She opened the door to the library as Rhea and Venus ran past as she
entered. She found Luna sitting on the couch, reading. Selenity grabbed a book
and sat next to her. They each read in silence until little Serenity charged into
the room, crying. The worried young mother set her book aside and looked at her
crying daughter, determined to find the cause of the little girl’s tears.
“Darling, what’s wrong?”
Luna looked up from her book and stopped
reading. She rubbed Serenity’s back as the little girl choked back tears and
wiped away those that had already strayed down her porcelain face with the
backs of her tiny hands, exposing the cuts and grass stains on her forearms.
Luna gently took the child’s hands and both women inspected her injuries. Then Luna
left the library to fetch a cloth, soap, medicinal herbs and water -- Selenity
looked questioningly into Serenity’s eyes, searching for an answer.
Serenity took one last deep breath
before answering, “It was Endymion.” Selenity was taken aback by her daughter’s
response, but continued to listen carefully to her words, “We were playing tag,
and he pushed me to the ground.” She let her tears fall once again and hugged
her mother fiercely, seeking both comfort and relief from the shooting pain
traveling the length of her forearms from her elbows to the palms of her hands.
Selenity smoothed down the child’s golden hair and carried her outside, where
the rest of the children were sitting about in the garden. She set her down
next to Endymion and he quickly went to his feet, knowing immediately why Queen
Selenity was standing before him now, her arms folded across her chest,
frowning.
Serenity brushed away her tears and
stood tall beside her mother; not wishing her friends to see her crying.
Selenity set her hand upon Serene’s little shoulder as she continued to look
down at the eleven-year-old. She crouched down before the boy, her head tilted
to one side. “Endymion,” She softly sighed, and continued, “Serene tells me you
pushed her to the ground while you were playing tag. I know you probably didn’t
mean to, but did you?” She looked at the young boy who purposely tried not to
look her in the eye.
“I’m sorry, I did push her, but I
didn’t mean to push her that hard,” he told the queen sincerely, and looked up
at Queen Selenity then chanced a glance at Serene. He stepped in front of
Serenity and took her small hands in his, “I’m sorry, Serene, and will you
forgive me?” He stared at her with his sapphire eyes and Serenity nodded.
Selenity rose and smiled; glad she had
taken care of the situation and was glad too that Endymion was sorry for his
actions. She left the children to their play and returned to the library.
Endymion watched as Queen Selenity
left and immediately dropped Serenity’s hand and turned his back to her. He wandered
back to his group of friends and Serenity followed him and joined her own
little circle of friends.
“What was that all about?” Jupiter
asked as Serene sat down. She shrugged her shoulders and started playing with
her hair.
“Now what are we going to do?”
Venus lay on her stomach tapping her feet together in the air. Her sister, Eris,
was sitting next to her -- Indian style -- picking dandelions and blowing the
white puffs away. Her birthday was a week ago and Selenity suggested all the children
ought to get together.
“I don’t care,” Mars said indignantly
as she stood next to the apple tree, picking the reddest apples she could find.
Dorian held the basket for her and kept struggling to hold it because it was
almost filled to the brim.
Hermes left the group of boys to
join the girls and sat next to his baby sister. He placed his arm around her
and she smiled. “I’ve been watching you guys and you haven’t done anything.
What’s wrong?”
Mercury lifted his arm off her
shoulders and stood up, brushing off the dirt and grass from her blue dress.
“Nothing is wrong… we just can’t think of anything to do,” she answered. He
looked up and responded with a non audible “Ohhh.”
Uranus lay back, positioning her
hands underneath her blond hair to support her head. She looked at Neptune,
beside her and then up at the sky. “See what the boys are doing…we could join
them,” she commented. With these words, she closed her eyes and fell into a
light sleep.
Tierra turned her head towards the
boys talking amongst themselves about the wars of the past and how they
couldn’t wait to help their fathers in future battles. “My father says I can be
part of the war effort when I am sixteen, because he thinks I’ll be ready
then,” she heard Thor say.
Tierra related the subject matter
the boys were discussing to the others and it left the girls sighing. “Let’s do
something fun,” Neptune suggested as she sat up and
looked at her friends, “Serene, would your mother allow us to have a
sleepover?” The small group of girls turned their attention to Serenity and all
she did was stare at her mother who was standing behind them a short distance
away.
“Of course, I’ll contact everyone’s
parents and arrange it,” She smiled.
Mars grabbed an apple from the
basket Dorian was still holding and sat between Mercury and Jupiter. She chomped
on the very juicy Lunarian apple happily, making the juice spray on her nearby
friends. “Your mother is so nice,” she said grinning as she took another bite
from her apple.
Kasei approached the expanding circle
and picked up an apple on the way. “Not to mention…perfect.” He sat next to
Serene and smiled. “You’ll be like her soon,” she smiled back and asked Hermes
to throw her a delicious apple.
Endymion overheard the conversation
and butted in. “Kasei, do you honestly believe Serene will be perfect like her
mother? She won’t be half as perfect,” he declared coldly. All heads turned to
Endymion; he had always sought attention from his peers. Serenity looked at him
in disbelief, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She stood up to walk
away, but Endymion stepped in her way and she accidentally bumped into him.
“Dear Serenity, you shouldn’t be bothered by the truth,” he told her as he held
onto her shoulders. She looked up, her small tears now descending down her face
more rapidly.
Tierra stood up started heading
towards the two, but she was stopped by Kaiousei. “Kai, he’s my brother. I
should stop him.” He shook his head and explained how it would only agitate him
that his younger sister was commanding him to stop. She stood there and watched
him join them.
Kaiousei stood next to them and
pleaded for him to stop. “No, Kaiousei, I’m fine,” Serenity assured him. ”Thank
you, but I am fine…”
When Endymion objected, she stepped
to the side, trying to pass, but Endymion only followed. Others piped in, but
were ignored. “Won’t you stay?” Now he was purposely trying to make the tears
fall. Kaiousei placed his hand on Endymion’s shoulder. ”Stop this, Endy.”
Endymion shrugged off his hand and turned
his attention back to Serenity. She attempted to pass once again, but didn’t
succeed. She was fed up by this time and roughly lifted Endymion’s hands off
her shoulders. “Just stop! I know you don’t like me, but this is too much…” she
yelled at the top of her lungs. Serenity looked straight into his eyes, as
Endymion gazed back into her watery blue orbs; he felt a twinge of guilt run
through him.
She ran past him and was about to
escape into the castle when Endymion called after her, “Serene…” he cried, his eyes
on an apologetic expression.
But she could only respond according
to her feelings at that moment, “Endymion, I wouldn’t care if I ever saw you
again,” she said on the verge of tears. He blinked a few times-- his shock mixed
with hurt as he kept repeating her name. “No, Endy…I hate you!” She shouted as
she disappeared into the palace. Finding her mother sitting on a nearby chair,
“Oh, mama…” She rushed into her mother’s safe arms and sobbed. After a few
minutes, Selenity set her child down, took her by the hand and returned to the
garden.
Endymion stood there, rerunning the
events of the last few minutes through his mind. She stepped closer and this
caught everyone’s attention. The garden fell completely silent -- even the
birds refused to sing. “Endymion…” She began, and he was brought out of his
trance. He dared not look her in the eye, so he fidgeted uncomfortably. “Your
parents should be here any moment.” She came up behind him. She stopped and
turned to find Tierra. She was already at her side, waiting to head to the Moon
Gallery.
They entered the all-white room and
Selenity looked down the line of pictures and found the one she desired. They soon
stood before the portrait titled, Earth and waited -- the portrait of Queen
Gaea sitting upon the grass with Tierra on her lap, Endymion standing beside
her and King Aarde kneeling behind his wife. Selenity, Tierra, and Endymion
waited in silence until they saw the picture flash with light and a vortex of
multicolor appeared. Taking a few steps back as Gaea’s leg emerged as she
stepped from the swirling aperture. Seconds later, both Gaea and Aarde stood before
them. The Technicolor vortex quickly dissipated behind them.
Queen Gaea gave Selene an
imperceptible nod and as she looked at her son, placed her hands on her hips
while King Aarde took Tierra by the hand and they both waited in front of the
portrait. Gaea closed the short distance between them -- her forest-green dress
flowing about her graceful body as she moved -- Endymion tried to back away, but
Selenity placed a firm hand at the small of his back, and with a gentle push, his
feet slid forward. But the frightened prince refused to give up, and continued
fighting against Selenity. Gaea finally reached out for his hand and he immediately
acquiesced. Endymion stood there like a dog with its tail between its legs.
Gaea sat on her haunches in front
of her son, cupping his face in her hands. She lifted his head so their eyes
were level. “What did you do this time, my son?”
He turned his ocean-blue eyes away from
his mother’s piercing gaze. Gaea straightened. “Thanks for letting me know,
Selene.”
She quickly approached the other
woman and embraced her as the portal swam into view once more and they all stepped
through. Selenity watched as the shimmering wheel collapsed upon itself and the
portrait return to its usual state before informing the children of arrangements
for the sleepover.
~*~
Kunzite bowed low, refusing to brush
his white hair from his face. Beryl walked towards the general and gave him an
almost affectionate pat on the back as she passed by. He had only just
reassumed his usual form. He turned to face the queen as she opened the black
crystal doors separating the throne room from the balcony where announcements
were given and walked through. Her head turning towards Kunzite, or so he
thought, but she extended her arm as her crystal sphere moved towards her. It
hovered above her outstretched hands after stepping onto the balcony to look
upon hundreds of her followers below. “My faithful servants…” she cried with
much aplomb, the crystal sphere amplifying her voice that resounded over the people
as the crowd cheered in response. “The time has come to claim what should be
ours.” The subjects of the Dark Kingdom
responded with enthusiastic applause and continuous cheering.
Kunzite, followed by the other
three generals, soon stood at Beryl’s side. “My senior generals will lead our
soldiers to triumph and we will overcome Selenity and take the Moon
Palace!” She raised her arms in a
victory gesture and the crowd’s excitement intensified.
She smiled at the response her
people were giving their much beloved monarch and she turned to Kunzite with a
look of exaltation and hunger on her face. “Gather all our forces -- you will
leave now, victory is at hand.” He nodded dutifully and the generals bowed once
again before leaving her presence.
~*~
Night quickly overcame the sunny
skies and soon it was dark. Only Kasei, Thor, Jupiter, Venus and Eris had received
permission from their parents allowing them to stay the night. Serenity
proposed a night ride through the gardens and they all agreed. The first port
of call was the stables to find a horse for each rider, Serenity headed straight
for the stunning white horse she’d lovingly cared for and had owned all her
life and slipping her tiny foot into the jeweled stirrup, mounted it. She
stroked its white mane and waited for the others. A cool evening breeze drifted
through the nearby trees and Serene’s hair flew back a little behind her. She
embraced the cool night air, for it was extra hot during the day and she would
make the most of it.
Kasei rode up beside Serenity and
waited with her for the others to join them. “Why couldn’t Mars stay?” Moonbeam
-- Serenity’s horse -- took a step forward, but Serene pulled back on the reins
and she cooperated and settled down.
Kasei stared down at the beautiful
chestnut horse and petted its nose with gentle strokes. “Mother wishes she
would train more and she hasn’t been training at all of late.”
Serenity looked at Kasei in
surprise and arched an eyebrow. “But you decided to stay…” he nodded and
without another word, Serenity gently prompted her mount into a gallop as everyone
else on horseback followed her lead. Serenity rushed into the night, with Kasei
close behind her.
They passed many lavishly decorated
garden beds, many filled with a wide variety of Lunarian plants. Serenity’s
favorite was the white rose. They would grow in great abundance on trees -- their
vines gently winding their way around the trunks and branches in perfect
harmony without harming the trees. Another variety covered bushes, the flowers also
covering the ground, and these would grow pretty much anywhere. She loved
having them in a vase next to her bed.
She sped down the dirt path, her
horse kicking up stones and dirt, but she didn’t care, she felt like she was
flying. She looked back and found the others close behind and gently kicked Moonbeam’s
flanks. Her speed increased and Serenity held tightly to the reins -- bending
low so they would go even faster. They turned the corner and Serenity suddenly sat
upright, feeling a little lightheaded. She pulled back on the reins, making
Moonbeam slow down, but she was still moving rather fast. Serenity’s hands suddenly
loosened on the reins as she fell off her horse.
Her head struck the ground, as a trail
of blood trickled from a gash upon her head. It was only moments later the
others found her on the ground unconscious. Kasei leapt off his horse and rushed
to her side. Noticing the blood, he immediately picked up the princess and
carried her to his horse. He managed to get himself and Serenity into the
saddle – her body resting against his chest as he rode at speed. He rushed back
to the Moon Palace
and searched for Queen Selenity, shouting her name.
Soon, they met up and Selenity
guided him to Serene’s bedroom. On their way, Luna asked what happened. She then
rushed to fetch towels, bandages and healing salves and the like to treat and
dress her wounds. Kasei softly set her on the bed, slowly lowering her head onto
a towel covering her pillow. Kasei was asked to step out of the room, but he
refused. For a boy of only ten years, his feelings for the young Moon Princess
were growing. He gripped the six-year-old’s hand and watched as Selenity
bandaged Serene’s head after Luna’s healing ministrations were applied. “Is she
going to be okay?” he asked as Selenity continued to wrap the cloth around her daughter’s
head.
She sighed,
“Yes, she should be all right. I will summon the Silver Crystal to seal the
wound, but it won’t heal it completely on its own, so this is why Luna and I
have applied treatment solutions and dressing.” Selenity took her moon locket
and opened it. The crystal shone brightly -- blinding Kasei for only an
instant.
Serenity’s hair changed from its
customary golden blonde, to silvery white. The tips reverted back to their original
state and this process continued as a bright flash bathed her head and soon the
blood was gone. Selenity closed the locket and returned it to its place around
her neck. Later, she examined the gash now reduced to a small cut. She kissed her
daughter’s forehead then left the room.
Kasei sat impatiently, like the child
he was -- fidgeting and anxious. He wanted Serene to wake up, right away. He stood
up and walked around the room, looking at paintings and other items within the
room, on her dresser, her star locket. For some reason she wasn’t wearing it
today. He picked it up and outlined the star with the tip of his finger. He
opened it and suddenly heard music. He panicked and dropped it by accident.
Kasei bent down to pick it up, and hit his head on the dresser. He straightened
and held his head. He looked at his hand and discovered a droplet of blood. He
knelt upon the floor to retrieve the locket that continued to play. He set it
back on the dresser and looked back at Serenity. He was relieved to find she
was still asleep.
Two hours had passed by. Kasei woke
to the sound of persistent knocking on the door. He shot up immediately, and
quickly opened it to find his friends waiting and he shut the door behind them
as they entered the room. Venus went straight to Serenity’s bedside and took
hold of her hand. Eris stood behind her older sister, looking down at the
sleeping princess. Kasei joined the assembly. Thor followed him and soon stood
beside the fair princess. Her sleek cascading golden threads and alabaster skin
seemed dull due to the poor lighting in the room. Thor placed his hand on her
forehead and pushed back her bangs, making them fluff back when he withdrew it.
He bestowed a small kiss upon her small crescent moon and backed away. Venus
followed him to the door.
Then Jupiter, Eris and Venus left Serenity’s
bedchamber and made their way to the ballroom, where the children pretended they
were invited to a royal ball. Thor waited at the door for his young friend to
leave with him. “Don’t take forever, Kas.” His foot began tapping with an
impatient rhythm and Kasei soon became annoyed. He tucked Serenity in gently
and walked away.
~*~
