Disclaimer: mayday, mayday. It's Takeuchi Naoko and TOEI Entertainment that own Sailormoon; not me. I repeat. It's Takeuchi Naoko and TOEI Entertainment that own Sailormoon. Do you read me? -- Chapter 4 -- Exhaustion came instantly to Princess Serenity as she closed the door to the bed chamber prepared for her within the Earth Palace. She was not blind to noticing the play performed by Queen Gaia and King Solaris during the dinner. It was so obvious that they had tried matchmaking her with their son, Prince whoever his name was. After dragging herself to the bed, she chose to sit on the corner of the mattress before climbing onto it. She contemplated her arranged marriage, the Lunarian princess considered her options available to her. Although she was aware that it was destiny that chose her, and not herself. Destiny would sometimes be frustrating, but that did not mean she would escape her fate, her mother did not, so she perhaps should not either. She would become a queen in later life and as a monarch who was to inherit a most powerful crystal. She would eventually embrace anything that came her way or stumbled upon. Seeing that there was not much of a choice, the future heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom wished for something that would be possible, that was to be born as an ordinary person. Sitting up straight, the silver odango haired princess gazed on the moon. From this distance she could see her home, surrounded by white radiant light. It seemed so pure yet so lifeless, unlike Earth's beauty, with which she felt more comfortable. Could that be the reason why she was attracted to the blue orb when she took her first step upon it, despite the fact her first visit was not all that pleasant. Also, why would she feel a sense of déjà vu towards a prince she had never met before when she was supposed to act as a selfish spoiled child in an attempt to make him change his mind? Why would she feel something warm and passionate when their eyes met? 'So many questions, so little answers.' she thought, feeling quite pathetic. Dazed, her train of thought soon led her to that unforgotten night from a fortnight ago. ---------- Just next-door Prince Endymion, already retreating from a boring dinner and his highly annoyed parents, was lying on his bed half naked. It was not his fault that he had not been conversant with that precocious moon princess, nor was he purposely neglecting her throughout the dinner. He was merely uninterested. That, was all. He admitted she did look incredibly stunning for her age, but it did not mean that fireworks would spark between them. Sure, their perspectives would have changed if both of them were to spend time together, get to know each other and then fall in love before their marriage. 'Ha, as if!' the Terran prince snorted. Who was he trying to kid? It definitely was not himself because he had no intention to wed, not for now at least. He was pretty sure it was not the princess either for some reasons only she knew. Maybe she was wishing to marry for love to someone she had dreamed of instead of him and by force. Not knowing how and why having such ideas, he just knew that she was not like any princesses he had met in the past. Disregarding the odd thought he had for a certain princess, the ebony haired prince walked up to his desk. From one of the drawers he pulled out a silver plated jewelry box. The lid was crafted with a Lion - the symbolism of Courageousness - and the box itself was embodied with roses, showing its elegance to the owner's eyes only. It had belonged to the prince's deceased grandmother, Queen Hera, to whom he was closest to, who once owned such a fine piece of ancient antique beauty. As an only child, the future king of Earth had been forced to study the history of every world in the universe (including the Moon Kingdom). He was to acquire knowledge in various subject fields (from Literature to Science), and to learn every possible fighting skill (mainly combat and sword handling). More would have been stuffed into his stressful life if it were not for his late grandmother being there as a defense against his father, King Solaris. Things started to change when his father took advices from Queen Hera prior to her sudden yet expected death. Now he was not only glad to have his own free time, but also prove he was capable of making his own decisions. He too remembered that it was about the same time he had gotten the jewelry box, which he had treasured ever since. It was not an empty or a decorative chest, but contained of importance, like a ring for his future bride (a gift from Queen Hera) and an earring (from one fateful night) were kept inside. "I will find you no matter what," he said, picking up the piece of jewelry, with determination before clenching it in his fist. ---------- Everything remained the same for both the prince and the princess. A week had passed and the same attempt was made by their parents to hook them up, the same distance kept between the future heirs to the thrones of two kingdoms, and her preoccupation with a certain missing piece of her jewelry continued. Meanwhile, the prince hoped to find the owner of an earring that he possessed. One day her friends finally took notice of her empty lobe. Princess Serenity was so on edge when she found herself trapped in their questions concerning her earrings, but to her relief, they bought her story and the question was never brought up again. As if her week was not bad enough, her four ladies in waiting brought up a discussion of her yet-to-be love interest - the prince and his generals - before bidding each other good night. The girls, even the uninterested Moon Princess, could not help but tease Princess Ami Amelia Ames, who started blushing every time a certain general was mentioned. Each of them believed her blushing said exactly the opposite of her reply, which was "We are nothing but friends". The reasoning was simple: no men, as far as they knew, had accomplished a task to gain the Mercurian Princess's interest, except for General Zoisite. Princess Makoto Manny Moore was not in denial about how delighted she was to spend time with General Nephrite. The two spent the whole day discussing everything related to food and never got tired of it. Although she did not really understand much about reading the stars, but she was fascinated in its origins and tales themselves. On the other hand, Princess Minako Miranda Mina was utterly attached to General Kunzite and it was his sense of responsibility that was the cause of it. As a princess of love, she believed her carefree nature would bring out his softer side. Last but not least was Princess Rei Rae Raye, who she did not find the game General Jadeite playing was amusing in the least. Even though she had the killer look and body, the Martian Princess was not interest in any males. According to her, males were full of egotism, especially one certain general who did not understand the meaning of backing off. If she was being accused of having feeling for him, she was very sure it was not because of his charm nor his goofiness or his stupidity... She would consider a full circle of compatible love if their princess and prince would put their differences aside and started to get along. ---------- As for Prince Endymion, he was not as lucky as Princess Serenity to break free from his guardians' constant chat on the girls. General Jadeite Jerkins James had a thing for the Princess Rei of Mars. To him, that fiery temper of hers just tempted him so much. The more rejection he got, the more attraction he felt for her and that was a sign he was falling head over heels for the hot tempered princess. There were other signs as well, such as arrogantly showing off his skill on archery whenever she and her friends were around. General Kunzite Kyne Kane, on the other hand, would rather not get himself involved in any relationship at all... If only he had a choice, that was. He would not deny it, even if he wanted to, that the Venusian Princess was indeed his type and the law of paramagnetism was a perfect description of the pair. General Nephrite Neil Nelson, who found himself slowly falling for Princess Makoto for her wisdom in the culinary arts. They had been exchanging recipes and star gazing during her stay and were the first couple (1) to share a kiss. The last of the generals, General Zoisite Zoe Zack, claimed that he and Princess Ami were only friends. But the fact that a slip of the tongue saying - "she was cute" when she was shy - had actually betrayed him. If the guys were thrown with a question of 'What would be the reason to cause people who usually stick their noses into a mountain of books and paperwork and then compliment someone calling them cute so out of the blue without a reason?' They would dare to say "It must be something that called L-O-V-E". Since the wheel of destiny was already starting to turn at their first encounters, it was only a matter of time those five couples would surrender to a phenomenon called fate, whether or not it was against their will. -- End of Chapter 4 -- (1): I know the first couple's supposed to be Serenity and Endymion, but they didn't know that. Well, Serenity did know, but she didn't know she had hers with the prince. Furthermore, she didn't mention a thing from that night (see Prologue) to any of her friends; neither the prince had the memory for the same night, so that made Makoto and Nephrite the "first". ---------- Cdgal: There is something I must clarified is about the excuses Serenity gave to her friends about her empty lobe. The 'stories' is intended, as I making the princess's friends approached to her individually, so they wouldn't realize they had given four different answers. I hope all of you enjoy the chapter. Until then, Ciao~