Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Decided Bride ❯ Revelations ( Chapter 24 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Darien followed Malachite up to the door. He had not been in the palace very much, so he had felt quite lost when the silver-haired General had led him down a series of hallways and corridors. They finally did reach their destination thought. Malachite knocked on the door of the room, and when there was no answer, he entered. Darien followed him into the spacious room.

He took note of the comfort that the chamber had to offer and right away took advantage of it. There was a pitcher of water and a few goblets on the table, so he went over and poured himself a drink. "Do you want some to?" he asked Malachite. Malachite nodded his head, and Darien poured a second goblet. "When will they be here?" Darien asked.

"Soon," replied the General. "They were already getting ready to leave when I left, but they must have been held up by something."

Darien nodded as he took a deep drink and went over to the balcony doors. He pushed them open and stepped outside. He leaned on the railing and enjoyed the feeling of the cool breeze on his skin.

The door to the room opened and closed, bringing Darien's attention away from the scenery to the voices he now heard. Smiling a little to himself he straitened up and walked into the room.

"Then she came up to me and…" The speaker stopped talking when he saw Darien. Two other men had entered the room with him, and they all had their attention on Malachite until Darien made his entrance.

Darien's face broke into a broad grin as did all of theirs. He came over to them. "It's great to see you all again," Darien said as he slapped Nephrite's back.

Nephrite laughed. "Same to you," he replied.

"Zoisite, how are you?" Darien asked the blonde, as Nephrite went to pour himself some water.

"Lunch was dreadfully boring, but other then that fine!" the one referred to as Zoisite said with amusement in his voice. He too started to walk over to the water.

Darien turned to the last man who had walked into the room. His slicked back, dark hair was almost comical to him. Darien had a smirk on his face as he looked him over. "So, how was it, meeting the Princess of the Moon?" he asked.

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Granted she was beautiful, but not what I was expecting form Malachite's message."

Darien chuckled. "Welcome to the Moon, Jedite. Thing's are not always what they seem here."

Jedite smiled at his friend. "Hey, I only had two weeks to prepare for this hair-brain scheme of yours so I apologize if I did not have all my wits about me," he said.

Darien laughed again. "Jedite, that wasn't even the real princess," he said.

Malachite shot him a look. "You noticed too! I thought I was going mad," he said, sounding somewhat triumphant that he had noticed.

Darien had 'the smirk' on his face again. "I found out that she's playing the 'switch' game," he said.

"Really?" came Jedit's voice. "Great. So we now have two people pretending to be something they are not so that they can spy on one another without knowing the other is doing the same. Our future monarchs are starting off their relationship on lies and cunning, and they will still be able to forgive and forget and live happily ever after. Is that about right?" Jedite asked.

Darien laughed. "That sounds about right."

"Great," Jedite continued. "So, I can I wash this stuff out of my hair now, right?" he asked, pointing to his head that had the black mess stuck into it.

Darien nodded, smirking. "Go ahead, you won't need it anymore."

After about half an hour, a blonde Jedite returned from the bathing room. The four Generals took seats and looked to the man in the sofa before them. His blue eyes twinkled with both annoyance and amusement at hidden thoughts within his royal head, which indicated to the Generals something had not gone as planned, or something was bothering the raven-haired man.

Nephrite spoke first. "So Endymion, what's next?"


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"I found that he was very quiet," Mina said. She and the other Senshi were detailing the lunch to Serenity who was in the process of preparing for the masked ball. Lita was doing up the lacing of the dress in the back, and Serenity was trying hard not to fidget. She nodded to Mina's comment. She had not been doing much more then simple gestures since she had seen Darien.

"Well, I liked him," noted Rei.

Mina rolled her eyes. "Back off Rei, he's Usagi's," she said teasingly.

Rei shot her a semi-annoyed look. "I know that! I'm trying to be positive here!" she snapped. The girls got into a quibble, none of them noticing the extra glossy eyes that Serenity was trying to hide.

"I found that he resembled Darien quite a bit actually, if you want a good description," Ami said in Serenity's direction.

Mina stiffened a little. She had felt Serenity's heart aching all day, and the comment brought on a fresh wave of pain in the princesses heart. Serenity's back was to everyone fortunately, so none of them saw the distraught look on her face.

Wonderful, so I wasn't completely blind. Now I'll have a constant reminder of the man I'm losing, Serenity though to herself bitterly. She managed to compose herself as Lita finished doing the dress up. Once it was done, she sat down in front of the mirror to allow Rei to do her hair.

"I thought that the General…Nephrite, I think his name was, was kind of… … handsome," Rei said.

Ami giggled. "Of course you did," she said teasingly.

Lita shot her a look with an evil smirk. "Well I noticed that someone could not take her eyes off General Zoicite."

Ami's cheeks took on a deep blush. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, but a tell-tale smile was already spread across her face. Mina giggled.

Ami looked to her. "Oh hush. You already knew all this!" Mina smiled and nodded her head.

Lita rolled her eyes and sighed. "Try to keep a secret of love from Mina," she said sarcastically.


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"W ell, I must say, those two are in for quite a surprise." Selenity, Venus, and Helen, Endymion's mother, were sitting in Selenity's outer chamber. The three had been very close friends in their younger years along with Mars, Jupiter, Paris, and Mercury, but the three men were not present at the moment. The speaker had been Helen.

"I didn't think that they both would have such similar minds," Selenity said with a chuckle. She didn't like lying to her friend, so after lunch she had invited the two women to talk. She had told Helen that the Princess she had met before was not Serenity but Venus' daughter Mina. Helen had taken the opportunity to tell her of her own son's scheme as soon as she heard Serenity's story.

When all was said, Venus looked at Helen with curiosity. "So what was Endymion's assumed name when he came here?" she asked. She and Mina had several conversations about Serenity. Her new feelings of love toward a certain stable boy had not gone un-noticed by Venus, and she was curious to see who Endymion was on the moon.

"He came here as Darien, and he was looking for work at the palace. Apparently he found some in your stables Selenity," Helen replied, staring at the surprised looks on her companion's faces. Selenity and Venus both started to laugh at once, although each for different reasons. Helen looked rather confused.

"Well that explains General Malachite's insistence that I offer a job to a man named Darien," Selenity explained.

Helen laughed, understanding why Selenity had been laughing. "I knew he would try."

Venus looked at the two women. "You two have nothing to worry about. Your children will be just fine," she said, a broad grin plastered on her face.

Both Queen's looked to her with curiosity. "Why do you say that?" Selenity asked.

Venus only smiled more. "You know I'm not allowed to talk about the matters of other peoples hearts," she said with a mischievous grin.

Both Selenity and Helen rolled their eyes. "You weren't allowed to before you were Queen of Venus. Now as Queen you can, remember?" Helen pointed out.

Venus gave an innocent smile. "Oh that's right, I forgot." The three women laughed, and Venus continued. "They may not know it yet, but Serenity and Endymion have already met. I've noticed certain feelings in Serenity's heart toward a certain stable boy named Darien," she said.

Both Selenity and Helen's jaws dropped. "This is going to be interesting," Selenity finally said. The other two nodded in agreement. They lapsed into silence for a few moments, each lost in her own thoughts.

"I think we should let them find out for themselves," Helen finally commented.

Selenity nodded her head. "Yes that would be wise. Come now, lets' go and see Serenity. You have yet to meet her Helen." All three rose and headed to Serenity's room.


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Rei finished putting the last bun onto place and pinned a few soft white flowers around it. She stepped back and Serenity stood form her seat. The Senshi examined their princess and all their faces broke into smiles.

"You look beautiful Usagi," Mina exclaimed. All the others nodded their heads.

Serenity inclined her head gently. "Thank you," she said.

"Well, lets go down! The ball should have started by now and I don't want to waste any of it!" Lita said enthusiastically. The Senshi nodded their heads excitedly.

"You go ahead, I'll come down in a moment," Serenity said to them.

The girls looked at her curiously. "You sure? We can wait," Rei said.

Serenity gave them a weak smile. "I'm sure. I just want a few moments alone before I face all of them."

The girls nodded and headed toward the door. After all goodbyes were said, Serenity was left alone. She walked over to her balcony and looked outside. The doors were open, and a gentle breeze caressed her cheek. The sun was starting to set, bathing the landscape in a soft golden glow. She sighed. She was going to miss her home. Her hand was clutching her dress at level with her heart, and she could feel it beating wildly in her chest.

There was a soft knock at the door, and she turned at the sudden sound. "Come in," she called out. She was rather surprised when her mother opened the door, followed by Venus and Endymion's mother. "Mama…" she said, apparent confusion in her voice.

The three Queen's looked at the young princess in front of them Selenity smiled at her daughter. "You look lovely my dear," she said.

Serenity forced a half-hearted smile onto her face. "Thank you mother," she said. She wasn't really sure what to do, and her gaze kept wandering over to the woman beside her mother and Venus. Serenity had not taken the opportunity to really notice her when she had been watching the welcoming. Now she gazed at the woman. She was strikingly beautiful with long dark hair and blue eyes, and had a kind smile on her face.

"Your mother is right, you do look beautiful," the Earth Queen said.

Serenity felt a blush creeping onto her face. She gave a small curtsy. "Your ladyship does me honour," she said.

The woman came over and gave Serenity a hug that she had not been expecting. "My son will be a lucky man if you are willing to accept him," she murmured. As she pulled back, Serenity looked into her eyes. She noticed that the Earth Queen was taller than she herself was. There was a soft tenderness in the blue orbs. Serenity felt at ease with the woman before her. "And you do not need to refer to me as 'your ladyship.' Helen is fine, or, if chance willing, mother."

Serenity felt herself blush again. "I thank you for your kindness," she said. She refused to allow the tears she could feel prickling in her eyes to be visible.

Helen smiled down at her. "You have so much of your father in you," she said gently, looking into the innocent face before her.

Serenity widened her eyes a little. "Really? You knew my father?"

Helen nodded. "Yes, I did."

Serenity glanced at her mother. She was smiling. She brought her gaze back to the woman she would soon be related to. "I'm happy you knew him. I would like to hear stories of him sometime."

Helen's smile broadened at the Princesses words. "I would be delighted." She brought her hand up and stroked Serenity's cheek lightly, like a mother would to a young child.

Serenity smiled up at her, this time her smile genuine. At least his mother is kind, just as Darien said. The thought of Darien made her open her wounds anew. She didn't notice Venus flinch at the change of emotions.

Selenity did notice though, and she looked quizzically at the blonde Queen. Venus said nothing though, but motioned gently to the door with her head. Selenity nodded. "We should be heading down to the ballroom. Come down when you're ready Serenity," she said.

Serenity nodded.

Helen stepped away and the three Queens walked to the door. "I'm looking forward to us talking more," Helen said as she was leaving. Serenity nodded and watched as the door shut behind the three women. She went and sat on her bed, her attention focused on her clasped hands in her lap.

It was half an hour before she finally found the courage to put on her white mask and make her way to the ballroom.


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As soon as the three Queens had walked down the hall Selenity looked at Venus. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Venus looked at the worried mother. "Serenity is in deep pain. She is in love with Darien and it's hurting her to have to let him go."

Selenity blinked. "Let him go? Serenity never said she would actually accept Endymion, so why should she be hurting?" she asked. Helen nodded her head in agreement to the comment. Selenity had explained to her Serenity's avoidance of being wed.

Venus sighed. "You said she had changed, that she had matured all of a sudden. From what I gather about her emotions and what you have told me, Serenity is planning on accepting Endymion. She's thinking of peace, Selenity. Your daughter is putting her people first."

The three fell silent again. Helen was the one to break the silence again. "Good lass. At least she'll get the man she loves. Hopefully she won't be too angry with him," she said.

The other two agreed silently, and they headed to the already festive ballroom.

I do not own the rights to Sailormoon or any of the characters. That honour belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, and I am simply a lowly author who can use her characters for my plots.