Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ All's Fair in Love and War ❯ Aminiha Returns ( Chapter 32 )

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

The sun rose slowly, bathing the Moon Kingdom in its warm glow. Lying in bed, the King and Queen slept with their eleven-month-old daughter laying between them. The tiny princess had been crying in the night, and once Kino had picked her up from her crib, he didn't have the heart to put her back in, so instead her brought her back to bed with him. Now in the wee hours of the morning, Princess Serenity woke up and decided it was time to thank her daddy for his generous act. She managed to get herself up on her hands and knees and poked her father's cheek.

Kino groaned from his sleep. Serenity giggled and latched her hand onto Kino's ear and pulled. The action managed to wake Kino up quite effectively. He turned his head to see what the source of his new pain was, and grinned when he saw his daughter staring at him as she fell onto her stomach. He chuckled at her surprised expression and quickly picked her up before she could begin crying.

Kino brought Serenity onto his chest, where she stroked her tiny back as she lay there. He laid his head back onto his pillow and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of his daughter's heartbeat against his own. Her breathing became deeper and Kino smiled as she fell asleep. Fatigue soon overtook him as well, and with his hand resting on her back, he too fell asleep.

It was in this position Selenity found them when she woke up a couple of hours later. Propped up on her elbows, she gazed at her husband and daughter sleeping, seeming completely at peace. The love that radiated off Kino even as he slept nearly brought tears to Selenity's eyes as she leaned over and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. He stirred but did not wake up. The little girl on his chest did wake up however, and she opened her large blue eyes. She was pinned down by her father's hand, so all she could do was lift her head a little and gaze up at the Queen, her mother. She stretched out her hand, which Selenity kissed gently. She gently put the child's fingers between her lips, which made the princess giggle.

"Are the two of you against me?" came a sleepy comment from Kino. He cracked open one eye and stared up at Selenity who was trying not to laugh.

"No of course not," she replied sweetly. "Why would you think that?"

"Oh I don't know," he said as he propped himself up on one elbow, keeping his other hand on Serenity to prevent her from falling. "It may be the fact that you both have woken me from my sleep today already."

Selenity smiled. "Serenity was the one giggling," she defended herself.

Kino chuckled as he looked at Serenity, who's blue eyes were focused on him. "Can you believe that?" he asked her with a lopsided grin. "Your mommy is trying to blame you for waking me. That's not very nice now is it?" The little Princess simply grinned as she reached out and ran her tiny hands down Kino's nose. He smiled and kissed the small fingers as they came down to his mouth.

Selenity smiled as she leaned over and kissed Kino on his shoulder. He turned his head to look at her, as Serenity became intensely fascinated with his ear. Kino smiled at her as he endured his daughter tugging on his earlobe. "I love you," he murmured. Selenity couldn't help but lean over and plant a tender kiss on his lips, an action, which he did not protest to in the least.

~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~

It was hovering, she could feel it. That was pretty much all the crystal was doing though. Hovering. Selenity felt like crying with frustration, but she pushed herself to keep going.

She was standing in the same room her mother had always trained her in. There, in the center of the chamber, she was trying to continue on, alone, with no one to help her. The truth was no one could help her. Learning to use the powers of the crystal was a task that was completely left up to her now, with no guidance or help. Selenity searched her mind in a desperate attempt to remember all the hints, counsel, and tips her mother had given her, but she was finding it difficult to remember any of them.

The crystal dropped to her hands and Selenity let out the breath she was holding in. This was not going very well, and she knew that she needed to learn to use her power. It was only a matter of time before she would be called on to use them, but at the pace her training was going she doubted she would make much progress any time soon.

She slumped her shoulders and looked sadly down at the dormant stone. She knew there was a way she could unleash the power, there had to be. Why was it so difficult for her though? Why was she not making any progress?

Determination flashed through the Moon Queen's eyes as she straitened her back and held the crystal out once more. All of her thoughts went to the crystal, every ounce of her energy she gave up. She remembered that there had been times when she had caused the crystal to glow bright and levitate without a problem, so she would simply try to replicate that. Clearing her mind of any thoughts and emotions, she took a deep breath, and then allowed an image of Kino to come to her mind. That's what had worked before, so why not now?

She could feel the crystal lift from her hands and float up, higher than it had before. Keeping her emotions in check and a stone face, she pictured Kino's smile, the way that he caressed her when they were alone, the way he held Serenity...that thought brought the faintest smile to Selenity's lips, and the room was suddenly filled with an odd heat. Selenity opened her eyes, and was rather surprised to see the crystal directly in front of her face, glowing brightly and emitting heat through the room.

The excitement she started to feel popped the bubble of concentration she had though, and the crystal fell to her hands, and the light slowly faded from it. Giving an exasperated sigh, Selenity went to sit down and pour herself a glass of water.

Gulping down the water, she began to ponder on her progress. She had finally figured out that concentrating on the people that she loved helped her bring out more power, but only sometimes. She could still remember when her mother had been teaching her she had unleashed power just by allowing Kino to drift through her mind. The time that she thought Kino had been killed brought about the greatest surge of power she had ever had, but she couldn't replicate that now, no matter how hard she tried. There was something that she was missing.

Frustrated and tired beyond belief, Selenity had no strength left in her to even think. Slowly and awkwardly she stood up and walked out of the room, clutching the crystal in her hands. She had to figure it out soon. For now though, all she could do was pray that the 'soon' she was hoping for wouldn't come too late, at a time when lives were at stake.

~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Are you sure?" Kino asked, wishing desperately that what Yokiro was telling him was not true.

"I'm afraid so," the Moon General said sullenly. Kino glanced at Selenity who was sitting next to him, and frowned at how the colour had drained from her face. Everyone in the room was deathly silent. Kino sighed rubbed his temple. "And Mars is siding with her?"

Yokiro nodded his head. "Yes my Lord."

General Malachite cleared his throat from his seat next to Paris. "Pardon my asking, but how could the Queen have gathered a large enough army in such a short time?"

Yokiro shrugged. "I do not know. Even with the support of Mars, I was surprised to hear that she was returning."

Mercury sighed. "She is coming back with vengeance in mind probably. Even though none of us can see how she could have the strength to attack, we should not underestimate her."

Venus sighed as her husband laid his hand on hers. "I suppose we will all have to rally against her then. I for one don't want to risk giving her an easy victory, so we should combine forces again."

Kino groaned quietly. "She is heading toward the Moon. It is clear who she is after, but with Mars with her...I'm almost afraid to guess who is initiating the war and who is the accompanying ally." Everyone went quiet in the room again. Everyone knew what Kino meant. Aminiha wanted revenge for the defeat she suffered at Diana's hands. Mars wanted revenge for losing Selenity to Kino. Just like Kino, no one dared guess who was the instigator of the new attack.

Jupiter sighed as he leaned his elbows on the table. "I do not like this, and this time around we need to take more precautionary action. Kino, as much as I hate to say this, I told you once I would not join you in a war against Mars. I do not wish to risk my families safety." Kino gave a small nod before Jupiter continued. "However, since Aminiha is tangled up in this, I think it's safe to say that she wants to finish what she started last time. Whether Mars is planning it or not, she is going to come against everyone, and Mars will be obliged to follow her."

Paris nodded. "Jupiter is right. Aminiha wouldn't come just to help Mars. She is planning something."

Malachite rubbed his chin. "I still don't see why she is coming, since there is no way she could have gathered sufficient forces to come against us.

Mercury shrugged his shoulders. "It's hard to say, but she must have done it somehow."

Hera had a worried expression on her face. "What are we going to do though? We weren't anticipating her return, and now there are all the children to worry about..." she let the sentence hang in the air, knowing she had made her point.

Selenity spoke up for the first time during the meeting. "We have to send them away."

"Away? Helen asked, sounding rather perplexed.

Jupiter slowly nodded his head. "Yes...away. As soon as possible, somewhere where they will be safe until this passes."

Mercury sighed. "That would actually be a good plan. Each child would need a parent to go along with them as well, which would be a good strategy on our part."

Selenity's brother nodded. "You're right. If anything were to happen to one of his, each planet would still have a leader. Aminiha can't take over a planet unless both rulers are dead or completely under her submission."

Lady Mercury looked a little hesitant. "Where would they go though?" she asked.

Kino had already been pondering that. He looked up at everyone. "They would go to the planet Luna came from. Aminiha has already been in that Galaxy, and she has no reason for going there now since her business there is complete." Selenity saw the flash of pain run over Kino's face as he remembered it was his planet that was Aminiha's finished business.

"They should go there as soon as possible," Paris said, worry clearly written on his face.

Jupiter nodded. "I agree. It will take a while for Aminiha to get here, but I want them away from here before she even gets close. Shall we say that three days from now the ship departs with the children?"

Everyone nodded to Jupiter's words. "The children should have their mothers," Mercury added, and no one tried to contest his statement. It was decided. Three days later the children would go to Luna's home planet with their mothers.

~oOoOoOoOoOo~

"I'm am still in shock that she is coming already," Venus exclaimed. She, Lady Mercury, Helen, Hera, and Selenity were out in the garden, sitting on a blanket on the lawn. Ami, Lita, Mina, and Serenity were crawling around a blanket beside their mothers, playing with miscellaneous toys. Tory and Crin were running around the lawn, chasing each other and shrieking with laughter.

Lady Mercury sighed. "Her 'visit' is only going to cause more pain and suffering," she said softly, laying her hand on her stomach. She and Mercury had announced the previous night that she was with child again, already two months into her pregnancy. It was no surprise that her emotions were swaying her left and right, and at the moment she looked ready to cry.

Helen placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It will be alright, you'll see. Things will turn out fine, and hopefully your little one won't be born into a world of war." Selenity was surprised at how calm Helen looked. Since she and Paris had arrived on the Moon, she had been antsy and nervous, since Endymion was not with them. He had fallen ill only a few days before they were supposed to come to the Moon for the meeting that Kino had called, and the doctor had advised that the small child should not travel. It was the first time Helen had gone anywhere without him, and it was obviously distressing to her.

Hera sighed as she looked over at the baby girls and smiled. For the moment things did seem peaceful at least. All the mothers turned their eyes to their daughters. That peace that they all felt was suddenly disrupted. Two giggling boys fell onto the blanket amidst all the women, causing them all to jump.

"Tory, Crin!" Hera said sharply. Both boys quickly picked themselves up off the blanket, and while trying to hide their smiles, apologized to the ladies for scaring them. "Be more careful," Hera chided as the boys ran off to continue in whatever game they were playing.

Selenity's mind wandered to the men in the palace. They were composing letters to Pluto, Saturn, and Neptune, informing them of what was going on. They were then to start making arrangements for the departure of their queens and children.

Selenity sighed, hoping that Helen's words would be true, and that things would turn out fine.

Of course, there is always a high price to pay for peace