Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Unmei wa Utsukushiku ❯ Enter Makoto and Minako ( Chapter 5 )

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

Before reading:

I do not claim own of Sailor Moon or any related indicia. Characters that I have created will be listed before each chapter if they appear in said chapter, and I do not mind you using my characters in your stories, if you ask.

Because I rarely receive feedback on my fan fictions, I would enjoy it very much if you would read and review this story. If you have an offensive review, please e-mail it to me instead of posting it in the reviews section, however if you are only criticizing, putting it in the review section is more than welcome. Thank you.

Extra:

I have my own slave driver! Yay, Ai! She is my driving force right now, so you may be seeing many chapters very soon!

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Serenity left the others as Rei and Zoisite returned to the group. She walked out onto the balcony and sat down on a bench overlooking the Moon Kingdom. `What will I do? I don't want to marry Endimion, but I can't tell my mother that. I'm betrothed. I can't run away, because Ceres might find me. Ceres.' She looked towards the lake where she had met him the night before.

`That's the very lake we first met at. He was so kind, feeding the fish. I was only 10, but I felt like I loved him instantly. That's my problem. I didn't look at him, I looked at his first action. He was rude to me half of the time, and he always had me do stuff I never wanted to, like bring him food.' She sighed and looked up at Earth. "What is it like down there?" she asked herself.

"It's not wonderful."

Serenity turned to see Artemis standing next to her. He smiled as he took a seat next to her, looking up at Earth. "It's a beautiful place, sure, but it fails in comparison to the Moon Kingdom. People down there are mean to each other. Some starve others, kill others for power, and kill themselves." Serenity gasped and Artemis looked at her. "There are people down there who are as wonderful as you or Queen Selenity, but they aren't in great number.

"Serenity, you must understand that your mother would never betroth you to anyone who has ever killed anyone with a garden hose." She giggled and he pulled her into a hug. "You can trust that you are going to like Prince Endimion. I hear he's very good looking, not that I am in any place to judge." Serenity giggled again and Artemis chuckled softly. "Now hurry on to your party. I think I just saw Princess Makoto of Jupiter come in. Say hello for me."

Serenity nodded and stood up. "Thank you." She left Artemis sitting alone on the bench. He sighed and looked up at Earth. "This won't be easy."

A hand fell to Artemis' shoulder and Luna's voice whispered in his ear. "It's never easy, but over time, she will love him. Even if it takes the full three years, that will only make their love stronger." Together, they stared up at Earth, terrified of what lie ahead.

Serenity spotted Princess Makoto and ran at her, giving her a tackle of a hug. "Makoto-chan!" she cried as she backed away to see who she was with. "You are Sir Nefurite, correct?" Makoto turned a light shade of pink.

"Yes, I am. You must be Princess Serenity. It is wonderful to finally meet you, Princess," said Nefurite, bowing slightly.

"Please, call me Serenity, if I may call you Nefurite."

"Of course."

Makoto giggled as Serenity pulled the two of them to join the group. "Let's see," said Serenity, looking at them all. "We are missing… Minako-chan!" Serenity looked around, but Minako had not arrived yet. She threw herself into Makoto's arms, who seemed to be ready for it. "I'm so nervous."

"I know. It must be hard. Endimion has such a bad reputation, and you must be terrified to meet him." Serenity giggled and shook her head.

"I'm nervous that he won't like me. I trust that he is a good person. My mother wouldn't have had me betrothed to anyone who would kill me if I clipped a flower from a garden." The whole group laughed and they continued to joke about the stories they had heard. Each story made the previous one seem even less likely, and the next one to be absurd.

Before anyone could say anything, Minako had pulled Serenity to her and rocked her side to side. "I'm so sorry, you shouldn't have to deal with all of this. We can find away around this all. You won't have to marry that horrible Prince." Serenity struggled to breath and finally, with help from the others, she was pulled out of Minako's arms.

"Minako-chan! It's great to see you, but I'm actually looking forward to meeting Endimion." Minako looked shocked and stammered backward until she ran into Kunzite, the Venus General.

"You-," Minako choked out, "want to meet this killer? He has killed 23 people already! They say he's training the flowers to bite people!" Everyone laughed except for Minako. "I'll have you know that I am not joking with you. This prince is dangerous and I will not have my Serenity betrothed to a barbarian such as him." This only made everyone laugh harder until, finally, Rei could speak.

"Minako-chan, Endimion is not like that. Those are only rumors. Why would Queen Selenity have Serenity, her only daughter, betrothed to a man such as that?"

"Exactly! She must have been brainwashed by his flowers' venomous fumes! They will make anyone follow Endimion's orders! That is why he cares for them so much!" Everyone continued laughing, doubled over. "I'll have you know this is no laughing matter! When he gets here, I'll show you! My Serenity will not have a man such as that. That is why I brought Kunzite along. He will take Endimion's place in the betrothal."

Everyone attempted to stop laughing as they looked at Minako. "Minako, no offence, but I think Kunzite would much rather be with someone else," said Ami, giggling. "I wonder what Endimion is really like. I bet he's smart."

"I bet he's tough. He has to be able to hold up his own," said Makoto dreamily.

"No, he's probably really cute. He has to be gorgeous!" said Rei, staring into space.

"As long as he will care more about me that that garden of his, I don't care!" said Serenity, getting slightly jealous at the way the others looked.

"You are all crazy! He his a killer. Shall I spell it out for you? K-i-l-l-e-r! Believe me, I know! My mother told me. She knows everything," said Minako, standing tall and proper.

Kunzite laughed and looked at Minako incredulously. "Your mother heard that from Queen Jupiter, so she believed it must be true."

Minako looked offended. "I will have you know that my mother is never wrong! She wouldn't listen to gossip and then repeat it as her own! She said Queen Mars saw it in the flames!"

"Your mother said that Queen Mars saw him fighting, but she didn't see who. That could be anyone. He could have been fighting for Princess Serenity's safety!"

"What?" gasped Serenity. "Fighting?" Serenity leaned against the wall. She hadn't even met him yet, but already she felt scared for his life. "Did Queen Mars see him…" she looked at Minako who's attitude changed quickly. Serenity could bring herself to say `die.'

"No! She didn't. Really, I promise. He will be okay. I think she even saw him winning."

"Yes, but just when you think you've won, things turn and you loose!" said Makoto, then she covered her mouth as she saw Serenity's look. Serenity was scared, but for some reason, she had a feeling that it would be okay.

"My mother never told me this," said Rei, just grasping the thought. "I don't understand. She has always told me everything!" Jaedite put his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Rei. Your mother didn't tell you because she was afraid you would worry. That you would overreact and help Serenity run away."

"Your saying that you knew, too?" Rei pulled away from Jaedite and sighed. "I can't believe-"

"STOP IT!" screamed Serenity, and many guests turned to look at her. "You shouldn't argue! Your mother was right not to tell you! You would have helped me to run away, and you can't deny it! I don't care if Queen Mars saw Endimion fighting! I don't even know if I will like him! All you all are doing is making it harder on me!" Serenity ran out onto the balcony, now vacant, and sat back down on the bench.

She buried her face in her hands, as confused as ever. One minute she was giddy to meet Endimion, and the next she was terrified. She hated him, and she liked him all at the same time. There was no way to sort out her feelings. She looked up and glanced around. "Artemis! This is where you come in and give my guidance, please." She knew he wasn't going to be there this time, but someone did come, Queen Selenity.

"Serenity? What are you doing outside? Why aren't you with your friends?" She pushed a stray hair out of her daughters face.

"I'm scared, mother. I'm really scared."

A deep sigh came from Selenity as she pulled her daughter to her. "Serenity, you trust me, right?" Serenity nodded her head as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Then trust me when I say everything will be okay. You will find that Prince Endimion is not a bad person, and he will love you. Please don't let the rumors get in your way of finding true love."

"But what about the fighting? Minako-sama said that Queen Mars saw Prince Endimion in the fire, and he was fighting. Then Makoto-sama said that when you think your winning, you loose. What if I fall in love with him, and he looses?"

"Serenity, please don't be afraid to love him for fear of loosing him. You will not loose Prince Endimion. You will always have each other."

They sat there, holding each other for a few moments before Rei came out onto the balcony. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Princess Serenity, we need to talk." Serenity looked at her mother who nodded at her, and then Rei took her hand, pulling her through large clumps of people. They stepped on feet and bumped into many of the guests. "I'm sorry!" Rei would call, still pulling Serenity. At last, the two emerged from the crowd and joined the group.

Eyes darted toward the door, laughter and voices stopped. Serenity was confused, Rei had wanted to talk to her. Why was everything so quite? She looked at her friends, each of them were staring at the entrance to the ballroom. Serenity glanced at the entrance and instantly knew who was coming. "Endimion."