Installment Number Three of the series is here! Thanks for all of your e-mails about this and my other works of fan fiction. Please keep them coming. One minor change...I decided to do the Minako/Kunzite meeting instead of the Rei/Jadeite meeting because of a temporary dearth of creative juices. The latter will be out as soon as I get an inspiration, hopefully sooner rather than later. Disclaimer——Sailor Moon is a copyrighted and trademarked series, with all rights and privileges belonging to the respective owners. I’ve heard that in Japan it takes forever to get a patent, during which time your information is open to the public. Far be it from me to infringe on these rights. But if you hire Johnnie Cochran, I’ll track you down somehow——and believe you me, it won’t be pleasant. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The First Time I Saw Her... By: Gramarye Some day you came And I knew you were the one You were the rain, you were the sun But I needed both, ‘cause I needed you You were the one I was dreaming of all night When it’s dark you are my light But don’t forget Who’s always our guide It is the child in us --Enigma “The Child in Us” One word is too often profaned For me to profane it; One word is too often disdained For thee to disdain it; One hope is too like despair For prudence to smother; And pity from thee more dear Than that from another. --Percy Bysshe Shelly --------------------------------------------------------------------- Meetings 3: Kunzite and Minako Things have a way of turning out differently than a person ex- pects. Just think about it. You wait and wait and wait for a holiday or a party to come, and then it’s the same old people talking about the same things, only wearing fancy clothes. Or you go somewhere on a trip that’s supposed to be exciting, and it pours rain from the day you get there until the day you leave. The opposite is also true. Something that sounds mind-numbingly boring can turn out to be a life-changing experience. Either you learn something new, do something special, or meet someone who captures your mind and heart. In my life, I have found that the last instance is all too often true. When one of the minor trade agreements between the Earth and the Silver Millennium expired some time ago, the powers that be (namely, Her Majesty Queen Serenity and Their Majesties The King and Queen of the Earth) decided that their children ought to get a lesson in political negotiations. The heirs to each of the royal thrones, along with their respective bodyguard details, were to travel to the Palace of the Moon to arrange a new settlement. I suppose that Their Majesties felt that a simple and small trade pact would be easy enough to agree upon, and that any foul-ups would not affect all of the vital trade between the planets. Anyway, Prince Endymion and his four top generals were invited to the Moon as the Terran delegation. After the tedious business of getting settled in our quarters had been finished, Prince Endymion decided to call the four of us together before the conference was to start. We expected the traditional Don’t- ogle-the-Princess-you-know-she’s-mine-keep-your-minds-on-your-mission speech that we had heard so many times before. This time, however, His Highness had a much more serious message for us. “Intelligence has told me that a renegade group of dissidents have been threatening our lives and the lives of the Princess Serenity and her court. While we always take the greatest precautions, the danger is that the threats have been very specific. You four must be on your guard at all times.” Endymion had dark shadows under his eyes; he had obviously lost sleep worrying about the safety of his beloved Serenity. “Sire,” said Nephrite, “Shouldn’t one of us be on active patrol? I mean, not all of us need to be there. I think that one person should stay hidden, observe the conference, and if unfortunately something were to happen then that person would be able to act with a minimum of interference.” Endymion nodded slowly. “That is a very good plan, Nephrite. Any volunteers?” “I’ll go.” Did I say that? What ever possessed me to volunteer for a duty that would either be boring or nerve-wracking? Judging by the look on Endymion’s face, he was as surprised as I was. “Excellent.” He had visibly regained his composure. “You know how the conference room will be laid out.” He pulled a small square of paper from a hidden recess in his uniform, unfolded it, and spread it out on the table in front of us. As he spoke, he indicated our posi- tions with his index finger. “The Princess and I will be on opposite sides of the table. To her right will be the Princess Mercury, with the Princess Jupiter on the same side. To her left will be the Princess Venus, with the Princess Mars on that same side. Nephrite, you will be on my far left. Zoisite will be in between us. Jadeite will be to my immediate right. Kunzite, you may station yourself behind one of the large marble pillars in the back. Be close enough to clearly observe, yet far away enough to remain out of sight.” “Yes, sire,” we said simultaneously. The four of us stood, bowed, and left the room. I hurried down the cool marble halls toward the conference room. More soldiers than normal were in the halls—the royal family took the threats seriously. My Terran uniform caused more than a few of the soldiers to look at me suspiciously, but I ignored them and found the room with no interference. A long glass table sat in the center of the room. Five chairs ranged down each of the sides, with the two that appeared to be the most comfortable in the middle. Assorted papers, folders, and documents were scattered over the polished glass. The pink-white marble walls gave off a soft warm glow in the afternoon sun, which streamed in through the open skylight. Foolish to leave that open, I thought snidely. With all of the rumors going around one can’t be too careful with any unguarded en- trances. I was about to call a guard into the room to close it, but my sharp ears detected the sound of approaching footsteps. I quickly con- cealed myself in the shadows behind a tall column—not a moment too soon. The door opened with a soft creak, and I immediately heard a girl’s voice say: “I hate these functions! Why do I have to do all of the hard things?” “Stop whining, Serenity.” Another girl’s voice, this one with more than a hint of exasperation. “Your mother wants you to learn how to negotiate with others. When you become Queen you’ll have to know what to do, and we’re supposed to help you.” A third girl spoke. “None of us actually likes to attend these meetings, Serenity. Except maybe Mercury here.” “Very funny, Jupiter,” a fourth girl replied dryly. “Our coun- terparts will be here any moment. Let’s get down to business and or- ganize this mess.” By peering around the curvature of the column, I was able to see the room’s new occupants. Princess Serenity was there, of course, her long white gown skimming the ground. Three other young women were there in uniforms that resembled sailor fuku. I had never been properly introduced to any of the Sailor Senshi, as the Princess Serenity very seldom came to Earth and Terrans almost never visited the Silver Millennium. My duties as a soldier kept me out of the way of the dip- lomats, for the most part. For that I was thankful. By the time the room had been put into some semblance of order, Prince Endymion and the other three generals had arrived. “Your Highness, with your permission may I introduce the head generals of the Earth. To my far left is General Nephrite, next to him is General Zoisite, and to my right is General Jadeite.” Endymion was relatively brief with his introductions. “By the same token, Your Highness, may I introduce the Sailor Senshi of the Inner Planets. To my far right is Sailor Jupiter, to my right is Sailor Mercury, and to my left is Sailor Mars.” Princess Se- renity matched his brevity. Once the required bows and curtsies had been completed, everyone sat down to begin the conference. Following the prescribed methods of chivalrous conduct, they pulled out the chairs for the women before sitting down themselves. Before any discussion could begin, Sailor Mercury opened up a folder and asked offhandedly: “Prince Endymion, where is your fourth general? I believe his name is Kunzite.” I winced. That was one part of the plan we hadn’t decided on. I had heard of Sailor Mercury’s coldly logical mind, and prayed silently that my lord and master wouldn’t make a complete fool of himself. “Regrettably, madam, he was called away on urgent business for a diplomatic envoy,” Prince Endymion answered coolly. “I also notice that one of your Senshi is absent as well.” “Sailor Venus? She had an unfortunate death in the family and had to return to her home for the traditional funeral rites. If you are familiar with Venusian customs and rituals, you will know that the services can be extremely extensive.” Princess Serenity smiled sweetly. “In any case, our numbers are equal, so there will be no bullying by either side.” I grinned. Maybe I wasn’t going to be bored to tears after all. The negotiations proceeded smoothly. I could tell that Their Highnesses were not entirely thrilled to be there, but Zoisite and Sailor Mercury kept the group on task and maintained some degree of de- corum. If the tabletop hadn’t been made of glass, Serenity and Endymion would have been playing what is commonly known as “footsie” under the table. Queen Serenity obviously knew her daughter well. The day was quite warm, however, and I found myself struggling to stay awake. The shadow of the column made my hiding place nice and dark—more than once I snapped my head up to discover that the discussion had moved onto another section during my doze. This will never do, I thought. I can surely manage to keep my eyes open on duty. As each piece of business was wrapped up, I found myself wondering if perhaps Endymion had overreacted. There were plenty of guards outside and around the palace, even more so because of the threats. I wasn’t exactly needed to lurk in the darkness like a bat, waiting for something that was unlikely at best. I can’t fully describe what happened next; it was too much like a whirlwind. The rays of sun through the skylight dimmed abruptly as a figure clothed in black dropped from the roof and landed on the table. With an agile twist of his body, he leapt from the table and grabbed the Princess by the throat, throwing her out of her chair. The Senshi and the Generals were too surprised to move or even shout, and the figure pulled her away from them, toward the door. Endymion drew his sword, murder in his eyes, but the figure whipped out a dagger and pressed it to the Princess’s neck. “Drop your weapons or your Princess dies!” he shouted. Endymion hesitated, then let his sword fall. My fellow generals also rid themselves of the swords they carried. “Now, I want the pretty little Sailor Senshi to detransform. Her Majesty will pay a hefty price to have her daughter back alive, and your respective planets will follow suit.” The attacker’s eyes, the only thing visible through the black cloth obscuring his face, glittered with a hard and merciless light. He gestured with his dagger, indicating that they should move away from the table. I was ready to creep up behind the fiend and behead him on the spot. Yet before I could take a step forward, I heard a voice ring out: “CRESCENT BEAM!” A bright light shot from the other corner of the room, opposite to where I was concealed. The assassin wheeled around in alarm, and Serenity took the opportunity to faint, slipping out of his reach. He gasped, then howled in a hideous mixture of pain and rage before vaporizing in a flash of light. The Senshi ran to their fallen princess, with the Endymion and the generals close behind. I swiftly focused my gaze to where the beam of light had emerged, and received the shock of my life. A beautiful young woman in a yellow and gold sailor fuku stepped out of the shadows, adjusting the bright crimson bow in her blond hair. She seemed slightly pleased with herself, but her pleasure took second place to her concern about the princess’s well being. She hurried to Serenity’s side, and knelt next to her. “She’ll be okay,” Sailor Mercury said. “I can’t see any injuries, but we should move her to her chambers until she comes to.” “My poor, brave princess.” Endymion was turning to gooey love mush before our very eyes. I half-expected him to faint as well. The Senshi gently picked up Serenity and carried her out of the room. Endymion followed, and the generals had no choice but to tag along behind him. Sailor Venus remained behind, and began to gather up the papers that had been scattered in the confusion. After working in silence for a few moments, she lifted her head and said: “You can come out now, General. Everyone’s gone.” Propelled by some unknown force, I left my hiding place. “I thought you were back on Venus,” I said stupidly. “Apparently I’m not. I have been in this room since early this morning, just in case someone tried to hide a bomb or lay a trap in here. I watched you come in. By the way, you did an excellent job of concealing yourself.” “Not as good a job as you, my lady.” I extended a hand and helped her to her feet. “You were incredible.” Strangely, she turned her back on me. Her body was tense, hands clenched into tight fists. When she spoke, her voice was barely under control. “I was a fool, General. A complete and utter fool. The skylight should never have been open in the first place…I opened it to let air into the room when I first came in, and forgot to close it. My little oversight nearly cost my Princess her life. That renegade wouldn’t have been able to enter if I hadn’t practically invited him in. Minako no baka!” She stamped her foot on the ground, and spun around on her heel. The loathing, the self-hatred in her eyes was so vicious that I almost wept. “Come on, then, say it!” she cried angrily. “Mercury is the brains of the Inner Senshi, Jupiter is the strength, and Mars is the soul. And what am I? A flake, a ditz, an airhead, and an imbecile. I’m sure Sailor Mercury could think up plenty more, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t deserve to be the leader.” My cursed inner voice prompted me to say what I had been thinking all along. “That’s not true, Sailor Venus. You demean yourself.” “What?” she whispered. “What am I, then? Brains, strength, soul, what is left?” I smiled gently, and gazed into tear-filled eyes that were mesmerizingly beautiful. “You are the heart.”