No sooner had Nephrite found Kunzite than Jadeite and Zoisite appeared. It always amused him how easily they seemed to gravitate to one another as if there was some unseen force between them. He could see the doubts in the two younger member’s eyes, like he knew his own showed. If there were any in Kunzite’s he was hiding it well. He would give his loyalty to Kunzite and to his Prince, his pride would demand nothing else nor did the respect that he had for these two men.
 
Perhaps Kunzite wasn’t nearly as put together about all of this as he seemed.
 

“I didn’t know red was a part of your uniform brother, I thought that was my colour,” he teased gently, his eyes fixed on the red bit of fabric peeking out from Kunzite’s pocket. Now wasn’t this interesting. Wonder what or whom he should say, it was from.

The servants returned, reported quietly to the one in charge, and dispersed. The remaining woman reentered Beryl's room, the door closing behind. They must have delivered the summons, which meant his Heavenly Kings were on their way, and his chance to speak with them was fast approaching. He considered what he would say to them, weighing different approaches, different options; part of him was inclined to be furious with them from the start, and point out exactly how foolish they were being in following Beryl blindly, but he almost doubted that he could pull it off, and doubted more that such methods would do anything but convince them that they were correct in what they were doing by showing instability. He briefly wondered if bringing up Serenity's friends would have any effect; they had seemed friendly with them, right? They had all been getting along, at least - he thought that there had been some mutual attraction between them, though honestly he was usually too wrapped up in Serenity to really pay attention to the world around them closely. He really thought there had been something more - he remembered the flirting, teasing each other mercilessly, shrugging shoulders at off comments -- but that didn't make sense - why would they agree to attack the Moon Kingdom if they were attracted to - if they liked or even loved the Senshi? Had they fought? Had there been some great falling out he wasn't aware of? Maybe mentioning them wasn't the wisest choice of action.

What, then?

Footsteps approaching alerted him to their approach, and all at once he knew what he wanted to do, what he wanted to say. He wanted them to see how ridiculous their arguments were, to be confronted with what Beryl has them believing - and finally learn for himself what he had said to turn so many against the Moon.

When finally he saw them through the open corridor, he stepped out and, his voice strong and even, questioned, "Why do you fight?"

bolded words:

Queen Serenity placed herself on the throne, and let her eyes wander across the grandest part of the palace. The blue crystalline walls and ceilings  twinkled and shined whenever the sunlight hit them, and the carpet made of the finest of silks didn't have a single lick of dust or wrinkle. The most powerful part of the tower, the alter, was overlooking the entrance; tall and majestic. Where the prayers of the moon kingdom could gather, the alter was a large crystal structure standing higher then the throne; where one could kneel at it's base and those of the royal bloodline could pray for the power of their planet to protect them and give them strength. It had been many a millennia since it was last used, and Queen Serenity hoped she would never have to.

At that moment, the room darkened. The walls ceased their sparkles for but a second, as though something were blocking all the sunlight. Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach, and she left her throne and approached the window and looked outside.

There was an enormous dark spot on the surface of the sun, and a small flare was emerging from it. It danced and flickered as though it were alive, then as soon as it appeared, it vanished-the sunlight flickering back into the palace and making the crystal walls spring back to life. What was only a mere second or two seemed like hours. Her heart pounding, she could only stand there, as still as the crystal pedestal alter.

Suddenly, she heard artemis's voice call out to her. The queen jolted awake, her throat tight in terror. Queen Serenity tried to awaken quickly, but her dream still buzzed around in her head.

A nightmare? Something happened on the sun? What was that about?


"Thank you for coming on such a short notice." Queen Serenity started, hoping her words didn't slur due to her sheepishness. "I've noticed that the people on earth have become rather restless as of late. Do you two have any information regarding this matter?"

Deciding that she'd rather be in the gardens again than at breakfast, Jupiter stood up, apologized to the Queen for leaving early, and followed after Mercury and Princess Serenity. She had lost her usual appetite sitting at the almost silent table, trying not to squirm in guilt. She stretched her arms as they walked down the hallway, relaxing.

She purposefully trailed behind the Princess, making sure she was protect from both sides even if it wasn't obvious they were serving as guards. They emerged in the gardens, and Jupiter was pleased when Mercury led them towards the rose beds for the lesson. She was very proud of her tiny patch of Earth flowers.

Jupiter settled on a close by stone bench to watch the lesson unfold, not wanting ot get in the way of Serenity's view. 

"If you need any help identifying some of the plants, just ask me," she said. After a long pause, her expression changed to worry. "Do you think....the Queen is onto us?"

Serenity followed Mercury into the gardens. She could not help but feel relieved to get outside. The fresh air would do her some good. She glanced up at the sky and admired the stars. She caught a glimpse of the Earth and stopped for a minute to admire its beauty.

She wondered if by some chance of luck, no fate, Endymion might be glancing up at the sky right now and if he was looking at the moon, or if he was asleep. She had no idea what time it was on Earth, only that she wanted to go see the prince who had stolen her heart that night at the ball.

Serenity returned back to real time and took a seat in front of the gardens. She took the materials that Mercury gave her.

“Thank- you Mercury,” Serenity said as she searched the garden for a flower to draw. Her eyes caught sight of small blue flowers. She decided to start there. She was not sure what type of flowers they were, but luckily Jupiter was there and offered to help her discover the names of the flowers she did not know.

Serenity glanced over her shoulder and asked, “Jupiter, what are these small blue flowers, they are so stunning. Just like Endymion’s eyes, Serenity thought as she began to sketch the small flowers.

She focused on the flowers and the colors she chose to sketch. She finished her first flower, it was not perfect, but it did look like a flower. Serenity then moved on to the next flower, her eyes drawn to a deep red rose. Why did every flower have to remind her of Endymion? Not that she minded. She began to sketch the rose with a softness around the edges.

She was remembering the first rose Endymion gave her. It was so soft, so smooth. Serenity wanted to recreate that moment in her drawing. She seemed to zone out as she sketched, paying close attention to every detail of the rose. When she was finished and took a look at her flower, she was shocked at how well it was drawn. She did not think she was capable of such artistry, but then again, she had not been thinking when she drew the rose. She simply felt what was in her heart and used that to draw the rose she had been looking at.

Serenity then caught glance of another flower. These were pink, small and looked like small bells. By now Serenity felt she could draw these just as well as the rose. She began to sketch, not paying too much attention to her drawing as she began to talk with her senshi.

Serenity tried to re-assure Jupiter. “I do not think she is Jupiter. She is so strict, if she found out I had gone to Earth and saw Endymion, I think she would have locked me in my room by now.” Serenity silently thought her mother did not know. She could not bear not seeing Endymion. Just the thought of not being able to see him made her heart ache.

“But hey it will be exciting to study Earth later right. I think I should know about the place I visit so frequently,” Serenity said feeling proud of herself.

She had lost track of her drawing and when she glanced down she saw a pink and green jumbled mess. It looked more like a deformed dragon or some sad mysterious creature than a flower.


Serenity said with an embarrassed smile, “well how did I do?” She held up her three pictures for Mercury to assess.

He tensed and frowned. Should he be insulted? His loyalty had been given a long time ago to those men and their prince, he was no traitor.

“We swore once... and I am not about to yield.” he said with conviction despite the lack of warmth in his voice.

Nephrite's intervention teased his own curiosity, but Kunzite didn't look in the mood for a witty comment. Despite a very small but amused hum, he chose to follow quietly. Beryl had summoned them and she didn't like to be kept waiting. The quicker they'd got there, the better. Not that it stopped him from over-thinking it.

There were doubts then? Even in the others. It had been small but clear gleams in their eyes. Kunzite was the best at hiding his emotions but did he too feel it? Zoisite's biggest doubts weren't about the war, Beryl or even the women...

Pulled from his thoughts, he came to a sharp stop when Endymion's figure blocked their ways.

Would they be enough to protect their prince from his own blindness? Something in his eyes... There was no way this conversation could go well, but they had to wake him up.

“Can't you see?”

Calm blue eyes carefully assessed the Princess's sketches. Despite the unskilled hand of the artist, the rose was excellently rendered. You could almost expect to touch it and feel the velvet softness of the petals or lean forward to breathe in the sweet aroma. The other two did not occupy the same level as the first--the rendering of the hydrangea looked well enough to recognize it but the redvein enkianthus was not so fortunate. It was immediately clear to the teacher which subject her student found most interesting. It would be difficult to continue her lesson with only the copies Princess Serenity had produced, but that was why she brought her own guides.

She pulled one of the tomes forward and thumbed through it for an illustration of the flowers that the Princess had selected. Redvein enkianthus, E. campanulatus, appeared first.

"The rose looks wonderful, Princess. I can see where your attention is focused," she commented with a smile, aiming to begin her botany lecture with a compliment. "This is a more complete image of the bell-shaped flower, known as redvein enkianthus."

"More complete" was a very kind way of putting it. The other sailor soldiers may have smiled to themselves if they overheard the phrase, probably noting that Mercury was Mercury in all situations. Who else would have found a way to phrase criticism so delicately?

From that starting point she led the Princess through a close study of the different physical aspects of the flower, calling the blonde girl's attention to elements of the plants' morphologies that she had recorded in her own sketches or could see clearly depicted in the book. They took opportunities to examine these elements on the plants themselves, always with care not to disturb the flowers. Sailor Mercury would have avoided harming or removing the plants in most instances, but it seemed even more important under the watchful eye of Sailor Jupiter. She knew how much the taller soldier treasured the gardens and the flora within. This phytomorphology lecture was laced with questions for Princess Serenity to answer, confirming whether or not she was absorbing the information, as well as proposing that her student provide hypotheses for scenarios before Mercury revealed the truth. She just hoped that today the Princess would not let her mind wander too much, and might actually absorb some of the information offered.

When it came time to review the rose, Mercury had to pick up a book from her loaned stack. She smiled up at Sailor Jupiter, thinking that this would certainly be a topic for the garden-loving sailor soldier to enjoy. The things she was teaching Princess Serenity were probably well learned by the ponytailed teenager; after all, she spent so much of her free time nurturing plants. Roses were still unusual, without too much information readily available on the Moon. Sailor Mercury knew how much the gift of a rose had meant to Jupiter, so she hoped that this topic would entice her comrade as well. She had a personal interest in it, as well: it was the subject of the first conversation she had at the ball. The blue-haired girl blushed slightly at the memory, but tried to brush it aside. She didn't have time to reminisce like that.

It did, however, make her want to address Jupiter's earlier question. She had mulled over the answer from the Princess, trying to place her own thoughts in order.

"Jupiter, I am concerned that the Queen knows much more than we expected," she commented, trying not to sound as worried as she felt. Her hands trembled slightly as they touched the pages of the book, this one dedicated entirely to roses.

"Her comment this morning, asking us all to learn about Earth... I can't tell if she is warning us that she knows our secret, or in some way condoning it."

Sailor Mercury sighed.

"What did you think? Do you think she may have been asking us to reveal our activities to her?"

Based on Princess Serenity's earlier comment, Sailor Mercury expected that the Princess would restate her belief that her mother was ignorant of their trips to the forbidden planet. She wanted that to be true, particularly for the Princess's sake. It made Mercury contented to see her Princess so happy. Now that she had found love, there was a radiance about her even brighter than before. The Princess meant so much to Mercury; she couldn't bear to keep the girl from pursuing joy. It was only because of that love that Mercury had lied to the Queen about their trip. But she wasn't sure that this was truly the right choice--she wasn't sure that this love that seemed so good and pure right now wouldn't end with heartbreak for the Princess. What were they supposed to do?

Kunzite's eyes followed Nephrite's gaze, landing on a piece of red fabric poking out of his pocket. Confused, Kunzite pulled it out, revealing to all that it was simply a red ribbon. "How in the...?" he spoke aloud, holding the ribbon up. He didn't remember putting that in his pocket. How did he gain access to a worthless piece of ribbon, anyway.

He suddenly froze. The ribbon felt silky and smooth between his fingers, and he suddenly seemed to remember where it had come from.

"I know that times are hard for you soldiers on Earth, so in case we are unable to see each other again..." she paused, reaching up and untying the signature red ribbon from her hair. She held it out to him, and he accepted her gift without question. "Don't forget," she whispered. His eyes met her bright blue ones, and he knew in that moment that she would always be in his heart, no matter what happened.

Kunzite was brought back to reality by Endymion's voice suddenly filling the corridor. He nodded at Zoisite's answer to their prince's question. Ribbon still held tightly in hand, Kunzite said, "We took an oath to protect you and this kingdom. That is always why we fight."

Venus had followed Serenity and Mercury outside, where they began their lesson. Fearing she might doze off herself listening to Mercury’s lecture, Venus turned her mind toward Earth, easily visible in the distance and so beautiful. She remembered one of her last meetings with Kunzite, when she had handed him her red ribbon, one of her most personal items that was on her at all times. Of course she had more than one, but they all were equally dear to her. It felt like giving him a piece of her at the time.

And in return…

“A gift for a brave warrior,” he had said, before handing her a beautiful jeweled dagger. It was decorated in amber, the stone whose name she had borrowed for that ball when they danced for the first time. Venus had grinned appreciatively and accepted it with thanks, his hand lingering just a tad bit too long on hers as she did so. “I wish to always be by your side, but I can’t. So when I can’t be there to protect you, I hope my blade will.”

It was a gift befitting a soldier indeed, and she liked how he hadn’t given her a trinket or something equally feminine just because she was Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. Although she might never actually need it—not only did she have her own powers to defend herself, but also the Holy Blade—it still touched her heart. His respect for her and the way he always viewed her as his equal despite the fact that she was a woman was the thing she loved most about him. And she knew it would become her new prized possession. She had kept her promise and kept it on her person at all times since.

Jupiter’s question pulled Venus from her reverie, and she turned to her friends. Serenity immediately shot down the idea that her mother knew, believing that the queen would never allow them to continue doing what they were doing if so. Venus’ heart ached for the queen; Serenity had underestimated her kindness, but it was understandable because Serenity saw her harder side most often. But the queen only ever wanted to protect her, and her daughter’s happiness would always be the most important thing to her. She completely expected Serenity to misunderstand it, though. The princess was not particularly adept at reading people’s deeper intentions, which was why Venus was so worried when she first got involved with the prince of Earth.

She considered whether or not she should tell the others the truth. Mercury seemed to suspect it already, and of course—she was, after all, quite observant. But Venus suspected Mercury’s guilt was shielding the truth she already knew from her. Despite popular belief, Mercury was in fact ruled by her heart, not her head, when it really mattered. And that was why she was a great protector.

“The queen knows,” Venus said at last, softly. “And I think she’s… letting us. Mainly, I think, because she loves Serenity too much to break her heart.” Venus looked at her princess with a sad smile. “She knows how much you love him. I think… I think she’s trying to believe that we can achieve peace with them as much as you do, if only to preserve your happiness.”

Hearing Kunzite’s speech, Jadeite realized he was wrong with his doubts. Yes, they only did it for the good of their country. For their people. For their prince.
He mustn’t cast doubt on it. It was clear. They needed to stop the Moon Kingdom, even if it meant sacrificing his love to Mars. His loyalty was due to his prince and his comrades. And only them, as much as it hurt.
 
With new hopes, Jadeite was now ready to start the attack, ready to fight alongside of his brothers, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the front. “Endymion…”
Surprised to see his prince in front of him, the young blonde already opened his mouth to answer but stopped as soon as he heard his friends going ahead.
 
His attention first went to Zoisite, then to Kunzite, his head nodding over and over again as he eventually looked into Endymion’s direction. Nothing needed to be added – everything had been said.

Mars had remained in the dining area after the others left to finish her breakfast, have another cup of tea, and think.  How fun that not only the Princess had fallen for an Earth man, but also her four Guardians. Of course Serenity would always be their first and only priority.  The Prince's Guards also held this belief for him, she knew that they would do anything for him.  This could end really well, or it could end with horrible circumstances.  Finally finished, she left the area and headed out to where Serenity was in the garden with the other Senshi. The conversation looked tense.  She walked up to the girls, "There's no sense in over worrying about it. If she wanted us to stop, I think she would do something about it.  As long as Serenity is safe."

Endymion frowned at their answers - they were imprecise, using generalities instead of specifics, repeating the same things he had heard all over the place. To protect the Kingdom. To protect the Prince. He didn't need protecting! The Earth was not at risk here - the Moon was! They had no idea what Beryl was planning, and they had no way to warn them about it! His hands curled into fists at his sides. He needed them to see! "But why this fight?" he pressed, keeping his voice calm, attempting to engage them with years of practice in public speaking, "Why this enemy? What has the Moon Kingdom done to elicit such a response?" 

Don't they realize this was entirely unprovoked?

OOC:

Nephrite frowned at Kunzite’s reaction to seeing the red fabric in his pocket. What was that all about? It looked as if it belonged to a female. He filled he information away for another time as they walked towards the room Beryl was in.  

"They mean to control us; we're just trying to protect you and Earth. Why can’t you see that?” Nephrite asked, frowning. Endymion had been against the attack from the beginning. Had that Lunarian Princess warped his mind that much that he no longer put the priorities of his people first as he had been raised to? 

“It’s our job to keep you safe, what would we do if something happened to you?”

"Those are Morning Glories, Princess," Jupiter said, looking at the first flower that had been selected. Serenity's answer wasn't quite as reassuring as she probably thought it was. The Queen was a mysterious woman, even to them. She wasn't the type to just come out and say what she knew. Who knew what she would do if she did know about their visits to Earth? Jupiter wished she would just tell them if they were in trouble already...

She watched as Mercury continued the lesson off of Serenity's completed drawings, taking the real flowers and examining the different parts closer. She knew Mercury wouldn't damage them, but she was still going to make sure nothing unfortunate happened. After hearing Venus, Mars and Mercury's opinions, she sighed.

"Sometimes I just want the Queen to be a little more....straightforward with us. Guessing what she's thinking sometimes is exhausting..." Jupiter admitted.

Serenity glanced at the books Mercury had. She took in the flowers. Why did they have to have such long names that are impossible to pronounce? Serenity thought as she looked at the bell flower. She had missed the mark in her drawings, but maybe she could try again on another day.

Serenity smiled when Jupiter told her the blue flowers were morning glories. A flower with a short and simple name, now that was a flower Serenity liked.

Serenity felt pleased when Mercury praised her rose. Serenity was not used to getting praise from anyone. Everyone was always lecturing her that she needed to learn this and that about all the planets. Serenity tried to focus on Mercury’s lecture, but her mind began to wander. She needed to give her mind a break from all the information.

When Mercury asked Serenity questions about the plants, Serenity hesitated before answering. She attempted to remember the names and parts of the flowers but she mixed up the parts and butchered the names of the flowers. She hoped Mercury would not be too mad at her for not paying attention again.

Serenity smiled when she saw Venus. Serenity listened to her senshi more closely and realized they were talking about the encounter with her mother earlier. Apparently she had missed the mark and her mother knew about her escapades to visit Endymion.

“But Venus, why does everyone think Earth is such a threat? You’ve seen it, everyone there is so nice.”


Serenity paused and thought for a moment. “I know,” She said her eyes full of light. “Next time I visit Endymion, maybe I can bring him back, he can talk to my mother and help her see that he is a good man and that I am safe with him.”  She knew she sounded crazy, but she just could not wrap her head around a life without Endymion. She could not imagine being happy without him and wanted to show her mother that there was much more to Earth than what people said in the moon palace.

Queen Beryl was getting impatient! She didn't like to be kept waiting. Those Shittennou would get her wrath for being late. She didn't care what their excuse was, she'd called for them over twenty minutes ago. They needed to discuss their plans for war and she knew that if they were distracted, it could be something to do with them doubting that the Moon Kingdom was a threat. Is it possible that my mind control is wearing off? Could their love for those protectors of the princess be that powerful? Beryl wondered. Then she shook off the feeling, she was powerful, very powerful, even the power of love was too weak to withstand her dark magic. There had to be something else holding them up. Beryl decided that she would continue to wait. She was not about to make it seem like they had power over her. She didn't have to go searching for them. When they finally make it to me, they will be punished. Beryl decided.

"Maybe that wouldn't be the best idea..." Jupiter said. "It's not that Prince Endymion isn't safe to be around, it's more like..." Jupiter struggled to find the best word to describe it. "The people of Earth are different. The men we met might be kind, but the odds of everyone else on the planet being okay with the concept of people on the moon are unpredictable. And who knows if they even know about the rest of the Silver Millennium? When people don't understand something they get angry and scared, and it's not like they have access to huge libraries to tell them about everything in the solar system like we did."

Earth was considered young and ignorant to the rest of the planets, and often warred with itself. It was impossible to tell how they would react if they knew the moon was occupied.

On this issue, Sailor Mercury had to agree with Sailor Jupiter. She knew this was hard for Princess Serenity to understand, especially now that she was starry-eyed over the handsome prince from that planet, but... Earth was so different. Earth was a less-developed place. It wasn't like the rest of the universe. It was young, just like their Princess was young and needed to grow and learn. Mercury had been taught time and time again that the Earth needed to mature on its own, without undue interference. She didn't want to be that interference now.

"Jupiter is right, Princess," she added, trying to keep her tone gentle and avoid launching into a lecture. That would only push Princess Serenity away from her; she knew that. Hopefully the other girl would understand that she only voiced her concern because she cared.

"Queen Serenity loves you very deeply. I'm sure she's always dreamed of seeing you happy with a kind man who cares for you. I don't think she believes that Endymion is not that kind of man and would need convincing. But the Earth is not like the rest of the Solar System."

She found herself wishing that Princess Serenity had paid closer attention during her lectures on politics. The Princess nearly always fell asleep when Mercury tried to explain diplomacy and formal arrangements between the planets. If she was awake, her eyes were open but her brain was closed, avoiding absorption of that essential information. It would be so much easier to explain now if she understood how important this would be for her, especially when she became a queen herself on some future day.

Kunzite resisted the urge to run his fingers through his hair in frustration. They didn't have time for this, and they had had this discussion with Endymion a thousand times.

"The moon has been an enemy for years, Endymion. They are manipulative in their ways - don't you see? The Moon Princess has manipulated you and turned you against us. Have you not stopped to think of it that way? It is you who has turned against your country, not us. We are defending our oath, and defending our planet. There is nothing more to it than that."

His tone was cold. As much as it hurt him to speak so harshly to his prince, Kunzite was tired of the arguments, of the doubts, and of the insecurities regarding this attack. They were going to defeat the moon once and for all and keep their home safe.

Artemis noticed that the Queen appeared to be rather startled as he addressed her. That's weird... Didn't she just summon us herself? But he decided to ignore this.

As Artemis was about to say that he had no information regarding the situation on Earth, Luna intercepted. "There have been some rumors regarding hostilities on Earth that I am currently investigating. I am afraid I have nothing conclusive to report as of now, however."

Rumors? What kind of rumors exactly? What was going on on that blue planet anyway?

"Hmm. I will ask Sailor Venus about it, perhaps she will know something more," the white cat blurted out. Only a mere second later did he realize the implication of what he had just declared. He could practically feel Luna's glare on him.

"N-Not that there's any specific reason that she would know!" he quickly tried to amend. "But, I mean, she is the leader of the Sailor Senshi, it's kind of her job to know about things like that!" he said as he began to laugh awkwardly.

Phew that was close. Nice save though, she won't suspect a thing, he thought to himself.

What Mars said was true enough. If the queen really wanted them to do something about what was happening, she would have used her influence and ordered them to, right? Jupiter’s comment made her smile. Of course, for someone who always appreciated honesty beyond anything else, the remark was very in character. The whole world would be much simpler if more people were upfront about their feelings like Jupiter was.

“Not everyone has seen Earth as much as we have, Princess,” Venus reminded Serenity. “It is supposed to be forbidden to visit, in case you forgot,” she added with a giggle. The rule certainly didn’t mean anything to the princess anymore. “And we have only really interacted with the prince and his guard. We don’t know if everyone else is just as nice.”

Her eyes widened in alarm when she heard Serenity’s idea. “Maybe let’s not do that without a heads up to the queen. We don’t know how she’ll react…”

She tried to imagine the disastrous scene; Serenity dragging the Earth Prince into the throne room and presenting him as her lover out of nowhere.

She relaxed when Mercury and Jupiter tried to explain the problem some more. She loved Serenity, but sometimes her naivety worried Venus a lot.

Endymion matched Kunzite's cold tone as he rebutted their arguments, the feat not at all hard after the implication that Serenity was in any way using him and that he was betraying his planet, not they. He ignored for now Nephrite's involvement of his safety in an attempt to keep the focus on factual evidence; if they were convinced part of why they were acting in this manner was to keep him safe, he would first have to make them see that there was no danger to begin with. "When have they attempted to control or manipulate us?" Where were they getting that information? Even as he asked himself the question he knew the answer, and his voice filled with passion as he continued, his hands moving to punctuate his words, "Whose words are you repeating? That repugnant..." he didn't even know how to refer to Beryl anymore,  "creature's?! Do you not see?! We are simply being made its tools!" 

He turned to Zoisite, "Mere months ago you and I were discussing the fallout over Austorious's book about the citizens of the Moon, and how our people were reacting to those fantastic claims. You, Zoisite, were angered by the mob mentality believing those ludicrous claims without requiring evidence, and yet here you are, the four of you, ready to wage war against them, without any evidence that they mean us harm! The five of us, over anyone on this planet, should know the Moon's intentions are anything but war-like, and yet you trust her over your own minds and hearts!"

Astorious and bolded words:

Zoisite wasn't as good as Kunzite in matters of self-control and the eye roll that followed was proof of it. Endymion was a fine King, but sometimes he was still such a naive one. They had no time to deal with this. How long had it been since Beryl sent for them?

“The problem in Austoricious' work were not the false deductions and hypothesis. He lacked experience, proof, facts. We are aware of a few of the moon's inhabitants capabilities. If they can travel from their Kingdom to ours without being detected, what else should we be ready for? I got my hands on enough lunarian books to know how different they are from us. Too different. The Earth is a young Kingdom still and we do not have the capacity to defend ourselves for when they choose to reduce our world into nothingness. There is no peace to have with them.”

They had to strike first.

He was still looking right at his prince, explaining slowly, almost softly but without warmth, as if speaking to a particularly troublesome child who didn't understand much of the world around them. His conviction were bleeding through as well, the man clearly believing in his own words.

They were indeed different...

“I am simply sorry we didn't see it sooner.”

He sighed, then shook his head. The shrug that followed almost defiant, bordering on mocking.

“This has nothing to do with Beryl.” But the reverence in his voice that had never been there before as he spoke her name was probably the only hint to the contrary that was needed. “We're doing this for the sake of your Kingdom. Shouldn't you be doing the same? Don't force our hands, Your Highness.”

"That's right, our personal knowledge of Earth's people only goes so far.  Earth is young so it's history shouldn't be too boring for you to learn."  Mars grinned at the end of her statement.  Maybe they could at least use the Princess's interest in Earth and its Prince to motivate her to pay attention to her studies.  "Who knows, you might be able to tell the Prince some of the stories and history that you learn from Mercury, I'm sure he would find them very interesting."  It would do them no good to try and solve the problem right now or guess what their Queen was thinking.

Queen Serenity sighed. It appeared that Artemis not only knew very little, but was covering for the girls' rondevous with their loved ones as well. How would they not know? Didn't they accompany them, or did they just stay on the moon to make realistic excuses should the Queen come by and ask where they were?

Either way, it seemed as though this secret was getting in the way of revealing important information. Queen Serenity dismissed them with a heavy heart. What was she supposed to do now? She could confront the senshi and her daughter about their secret in order to get the information she needed, but that would put her in a compromised position. Not everyone in the moon kingdom would be as understanding; and if they found out that the Queen approved of the royal daughter mingling with an earthling, there was no telling what would happen. With Earth acting up as it was, the last she needed was even the smallest revolt or fluctuation of loyalty in her kingdom.

Queen Serenity, once realizing she was alone, rubbed her temples. Was it best for Artemis to return after talking to Venus, or to look into things herself? Would they even tell her everything she needed to know, or omit important aspects due to their secret lovers?

This playing-along-with-the-lie made things more complicated then she could have imagined.

Listening to the whole back and forth between the two parties, Jadeite felt overwhelmed with thoughts, overwhelmed with emotions, not sure if he should stick with his prince or with Beryl and his brothers. Or if he should say anything at all…
 
At the end, the young knight decided to keep quiet, avoiding any more stress with the prince and the whole escalation of the situation. Just why didn’t he understand? That they only fought for their planet, their country, for him? Did his love for Serenity cause him to disregard the terror regime of the Moon Kingdom?
Insecure his slate blue eyes went up to his prince, later wandering to his brothers. Or was it them who were at fault?
 
‘You trust her over your own minds and hearts’
 
Was it true? Did they… betray their own mind? Their own heart?
The second the thought came to his mind, he already abandoned the thought. This was absolute nonsense, after all. Beryl was just right about the Moon Kingdom – and they have been blind because of their love to the princesses. Yes, that was it. Nothing else.
 
Maybe the prince was still blinded by the princess?

Serenity listened as her senshi each shared their input on her thoughts about Earth and its prince. Jupiter had spoken up first commenting that she did not think it was the best idea and that the people of the earth were different. Serenity pondered Jupiter’s advice before responding to her. “You may be right, I didn’t think about that….” She trailed off as she realized that many were not as accepting of those of the moon as her senshi and the prince and his guards had been.

Serenity also had no clue Earth was the youngest planet. “Maybe we can lend them books, so they can learn more about us, and I can learn about them,” she said in a hopeful tone. Serenity wanted to believe there was good in everyone, even those she did not know.

She sat pondering that thought when she heard Mercury share her advice on those of the Earth. The more she listened the more she assumed her mother would not like Endymion and would not see him as someone who could make Serenity happy.

But Serenity was happy, happier than she had been in a long time.

She folded her arms on her knees and hid her face in her arms.

Venus chimed in next, and Serenity began to wonder if this was going to turn into a lecture, but Venus’ tone had been warm, just as the others had been, but it did not make her feel any less dejected than before any of them had spoken.

Yes, it was forbidden to travel to Earth, maybe that was what was so fun about it, the rule breaking. Serenity had longed to be free of the walls of the Moon Kingdom and going to Earth gave her a freedom unlike any other.
Venus did have a point about Serenity needing to hold off on bringing Endymion to meet her mother. She was not thinking and did not want to cause problems for anyone. She pushed her thoughts of bringing Endymion to the moon aside when she heard Mars share her opinion on the matter.

Mars had suggested Serenity study the Earth’s history and that she might be able to tell Endymion stories about things she learns.


Serenity slowly lifted her head and turned around, a light returning to her eyes as she spoke, “you really think Endymion would be interested in that? If I can tell him stories, learning about Earth…..or even the moon would not be so bad. Hopefully learning about the moon and the Earth won’t be as boring as other subjects Mercury lectures me on, Serenity thought as she flashed a smile at her senshi.

“Endymion, please, see reason. Relationships with the Moon Kingdom have been forbidden for years. Have you ever thought to stop and ask yourself why? Maybe someone knew how much of a threat they could be and in an attempt to keep Earth safe, forbade contact,” Nephrite implored. Was Endymion a lost cause? Did the Princess have her manipulative claws too far into him?  

Looking over at Jadeite could see the doubt on the younger man’s face. “We’ve made the right decision,” he reassured him, pitching his voice low, so the others hopefully wouldn’t over hear. “We’re doing our duty, nothing more.” 

OOC:

Mars was relieved that Serenity had taken some interest what she had said.  Honestly any interest she showed in her studies would be welcomed.  “Of course he would find it interesting.  You heard them, Earth is the youngest, there are stories that he’s never even fathomed.  Not only that, if you learn other topics as well, you would also be showing him how competent you are as a Princess.”  She motioned to the beautiful flowers that surrounded them.  “You could even show him a beautiful flower that he’s never heard of before.”  She was glad that the subject was changing away from Earth visits and getting the Queen’s approval.  She didn’t like leaving behind the Queen’s back and several times she had thought about stopping the whole affair, but her concern for Serenity’s safety kept her on the path to Earth.  Wherever Serenity was, there she would be as well.

Mercury used this opportunity to pass around a few of the books from her loaned pile. She hoped that there would be something for everyone. They could share among themselves, but she had enough different volumes to prevent forcing the entire group to crowd around a single tome. The libraries on Mars and Venus were not exhaustive as far as information about Earth, but it was still more detailed than what the Lunar archives had to offer. The book she offered Princess Serenity contained Earth legends. The subject seemed like the sort of thing the Princess would not immediately tire of or be distracted from. She hoped to guide her student towards other aspects of Earth history in the process of explaining the stories.

"How about this, Princess?" she asked, smiling kindly up at the blonde girl, glad that her face was no longer buried in her knees. "You might learn something here that your prince hasn't heard before."

Sailor Mercury kept an eye on the books that were being passed around, curious what the others would choose.