This is going to be just an assortment of short stories.  Some will be things I write for contests, and some won't.  Most (if not all) will be Sailor Moon, and if something isn't, I'll mention it up front.  Without further ado, here is the first story!

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Title: The Most Sacred of Oaths
By: Sailor Arkas
Rated: G
Fandom: Sailor Moon
Pairing:  I suppose Usagi/Mamoru, but it is mostly Gen
Notes:  This is written to match the theme Introduction for the September Writer's Guild contest.
Story Summary:  Sailor Pluto makes an oath that overrides everything she might have promised her queen.
Comments allowed:  Please, feel free!

Pluto heard something in the mist.  She spun her staff toward the sound, determined to stay stoic, to hide her shock.  “Who goes?  Travel here is forbidden, and if you continue, I will have to punish you.”  

Blonde hair came from the thickest mist.  Pluto lifted her staff.  “Aino Minako.  Sailor Venus.  How can I help you?”  It was odd, one of the senshi coming to the Space-Time Door.  Since the queen had brought her entourage to meet Pluto months before, Pluto had been alone.  As her job demanded.

“Neo-Queen Serenity has requested your presence at the palace.  There is someone she wants you to know.”  Aino grinned, which eased Pluto’s nerves.  The leader of the senshi wouldn’t grin so easily if there was any trouble.  “I am to watch the Space-Time Door while you are gone, and the queen told me to let you know she is in her chambers.  Off you go!”

Pluto hesitated.  The Space-Time Door was her responsibility, a duty assigned to her a millenia ago by her first queen.  Pluto had fulfilled her duty from childhood.  She had never abandoned her post.  

Aino seemed to notice Pluto’s concern.  “Go, go!  I will make sure that nothing happens here, and the queen wants you.”

Glancing back, Pluto moved through the mist before opening the door and entering the palace.  She had never entered the palace, but Pluto knew where to go.  She had watched queen build the palace, and Pluto knew every hall and chamber.  Pluto moved through the halls as if she lived in the palace, and she arrived at the queen’s door quickly.
Pluto knocked on the door, which opened to reveal Sailor Jupiter.  “Hey, Pluto.  Come on in.”  Pluto entered, only to see Neo-Queen Serenity sitting in the bed.

“Sailor Pluto!  Come here, there is someone for you to see.”  Pluto approached the bed, eyes darting around the room.  She wasn’t one of the queen’s personal guards, and she had no place in these chambers.  Particularly while the queen was still abed.

Her discomfort was forgotten when she noticed the shape in the queen’s arms.  Pink tufts of hair peeked through blankets, and Pluto stared.  A baby.  The queen had brought her here to meet her new princess.

“Sailor Pluto,” King Endymion addressed her, but he didn’t look away from the child, “Usako and I are proud to present our daughter, Princess Serenity Usagi.”  

The queen broke the formality with a giggle.  “I don’t think we need to use all that.  It’s a lot of name, and she is such a small girl.  For now, I am using Small Lady.”  The queen held out the bundle.  “Here, Pluto, get to know her a little.”

Pluto took the bundle slowly, terrified she would drop or harm the little one.  As soon as the baby was cradled safely in her arms, she moved the bundle of warmth close to her chest, nestling her in the bow on Pluto’s uniform.  Then she looked down.

Red eyes blinked slowly up at her.  Pluto couldn’t look away.  The baby was perfect.  Slightly chubby, with big eyes and sporadic tufts of bubblegum hair, she captured Pluto’s attention completely.

Pluto had no idea how much time passed before she spoke.  “She is amazing, your highnesses.  Absolute perfection.”  Her voice was dumbstruck; Pluto didn’t care.

Still staring at Small Lady, Pluto missed the broad grin the royal couple exchanged.

“Don’t bother with the your highness here, Pluto.  The rest of the senshi use our names, and you should, too.”  Neo-Queen Serenity’s voice stayed soft.  “I expect we'll be seeing more of you.  Small Lady is going to need all the support she can get if she is going to be our princess.”

Pluto didn’t ask what the queen meant.  She didn’t need to know the queen specific concerns, not when Small Lady was wiggling in her arms while Pluto adjusted her grip to make sure Small Lady was comfortable.  Regardless of what support the queen wanted for her daughter, Pluto’s answer would be the same.

“Small Lady,” Pluto spoke to the child, though she knew the king and queen were listening, “will never lack for anything I can provide.”  Even as Pluto spoke, she knew it was more than a promise.  It was the most sacred of oaths, more precious even than the oath Pluto had made to protect the Space-Time Door.  More binding than the oath she had made to follow the laws of time.  And Pluto had never meant a pledge more.