It is the golden days of Silver Millennium. Young Princess Serenity is coming of age, surrounded by her beloved guardian senshi. On a forbidden journey to Earth, the planet she has always wished to see with her own eyes, she will meet its heir, Prince Endymion, for the first time. And when the guardian senshi follow her, they, too, will meet the Endymion's four Generals, and learn that maybe relationships between the denizens of the earth and the moon aren't so terrible after all. Meanwhile, in the shadows, Beryl watches Endymion, wanting him for herself and cultivating her own ambition to be the future queen of earth...

Starting Points:
In the Earth Kingdom, Endymion and his Four Generals are going about their days as usual; sparring or hunting within the castle grounds. Beryl watches the prince from afar, slowly falling in love with him and thinking of ways to win him over. She is part of the Earth Kingdom's court, but not a princess, just one of the lower level nobles. However, she is a sorceress, which means she can persuade him in other ways. (Beryl may make her presence known to the group if she so wishes)

In the Moon Kingdom, Serenity is also going about her day, attending her private lessons with Mercury while the other senshi mill about, watched by Artemis and Luna. But in her head she's already elsewhere - Earth, to be exact - and she's concocting a way to use her newlyfound power that allows her to teleport to other planets to visit the one forbidden to her.

• All out of character discussions must be posted in the OOC thread. If you have any OOC questions, please post there!
  
• Anyone my post first, following the starting points stated above.
  
• This is an Advanced RP event; please make sure your posts are 100 words or more.
  
• There is no posting order.
  
• Event host has the right to move plot forward if deemed necessary, but everyone should feel free to explore their characters as much as they wish with each other. There is no huge overarching plot or a specific objective that needs to be met so just enjoy your character development to the fullest.
  
• Players with major characters (Senshi, Shitennou, Princess Serenity & Prince Endymion) must post at least once every 48 hours to avoid being replaced by someone more active.
  
• Event ends on January 31st, 2015.
  

Zoisite yawned as he made his way to the stables. He had stayed up too late reading again, almost forgetting that the Prince had wanted to go hunting this morning. It wasn't until Kunzite had stopped by his room in the late hours of the night and reminded him that he had gone to bed. Why couldn't hunting be in the afternoon, or better yet in the evenings. 

"So what book kept you up this time?" Nephrite grinned, leaning against the stall door that housed his stallion, Night Star. 

"I was reading Austorious's latest book on the Moon people. Honestly, I don't know where he gets this information. He backs up his claims with little fact. The guys a completely crock," Zoisite groused. Honestly, he made the Moon people sound like a group of people who wanted to take over Earth yet he had little evidence to backup his claim. "And the worst part is, people seem to eat this stuff up and believe him! What ever happened to requiring evidence when making claims to prove it's true?"

Sailor Mercury and Princess Serenity were in the palace library, sitting at a secluded table in the corner of the large room. The library itself was smaller than the ones Mercury had seen on her own planet, but still very impressive.

The high walls were covered with bookshelves carved out of pale wood, stone pillars in between them marking the different sections. The table they were using was a darker wood, most likely imported from another place. Mercury had set out a large stack of texts for Serenity's lesson today: history and politics. She had been lecturing for the last hour about the structure of the Martian government while the princess took notes. Or at least tried to take notes.

"...And that was how the borders of the capital of Mars was established," Mercury said. "Do you need me to go over anything before we move on, Princess?" she asked.

"It's the danger of fantastic claims," Endymion commented, stepping out from behind the stable doors of his own steed, "They're so outrageous that the everyday person is too excited about the possibilities to consider logistics." He led his horse forward out of its stable, then released the reins to remove the feedbag, despite the noble beast's reaching lips, and replaced it on its hook. The horse stayed put, patiently waiting despite its desire for more oats, and Endymion patted it fondly, despite his mind wandering to the rumors being spread by readers of Austorious who took those claims even farther. 

The very idea that the Moon had an armada of warships that could sail through space armed with cannons that fired bursts of sunlight was ridiculous.

It was a beautiful morning when Sailor Mars stepped out of the temple. Sailor Mercury would be tutoring Princess Serenity right about now, and she was supposed to meet the Princess at the palace later on, for her archery class. But she was so tired and so terribly dizzy... There was sweat on Mars' brow and her vision was weird: high contrast, blurriness, surroundings only made out through her knowledge of the place and a little use of peripheral vision... These were all things she was used to. The flames were her friends but she could never deny they took a toll on her eyesight, even if just for a little while.

But this time was different. She had been seeing things, abstract silhouettes in her dreams and in her meditation, for months now. But they never made much sense, they never had faces or colors or smells. This time, however, she saw a delicate female figure made of light - her Moon Princess, no doubt. She was talking to an unknown man, a tall and imposing individual with dark hair and dark clothes. The setting was unfamiliar - the architecture did not look Lunar and the sky was such a light shade of blue.

Then the image in the fire changed. Now a different young man, blond hair framing sickly purple-grey skin, looked Mars in the eyes. She couldn't see any actual facial features - just the evil inside of him, staring back at her. It was more a feeling than an image, really. He held a sword, ready to attack, and behind him were several different human figures: some wearing clothes similar to his; others looking like a mass of civilians; faces blurred into one another. Such a terrifying little scene...

Even more terrifying, when the setting changed once more. Sailor Mars could make even less sense of this part of the vision but she knew it was the most important. Dark clouds, crumbling marble, veins of blood trickling down the stairs of a monumental staircase. She thought she saw a demonic pair of eyes in the clouds, but she couldn't be sure whether it was part of the vision - or the flames taking over. The vision ended and Mars broke her concentration, exhausted at the effort.

After that, Sailor Mars lost consciousness for a few minutes and woke up on the cold, hard floor. Her vision was still damaged by the fire she'd been staring into; and her heart was still pounding rapidly after what she'd seen. But what HAD she seen? Was it even a vision, or just a nightmare? Goodness knew, she'd spent way too many nights and mornings meditating, hardly getting any sleep at all. And visions were much like dreams, in a way: easy to confuse with one another, when the line between awake and asleep was blurred.

As she walked out of the temple, feeling a slight chill when the late morning air hit her sweaty brow, Mars wondered whether or not she should share these things with anyone.

Jupiter awoke early to get some breakfast. She was going to be beginning her cooking lessons with the palace staff and didn’t want to go through the embarrassment of her stomach rumbling because she didn’t grab a bite to eat. Jupiter pulled her hair up into her usual ponytail and placed her pink rose earrings in her ears before she headed down to grab some breakfast.


As she walked she wondered what the day would hold for her. She knew Mercury was with the Princess and that Jupiter would be going to a training session later to help her better protect the princess. Jupiter may have looked young, but she was strong and determined to do her best as a protector of the Princess and the Moon Kingdom.

Nephrite snorted at Endymions comments "Honestly Zoisite, why do you even bother to read that garbage? The guys’s obviously a nut and has no idea what he’s talking about.”
 
“Enough people believe what the man is saying, and we all know how misinformed masses behave if given a reason to riot,” Zoisite commented. Nephrite knew that Zoisite referring to an incident in his own territory a few years back when rumours about a grain shortage had circulated, leading to riots. It had taken Endymions father to step in and reassure the people there was no grain shortage to get them to stop. Still, they had done quite a bit of damage during the riots.
 
The feeling of his shoulder being gently butted by his horse, Night Star drew Nephrite out of his musings. He smiled, fondly petting the stallion’s muzzle.
 

“Where’s Jadeite gotten off to?”

Venus walked along the perimeters of the castle, her eyes watchful as she made sure everything was in place. She had made it another round and passed once more by the library windows, where Princess Serenity was supposed to be having lessons with Mercury. Venus paused and glanced inside, noticing her blue-haired friend finishing her lecture. Venus couldn’t hear what they were saying from here, but she didn’t need to. Serenity’s face said it all. She was not listening to a word Mercury was saying.

Venus suppressed a giggle and moved on, wondering where Jupiter and Mars were. Perhaps Jupiter was in the kitchen, where she could normally be found, and Mars…

Venus looked toward the palace’s temple, and sure enough, the other senshi stepped out of the building. She must have just finished her morning meditation. Venus squinted; there was something odd about her. She looked… troubled. Actually, she had looked troubled for a little while, but Venus usually trusted her to open up about what she saw if and when she deemed it necessary, and not to push before its time. Her ability to sense the future was invaluable especially when it came to protecting their princess, and Venus trusted her judgment enough to choose when to say something and when not to.

But this morning, Mars looked a tad paler than usual, and resolving, Venus approached her. She had a feeling there was information that needed to be shared, and she was usually pretty good at reading her fellow guardians.

“Mars,” she greeted the woman with a small smile. “Is something the matter?” she asked, tilting her head curiously. Mars knew enough that Venus didn’t bother with pleasantries when there were more important matters at hand, and they both had that in common, so she wasn’t worried about going straight to the point.

Honestly, what was the point to these lectures, anyway?

That was what Serenity had been thinking at the beginning of her lessons with Mercury, and it was the last thought she had before completely drowning out the senshi of wisdom. She had never understood why she had to learn so many silly things. She knew that it was her responsibility to know these things for the day she became queen, but honestly - would that even happen? Everyone knew her mother was immortal. Serenity would be taking the throne sometime around never.

As usual, the young princess had gotten away with sitting directly beside the library window, where there was an absolutely flawless view of Earth. Every day, Serenity would spend hours just gazing at the beautiful blue orb, fantasizing over the wonders that lie on its surface. She had heard stories of the brave, chivalrous men that roamed the planet, fighting monsters and saving damsels in distress. Oh, but no stories were as great as the stories regarding the Earth Prince, Endymion. The young princess would take lessons over Endymion all day long, if she could. She didn't know why, but he was just so fascinating to her. She had never even met the man, and yet she felt a strange connection to him. She just wanted to see him, so observe how men really were, and to perhaps get to know him. Based on the tales she had read and heard, the blood of the Earth's royals was said to be that of only the finest gentlemen in the universe. She had to see him and the Earth, just once.

She had tried to find a way to get to Earth on her own, and only until Luna had taught her the art of teleportation did she finally come up with a plan. She would go when her senshi weren't around, after all of her lessons were over and there were no further tasks for her. And finally she would see the Earth and its prince, and confirm the rumors with her own eyes.

"Teleporting is quite a beautiful art, isn't it?" Serenity said. Her eyes widened in surprise upon hearing her own voice. She had not meant to say that aloud...

Quickly, she tried to cover her mistake, giggling. "I mean, of course! Er, wait a moment. Would you repeat the question, please?"

Mercury sighed and shut the book she had been using as a loose reference for the lesson. She knew that Serenity wasn't very fond of lectures, but the princess had to know as much as she could about her kingdom and how to act if she wanted to rule it one day. The Queen had entrusted her to take over teaching, and so Mercury tried her best to keep Serenity's attention on her books instead of staring out the window. Today, it seems like that battle was lost. 

"I asked if you needed me to go over anything else about Martian politics, the subject we were focusing on for the past hour," Mercury said with a hint of exasperation, before sliding the book to the side. She honestly did love her, but her Princess could be frustrating at times. "Serenity, were you daydreaming again? You know that only means we'll have to do the same lesson over later..." Mercury couldn't bring herself to get angry with her though, despite the princess's spacing out becoming a more frequent habit as of late. This was the first time she had heard her mention teleportation though. 

"If something is preoccupying you this much, I can listen," Mercury offered. She was starting to get concerned.

"I'm right here," he replied to Nephrite's question with a yawn. The boy had massive bed head. One of the palace maids had to get him out of bed. Thus causing him to be in a fowl mood. He then walked over to his horse, Dark Moon. He patted him on the nose. "Why must these hunts be so early in the morning?"

Jadeite then climbed onto his horse and looked at the others. "Shall we get going then?" He then glanced around "Where's Kunzite?" He then lets out a snort. "And you guys get on me about being late for things. We should just leave with out him. He can catch up."

"Mars, is something the matter?"

Sailor Mars raised her head. Venus had walked up to her and was cocking her head to the side, looking concerned. 

"No... No. Nothing at all", she replied.

Then she realized how unconvincing that had sounded and sighed, smiled a bit, and with a lot more conviction, said:

"To be honest, I think I overdid it. I've been spending way too much time in the temple and not sleeping enough and now it's caught up to me. Today I... I think I fell asleep while meditating, really. Wound up having this weird nightmare and now I'm feeling a bit sick from that and the fire and... But no need to worry yourself. Really, I'll be fine, I promise."

That was, in fact, true. Mars was feeling better already. The lovely spring weather and the clean air had already started to wash out the things she'd seen and now she really suspected it had all been just a bad dream. Needing more sleep, huh? Maybe it was time she followed her own advise and spent an entire evening in her chamber for a change.

"I have archery class with the Princess later in the afternoon. After that I think I'll go to bed early and catch up on some sleep..." Mars said, more to herself than to Venus.

"I'm afraid that won't be happening today, Jadeite," Kunzite said, entering the stables. He briskly approached his horse and saddled her up, making sure the straps were nice and tight for the ride. Crossing his arms over his chest, Kunzite turned and leaned against his horse's pen. His eyes met Endymion's, then Zoisite's. "I don't understand why you waste your time discussing such matters. The Moon is none of our concern - there are far more important things to worry about. Gossiping about pieces of opinion is rather uncouth, to say the least. Especially for those of us who are charged with protecting and the future king."

Kunzite made sure to shoot Jadeite an extra glare, making sure the younger shittenou knew Kunzite was not happy with his earlier comment. He was in a good mood upon waking up that morning, but hearing all of his fellow shittenou's complaints completely ruined his optimism. It was going to be a long morning.

Luna spent her day watching over Princess Serenity. The Queen had asked her to keep an eye on her daughter's progression with her lessons. She followed Princess Serenity to her first lesson of the day, with Sailor Mercury. She'd always enjoyed listening to what Mercury had to say. It was always something new and interesting. Today she taught about martian politics. It was something she'd always wondered about. How did Mercury know so much about politics on other planets? How did she know so much about the people on those planets? Luna wondered, Mercury is a very smart young woman. Luna smiled at Mercury as she was lecturing to Princess Serenity.

All of the sudden, there was a change in the mood of the room. Mercury was telling Princess Serenity off about not listening and then told her that she'd listen to whatever had been preoccupying her. This should be interesting. Luna thought, and moved over to the table where Princess Serenity sat.

Off in a corner, where she could have full view of the stable, Beryl lay perch with her hand against the trunk of the tree. She stared off into the inside, gazing dreamily at Prince Endymion. She had momentarily slipped away from her duties and had followed him out here, but became hesitant to make her presence know due to his personal guards flanking him. She closed her eyes in deep thought, thinking about recent events and the rumors that had begun circulating regarding the Moon and its residents. A flash of rage overtook her for an instance, at the thought of those people. She shook her head and muttered to herself, and approached the stable with soft steps.

Ah, Prince Endymion was even more handsome up close. Beryl found her face turning a bright shade of red. And imagine, what if she and him were side by side, hand in hand? She could feel her heart pounding fiercely in her chest. She cleared her throat, pushing back her silly moment of fantasy. "Good day, your highness." She greeted with a slight curtsey, bowing her head toward him. Beryl brushed a strand of hair away from her face, and smiled brightly up at him. "Where are you heading off to today?"

Jupiter arrived on time for her cooking lesson after she had her breakfast. She walked into the kitchen and washed her hands. She greeted her instructor for the day who was teaching her how to make a pot roast and fresh vegetables. The meat had been soaked in a marinade over night, but the instructor showed Jupiter the best way to evenly apply the marinade so that the meat had the right amount that made the flavor of the meat taste delectable.

Jupiter’s instructor then instructed her on how to best cook the meat to get it to be nice and tender. She placed the meat in the slow cooker and set the timer to four hours. She wondered why it would take so long.  Her instructor smiled at her and explained to her why the meat had to cook so long and he also commented on her eagerness to ask questions when she doesn’t know, rather than acting like she knew everything.

He left her to prepare the vegetables as that had been a lesson she had much practice with. As he left he told Jupiter that her meal would be served at dinner that night. Jupiter let out a breath as she felt the pressure creep up her spine. She wasn’t nervous of not being able to make the meal but was nervous the dinner guests would not like her meal.


Once she had the vegetables washed, she added them in with the roast and turned the temperature on the food contents down so the flavor could seep into the food. She finished cleaning the kitchen up, she never liked to leave a mess behind. Once she finished she made her way to the courtyard, with the hopes of running into Mars or Venus. She knew Mercury was with the Princess for her daily lecture. Jupiter smiled glad she didn’t have to lecture the princess in matters that the Princess had clearly not been interested in, but had to learn because she was the princess.

The duties of the day were momentarily 'paused' after his meeting with Queen Serenity and a handful of select advisers ended. The meeting had functioned as a preparation for trade talks with the outer reaches of the domain later the following week. Interesting stuff, really, but Artemis now had a different task at hand, er, paw. This moment's mission? Getting tuna for Luna.

He dropped off the files that had been necessary for his prior meeting in his chambers, and then headed for the kitchens. Picking up his pace, he maneuvered through the occasional crowd until he neared his destination. Lunch had already passed, but Luna did occasionally miss the midday deal in order to deal with other matters. Artemis did not know if today was such a day, but he thought the gesture would at least be appreciated. That's all he could ask for, really.

Peaking around the entryway to the kitchens, Artemis surveyed who was in the area. A survey of the area combined with is knowledge of the daily going-on in the kitchen would give him the information needed to grab a can of tuna.

Sure, he could ask for a can of tuna and he would be provided with one, but where was the fun in that?

Finishing a final appraisal of his collected knowledge, Artemis quickly darted into the kitchen and hid behind a collection bin for soiled dishes. Then, he began his advance while using various kitchenware and appliances as a cover for his devious deed. Little did he know it, but someone else in the kitchen, namely a princess receiving cooking lessons, had a decent chance of catching this cat red-pawed.

Finally, he had the can of tuna in his mouth.

Victory!

Wait... not quite victory. He needed to give Luna an open can of tuna, not a sealed can of tuna. Now he needed to find something with which to open the can of tuna. Artemis' tail drooped slightly.

Venus sensed that Mars might not be telling her the whole truth, but then again perhaps she also did not know what the truth was either. Sometimes the visions were vague and unclear, sometimes deciphering them was a long process, and Venus knew sometimes that frustrated her friend. Perhaps this was one of those times, then.

“Falling asleep?” Venus raised her eyebrows in surprise. “That doesn’t sound like you, Mars. You’ve got to take care of yourself. As the princess’ guardians, we need to be in top shape,” she said with a smile. Of course she cared about Mars, too, and not just for the fact that she was one of Serenity’s bodyguards. She would be concerned over Mars’ health no matter what her duty was.

If her nightmare had bothered her that much, maybe there was more to it, but Venus decided not to press.

“Ah, I don’t envy you. I like to stay clear of the archery range when Serenity gets her hand on a bow,” she said with a giggle. The princess was deadly with an arrow, but not in the way one would expect.

“I’m on my way to the library to see if her lesson with Mercury’s done. Last I checked, she’s not listening at all, which means Mercury might need backup. Do you want to come?”

Nephrite frowned when Jadeite suggested they leave Kunzite behind since he was running late. While it was unusual that Kunzite was late, they would also never leave any of them behind, unless ordered to, and even then. What had gotten into the blonde? He knew Jadeite could be grumpy when he awoke, but this…this was new. He winced when Kunzite appeared only to comment on Jadeite being lazy himself.

He raised his eyebrow when Kunzite called their debate on literature concerning the Moon Kingdom a waste of time. While he wouldn’t read it himself, he couldn’t fault Zoisite for wanting to keep up any literature that may concern the other major Kingdom. What had gotten into both Kunzite and Jadeite today? He couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed today was going to be a long day if both were in a foul mood.  

The sudden voice and appearance of Beryl, one of the ladies of the court, caused his teeth to begin grinding. While Nephrite had a well earned reputation of being a ladies’ man and someone who appreciated the beauty of the opposite sex, almost never turning down an opportunity to compliment a woman, regardless if she was found to be conventionally “pretty” or not, there was something about Beryl that put all his hackles up. She grated on his nerves like no other and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. He groaned softly as she demanded to know where they were going, causing Zoisite to chuckle at his reaction.

“Your Royal Highness,” he called over loudly, hoping to move things along to get away from the woman, “we are losing daylight, perhaps it should be best if we left now as to take as much advantage of the day light as we can.”

Mars was relieved at the change of subject.

"Oh gods, poor Mercury", she said. "I can handle arrows flying every which way, but I can just imagine how frustrating it must be to yabber on a certain topic for a couple of hours and know that nobody's listening."

She paused for a bit, then added:

"Well, maybe Luna's listening. At least Mercury's got that going for her."

Mars loved Serenity. The young Princess had a certain kind-hearted innocence to her that made it impossible to stay mad for long. But she was stubborn and dreamy and it didn't help that she insisted on all of her tutoring being in vain. To be quite honest, Mars herself didn't see the point in a lot of the things Serenity was supposed to learn. Politics and history? Yeah, that was important even without having to become Queen one day. If you get a visit from the royal family of Neptune you really don't want your Princess talking about Neptunian democracy (which doesn't exist). Or to ask about the scar covering half of the Uranian king's face... Everyone knows he was involved in some shady business when he got that, and that he'll get verbally aggressive if you even look at it for too long. It's probably best if Serenity was included in that "everyone".

But archery? What was she going to do; hunt some puffy, innocent bunny and bring it to Jupiter to make a stew out of it? That was so unlike Serenity that even the thought made Mars giggle. And sword-fighting... Nevermind that the girl could barely lift the sword above her waist; but Mars didn't think Serenity could ever hurt a fly. Of course, she did mention on a few occasions that she'd like to be a fighter, like her guardian senshi; but let's be reasonable here - with how delicate and innocent Serenity was, "fighting" was probably not in the cards for her.

"Hmmm... Alright, let's go. I'm curious to hear what the Princess' excuse is today" Mars said, smiling already.

Jadeite nearly wince when Kunzite entered the stable. He watched him climb up on his horse and gave him a glare. Jadeite just rolled his eyes and moved his horse over to him. When he was close enough, Jadeite slightly punched Kunzite on the arm. He gave him a small smile. "I didn't mean it. You know how I am in the morning."

He then heard a female voice enter the room. He glanced back and saw that woman from the court. Beryl was it? Jadeite was a ladies man and a huge flirt. When he wasn't training or taking nap, you could find him flirting either with the ladies of the court or the maids. He never had a thing for Beryl. There was something about her that he didn't like. So he never bother to flirt with her. He then heard Nephrite telling Endymion that they need to move forward. Jadeite snorted, when he said they were losing daylight. It was the crack of dawn! They had plenty of light, but he could see why he made up a lie.

"Nephrite is right," Jadeite called out to their prince. "We better get going! Otherwise your father will be disappointed if we don't have any meat for dinner."

Serenity slumped in her seat, instantly losing her "princess" posture and letting out an unladylike whine. Just the thought of having so sit for another lecture was like torture. "Come on, Mercury! It's not like I need to know any of these things right now! I'll bet you even Mars doesn't know any of the things you're telling me. Why must I sit for lectures over topics that won't concern me for hundreds of years?" Serenity sighed, resting her elbow on the table and leaning against her hand. "Daydreaming is so much more stimulating," she said wistfully. Her eyes wandered over to Earth once more, the imaginary visions of men on white steeds and grand stone castles resurfacing in her mind. Serenity was yanked out of her thoughts once more by Mercury's question, and Luna's sudden move to Serenity's table.

The young princess sat up straight again, knowing her feline adviser would scold her. Glancing at the black cat, Serenity bit her lip. Should she really tell Mercury about her aspirations to see the Earth? It was nice knowing she had the Mercurian princess to talk to whenever something was on her mind, and Serenity was almost convinced to just spill out all of her thoughts and feelings. But then there was Luna. Luna was not only her adviser, but her mother's, as well. There was no doubt in Serenity's mind that the black cat would tattle on her if she spoke of seeing Earth. Her decision was made - she would keep her own secret safe for now.

Shaking her head, Serenity said, "There's not much on my mind, other than how amazing my new ability is. I no longer have to walk from place to place, Mercury! I can instantly go from the kitchens to my bedroom. Imagine how many sweets I could steal! It does take up quite a bit of energy, but I'm sure that with practice, I'll become the greatest teleporting princess there ever was." The princess giggled, twirling her hair around her finger as she smiled at her friend.

Luna was disappointed by what Princess Serenity had said. Yes teleportation was an amazing ability, but it shouldn't be used for trivial things. "Honestly, Princess Serenity!" Luna scolded, "You shouldn't use your powers for such trivial things. They should be used for more important things. I taught it to you so you could practice it for emergencies or other things, not so that you could abuse it." Luna really hoped the princess had something else on her mind. It felt like there was something more important that she wanted to talk about, but unfortunately she wouldn't open up to her. She was after all the adviser to the queen and had to update her about her daughter's progress. Luna sighed sadly and laid her head on her paws.

He smiled a half-smile as Jadeite arrived, complaining of the early hour, as per usual on their hunting trips. He checked the saddle straps a second time as the blond mounted and looked around after Kunzite; Endymion, too, had noted Kunzite's delayed appearance, but his response to Jadeite's jest to leave the man behind barely got a reaction out of him as he checked once more that his arrows were secure. That Kunzite entered in time to chatch the remark, however, regained his interest. He pulled himself up onto his saddle, leading the horse away from other stables to give his friends some room, and his half-smile returned for Jadeite's mortified look at being overheard. 

But as Kunzite continued, apparently having overheard much of their previous conversation, Endymion could not help but completely disagree on the matter. He met Kunzite's gaze steadily, his eyebrows lowering just a bit as he prepared his defense of the worthiness of their topic, when they were interrupted by a feminine voice. He nearly had to bite his tongue in order to change the subject, his eyes on Kunzite til the last. The citizen's talk of the Moon was very much their concern; if a panic were being worked up from the misunderstood (or misunderstanding) scholar, it was their duty to know of and attempt to quell such things. A slight scowl was still on his face as he turned to the newcomer.

Courtier Beryl stood before them, offering a greeting with a slight curtsy. "Lady Beryl," he replied, inclining his head to acknowledge her wishes, taking the reins firmly in hand to stop his horse from traveling unnecessarily as she addressed him. Mentally he reined himself in, too, fitting into his Royal demeanor as though putting on a suit of well-worn, but highly decorative, armor. He calmed himself, sat taller, and prepared to engage her in polite conversation. She brushed a strand of hair from her face before asking after their activities; he offered her a polite smile, one he often used when dealing in matters of the court, and replied straightforwardly, "Hunting."

Nephrite's call was kind in coming - it gave him a way to politely slip out of the conversation, but he would let Lady Beryl reply first, giving her the opportunity to dismiss him as opposed to the other way around. Jadeite's seconding of their need caused him to attempt to hold back a genuine smile - the idea that his father would go without meat if they did not return with some was amusing.

Mercury cringed at the thought of Sailor Mars overhearing Serenity's comment about her knowledge of her own planet. That would have surely erupted into an argument. And she hoped Mars knew how her government worked... 

"Princess, it's better to learn this information now while it's peaceful instead of having to rush to learn it later at the last minute. Besides, what if you need to act as a representative while your mother is busy?" This wasn't the first time they had this discussion, but sometimes she needed a reminder that being Princess was an important job too. Mercury watched Serenity hesitate before admitting her daydream today, but she had a feeling that it wasn't entirely true. She'd let it slide for now. If the Princess did not want to speak of it, she couldn't force it out. Maybe another time, when they were alone, she thought, remembering that Luna was also with them.

"Luna is right, teleportation is a powerful skill, not a tool for taking extra pastries from the bakers," Mercury said, though her smile made her far less serious than Luna was at the moment. "I'm sure Jupiter would give you some if you asked her anyway," she said, lowering her voice like she was telling a secret. She glanced out the window, determining what time it was. "Well, I think we can call this lesson over...for now," Mercury said, standing up to stretch before she started cleaning the table of books.

Zoisite couldn’t stop the flash of hurt that hit him at Kunzite’s words. The older man knew why he was reading these books! They’d had discussions about the topic several times in the past. His eyes narrowed as he considered the other man. He looked tired and stressed out already; perhaps he was in a bad mood? Still, it was very unusual for Kunzite to reprimand him for his personal pursuits, or tell him he was wasting his time.

He stifled a groan as the woman, what was her name again, Beryl?, came into the room, using the Prince’s casual title then demanding to know where they were going. Honestly, did this woman have no brains in her head?


“Show the Prince some respect! You should be addressing him as Your Royal Highness,” he snapped at her, stressing the word royal. This wasn’t the first time he himself or one of the other Shittennou had corrected her. She seemed to fancy herself close to the Prince, able to use more relaxed forms of address with him. It made Zoisite’s blood boil. He mounted his mare, and brought her forward so he was beside the Prince, ready to move between the Lady and his Prince if need be.

Jupiter walked around the courtyard searching for her fellow senshi. She hoped they could all go to their lessons together and then branch off for training. As she walked farther and farther into the gardens she came across Mars and Venus who appeared to be having an interesting conversation. As she got closer she noticed their expressions change from serious to more relaxed.

She approached the two guardians and greeted them. “Hello Venus, Mars. I hope I am not interrupting anything” She said with a smile. She wouldn’t trade anything for the bonds she had formed since becoming a guardian for the moon Princess, well except the luxuries of being on her home planet with her own council. But without her parents it had been lonely. Becoming a guardian helped her fill that void of loneliness.

She added, “I presume Mercury is still with the Princess trying to get her through her daily lectures. Mercury is so kind, I could never be that patient with someone who was not listening.” She said as she chuckled a bit to show her admiration for the Guardian of Mercury.

Beryl began to open her mouth to reply to Endymion, but was cut off by Zoisite. She shot him a quick, annoyed glance, and gave a small huff under her breath. She recomposed herself, and she frowned, "Oh! My sincerest apologies, Your Royal Highness. My casual tone was deeply uncalled for." She clasped her hands together, in an attempt to express forgiveness, and took a step back when Zoisite came in between her and the prince. She flashed a sweet smile at Endymion, "Well, I suppose I shouldn't keep you. I'll take my leave now." She bowed, ignoring the other men present. She turned and quickly waltzed out of the stable.

As soon as she had put a great distance between herself and the stable, Beryl let an annoyed curse slip under her breath. How would she be able to get anywhere with the prince when his annoying little lapdogs were always prancing around him? She hid herself behind a tree, gripping it tightly with a hand. If she was gonna get anything done, she would have to time it and see him when he was alone. But for now, she would just lurk in the shadows and keep an eye on things.