Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Sailor Senshi and all terms, names etc associated with
the series are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha so please don't sue me!
Part 2
After some time, they finally let Serena see Darien. Entering his room quietly, she looked around. It was bright and sunny, much like the one she was staying in except it didn't have stuffed bunnies lying all around.
"Darien?" she whispered quietly, afraid that she was disturbing him. He was laying face down, his head turned the other way. "Are you awake?" Serena moved in, hoping he wasn't asleep.
"Boo!" he yelled, making her jump two feet into the air.
"Darien! You scared me!" Serena exclaimed.
"I know, that's the whole point," he snickered.
In a huff, she turned on her heel and was about to walk away when he caught her arm. "I'm sorry, Serena. It was just a joke. Stay. Keep me company. I've been so bored." Darien pleaded.
"And why should I? I come here from the goodness of my heart and you scare the heck out of me," she argued.
"Alright, I apologize. Please, Princess Serena, please stay. Is that better?"
"Much. Okay, now why are you still in bed? I thought that the scratch wasn't that serious."
"Yes, but you know how it is. Even one little injury, you have to stay in bed for at least a day. Annoying, isn't it?"
They chatted for a little while more until the nursemaid shooed her out, saying that he needed his rest. She promised she would come back later to visit him and slipped out the door.
As time passed, Darien, Serena, and the four generals became closer and closer, despite her age difference. They looked out for one another and went venturing into forests together. They often called her "Meatball Head" but after complaining about it dozens of times and them not paying attention to it, she stopped. Serena began to look at Darien in a whole new light but wouldn't admit it to anyone and sometimes herself. He was quite popular with the ladies with his handsome looks and charming smile but he had always turned them down for some reason.
"I can' t like him. He's my best friend. It would be totally awkward and besides, he would never like me back. I'm only a whining 14-year-old," She said to herself, when she was alone one evening. "And besides, he can be really arrogant and pompous at times. But he is really cute."
Without knocking, Darien entered her room. "Hey, Meatball Head. Who's really cute?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant when he was actually feeling a bit dejected. He had a weird feeling, one between jealousy and anger but tried to ignore it.
"Can't you knock?" Serena snapped. After seeing his hurt face, she softened. "I'm sorry, Darien. I was just thinking about something."
"About a guy, right? Come on tell me. Who is it?" he playfully begged.
"I can't say who it is. You'll never believe who it is anyway. But moving on..." Serena said but was interrupted by a knock. "Yes, come in."
Jedite entered the room with Nephrite, Zoycite, and Malachite on his heel.
"Say, what are you two doing in here, all alone?" they teased.
"For your information, we were just talking, but I don't see how that's any of your business," retorted Serena.
They joked and talked for a while before another knock stopped their conversation. A young maid came in and curtsied. "Their Majesties would like you to go to the Throne Room," she said shakily.
Serena nodded and said thanks. "Well, I guess we'd better go."
The five walked quietly, each wondering what was up.
"Mother," Serena called out. "We're here."
They saw King Terrance and Queen Lauryl sitting down on royal throne, looking sad.
"Good," Queen Serenity said. "I am sorry to say that my daughter and I will be leaving soon. There are some urgent matters back on the moon that we must attend to."
Shocked, Serena froze. She opened her mouth to say something but no sound came out. Instead, Darien spoke for her. "But, why? Can't Serena stay here? We'll take good care of her."
"That's very nice of you but I'm afraid that's not possible. We've already overstayed our welcome," Serenity replied.
"No, no, that's not true," everyone chimed in.
"I'm sorry but we will be leaving in two days and that's final," she said sternly.
Darien was crushed. No, she can't leave. What will I do if she leaves? Who am I going to talk to and joke around with? Darien contemplated. Well, there are the others but it's not the same!
After they were adjourned, Serena walked in silence back to her room. She still couldn't believe it.
"Serena! Wait, Serena," a voice called out. Turning around, she saw that it was Darien.
"Yes?" she asked.
"I just wanted to see you...and give you this," he said and held up a golden locket.
Opening it, she saw that it contained a small picture of them both, smiling happily and played a soft harmonious tune. "Oh, it's beautiful!" she murmured.
Tears were beginning to form and she hastily wiped it away. "Thank you." Serena looked up and gazed into his eyes. On an impulse, she gave him a kiss on the cheek, surprising Darien and herself. Before pulling away, she whispered "I'll miss you," into his ear and ran towards her room, not daring to look back.
The next morning came quickly. Serena morosely packed her things into a small luggage. The King and Queen, Darien, and the generals came to say goodbye before they transported back to the Moon.
"Goodbye," Serena said. "Don't worry, you guys. I'll be back. It won't be too long, okay?" She gave the four guys a hug.
"Thank you, Your Majesties for your hospitality. I have really enjoyed staying here," she said and curtsied one last time.
Lastly, she turned to Darien. "And you¡" Serena whispered softly. "If it weren't for you, I would probably not have made any friends or anyone to talk to. You will always have a special place in my heart."
Darien, unable to speak, felt teardrops escaping his eyes. This would be the first time he ever cried. "I'll miss you too, Serena," he said when he was finally able to talk. "I won't forget you."
She smiled slightly and walked to her mother. As Serenity said farewell to Lauryl and Terrance and thanked them as well, Serena drank in the sight of Darien. She wanted to remember every handsome feature of his. She tried to comfort herself by saying that she was coming back.
Queen Serenity yelled "Moon Teleport!" and the two vanished. Darien and the others sadly walked back to the palace.
Back on the moon, Mina and several servants awaited eagerly for them to arrive.
"They're here!" one of them shouted and they all curtsied.
Unable to contain her delight, she ran up to hug Serena the moment she and Queen Serenity got there. "Hi! You are finally here! I've missed you so much," she said. Her blonde hair was tied back with a bow and she wore a light orange sundress. Serena and Mina looked so much alike that often times, Mina was thought to be the Moon princess. When they were little, they would play pranks on others, pretending to be each other.
"Hello, Mina," Serena said, melancholy. She had missed Darien already.
"Hey, girl. What's wrong?" Mina asked as they walked to the manor.
"Nothing," the princess sighed and said nothing else.
Questioning, she looked to Serenity. The Queen shook her head and sighed as well. Mina went in to comfort Serena and try to find out what was wrong.
"Serena, you've got to tell me. What's wrong?" I thought that you had a great time on Earth," she inquired.
"Yeah, too good of a time," Serena replied bitterly. "I miss it already. I miss him."
"A guy, huh? Well, spill, girlfriend!" Mina waited enthusiastically for the answer. "It was Prince Darien."
"No way! Darien? The most handsome guy on Earth? Wow, you're lucky! So, were you guys really going out? Is that why he always turned down the other princesses?"
"We didn't go out although I wish we did," Serena admitted to her friend. It was the first time she had told anyone. "Oh, I see. How old is he?"
"Darien's 17...but enough about that. I don't want to talk about it anymore. How are you? I've really missed you."
"Me too, girl. Me too. I am doing fine except there's no candidates in the love department. Pathetic, huh?" Mina complained.
"You'll find someone and I know that he'll be great for you. In fact, Malachite, who is Darien's friend and guard, would be perfect for you. Unfortunately, we can't exactly see him," Serena observed.
"It's okay. If he is the guy for me, we'll meet someday," she said unhappily.
"Serena," Queen Serenity said and gracefully slipped in, interrupting their conversation. She unintentionally heard their discussion as she was walking up to her daughter's room. "I know that you are upset but the reason why we had to come back was because the princess of the inner planets are coming to see us and they will be staying for a pretty long while. I promise you that we will go back to Earth and if it's alright with Queen Lauryl and King Terrance, you can bring a couple of friends."
"Really? I can?" Serena asked and temporarily forgetting her sorrows. Her eyes shined blissfully while Mina and Serenity laughed.
"Look at you. You must really like Earth. Or maybe, someone in particular like a certain prince," the Queen teased.
"Mom! Where did you get that idea," Serena asked, trying to cover herblushing.
"Well, it's quite obvious how your eyes lights up when the name Darien is mentioned," she laughed.
The princess turned away, hoping that no one else had noticed it.
"The other princesses are coming tomorrow afternoon so be ready. Okay, I'll leave you two girls alone now. Good night, girls," Serenity said and left after giving a kiss to both girls on the forehead. Mina was practically a daughter to the Queen for her parents for her parents had always traveled around a lot and left her to Serenity to take care. Mina's parents, who were the King and Queen of Venus, weren't exactly the most responsible parents. They left Mina when she was very young so she doesn't remember much about them.
The two stayed up most of the night talking about Darien and Serena's stay on Earth. They laughed and had fun much like old times.
She brushed through her gold hair several times before putting them into "Meatballs." She laughed, remembering the times when Darien and the others use to call her that. She was getting ready for the advent of the other princesses.
Excited as she was, Serena wondered thought that it wasn't fair she had to leave her prince for them.
"Serena? Let's go. They are going to be here any minute now," Mina said.
"Okay," she replied and glanced at the mirror one last time before exiting.
Shortly after they went to the spacious courtyard, the princesses of the inner planets appeared one by one. Serena was nervous at first but it quickly dispersed after seeing their friendly faces. Mina was beside her. Each came forth, curtsied and introduced themselves to both Queen Serenity and Serena.
After settling in their rooms, they decided to have a sleepover to get to know each other better. Collecting all the snack foods they could carry, they brought it back to Serena's room to pig out.
"So, do you guys have any boyfriends?" asked Serena with a mouthful of popcorn.
Lita, Rei, and Ami sighed unhappily and shook their heads.
"What about you?" Rei asked.
Mina answered for Serena. "Yeah, she's got this total hottie waiting for her."
Lita smiled. "Wow, you're so lucky, Serena," she said and stuffed a potato chip into her mouth.
"Don't listen to her," Serena protested. "Mina's just a stickler for romance. He's just a friend, that's all."
"So, who is he?" asked the ever so curious Ami.
"Well...it's Prince Darien," she answered meekly.
All except for Mina's jaw dropped. "Prince Darien? Of Earth?" Rei asked, shocked.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Prince Darien of Earth," Serena replied. "What's so astonishing about that?"
"Well, they are just a surprised at how someone like you could get someone like Darien," Mina said jokingly.
"Someone like me? I'll show you someone like me," Serena said and whacked her with a pillow, thus, starting a pillow fight.
A good half-hour later, after using up their energy, they plopped down and talked until two o' clock. It was decided to go to sleep for they were too tired to anything else.
As time passed on, the five princesses became the best of friends, telling each other everything. They often had sleepovers and talked until sunup. When the moon princess's fifteenth birthday came up, the girls decided to throw her a surprise birthday party. It wasn't very big but it was meaningful.
"Hey, Serena, I forgot my book in the dining room. Can you come with me to get it?" asked Ami.
"Yeah, sure. Where is everyone?" Serena said as they walked into the dark room.
"Well, they're around, somewhere," Ami replied.
Just then, the lights flipped on and everyone shouted, "Surprise!"
The room was decorated with different colored balloons and streamers.
Serena gasped in delight, her blue eyes sparkling in happiness. "Is this for me?" she asked.
"Well, of course, Meatball Head," Rei answered. "Who else has the same birthday as you?"
"That's enough, Rei," Lita warned and turned to Serena. "Happy birthday."
After receiving big hugs from her friends, she turned to her mother who stood in the back, smiling. "Thank you, Mother. Thank you, everyone. I can't even explain the happiness I feel right now."
"We're just glad you like this surprise, sweetie. Now, go have a good time," Serenity said and gently pushed her daughter toward her friends.
Everyone danced and talked cheerfully, having a good time. Serena smiled, thankful that her friends and her mother were so wonderful.
Once it was time to cut the cake, they crowded around the princess. "Make a wish," Mina reminded her.
Serena looked at the beautifully decorated cake and almost regretted eating it.
"Okay," she said and took a deep breath. I wish¡I wish that I can see Darien soon.
"So, what did you wish for, Serena?" Ami asked inquisitively.
"Oh, it's nothing. Now who wants some cake?" she asked everyone and began cutting it.
When the party was over and Serena was finally alone, she went out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. She saw the blue and green planet and hoped again that she could see Darien. It was ridiculous, she knew, to have a crush on him. He was one of her best friends and it was so hopeless. I wonder if he still remembers me. Yeah, right... He probably has tons of girlfriends and forgot all about the gawky kid that always followed him around, she thought to herself as things began to become blurry. She wiped a tear away quickly. Serena opened the locket and the soft music filled her ears. She gently stroked the picture of her beloved prince. She pictured his blue eyes, so deep that she could stare into them forever and his jet-black hair that she desperately wanted to touch and run her hands in. The princess sighed and glanced at Earth one last time before going in.
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