Tentatively Chater 3... I'm thinking of re-writing it.. SG2: The Joining of Two Nations Chapter 3 Pain. A sudden, sharp pain shot up her arm from her elbow, causing the princess to scream, falling back away from the sill on which she still rested. "AIEEEE!" she wailed, cradling the offending arm to her chest as she fell back on her feather soft sheets. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to move her arm and winced. The door was suddenly bent slightly inwards and then there was a muffled thump as someone hit the floor on the other side. Serenity looked up and almost laughed as muffled cursing in Lunarian could be heard from the other side. She slid off her bed, not moving her arm, and then quickly went to the door and unlocked it, pulling it open with one hand. The sight that greeted her had her holding back a smile. Violet hair was flying every-which way, falling slowly in the lunar atmosphere to rest in a dark halo around the warring surprised and angry emotions displayed on the face of the princess of Mars. She looked up through her hair at the gawking lunar princess and sighed, "I certainly hope getting dropped on my behind by your door is worth it. Are you alright?" Serenity shook her head, cradling her arm to her chest, "I think I might have broken something yesterday," she said softly, a slight smile on her lips as Mars picked herself off the floor and pushed her hair and fuku back into it's proper place. Her lips were tight on the sides as she smiled through the pain at her friend. Mars quickly stepped up next to the princess and ran a critical eye over her, from head to toe. Finally she sighed, seeing a small protrusion that shouldn't be there on Serenity's elbow. "Come. We will have The Lady Anya look at it. You should have said something last night." Serenity sighed as she followed Mars through the corridors to the chambers of the Queen of Mercury. She ignored Mars' chastising, blocking out her voice as she tried to remember exactly what she'd done the previous night that could have resulted in an injury. She stopped, looking up, when Mars's voice ceased it's chatter. In front of her was the door to the domain of the Mercuians. She took a deep breath, "Mars, would you knock for me, please?" Mars nodded and knocked once before opening the door, "Queen Anya, may I present Princess Serenity. She is in need of your expertise." Anya was seated on a couch, book in hand, dressed in casual clothes, a light blue dress that accentuated her hair and eyes nicely. She wasn't a gorgeous woman, but she carried herself with a grace and calmness that was reassuring to anyone around her. She looked up as the princess of Mars entered, a smile forming on her face until Mars said what she had to say. She closed her book and motioned for Mars to allow the daughter of her dearest friend into the room. Mars opened the door wide and Serenity stepped through, running straight to the woman who was like an aunt to her, "I think I broke something," she said, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she knelt in front of the chair, her arm still being held, carefully, close to her body. Anya moved forward in her seat until she could reach Serenity's chin and gently nudged her face up until she could see her eyes, "Sit on the couch, Serenity, my dear, and let me look at it." Serenity quickly complied and bit her lip as Anya's gently probing fingers touched her elbow. "That hurts," she whispered, biting her lip again. Anya shook her head, "Little one, what did you do that you managed to dislocate your elbow?" "I... I hit the wall the other evening... I was run- AHHHH!!" she screamed and fainted as Anya pulled sharply on her elbow, putting it back in place. Anya shook her head and looked to the princess of Mars, "She will be fine now. Just make sure she does not do anything too strenuous with that arm for a couple of weeks. She should be helping plan her wedding, too. Are you and the girls going to be giving her a shower?" Mars grinned, "You have to be kidding. How could we not give her one? Would you give a message to the Queen that we need both of the royal escorts to be in the gardens just after the setting of the Earth this evening? We need to make plans for it." Anya smiled, leaning down to help Mars settle Serenity on her couch, "I would be delighted." Mars nodded and left the chamber. Anya sat down and lifted the sleeping Princess' head and placed it gently in her lap before picking her book up again and finding her page. She idly let one hand caress the silken hair and smiled, knowing that the Princess wouldn't have to worry about a cast of any sort to mar her wedding day. 'The better for the wedding night' she found herself thinking, a small smile on her face. She shook her head, her cheeks flaming, 'Anya, now why did you think that?' she berated herself silently, looking down at the peace-filled face on her lap. 'My poor Serenity, I do hope you know what you've gotten yourself into...' **** Queen Serenity closed the door to the gardens behind her and locked them, slipping the silver key into a small pocket in her dress. She looked around the entrance and smiled, seeing everyone was assembled. "Well, we are all here, what is this about, Mina?" The Princess of Venus stood up from her place next to her mother and curtsied to the Queen of the moon, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Except for her hairstyle, and the shade of her blue eyes, she was all but identical to the Princess of the moon. "Aunt Serenity, I know this will sound forward, but I wish to discuss with the court, informally, the plans for the Princess' Bridal shower and," she looked at the four other princesses, grinning from ear to ear, "The possibility of a bachelorette party. Both are customs from earth that are related to a marriage. One, the bridal shower, is a get together to wish the bride well, and to present her with practical gifts. The other is one last night for the bride-to-be to have some fun without worrying about attachments." Queen Serenity looked at her niece, "And where did you get the idea for these rituals?" Mina grinned from ear to ear, "When the Prince was here he brought it guards with him. We got to talking about the wedding, and everyone thinks the two could not be better matched, but they started talking about strange male rituals the groom has to go through. The bachelor party is one of them. We had them explain it to us, and we liked the idea so much we asked if there was something like that for girls. He said a bachelorette party was the equivalent of a bachelor party so we decided that if you gave us your blessing, as Serenity's guardians and friends, we would throw her a party, just the five of us, to let her have something of a good time. Nothing to radical, but something to give her a farewell to being single and an introduction into married life." Queen Serenity looked sceptical, "And what exactly were you planning to do for this... this party?" Mina smiled, "A lot of talking, nothing too big mostly because Serenity couldn't handle it. This is a party for her and us, the wedding party, no one else. The Bridal shower could be turned into a ball for the Princess for everyone to wish her well, if that is a better idea. Of course, it also means she will be getting presents from everyone before the wedding because part of the bridal shower is getting the bride a gift to aid her in her upcoming marriage." Serenity looked around the garden, "I like the idea of this bridal shower, but the other one... Are you sure you won't frighten her too much?" Mina giggled, "Aunt Serenity, I promise not to do anything our of Earth customs for that party!" Serenity knew she'd been caught by some loop hole at Mina's words but shook her head, "Alright. You have my blessing. The bridal shower will take place in a week, this other party of yours you may plan at your leisure and implement when you wish." ******** Serenity sighed, looking at her bandaged elbow. She shook her head and resumed her previous place at her window, looking at the earth. "Endy..." she murmured sadly, "How I miss you... Where are you, my love? Are you dealing with the delegates you said would be there, or are they already gone and you are as lonely as I? Can you hear me, my heart, crying out for you?" ********