The Four Lovers: Stranded
by Ninx
CHAPTER ONE
THE FRIGIDNESS OF SPACE
"Endymion?"
The voice was Kunzite's; he knew it by it's deep, slightly harsh tone. He
didn't turn from the viewport, though, merely answering, "Yes, Kunzite?"
"My Prince, there's a ship approaching from the planet Pluto requesting to
speak with you."
Now Endymion turned, slightly surprised. "About?"
"It's a ship of the Moon Family, m'lord."
Now his attention was firmly caught. "What is a ship of the Moon doing
out
here? I thought they usually stayed close to home," he asked out loud.
"Apparently it was an ambassadorial trip, m'lord, by Princess Serenity."
"Princess Serenity? I thought the Queen kept her sequestered on the
moon."
"I don't have all the answers, my Prince," Kunzite answered with a slight
grin. Endymion grinned back, then started through the door.
"Oh Kunzite?"
"Yes, m'lord?"
"Drop the 'my lord', okay? You aren't at the Palace."
Kunzite's faint smile appeared again. "Yes, m'lord," he replied as
Endymion
strode toward the bridge.
Endymion's personal ship was small; he arrived on the bridge in little
time
to find Zoicite at the controls. "Reply to the hail," he said.
"Yes sir," Zoicite replied quietly. His calm face surronded by a mass of
blond hair didn't break its serene pose as he touched the controls.
"Responding."
"Visual, please."
The screen in front of him lit up with another bridge, this one well lit
as
opposed to his own preference of dim lightning. A soft, white face with
large and expressionate blue eyes came into view, and he knew this had to
be
Princess Serenity. "Hello, Earth vessel. This is Princess Serenity of the
Royal Vessel Sunrise," she said softly. "Please state your designation."
"This is Prince Endymion of the personal ship Peregrine," he replied.
"Greetings, Prince Endymion. May I request your buisness in this sector?"
Endymion thought.
It
didn't make the exchange feel less cold to him. "A cruise to Saturn and
back, Princess Serenity."
"Thank you, Prince Endymion, for your co-operation. Princess Serenity
closing channels," she replied, and her face blinked off.
"Close channel," Endymion ordered roughly.
"Channel closed," Zoicite replied. "Congratulations, Endymion. You
performed flawlessly."
He sighed heavily. "Thank you, Zoicite. Somehow, that doesn't make me
feel
any better," replied the Prince, and he swiftly exited through the doors.
Nephrite and Jaedite, who had arrived in time to see the Prince exit,
turned
to Zoicite. "Something troubling the Prince?" asked Jaedite, his voice as
youthful as his face, blue eyes concerned.
"I'm not sure," Zoicite replied. "He just completed a flawless exchange
with Princess Serenity, and then left."
"Flawless?" Nephrite asked, looking at Jaedite. "No warmth at all, then."
"As usual," Jaedite said. He shook his head, his short yet shaggy blond
hair tickling his ears. "Protocal is protocal, after all, and as royalty,
he
must follow it to the letter. Even if he disagrees with it."
Nephrite seemed about to reply when Zoicite yawned loudly, startling both.
"Excuse me," he said in a small voice. "It seems I've been at my station
too
long."
"That's for sure. You've been on the bridge since we started out,"
Nephrite
pointed out. "Maybe you should take a break."
"Perhaps I should," Zoicite replied, standing, green-grey eyes shining.
"After all, how can one be fully useful if they don't get some rest?" With
that, he quickly stepped off the bridge.
"He's devoted, that's for sure," Jaedite said as he slid into the seat
abandoned by Zoicite.
"Of course," said Nephrite, sitting in one of the chairs at the front of
the
bridge, which was sized to its ship. "We all are."
"Yes, we are," Jaedite said, his voice trailing off in a note of
melancholy.
"Now what's bothering you?"
"I was just thinking about our lives, Lyte," he said, using the nickname
he
had given him long past in their friendship. "We serve the Prince of
Earth,
Endymion, as personal guards. Doesn't give us much time for the other
things
in life, does it?"
"Such as what, Jae?"
"Love," he replied wistfully. "Think of it just for a second. When our
Prince gets married, we will doubtless go with him and serve as his
personal
guard for his family. Yet when will we have the chance to marry, or have
families?"
Nephrite laughed then. "It's funny, I've been thinking about the same
things recently."
"Really?"
"Uh-huh. I was worried about it as well, until I remembered.." he lowered
his voice, "that the stars control everything. So I asked them."
"Not that I believe that, but what did they reveal?" Jaedite asked.
"That we soon will find our love, but the events surronding it will be
twined with great disaster," he said ominiously.
Jaedite laughed again. "I'll believe it when it happens."
"Never mock the future, Jae. It can mock back," Nephrite cautioned.
Jaedite shook his head. Nephrite may have been his best friend, but he
would never agree with him about this star thing. he told himself as he started to check on the ship's
systems.
"She was so expressionless, Kunzite," Endymion said. "It was like I was
talking to a robot spitting out nothing."
They were sitting in the spacious cabin of the Prince, staring at the
stars
through the large window in his room. The rings of Saturn could be seen
faintly from it, glittering dust against the shining stars. It was a
spectacular sight rare to those of Earth; yet Endymion could see no beauty,
but only cold, dark space.
"My Prince, you cannot let this worry you," Kunzite assured.
"Why not, Kunzite?" he asked. "It was probably because I'm from Earth.
You
know how people on the Moon feel about us. They think we're all losers
just
because we aren't quite as 'perfect' as they are. Just because we don't
bow
down and worship their feet."
"That's a very harsh accusation to make against the Princess, Endymion,"
Kunzite warned.
"They've made equally harsh accusations against us," he spat back.
Kunzite sighed; the Prince was being unusually unreceptive tonight. "My
Prince..."
"I told you not to do that."
He sighed. "Endymion," he said, "you cannot judge the Royalty of the Moon
because of the way its people are. I assure you, a ruler is not always the
composite of his people. Queen Selenity treats all races fairly no matter
where they come from."
"Then why do they hate us!"
"The royalty doesn't hate anyone on Earth, Endymion, but they need
precautions. You know the only uprisings against the Moon Kingdom have
come
from Earth." Seeing the black look on the Prince's face, he added, "And
you
two went by protocal, did you not?"
"Flawless."
"I know the rules of Protocal, and they don't include cordiatlity,
Endymion.
Don't judge the Princess because of her reception; she was doing what she
was
taught. Being Selenity's daughter, I'm sure she is just as warm and
friendly
as her mother."
the Prince thought.
Suddenly, the white light in the Prince's room turned red; moments later,
Zoicite's footsteps came down the hallway. He entered the room, hair tied
back and looking half awake. Both took notice, and Endymion said, "Yes,
Zoicite?"
"Endymion, we need you to get to safety."
"What....what's going on?" the Prince protested, standing.
"The ship hit the tail of an ion storm, and all the systems have been
disrupted," he replied. "It's too much for the ship to take. We're going
down."
* * * *
"I hate protocal sometimes," Serenity said as Venus shut off the screen.
"It makes me feel like such a louse."
"Oh, my Princess, how would you like to greet the other ships? 'Hey good
looking, whatcha doing out there?' " Venus replied. "You're royalty, you
have to act like it."
"He's royalty, too, Venus," she replied. "It's not like I couldn't be a
little more familar." She looked back to the screen. "He looked so lonely
and hurt."
"Actually, he was quite handsome, Serenity. I don't think he lacks for
companionship at all," Venus chuckled back. "Besides, he has four constant
guards and a land FULL of people that love him. I doubt he's ever heard
the
word 'lonely'."
"I have four guards, and a kingdom that loves me, and yet lonlieness still
touches me, Venus," said the Princess softly, rising and gazing out the
viewscreen at the sweet whiteness of the stars.
"Oh my Princess," Venus replied, sweeping down from her controls to give
her
charge a hug. "We'll be home soon, my dear." She giggled a bit. "Have
you
made your decision regarding engagement Priam?"
"I have, dear Venus," she replied. "I just hope it's the right one."
"Oh, Serenity! The Prince of the Sea is just wonderful for you. He's
kind,
and handsome, and he's heir to the Earth's oceans when King Pontus dies.
It's a beautiful match," Venus replied.
"I know, Venus, I know. I just can't help wondering if my engagement to
him
would be to please me or my mother. After all, he's only my second
suitor,"
she replied. "But I suppose you're right." She looked at her guardian and
smiled a little. "How about some hot chocolate and you can tell me the
gossip you picked up on Pluto?"
"I'd thought you'd never ask," Venus replied
"I'm bored," Mars said suddenly.
Jupiter stopped punching the water bag, and put out a bare fist to hold it
still. She looked down at her raven/purple haired companion, shook her
head,
and asked, "Why? This mission has hardly been exciting, I know, but it's
better than nothing."
"Nothing. That's all we ever see on the Moon," she groused. "We're
trained
warriors, and we never use it!" She held a fireball between her hands,
idly
rotating it.
"Come on, Mars! We're the Court Guard. It's the highest honor any trained
warrior can get in the Moon Kingdom, next to Kingdom General," Jupiter
replied.
"Right. Court Guard. Just a fancy title for nursemaid to the Princess,"
Mars spat out bitterly, fireball disappearing.
"MARS! You don't believe that, do you?" Jupiter questioned.
"No," she sighed. "But I just don't see the point anymore, you know? Why
are we even there? The Millenium is ALWAYS at peace." She stood, and
feebly
kicked at the water bag. "We aren't really even needed."
"I'll agree that peace is a bit disconcerting," Jupiter said. "And it
seems
like we have nothing to do. We're Princesses, though, and Representatives
of
the Inner Planets, and those are just as important duties." She stopped.
"It's better than dying."
"Yea," Mars echoed. "Better than dying."
Just then, the exercise room turned flashing red, and both Senshi
immediately came to alert. Soft footsteps ran down the hall, and Mercury's
blue head appeared in the door. "Trouble," she pronounced.
"What?" Mars asked, following her out into the hallway, Jupiter a step
ahead.
"The Earth ship," Mercury said, moving toward the command center. "It's
going down."
"Is there any assitance we can offer?" Jupiter jumped in quickly.
"No," Mercury replied. "Because we're going down with it."
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