Hi again! Here are Chapters 3 & 4 (and the conclusion) of "The
Love of a Princess." The long-awaited villain appears here (I bet
you'll be surprised!). So on with the story! Again, please send
feedback to EmeraldDi@aol.com.
And as always, the usual disclaimer applies: I do not own Sailor
Moon. Never have, never will. Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch of other
powerful companies do. Boy do I wish I'd thought it up though.
*sigh* ^.~
Rating:PG
"The Love of a Princess"
By: WaterSenshi
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Chapter 3- Feelings from the Past and an Evil Shadow
Makoto stared. Rei gasped. Serenity smiled. And Minako giggled.
Just minutes before, Ami had come in from the balcony holding the
arm of a masked gentleman. With a small curtsy from Ami and a low
bow from "Urawa," they had begun waltzing around the ballroom.
None of the other girls could believe it! Their quiet, shy Ami
was dancing with someone? And blushing even! Each girl stood
transfixed, each with varying expressions of emotion, and watched
the two dance.
Makoto blinked. "Ami-chan..is actually..."
"enjoying herself," finished Minako. "It's about time!" The girls
exchanged knowing looks, and then turned back to their respective
dancing partners. However, they continued to throw glances at Ami
every once in a while, trying to catch her attention, and maybe
give her a sign of encouragement. But Ami was oblivious to
everything going on around her.
She couldn't stop herself from wondering if this man was really
Ryu, playing some sort of trick on her. And as much as she tried
not to, she kept hoping that it was. She decided to try and get
more information from him. "So where are you from, Urawa?" she
asked. She bit her lip in anticipation, half-expecting, half-
hoping that he'd say Mercury.
"Earth," he replied. "I am a soldier in Prince Endymion's army."
He felt her droop slightly in his arms. "Is something the matter,
Ami?"
She tried to keep her voice from trembling as she muttered a
quiet, "No, I'm fine. Just a little tired." She felt crushed. She
had gotten her hopes up so high, but his answer had killed every
one of her dreams. He wasn't Ryu. She was alone, again.
* * *
No one noticed the dark shadow in the corner of the ballroom. It
had not moved since the beginning of the ball. A couple waltzing
nearby suddenly heard faint laughter, so full of evil that they
shivered. By the time they looked to see where it had come from,
the shadow was gone. The two shrugged their shoulders to each
other, completely puzzled as to where the laugh had come from. It
was forgotten however, as a fast-paced dance started up, and they
moved away. The shadow watched them dance away from behind a
column. "Soon you will be mine, Princess of Mercury. And your
kingdom will belong to me once you are no longer in my way..." A
light flashed briefly as it caught the flip of a silver cape.
Then the shadow was gone.
* * *
Urawa looked down, hoping to find a reason for her sudden silence
in her face. However, she was staring at the floor, and he was
only able to see the top of her head. "Would you like to stop?"
he asked, genuinely concerned at her unexpected change in mood.
What had he said to make her so sad? He lifted her chin softly,
searching her face for an answer.
She gasped. There was something so familiar in the way he lifted
her chin. Like Ryu. She shook herself free of his embrace, and
ran across the ballroom in tears. 'I can't do this! He's not Ryu!
Stop fooling yourself, Ami!' She ran out into the hallway of the
palace, not caring who saw her, and ignoring all the quizzical
stares she received. She had to get away, from this man who
reminded her so painfully of her past, and of the love she had
lost.
Urawa hardly felt the suspicious stares of the other dancers. He
stood completely still, trying to figure out what he had done to
make her run away. Was it something he said? Had he offended her?
He watched her blue hair and dress flow behind her as she ran.
Shaking his head, he brought himself back into reality. He had to
catch her. If not, he might never see her again!
He sprinted out into the hallway, leaving behind a shocked and
silent ballroom. 'Where did she go?' he thought desperately as he
raced down the empty corridor. Suddenly, he thought he could hear
footsteps, accompanied by a soft weeping. Quickening his pace, he
followed the sound until he reached the palace courtyard. He
sighed hopelessly as he surveyed the empty darkness. She was
gone.
A cloaked figure outside the ballroom smirked. 'All too easy....'
* * *
Ami ran as far as she could go, until her legs finally gave out
beneath her. She struggled to catch her breath, sobbing at the
same time, which proved to be difficult. Looking around, she
found that her escape had taken her to a dark clearing in the
palace courtyard. Shadowy trees loomed overhead, outlined
sinisterly against the contrasting backdrop of stars.
Unconsciously, she traced the outlines of the constellations, and
continued to search the sky until she found the small blue dot
that was her home.
She missed Mercury. 3 years before, she and the other princesses
of the inner planets had been called to the Moon, to be Princess
Serenity's court. It was a great honor, since Serenity was
destined to become the ruler of the Silver Millenium someday, but
Mercury had not been to her home planet in those 3 years. Things
at the palace had been too hectic, with the army of the evil
Queen Beryl causing trouble on Earth. An engagement had been
proposed between Serenity and Endymion, which neither of them
seemed to mind too much once they had met, in an effort to
strengthen their respective kingdoms. This union served as a sort
of military alliance between the two planets, and they combined
forces against the army of youma.
The most formidable of Beryl's army were four generals, by the
names of Kunzite, Neprite, Jadeite, and Zoisite. They were
merciless, cruel, and impossible to beat. It was rumored that
they had once been the most powerful generals of Endymion's army,
but that Beryl had turned them evil. Ami shivered at the thought
of such betrayal. The soldiers of their respective armies were
some of the first to fall in the war, unable to fight their
former commanders.
She wondered if Ryu was still alive. Since the day he had left
those 5 years ago, she had heard no word, good or bad, from him.
No letters, no telegrams, but thankfully, no notices of his
death. A single tear made its way down her cheek and fell
unnoticed to the grass.
"Why so sad, Princess?" interrupted a harsh voice. Ami jumped up
immediately, looking for the source. Her eyes fell on a shadow in
the trees. And it was definitely not Urawa.
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Chapter 4- An End to Heartache
"Surprised, princess?" mocked the shadow as it leapt down from
the tree. Ami stood frozen, unable to think or move. The shadow
stepped into the light, and Ami stood face to face with the
mysterious man.
He had long, wavy, blond hair, held back in a loose ponytail. A
gray uniform with blue trimming around the collar and sleeves
failed to hide his strong physique. Piercing green eyes glared
into quivering blue.
"Oh, where are my manners?" the man asked himself. "Allow me to
introduce myself. I am General Zoisite, fourth commander of Queen
Beryl's glorious army." At this, he grasped the edge of his
silver cape and bowed lowly. Despite this cordiality, there was
something in his tone of voice that told Ami to panic.
She began to tremble, unsure of what was going to happen to her,
and fully aware that she was completely helpless. Her long gown
made running away impossible. And because the clearing was quite
far from the palace, calling for help was useless. She wished
desperately for the size or strength of Makoto, inwardly cursing
her small stature and weak physical strength. She was in trouble.
Deep trouble.
Zoisite laughed at her fear. "Now princess, let's get to
business. You happen to have something I want."
Ami swallowed nervously. "And what would that be?" she asked,
trying to hide the trembling in her voice.
"The Mercurian throne," he replied quickly. "Queen Beryl has
promised the planet to me. All that stands in my way is you. As
long as you remain alive, your subjects will fight bravely. But
if they have nothing to fight for..." his voice trailed off. His
eyes narrowed and an evil grin spread across his face.
She froze. 'He's going to kill me!' she thought desperately.
Suddenly she was no longer able to hide her fear, and she began
to shake violently. 'You've got to do something, Ami!' screamed a
voice inside her head. But what could she do?
A flash of light glinted off the blade of his dagger as Zoisite
raised his arm. 'All too easy,' he thought again.
"Stop right there!" ordered Urawa. He had come upon the clearing
just in time to see Zoisite raise the dagger. Sprinting over to
Ami, he pushed her out of the way just before Zoisite brought
down the dagger.
"No!!!!" Ami screamed as she saw the dagger plunged into Urawa's
back. With a cry of pain, Urawa fell to the ground. During the
fall, however, his mask came loose and fluttered to the grass.
And as he turned his face into the dim light, Ami fell to her
knees in shock. For the face was not that of a stranger, as she
had expected. It was Ryu!
Zoisite laughed loudly at the scene before him. The princess and
the masked gentleman were so pitiful! Why couldn't they just
accept their fate!
Ami knelt helplessly by Ryu, stroking his pained face. Tears
streaked down her cheeks, and she grabbed his hand, trying to
will some of her own strength into him.
Suddenly, she was surrounded by a blue light. An unseen gust of
wind blew her hair away from her face, and the symbol of Mercury
glowed brightly on her forehead. Eyes closed, she looked almost
as if she were in a trance, and she faintly chanted the words
"Mercury..Crystal...Power!" The blue light around her seemed to
explode, filling the entire clearing. Zoisite and Ryu watched,
speechless, as Ami was lifted up off the ground. Bubbles seemed
to envelop her as she slowly turned in the air, eyes still
closed. Her long blue gown disappeared in a flash of light, and
was replaced by a white bodysuit fitted with a short blue skirt.
Knee-high blue boots appeared where her high heels had been, and
a blue ribbon circled her throat. Finally, a ring of water
encircled Ami's forehead, covering the symbol. In a blue flash of
light, the water turned into a simple golden tiara, with a blue
sapphire in the very center. As Ami returned slowly to the
ground, the blue light faded. Both men still remained frozen,
completely in awe of what they had just witnessed.
Ami opened her eyes quickly, staring directly at Zoisite. "You
will never have my home. You have threatened me, and hurt the one
I love, and you shall pay. I am Sailormercury, and in the name of
my planet, I will punish you."
Zoisite laughed. "You wish, princess! As we speak, Queen Beryl is
invading the Palace, with her entire army. Your friends will die,
and the Moon will become part of the Dark Kingdom." As if to
confirm his words, faint screams and muffled crashes came from
the direction of the palace.
Ami shuddered, knowing that the palace had been unprepared for an
attack, and would fall easily. 'I am sorry, Serenity, that I
could not help you,' she thought sadly. In her heart, she somehow
knew that the princess was already dead. Suddenly filled with a
new resolve, Ami glared up at Zoisite. "Then you shall pay for my
friends' pain."
Ami raised her arms above her head and closed her eyes. Water
surrounded her, and seemed to hover above her fingertips. Slowly,
she spun around and slowly chanted, "Shine..Aqua..Illusion!" and
shot the water at Zoisite. He screamed as the icy water pummeled
him, and unable to breathe, he drowned. Just before he died, he
managed to scream, "I will get you someday, princess. And when I
do, you will know the true meaning of fear." With this, he
disappeared in a flash of light, and all was silent.
Ami staggered as she dropped her arms. The attack had taken all
her energy, but she felt strangely peaceful, knowing that Zoisite
was gone, and her home planet was safe, at least for now.
She again knelt by Ryu's side. "Why, Ryu? Why didn't you tell
me?" she whispered.
Breathing raggedly, Ryu gazed into her eyes. "Every day since I
left, I have thought of you. Of your smile, your laugh, the sweet
smell of your hair, and the delicate softness of your skin. And
how much I loved you. Even though the fighting is still raging on
Earth, I had to see you. I arranged to come with Endymion, just
long enough for this ball, and then I would return. I didn't tell
you, because I didn't want you to experience the pain of me
leaving again. I'm sorry." He coughed, and a pained expression
contorted his face. "I'm sorry it had to be like this! I love
you, Ami, more than anything else in my life. Thinking of you
gave me the courage to continute fighting, knowing that if I did,
I could see you again someday." Ryu coughed and squinted his eyes
shut against the pain that shot through his entire body. "I love
you, Ami. I..love..you..." These words uttured, his eyes closed
and his body went limp.
"No!! Ryu, don't leave me!" Ami wailed, shaking his shoulders
violently in a vain effort to wake him. Slumping over his body,
she whispered, "I love you too. Forever."
Suddenly, a white light surrounded her and Ryu's bodies, and they
were encased in crystals. Slowly the crystals floated upward into
the night sky, towards the glowing orb of Earth. Struggling
against an oppressing sleepiness, she smiled. 'I always wanted to
go there...' she thought. And then she remembered no more.
* * *
Queen Serenity lay silently in the ruins of her Palace. She
hugged the Moon Crescent Wand tightly to her chest and watched
the bodies of her daughter, her court, and the other people of
her kingdom float into space, encased in crystals. A single tear
wound its way down her cheek and splashed in the dust below her.
The trail of crystals sparkled across the sky. 'It looks so
beautiful...' thought Serenity. 'Go my children. Live again on
Earth, and be happy. For that is how it was meant to be...'
* * *
Mizuno Ami sprinted across the schoolyard of Minato-ku Juuban
Junior High School. 'I'm so late! What's the matter with me? I'm
turning into Usagi!' She mentally cursed her alarm clock, which
hadn't gone off this morning.
Deep in thought, she looked up just in time to see a person
standing right in front of her. But she was going too fast to
stop! She braced herself as she hit him. Both tumbled to the
ground with a groan. Looking over, Ami gasped, and hopped up
quickly. "Gomen nasai! I wasn't looking where I was going! Gomen,
gomen!" She reached down to help the other person up, and was
startled to see a rather masculine hand grab her own.
"It's alright, I'm fine. Besides, it's not every day that you get
knocked over by the girl genius, Mizuno Ami." assured the boy. He
was about her age, if not a little older, and he wore the uniform
standard for boys at her school. He had dark hair and big blue
eyes. Something about him seemed almost, familiar?
Ami started at that last comment. 'Girl genius? Who is this guy?'
She blushed a deep crimson, and looked away. "Well it seems you
already know who I am. What's your name?" she asked. 'He's a
shameless flatterer, that's what he is. But a cute one!' She
blushed even deeper at that thought, and avoided his eyes.
He chuckled softly at her embarrasment, and marveled at how
beautiful she was. 'Even more beautiful than she was in the
newspaper!' he thought to himself. Bowing slightly, he smiled.
"I'm honored to meet you Mizuno Ami. I read about you in the
newspaper once, and ever since then I've wanted to 'bump into
you.' Looks like it actually happened!" They both laughed out
loud at his bad joke. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." he chuckled.
"Please call me Urawa. Urawa Ryo."
Her head snapped up at that, and their eyes locked. "Urawa..."
she whispered.
And for just a moment, time stood still. Princess Ami of Mercury
and General Ryu reached out of their younger counterparts to each
other. And in the wind, a soft melody was heard, audible only to
them. "That is the 'Waltz of the Stars,' is it not Princess?....I
love you."
"I love you too. Forever..."
The End
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**So?? What'd you think? Too cheesy? Too sad? Too weird? Really
cool? Please let me know: EmeraldDi@aol.com. Hope you liked it!
^.~
(
geocities.com/tokyo/shrine) (
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