Title: An Unsuitable Match
Part: Epilogue
Rating: PG
Author: W. Bymeeh
E-mail: jhyunl@aol.com
Website: http://jayhyun.tripod.com/sm/
*Author's Note: Okay, in case you missed it (duh) this is an
Alternative Reality placed in the Silver Millennium. This means
I can do whatever I want! Muahaha. Okay, okay. Anyway, here's
the end of this series...*sob* Thanks to ALL the kind people who
wrote to me on *this* series, especially Erin & Tenshi-chan, two
very cool people who encouraged me a lot!
--> The intro's reminiscent of a part of a story of mine called
"Promises". It's not the same, but it might seem familiar to
some of my constant readers. :)
*Disclaimer: Characters...are...not...mine...
Epilogue
Serena was lost in a flood of darkness. She could not feel
anything, herself or anything around her. She was floating and
flying and falling all at once, and she could not tell where she
was anymore.
And then she felt a warmth surround her.
"Serena, dearest, it's time to go back now. Everyone is
waiting for you...they're worried."
She managed to open her eyes, but discovered she was in the
midst of a thick fog. But it was warm now, not chilly, and she
felt a comforting presence near her. And the voice that spoke
was the same that had guided her earlier.
"Mother?"
"Yes, Serena. You've discovered who you are now. My
daughter, and the princess of the Moon."
"Princess?" It hadn't fully sunk in yet.
She could hear the light laughter of her mother. "Yes,
Serena. Princess. I'm so happy that you've also found your
prince, you know."
"Darien," Serena murmured. "My friends...they're
princesses too?"
"Yes, my dear. They're waiting for you..."
Serena softly said, "I don't want to leave you, Mother. I
never knew you."
There was a silence, and Serena feared that her mother was
already gone.
"Serena, I will always be with you."
And that's when she began to wake.
She heard whispers. Real whispers, in the world of the
living.
"Move over!" Thump.
"Let me through!" Clunk.
"Ow!"
"Is she awake yet?"
"Hehehe, I want to try my new powers on her as a wake up
call..."
"Does she always sleep this long?"
"Of course...when we were younger, we had to drag her out
of bed so that we could all get started on our chores at the same
time."
"We all met at the same time before we started our work."
"Who would've thought that we would've all ended up as
princesses?"
"And I was looking forward to being a governess..."
"Amy!" Thwack.
"Ow!"
"Hehehe...so, Darien, where are you taking the Meatball
Head for your honeymoon?" Snicker.
"Princess or no, she's still a Meatball Head..."
"ARGH! Can't a girl get some sleep around here?" Serena
threw back the covers with a sudden burst of energy, but then lay
back against the back of the bed, still rather tired.
Serena smiled at everyone's look of surprise and relief.
Darien, nearest to her, gently hugged her and then kissed her
tenderly on the forehead.
"What happened?" Serena asked, drinking in the sight of her
beloved and the faces of her friends behind him. She was lying
in an ancient bed that seemed to have survived the years well,
covered by blankets that someone had brought in. The room itself
smelled slightly stale, but the open windows brought in a breeze
that was fresh and carried the scent of flowers.
"You were exhausted by using all that power...you've been
sleeping for two days..." Darien held her hand tightly.
Serena managed to tilt her head a bit and smiled when she
saw the sight of her friends dressed in extremely short skirts
that were part of what looked like sailor outfits. They
looked...different. More confident, stronger, and noble than the
friends that she had grown up with.
"Sailor Venus," Mina flashed a bright grin.
"Sailor Mercury," Amy smiled, pulling down a blue visor
over her eyes.
"Sailor Mars, your royal Meatball Head," Raye grinned
wickedly, a glint in her dark eyes.
"Sailor Jupiter," Lita performed a mock salute. Even in
their transformed state, Lita still towered over them in height.
The four looked from one to another, and then Darien moved
aside, reluctantly letting go of Serena's hand. She still
smiled, but puzzlement was etched across her face.
The four girls knelt before the bed. Then, finding the bed
was too tall and even Lita's head was hidden from Serena's view,
they giggled and stood up. Each of them placed a hand on top of
Serena's listless one.
Serena weakly said, "What are you doing?"
Without hesitation Mina leaned closer and said, "We pledge
our loyalty and our lives to you, Princess Serena of the Moon."
Serena opened her mouth to protest but Raye held up a hand,
a stubborn look on her face and determination in her eyes.
"Don't argue, Meatball Head! Now that we know you're the
princess of the Moon, and we're the princesses of the inner
planets, it's for your own good!"
Amy added, "It's our duty."
Serena frowned. She softly said, "It doesn't matter
whether I'm princess Serena and you're the princesses of Mars,
Mercury, Venus and Jupiter...I'm still Serena, the gardener's
daughter...and you four are my friends...this isn't necessary."
Lita edged closer. "Serena...we want to. You are a part
of our lives as we are of yours...and as either princesses or
commoners, we were always meant to be together! You know, when
we were younger we said we'd grow up and our children would play
together. That's still going to happen. This is just...saying
that we'll be friends for always..."
Serena smiled in acceptance. "So be it, Princess of Venus,
Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter. I accept your pledge of
loyalty...and of friendship."
She was rewarded by a hug with all of her friends, and
Darien smiled and left them alone.
After Serena managed to regain some of her strength, she
was shocked to find out about the chaos that had ensued after the
battle with Beryl in the two days that she had been asleep. Luna
and Artemis, the royal advisors of Queen Serenity, had quickly
introduced themselves and cleared up explanations about who the
Senshi were, and the legends that had surrounded them after their
disappearance, caused by Queen Serenity, years before. They had
been impressed by the girls' abilities to channel their powers,
but had taken it upon themselves to help them transform and
introduce other aspects of their powers as well. It was peculiar
how such small creatures managed to exert such influence, as they
quickly set each of the princesses to work in clearing up
confusion.
Raye---or, rather Mars, had taken charge of Amiro's troops
with ease. Apparently he had not endeared himself to them, and
after all, they had pledged their loyalty to the New Moon
kingdom, not the general. Of course, Mars, inexperienced at such
leadership matters, although born with some innate talent, mainly
spent time experimenting with her new powers and kept the troops
in line mainly through fear of her fire.
Mercury, between speculations on how being a princess would
affect her studies, busied herself in analyzing the current
status of the Moon kingdom and its land, and the possibilities
available to them. She also secured a wing of the partially
damaged palace for all of them to stay in, which was where Serena
had slept while recuperating.
Jupiter spent her time looking for traces of Metallia, whom
they had not known of before, but had found out after Luna had
explained the source of the evil that had attacked them in the
present and years before. She also went on rounds to assist the
others with their own work, and found time to rig some
improvements in the ruined kitchen and fix them a better meal
than the supplies they had brought with them.
Venus uncovered old political treaties between the Moon
kingdom and the other planets, and was examining its implication
on the present. She was surprised to see the ties between Earth
and her own home planet, which showed that she was still, in a
way, related to the man she grew up calling brother. She gave
the material to Darien, and the first thing he did was look up
the marital alliance between the Moon kingdom and Earth, made
more than a decade earlier. He smugly proved that the betrothal
still held, news that had shocked him earlier (since he had not
known the betrothal was to Serena), but he now took particular
joy in the confirmation that Serena was indeed his soul mate,
destined for him at birth.
It was not until nightfall that everyone stopped working,
but it was by then that Serena had regained more of her strength
and was able to tour the grounds with Darien. He expected her to
be sad at its decay, but was glad that she seemed more interested
in making dreams and plans for the future than grieving over the
past.
After reaching the still standing ballroom balcony, they
stood together enjoying the view; Serena wrapped in Darien's
strong arms, both peacefully content in the other's presence.
Earth glowed a brilliant blue in the darkness of the night,
and they gazed at it in silence. "I find myself wondering what
might have happened if things had been different," Serena
confessed. "If the first attack on the moon had come when I was
older, I might have grown up looking at the Earth, wondering what
I was missing. I would have lived the life of a princess, never
being able to do what I wanted..."
Darien kissed her on the cheek and blew into her ear,
making her giggle. "I'm glad you grew up on Earth,
though...communication between the Earth and the Moon was banned
for a long time until your mother came along. And even though
you didn't grow up a princess, we were still going to be
together."
"My mother..." Serena sighed. "I wish I could have known
her."
Darien comfortingly caressed her cheek. "I'm sure her
spirit will continue to guide you."
Serena remembered her mother's voice, echoing in her mind
and telling her what she needed to hear. "I'm sure she will."
After another comfortable silence had passed, Serena spoke
again. "Do you think your parents will approve of me now?"
Darien smiled. "They liked you before, they'll love you
now!"
Serena giggled out loud, her laughter ringing out through
the air that had heard no such sound for many years. "The
gardener's daughter and the prince of Earth...who would have
believed such an unsuitable match?"
Darien thoughtfully replied, "I think that the match
between a girl and a boy who love each other is quite
believable." He added in a soft whisper, "I knew we were right
together all along...ever since you asked me to be your knight in
shining armor..."
Serena blushed. "The first time or the second?" Then she
frowned. "What ever happened to that guard?"
Darien had the decency to blush. "I'm afraid it was his
bad fortune to fall ill that night." Laughing, Darien pulled her
around in his arms to face him and kissed the newly formed
crescent moon on her forehead lovingly. "But it was my good
fortune. I love you, Serena. My destined, my princess, my
love."
"I love you, Darien...my one and only love."
The stars sparkled with promise, shining their light on the
two that had always been meant for each other.
*********The End*********
*Hmm, that's a wrap for this series. Well, this was my first
*silver millennium/alt. reality* fan fic series that I finished
(not my first fan fic, although it may seem like it). There are
tons of these out there, I realize now. Ah, well. I'm still
learning. If you liked this fan fic, tell me! Also, if you're
looking for something more original, check out my other stories.
They get better the more I learn. :)
*I also realize that I probably violated a dozen rules in writing
this series. For example, if Serena used the full power of the
Silver Crystal she would have died. But I decided to end it the
way I wanted to, just because I intended this to be a romance
between Serena and Darien, *my* favorite couple! (an ongoing
theme in many of my stories...) I also regret ever mentioning
the Golden Crystal in this story, but oh well, too late to change
that. =P
--> I'm planning on only writing a retelling of the Silver
Millennium that will be as accurate as I'm going to get. It's
titled "Innocence", so look out for it. :)
**********
w. bymeeh
jhyunl@aol.com
http://jayhyun.tripod.com/sm/
"An Unsuitable Match" finished - JL (My real initials) - 11.25.99
All rights reserved.
Stories may not be posted without permission.
Only read the below if you're brave...
**********An alternate ending*********
[Takes place right after above ending]
In the shadows, two feline figures watched their newly
found princess and her prince on the balcony of the decaying
palace.
"I told you so, Luna," a white cat said smugly.
"Do be quiet, Artemis." The black cat made an offended
sniffing sound.
"Luuuuna, why don't you ever listen to me?"
"Artemis, just because you were lucky this time doesn't
mean that you will be lucky every time."
Pause.
"I'm still hoping to get lucky with you."
"ARTEMIS!"
Clunk.
****The end****
*snicker* Sorry, that was in poor taste. I originally wrote it
in as the official end of the story, but I decided I had better
end the story romantically and add in the joke at the bottom. It
refers to when Artemis and Luna were discussing the search for
the missing moon princess and Artemis thought that they could
find her through the prince, who had been her betrothed, and Luna
disagreed. But ya shoulda known that if you read my story,
right? :)
(
geocities.com/element_sprite)