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Silver Alliance	By : lynnwood84 Category: Sailor Moon > General Views: 8546 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Chapter Fifteen

Unexpected Friendships

~~*~~

�� Serenity took
the message from Artemis�ignoring the man�s knowing smirk�and eagerly ripped it
open. Her eyes darted down the contents, and immediately she felt a strangely
conflicting mixture of joy and fear.

It
was a letter from Endymion. He had taken to sending them to her regularly after
she had written him for the first time, three months ago. The young Queen
wasn�t sure just how she had felt that first morning, waking up to find herself
alone in her marriage bed, her husband long gone to war without ever having
said goodbye. She had thought long and hard on it as the weeks passed and her
mother and Luna began grooming her to take a more active role in the rule of
what was now her Kingdom.

While
she never did come to a solid conclusion, Serenity had been moved one night to
write him a letter, unable to take the suspense and the worry any longer,
wondering what was going on and if he was okay. She had asked him these as well
as included random bits of information about what had been happening back home
with her�strangely moved to share some of her innermost thoughts and worries,
her doubts concerning her ability to be a good Queen. Serenity had stayed up
for half the night writing it, then sent it off to the front lines, never
daring to believe that he would respond. Yet he did, only a week later. His
letter had been cool and concise�not nearly as emotional as hers had
been�though not unkind as he gave her what was no doubt an abridged version of
their exploits on the battlefield and informed her how they were faring. And
then, most surprising of all, at the end of the missive he�d advised her to �keep
your chin up, little Queen, do not fret so, and you�ll do fine.�

�� Serenity had
been so touched by that little sentence that she�d sat down to write him back
immediately. Thus they had kept up a steady exchange of letters for the past
three and a half months. And now, in this latest one, Endymion was informing
her that the war on Pluto was soon to be won, and that he was soon to come
home. That was the reason for her conflicting emotions. While he had been away
these past months, Serenity had been able to get more used to the idea of being
married, and it was indeed a monumental thing. Yet not quite so terrifying as
she had originally thought, especially with him being a galaxy away on Pluto.
Sharing the letters had been easier, safer. Yet now he was coming back. Was she
ready for that? And why did the thought of him returning make her belly
suddenly feel as though it were filled with anxious butterflies all clamoring
to get loose all at once?

�I
hope it is good news,� Artemis murmured after a moment, and Serenity blinked,
coming back to herself. Then she smiled a little, cheeks coloring at having
been caught daydreaming.

�Ah,
yes Artemis. Very good news. Endymion writes that the war is nearly won, and
that the men are soon to return home.� The white-haired shape shifter grinned.

�Very
good news indeed. I had been hearing rumors of the same for some time now, I am
glad to have it confirmed.� Then he shook his head. �Amazing, is it not, what
these Earthlings have accomplished? More incredible still that it is they
who have accomplished it.�

Serenity
nodded. �Yet our history has shown that such powers come with a need, not a
desire. What need have we had for such abilities, free from war for countless
centuries? Yet Earth has ever been rife with struggle, with need. It makes
sense then, that they should have powers that we do not.�

Artemis
just grinned. �It appears as if someone has actually been paying attention to
her lessons for once.�

At
that Serenity turned red faced, and glared. Yet before she could take him to
task, Diana suddenly appeared.

�Sere,
it�s almost time for the meeting. I�ve already arranged for tea and desert in
one of the sitting rooms.�

Serenity
thanked her, murmured a half-way petulant goodbye to the still-laughing
Artemis, then hurried off to the sitting room to meet with her newfound
friends.

Before
this all began, Serenity had been acquainted with all the princesses of the
other kingdoms, though they had never really been given a reason to become
anything more than that. Yet after the wedding and their sudden advancements in
status�from Princesses to Queens�the five girls had discovered a kinship with
one another that had only grown over the months. They had taken to meeting
together for a few hours of the day once a week, to talk and visit with one
another as well as help each other through whatever trials and tribulations had
occurred. It had become a lifeline that Serenity truly cherished.

The
young Lunaran Queen entered into the lavishly decorated sitting room, and her
mouth immediately started to water as soon as she saw the delicious, delicate
little chocolate cakes set out on the table. Diana�who had followed her�gave
her a stern look and swatted her hand away when Serenity moved to take one.

�Wait
for the others,� her companion admonished, causing Serenity to pout.

�Hey,
just who is the Queen around here, huh?�

�Exactly,�
Diana sneered. �One would think a Queen would have better manners.�

A
red-faced Serenity went to plop into one of the overstuffed chairs, arms
crossing with a jerk and suddenly looking more of a petulant girl-child than a
monarch. This was how Ami and Raye saw her when they entered a few moments
later. The Queen of Mars took one look at her and laughed.

�What,
did you try to sneak a piece of cake, and Diana cut you off?� she guessed,
grinning. Serenity just stuck her tongue out at her, causing Ami to smile.

�The
others will only be a few minutes,� the blue-haired girl tried to soothe, as
was her way.

True
to her word, only a few minutes later Lita stepped through the door, flashing
them all a friendly smile. The warrior-Queen came to sit on one of the divans
with a sigh, murmuring a return greeting to those that Ami, Raye and Serenity
called. They had to wait several more minutes for the last of their group to
arrive, which was heralded by an exasperated noise followed by a plaintive
animal�s rumble. Mina suddenly swept through the doorway, one hand on the head
of the massive white cat-like creature at her side and the other bracing the
top of what was now a very swollen middle.

�I
swear,� she heaved, sounding out of breath, �these two beasts are going to be
the death of me!�

The
others were torn between laughter and sympathy as the Queen of Venus came
farther into the room and then sat�somewhat carefully, as her larger belly was
starting to make that more difficult than it used to�against a mountain of
pillows that had already been prearranged for her. The great cat�called a
tiger, Serenity had learned�lumbered in at her side and immediately curled up
next to her. The creature, whose name was Zaire, belonged to Mina�s husband; his
childhood pet they�d been told. Zaire had come to stay on Venus with Alexandrite�Malachite�s
uncle�several months ago just after the wedding and, for some reason, from day
one the tiger had attached itself to Mina�s side and refused to leave it.

�How
is the baby doing?� Ami questioned curiously. Mina winced, though her blue eyes
softened as both hands covered her swollen belly.

�Just
fine, though at times I think he�s trying to beat me to death. Mama says I was
restless in the womb too, but so far her remedy of �talking� to him isn�t
working much.� As if to prove it, Mina suddenly jerked in place and then hissed
in discomfort before rubbing against her now-sore ribs.

Serenity
gazed on, fascinated as she had been all through these past four and a half
months with Mina�s condition. Knowing that, eventually, she too would probably
share it. �Here,� she suddenly called, reaching for the cake. �I bet he�s just
hungry. You should probably feed him a piece of this yummy cake.�

�I
bet you�re just hungry,� Raye countered playfully, �and using Mina�s son
is a nice excuse.�

Raye
nimbly dodged the pillow that came sailing her way, causing the others to erupt
into gales of laughter. After a few minutes of light-hearted teasing and
conversation�while the cake and tea was consumed�Serenity suddenly sat back and
sighed. �So have you all heard the news?�

Ami
nodded solemnly, though the others just stared at her, questioning. This wasn�t
surprising, as Serenity knew that only she and the Queen of Mercury had any
real kind of communication established with their new husbands. So little in
fact, that the father of Mina�s baby had yet to actually find out that he was
even going to be a father.

�I
received a letter from Endymion this morning,� she announced, folding her hands
in her lap with a sigh. �It seems the battle of Pluto is all but won. The men
should be returning to us very soon.�

Reactions
to her words around the room were varied at best.

~~*~~

�� Mina gasped,
her hands reflexively covering her stomach as if to protect it. Then she winced
and bit her lip as her startle had caused the baby to flinch as well, burying
what felt like a bony little foot directly into the center of her ribcage. The
Venusian Queen stared down at her overlarge stomach then, consumed with
conflicting emotions�not the least of which was guilt.

She
still hadn�t told him about the baby.

Her
mother had been pestering her for weeks now to send Malachite a message,
especially after she had passed the third month of her pregnancy and it had
became impossible to hide. She supposed it wasn�t that much of a surprise, when
she found out she was breeding barely a month after he had left�consumed with a
strange sickness that would come and go and a fatigue that refused to leave her
no matter how much she slept. Mina had lost count of how many times he�d mated
her that night after all, but it had certainly been quite a few. So if not from
the potency of his seed, one had taken root simply from sheer repetition.

She
still got conflicting emotions from thinking about her wedding night.
Confusion, mostly, as she was still unsure just how she felt about it all. Most
of the fear and pain from the experience had been forgotten over the long
weeks, however, so Mina no longer looked back on it with distaste. In fact�her
cheeks coloring slightly with chagrin�due to her somewhat heightened sensuality
from her pregnancy, as of late images and memories from that long night had
started to haunt her more and more. Mina had taken to waking up at all hours of
the night in a sweat, aching for him. Yet she had only to remember the cold,
dispassionate way Malachite had treated her afterward to douse what little
excitement tried to stir in her breast at the thought of the powerful warrior
returning to her.

Mina
still remembered that quite vividly. She could have easily forgiven him
the pain and discomfort she had felt from his claiming. His insatiable appetite
had been her fault, after all, not his, and she understood that. But
when Malachite finally surfaced from her Scent near dawn, he had said not a
word to her. No apologies, no explanations, not even any condemnations or
accusations. Instead he�d just picked her up out of the bed and put her in the
tub�as silent as death�then commenced to cleaning her up with all the emotion
and infliction of someone washing dirt from an old shoe. While not ungentle,
his ministrations had been impersonal and cold in the extreme. Mina�s inability
to feel what he was feeling had made the experience highly uncomfortable and
humiliating in a way she couldn�t even begin to explain, causing silent tears
to leak out of her eyes throughout the entire ordeal.

And
then he had left her, and the only reason he�d even bothered telling her to
where was because she�d finally swallowed her pride and demanded the answer. Afterward
Mina had fallen into an exhausted sleep, her body fighting to recover from the
night past. When she awoke it was to discover that�while still a little tender
and sore between her legs�most of the ache and discomfort had left her.

That
afternoon, Malachite�s uncle had arrived to escort her back to her homeworld. Alexandrite
was a complete contradiction to his nephew. The older warrior was loud,
opinionated, boisterous and�for the most part�generally jovial. At least when
not complaining about the oppressive heat, or fighting incessantly with her mother.
For some reason the two of them had locked horns from day one and refused to
get along or agree, on any subject�except to pester her on how she should have
written Malachite months ago with the news that she was carrying. Mina was of
the silent opinion that all this petty bickering between them was all repressed
sexual tension, but so far her thoughts on the matter had been stoutly ignored
or outright scoffed at.

But
Mina had built an unexpected but quickly cherished kinship with Alexandrite, the
older man having become much like a blustering, over-protective uncle. She had
pleaded with him not to tell his nephew about her pregnancy after it had become
common knowledge and�beyond all believability�he�d actually agreed. Mina
suspected it was because the old warrior had developed a big soft spot for her,
especially after sharing with her the story of his now deceased wife and
daughter�who would�ve been the same age as her if she�d survived the Youma
attack that had killed them six years ago. Alexandrite had agreed not to betray
her secret when she�d begged him not to, saying instead that it was a mother�s
place to tell the soon-to-be father of their child. Yet that didn�t stop him
from admonishing her often on how much she needed to get over herself and her
irrational fears and do so.

She
couldn�t say precisely what it was that had stilled her hand. Mina had started
to write that letter a hundred thousand times over these past four months, yet
it never seemed to come out right. It wasn�t that she didn�t want to
tell Malachite about the baby, just that�or the life of her�she just couldn�t
seem to figure out how.

As
if sensing her distress, Zaire suddenly lifted his great head and turned to her
with those piercing glacier blue eyes, letting out a soft rumble of worry. Mina
had been absolutely terrified of the huge beast when he�d first arrived from
Earth. He was all snow white, with only a thin bit of light brown stripes on
his hindquarters and tail. His great head more than reached her waist when
standing at her side�at least four feet tall�and from shoulder to rump the
massive cat had to be at least ten feet long, his thick tail adding an extra
four. Two huge fangs as big as her hand rested inside his jaw, his paws massive
and each tipped in deadly claws beneath his thick fur. Not to mention the fact
that the cat had to weigh in excess of 700 pounds. Imagine! A monstrous
predator such as this, kept for a pet?! Zaire had been the first of many things
that Alexandrite and her mother had fought over. Psyche had insisted he take
the beast back to wherever it is it had come from, and Alexandrite had told her
frankly that if she wanted to get rid of the King�s pet, she could damn
well do it herself and then be the one to tell Malachite afterward. Her mother
had grudgingly backed down at that.

Mina
remembered how Zaire had turned to her then with those big blue eyes and then
ambled right up to her. She started to shriek a little in fright at that but he
kept on coming, unfazed. The massive beast had butted her gently in the thigh
with his great head, then put himself at her side and had so far refused to
leave it for the past four months whole. Zaire followed her everywhere�even put
himself in her bed and slept with her at night�growling menacingly at anyone
who attempted to get too close to her other than Alexandrite, her mother and
the other girls that is. It wasn�t long before Mina�s fear had completely left
her, replaced instead by a mixture of deep affection liberally laced with exasperation.
He tended to be a bed hog.

She
reached out to him now to soothe him, her slender fingers burying into his
soft, thick fur at the top of his head. He pushed himself into the caress,
ice-colored eyes closing slightly with pleasure before heaving a sigh and
lowering himself back to the floor for his nap. So their master was to return
to them soon. Mina gazed pensively off into space, rubbing the ache from her
stomach with slow, gentle circles. Malachite would find out that he was going
to be a father then, sooner or later. Whether she was ready to tell him so or
not.

~~*~~

�� Lita at once
felt an upsurge of emotion at Serenity�s words�shock, fear, anxiety, a heated yearning.
All of them immediately made her brows furrow and her eyes narrow in annoyance,
especially the last. She absolutely refused to allow herself to be cowed by
that man.

Nephrite
was too arrogant by half. So self-assured of his ability to control her through
her strange, overpowering reaction to his body. Lita scowled, her fist
clenching. Well, he�d find that she wasn�t near so easy to conquer when he
returned. The experience had just been too new, that first time. She had been
thrown out of sorts, staggered by the unexpected and suffered a brief bit of
weakness because of it. Lita just hadn�t been ready for how good he would make
her feel, is all, getting lost into the excitement of the moment.

Not
so, now.

�Sorry
love, not dead yet.� Lita scoffed
silently, in thinking of his contemptuous message a few weeks ago.

�A
pity,� had been her short, snide
response. He hadn�t written her back, and Lita considered it the first of many
victories to come, that she had gotten the last word. Absolutely refusing to
own up to the slight pinch of disappointment that had arisen when no return
reply had been forthcoming.

Lita
had depended on her father instead for news of the war and how it fared these
past months, since Nephrite hadn�t bothered to send her anything more than that
one disdainful update on his health. She had been surprised and a touched awed
by their sweeping success, though from her father�s account, the true depth of
the Earthlings� amazing powers left little doubt in his mind what the eventual
outcome would be. She was even more surprised by her father�s increasingly
affectionate manner concerning his new son-in-law, and perhaps even a little jealous
and betrayed as well.

It
seemed Theseus was more concerned with the fact that Nephrite was a great
warrior and a capable enough leader to rule their Kingdom, and less with how much
Lita herself didn�t want him for a mate or a King. She bit her lip now,
to keep the tears from forming. Hadn�t it been this way all her life? Lita had
been fighting a losing struggle from the age of seven to try and please her
father, yet she never seemed to be able to do it, no matter how hard she tried.

She
didn�t remember much of her mother or her little brother Aden, as she�d only
been seven when they�d died. Only the soft song her mother used to hum to her
to help her sleep, or her brother�s precocious red curls and laughing brown
eyes as they played.

But
what she did remember quite vividly was her father�s ravaged grief after the
bodies had been found, and the hoarse words that she�d overheard from him after.
She had been ducked down into a hidey-hole, largely forgotten in the chaos and sorrow
that had arisen from the Queen and young Prince�s sudden and tragic deaths.

�I
know nothing of caring for girls,� he
had heaved, sounding so tired and sad it had brought tears to her eyes, �Gods,
what am I going to do with her, now that I am alone?�

Lita
had known then that she was somehow lacking, that something was wrong with her.
If her father couldn�t love her because she was a girl, then who else would? So
from that day on she had done her ultimate best to become the best and
strongest warrior she possibly could. If she couldn�t please her father by
being a girl, then she�d act like a boy instead. Theseus had been too distant
at first in his grief to notice, then amused by her behavior. That amusement
had turned into exasperation in later years, as Lita began challenging warriors
much bigger and stronger than her that dared to gainsay her�and beating them
soundly, what�s worse.

On
Jupiter it was nearly unheard of for a woman to be a fighter, let alone succeed
so well at it. Theirs was a very male-driven society, where a woman�s place was
in the home, not on the field of battle. Their men tended to be a lot larger
and physically powerful after all�on average six and a half to seven feet tall
and naturally rippling with muscle�as if bred for war. A woman could take up
arms in the defense of her home or her children if alone�as many could and did�but
none were full-on warriors. There were no others quite like her at home. Lita
had become an oddity because of it, either whispered about with amusement and scorn,
or outright shunned. And somehow over the years she had convinced herself that
she didn�t care.

And
now this? Lita stiffened her spine, though, determined. Her father might
believe that he�d found a replacement for the son he had lost so long ago, but
that didn�t mean that she had to welcome the bastard into her bed. Let
him posture and preen in his newfound power, just so long as he kept it well
away from her!

~~*~~

�� Ami nodded to
Serenity�s announcement, not surprised in the least, as she had known this
already herself. She and Zoisite had kept up a steady communication these past
months. He had kept her informed of all that was taking place on the front
lines while she in turn had begun tutoring him on the politics and customs of
her home planet, and anything else he would need to learn to become an
effective leader of her technological Kingdom. Thus far the Earthling was
proving to be a very apt student, and an extremely quick learner�more than a
match for any of the higher minds of her planet.

�� Meanwhile Ami
did her best to take charge in his absence, assuming her new role as Queen with
as much aplomb as she could manage, with her father�s help of course. Though,
Hector had always been an inventor at heart and�especially now that he was no
longer King�he could be found more and more often than not locked in his
workroom tinkering with some new creation or other. Ami�s days were busy and
sometimes hectic, but rewarding, and she didn�t mind the extra responsibility
at all.

And
at night, many times the Queen would lie awake for long hours, unable to sleep
for remembering the way he had made her feel.

Ami
had been properly terrified at first, and then completely confused when Zoisite
had seemed to dismiss her and the idea of consummating the marriage so completely.
He even ordered her to sleep. Yet thinking that he had perhaps decided to let
them get to know each other a little better before they became intimate, Ami
was eternally grateful and eager to comply, her relief immense. Little had she
known at the time that leaving her alone had been the farthest thing from his
mind. She had been slow to realize just what was happening at first, deeply
asleep, lost into a dream of warmth and strange, lustful sensations that she�d
never felt before. And then she had awakened to find him upon her, his touch
infinitely gentle and assured, and that more than anything had calmed her again
after the shock wore off.

And
then! The things that Zoisite had done! Ami had never dreamt that laying with a
man could be so . . . nice. And that was
putting it mildly.

Yet
in the morning he was gone, without a word of goodbye. The soft and tender feelings
that had prompted her to cuddle into his warmth the night before had died a
swift, cold death, then. Ami had been brought back to reality with a cruel jolt.
While Zoisite had been gentle and had gone out of his way to pleasure
her�something she was and would continue to be very grateful for�what had
happened that night had been a duty, only. Their marriage was a union of
convenience, not emotion. She had to remember that.

The
normally very rational and cool-headed Queen was genuinely surprised at how
very hard that seemed to be to accomplish, though, her heart and mind assailed
with confusing thoughts and feelings whenever she�d allow herself a break from
her hectic schedule to think of him. Now with Zoisite soon to return, she could
only pray that she wouldn�t end up making a complete fool of herself in the
days to come. There was nothing more pathetic than to pine after someone who would
never love you in return, let alone the dangers that such reckless feelings
could create. Hadn�t she preached to him the necessity for lack of trivial affection
in a marriage as important as theirs? Where was her cool resolve now, Ami
wondered listlessly.

~~*~~

�� Raye scowled,
clenching her teeth and her fists at that unexpected announcement. So, the
bastard would soon be returning. For a moment the young Queen of Mars fought
with herself, trying to figure out just how that really made her feel.

Remembering
her ill-fated wedding night still made her blush, nearly five months later. And
Raye absolutely refused to feel guilty for what she had said to Jadeite
afterward. So what if he�d been true to his word, and proven her fears
ungrounded? There was no pain from laying with him, as she�d been so afraid of;
no violent tears or hoarse screams, no suffocating terror threatening to drown
her away. The shadowy horror that had been ingrained for so long in her
subconscious clashed instead with new images of heat and want, urgent touches
and powerful caresses, and a need that burned her like silken fire.

And
Raye had been perfectly within her rights to be upset with the brute afterward
for manipulating her as he had. While he hadn�t actually controlled her as she�d
first accused, Jadeite had still forced her to his will by altering her mind,
ignoring her protests�hysterical or not. While she might have understood on an
intellectual level his need to do so, her wounded feelings�far more tender than
she would ever let on�refused to accept it.

Yet
she could still see Jadeite�s face so clearly, after she�d screamed at him not
to touch her. The softness that had been staring down at her was completely
chased out of his blue eyes, replaced with hurt and a strange vulnerability,
then disgust�in himself. Raye had felt his complete withdrawal from her mind then
like a physical ache, stunned down into her toes by it and the pinch of regret
that immediately assailed her. And then Jadeite had apologized to her, stunning
her further, and sworn that he wouldn�t ever force her again. His normally warm
and light-hearted voice had been so cold then, and empty, almost listless. It
had been as if she had completely broken something in him, which was so utterly
absurd. What or how could she have possibly hurt the man so much, when they
were barely more than strangers?

Then
Jadeite had left, and by morning Raye had managed to shake free of her confused
feelings and latched onto her indignant anger again instead, almost like a
lifeline. The budding Queen managed to ignore her mother�s softly accusing,
disappointed stare somehow and instead threw herself into her new duties to try
and fill the hours of the day with something other than brooding on her exasperating
husband.

When
his letters started coming in with her father�s, Raye tossed them negligently
into a drawer unopened and ignored them. At least until nightfall, when her
curiosity became absolutely maddening and she sat alone in what used to be her
parents� bed�was now hers�in the middle of the night and read them privately. In
them Jadeite wrote to her about the war and the battles he fought, blunt but
truthful, never sugar-coating the sometimes brutal truth of it, not bothering
with trying to coddle her like her father always did. He also shared with her
more personal things in his letters as well, all of his thoughts and feelings
about what was happening around him, about her father and of the Martian
soldiers that had joined him. He had told her how surprised he�d been by their
acceptance of him, and how touched he was at the deep loyalty that they began
to show as the months wore on. He also wrote of the many talks that he and her
father had, and of their plans for the future of the Kingdom in the aftermath
of the war. Jadeite seemed to write about everything and anything that passed
through his head, incessant. He wrote more than a woman.

Yet
Raye couldn�t keep herself from reading them. She never replied of course, only
sent short messages to her father on occasion. She wasn�t one for writing
letters, after all, and to send one to him would probably give the exasperating
jerk the wrong impression. He might have won over her parents somehow and their
warriors, but Raye had yet to be convinced. And until that day came to pass,
she wouldn�t be going out of her way to do him any favors.
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Silver Alliance