Title: PEACE AND WAR

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Sailor Moon.

Authors Note: I've wanted to write a 'Serenity Princess' story for a long time so I've decided that now's the time to do it. This is going to be a little bit longer than my other stories, so I hope you like it. It doesn't take place on the moon, and I'm not going to specify where it actually happens, just assume its make-believe and you'll be fine.

Six-year-old Princess Serenity sat perfectly motionless. Her small soft hand reached towards a bird resting only half a foot away. She was completely captured by it. Its beautiful yellow wings shimmered in the sunlight. It stepped a tiny bit closer and Serenity held her breath as the bird seemed to hop even closer. Her shining blue eyes were alive with excitement.

The bird flew away.

Serenity sighed and got up again, running towards her mother who was sitting with a friend at a table in the garden. She tried not to trip on her dress but it was hard.

Her mother smiled beautifully at her when she came up, and Serenity sat gently in the chair with her. She wanted to run and play with her friends, but she was confined to the yard far away from them.

"What a beautiful girl she is growing up to be," the lady said.

Serenity looked at her mother who just smiled and nodded.

"She will make someone a fine wife some day," the lady continued

"I think she is still too young to think about marriage," her mother said.

Serenity had heard this before. Everyone seemed to think she would be a good wife.

"Nonsense, you must think of it as soon as possible. She will have to make a very deliberate marriage for the good of the people. Have you decided yet which neighboring country might benefit as well as us?"

"There are so many at war at the moment, I could not imagine letting Serenity near any of them," her mother answered.

"Why are they at war?" Serenity asked.

The lady answered before you mother could, but it wasn't an answer to her question.

"You are very lucky my dear to live in a country of peace you know. There are a lot of people right now who don't have that luxury. Your mother rules with a true and kind heart and that is what you should take example from. One day it will be your turn."

Serenity looked at her mother. Her beautiful long hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight and her soft pale skin always seemed to glow. She wished she could be half as beautiful and graceful as her mother, but it seemed she was always getting into trouble.

"Serenity, why don't you go and play in the flower garden," her mother said.

"Can I ask Mina to come?" She asked excitedly.

"Yes dear, but you must call her Lady Mina around people. She has a title as well as you do, and we must be polite."

"Yes mother," she said quickly running back towards the palace.

"She will grown up very beautiful indeed," the lady said.

"And we will see if that will be a pleasure or a curse," her mother answered.

Serenity found Mina immediately. The small blonde girl looked up excitedly and ran towards the door. Her nursemaid followed quickly behind, and gently curtsied to Serenity.

"Mother says you may play in the garden with me," Serenity said grabbing the other girl and running again through the palace. "I think Amy is already there so we can find her."

"Are you sure your mother said it was alright?" Mina asked.

"Of course she did. And now we can stay in the sun all day long with nobody to talk to us about when things will change."

Mina giggled, her long blonde hair streaming behind her as she ran.

The two six year old girls fruitlessly tried not to dirty their dresses as they walked through the dirt into the garden where Amy was sitting with her tutor slowly reading from a book. She looked up at the giggling girls as they approached.

Her tutor rolled her eyes at the approaching princess.

"Well, I guess nothing else is to be learned today," she said taking the book from Amy. "Just make sure you don't ruin your pretty dress and I am sure you may play with your friends."

The three girls spent that afternoon in complete peace. Whenever someone passed them and heard their pure laughter, they could not help but smile. How could there be any wrong in the world when such a pure and innocent sound existed?

Eleven-year-old Prince Darien walked quickly through the dark hallways of the castle. His long thin legs carried him over the smooth polished marble floors away from the sounds of the dinner party.

Darien walked into his room and quickly closed the doors to shut out the sounds, and he sighed in relief. Why his father insisted on having these parties was beyond him. He couldn't see any point in them at all.

He placed his coat at the chair by his bed and moved towards the far wall. There he moved aside a large painting and walked into a secret passageway.

He walked only a few yards before going up some stairs and onto the next floor. He opened part of the wall and walked out into another bedroom.

The Princess Raye looked up at him and her violet eyes shone in excitement. She ran towards him and threw her arms around him. He just smiled lovingly down at her, kissing her forehead in a brotherly fashion. The six-year-old girl giggled happily.

"What have you been up to today little sister," he said walking with her back to her drawings. He could tell that she was trying to draw horses, and they almost looked like them.

"Father said I might one day have a horse of my own, and I wanted to show him the one I wanted."

"Did he say he was getting you one soon?" He asked.

Raye sighed. "Not really."

"Well, when you do get one, I think that is a fine choice."

"Have you seen the roses?" Raye asked suddenly grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the window. "They just started to bloom today."

Her bedroom had the perfect view of the extensive rose gardens, and he could smell their beautiful sent even before he saw them. He had once told his father that he loved the roses, and his father had abruptly told him that flowers were for women. After that he only shared his likes with his little sister who stood almost vibrating with pleasure beside him.

"Aren't the like magic?" She asked in a dreamy voice.

"Yes, they're exactly like magic."

Darien watched his sister go quickly back to her drawings and sat down beside her. She was here all on her own, as he thought she would be. His father had long ago decided that since he had a son, a daughter meant nothing. That meant Raye didn't have a lot of maids to watch her or many friends to play with. There were hardly any other girls in the castle for her. The only one he could think of was closer to his age, and she was growing to think that she was better then everyone no matter what their title. Darien sneered at the thought of her and thanked his lucky stars that Raye hadn't shown much interest in her.

"If father knows you're hear he'll be angry again," Raye said looking at him.

Darien smiled. "I brought you a gift."

Raye's eyes lit up again in excitement, and she bounced eagerly on the floor.

"Close your eyes," Darien said and she immediately complied.

Slowly he pulled out the small figurine from his pocket and placed it in her outstretched hands. As soon as she felt it her eyes flew open and she squealed in delight.

"It's perfect," she said rushing over to a small table by her bed. She collected small statues of horses and she placed the ebony one he had just given her in the middle. "I love it, it's beautiful."

Darien smiled fondly at his sister and got up again.

"You should really get some sleep Raye," he said. "Shall I tuck you in?"

Raye pouted, but she didn't argue. She got up into her bed as Darien put her drawing away. He walked over and gently tucked her in so that she was snug in her bed.

"Will you tell me a story Darien?" She asked.

"What kind of story?" He said.

She just shrugged.

"Well, what about a story featuring the beautiful Princess Raye? She's the most beautiful girl in all the land, and has hair as black as night and eyes as fiery as the sun. Princess Raye is loved very much by her brother who will always protect her no matter what, even if it comes to eligible husbands."

"Oh Darien, I don't ever want to get married."

"We will all one day get married Raye, it is simply how our society works."

"Who will you marry?"

"Father has chosen someone for me already, and I must marry her in the future. He says that she is a foolish girl because she lives in a land of peace and one day they will need to fight and they won't be able to."

"What does it mean to live in peace?" She asked.

"It means that there is no war and nobody has to fight."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Raye said yawning.

"No, it doesn't," he smiled again at her. "But it isn't realistic. Now go to sleep and I'll see you in the morning."

Raye closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead, and then walked quietly back down the secret passage to his own room. He knew his father had been there the moment he walked in, for the door stood wide open. He sighed and put his coat back on and walked into the hallway.

"Where have you been?" His father said in a calm voice.

"I was saying goodnight to my sister," he said standing as tall as he could.

"You pay to much attention to that girl Darien."

"She is your daughter, perhaps you should pay at least a little attention to her."

His father walked quickly up to him, his tall thick frame creating a shadow over Darien. He squared his shoulders and tried not to show how afraid he was. His father just sneered at him.

"Tomorrow night I expect you to stay for the whole dinner party. There will be a messenger there to update us about the war. One day you will lead these people and you must be completely at par with what is going on."

His father walked away from him.

"I see nothing of myself in you Darien, only your mother. That will one day be your undoing."

Darien just watched his father walk away, and sighed. The man was a tyrant and he knew he should take his last statement as a compliment, but he still felt the constant pain of being a disappointment. No matter what he did it was never good enough.

He went gently into the drawer beside his bed and pulled out a small piece of paper. He read the creased letter fully before gently placing it back in his dresser stand. It was the last letter his mother had ever written him.

Darien lay down, looking at his ceiling. His tired eyes wanted to close, but he fought them. One day he would be able to run the kingdom and he would find a way to bring peace and warmth into the castle, but until then he was bound to his father. For him to become King he would either have to marry or wait for his father to die. But neither was likely to happen for a long time.

End of Chapter One

Please review; I really want a lot of comments on this one because it's going to be a long one. The more comments I get, the faster I'll be able to re-post. Thanks for reading!!!