Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, but any ideas in this story, other than most characters and their backgrounds, belong in their entirety to me.

Queen Serenity studied the documents in front of her warily, shuffling through them with a disgusted look on her face before letting them rest in a disorganized pile on her desk. This week's reports were less then thrilling, even worse than those that had come the month before when the mines collapsed on Saturn. It seemed that everybody out there needed some sort of financial aid and had some terrible crisis going on these days. Frowning, Serenity pushed her chair away from her desk and stood swiftly; crossing to the office door in hurried strides and swinging it open as though she were desperate for an escape from reality. One look at the surprised secretary outside of her door however, stopped her in mid stride and brought her back to her senses. It was all well and good to want a break, but as Queen of the Silver Millennium she had any number of responsibilities that came first. Smiling almost apologetically to Telulu, who still stared at her in wonder, Serenity wordlessly turned back into her office and shut the door.

This room was easily one of thousands in the palace, made with the same patience and attention to beauty and detail as all the rest. Smooth white marble flecked with thin veins of silver made up its walls, stretching up to a well rounded dome ringed in gold, separating the marble from the midnight blue of the ceiling. The same thin gold design ran across the edges along the floor, meshing into a comfortable looking crème coloured carpet. Silver sconces were fixed into them, each fixed atop with a pale golden globe that gave off any light there was to be had. There were no windows in this office, but at the very back thick velvet midnight blue curtains draped over the entire wall, silver stars embroidered onto them in a non-constant design, as if to hide the fact there was only one way out. A large book case made of polished redwood covered another wall, various leather bound books and odds and ends scattered along its shelves, kept in a hazardous type of order. The desk in the centre near the back was made of the same wood, almost buried in paperwork despite its massive size, and the huge leather chair behind it looked anything but inviting at the moment. On the only empty wall, a blank screen the size of a small tapestry seemed to hover, not touching the wall but merely millimetres away from its surface. Queen Serenity stepped away from the door hesitantly and made her way back to her chair, shaking her head in dismay. This room was made to be beautiful and comforting, but to her it was more like a well disguised prison. Her prison.

Things in the Silver Millennium were falling apart at the edges, eroding away bit by bit. After so many years of hard work and compromise, things had finally began to turn for the worst, and it was all Queen Serenity could do not to react in a slightly less dignified matter then she was allowed. Turmoil was stirring up on the planets; one by one reports were filing in describing some tragedy or some major problem that she was finding difficult to make up for. Fights were breaking out among the commoners of every kingdom over the most petty things, the weather had turned foul causing many crops to become barren and produce a food shortage, money had become tight from the commoners sudden panicked shopping spree for useless things they thought could help their lives along, and no matter what she did she knew that nothing would help. There was something dark out there, whispering into the ears of those who would listen and poisoning their minds. War was laying its shadow over the Silver Millennium. A war she knew was going to bring the end of its glorious days.

Resting her elbows on the top of her desk, Serenity lowered her head sadly and idly began massaging her temples with the tips of her fingers. She should have caught this earlier. She should have known that her caution had slipped badly. She had let herself become too comfortable and so had never thought anything could turn so sour on her this fast. Closing her eyes, she subconsciously began humming the tune she used to sing her daughter to sleep, all these thoughts and worries turning her mind to absolute mush. Straightening in her chair, Serenity gazed over the documents covering her desk distantly. She wouldn't be able to work on these in her present state. She needed to relax a little and clear her head. Once more rising from her seat, the queen crossed to her door more slowly and warily then the last time, placing her hand on its silver handle hesitantly. Something felt wrong. It was too silent on the other side. Looking around her office once more, Serenity's hand clutched the handle tighter and she pulled it down. There was nothing for it. This was the only way out. Expectantly, she swung the door open, frozen warily where she stood.

Nothing. There was no one in the adjoining office. This however, brought Serenity little comfort then she would have thought. Telulu wasn't in the office either. A pen still lay across the top of the desks neatly organized pile of documents, marks halfway down the page where Telulu had been highlighting the important stuff, as she usually did so that her queen wouldn't have to read every little detail. Telulu would never have left something half done. Despite her worries, Serenity could find no signs of struggle from where she stood, nor any other out of place detail. Frowning, she made her way through the doorway and into the room, her chest seeming to tighten and her hands fisted into her dress, holding the skirt up a bit so she wouldn't step on it. Her unease was as alarming to her as if she would have found a corpse, because she knew it wasn't there for no reason. Most Lunarians were slightly more in tune with their surroundings, being able to feel the vibes put off by any living thing within miles. Right now all she could read in the air was danger.

Her throat seemed to tighten until it was hard to breath, the sound of her heart pounding in her ears as her eyes widened and fear came over her. Her daughter. Her sweet Serenity might be in trouble. Caution was swept aside as the queen boldly ran to the door leading to one of the palaces main corridors, flinging it open and bounding out the door and down the left side, her eyes fixed straight ahead. In her peripheral vision arched windows and colourful tapestries rushed past in a blur, but not once did she notice any guards. The only sound down the corridor she ran was that of her own heeled shoes hitting the floor. Panic was barely kept at bay as the end of the corridor came up, branching off to the left or right. Skidding to a halt, Serenity twisted her body to go down the left, barely keeping her feet as her own speed proved too much for her. The same thing greeted her eyes as before, no guards stood at any door.

She couldn't understand it, there were no signs of struggle, no bodies, and no alarm had been given. Where was everyone and why had they all left in such a hurry? The only explanation was that somebody had infiltrated the palace, but even then how had they gotten everybody to leave their posts, and so silently at that. Behind her in the corridor she had just left, a crashing sound echoed towards her, the sound of splintering wood and the globes that gave off light exploding. She could only guess that someone had found her office, but her pace merely quickened. She had to reach her daughter. Serenity's thighs burned with the effort she was putting into them, her feet throbbing in pain due to the heels she wore, but to remove them would have her stumbling over the skirt of her dress, and besides, she wouldn't have the time. There was only a few feet left to go, and then she would calm down enough to think. Everything rushed past in a blur until finally, she skidded to a halt and threw open the large double doors leading into the princess' room.

Princess Serenity was there, sleepily rising from her bed to blink in confusion at her mother. The queen ignored her daughter for the moment, examining the room warily. The only light that filtered in illuminated the bed, coming from the large balcony doors that Princess Serenity always left open so that she look out at Earth when she couldn't sleep. Everything else was dark, but there was no sense of danger here. Still.

"Mother?" Queen Serenity frowned and calmly closed the door, not bothering to turn on the lights before crossing over to her daughter's dresser and rummaging through the items on top until she found what she was looking for. The princess watched her in mounting concern, not knowing what to do. From the other side of the door, they both faintly heard another crash, which obviously proved the queen's pursuer had no intention of giving up yet. By now, Princess Serenity had thrown off her pure white silk covers and had gotten out of bed, lifting the skirt of her night dress slightly while she hurriedly put on her slippers. She may not have understood what was happening, but for one so young, even she could feel the danger in the air and her mother's need. Queen Serenity had now crossed to the large wardrobe in her daughter's room, throwing out a dark cloak and a few other items of clothing and wrapping them into a bundle, the item she had grabbed from the dresser plus a few more tightly wrapped in the middle. Securing it with a silver cord she had unknotted from around her waist so that it would stay wrapped, yet leaving a length of cord free, she swiftly went to her daughter and grabbed her hand, pulling her out onto the balcony and into the shadows without missing a beat.

"Listen to me Serenity." Her voice was a low whisper, commanding yet tight with fear and concern. Even as she spoke, her eyes kept straying to the bedroom door. "Listen well. The Silver Millennium is over, and our time here in the moon kingdom has come to an end for this age." The princess opened her mouth as if to protest, but Queen Serenity merely pressed her finger over her lips, shaking her head sadly. "Even you must have known that things could never stay as they were forever. I know it; for you are more observant and smarter then you give yourself credit for or make yourself appear. War is brewing my daughter, such a one that has not been seen since the time of our own grandmothers, and it is too late now to stop the evil that has been brewing from beneath our very noses. If the planetary powers were united, then perhaps there could be hope, but the inner planets have only just arrived on earth for training for the span of two weeks, and no one has heard from two of the outer planet powers for years. There is no telling what is going on within the other kingdoms, but it may be that this thing has not spread as far as I fear it yet. As a central figure to the Silver Millennium, it can be assumed the first wave has hit us alone, they've come to wipe out our royal line." Princess Serenity now had tears streaking down pale cheeks, understanding everything her mother said, including the things she didn't.

"What will we do, mother? What can we possibly do?" Her own voice was soft, yet strained with the effort of remaining calm. The Queen was now pressing the bundled cloak into her hands, slinging the loose end of the cord over one shoulder and under the opposite arm so it could be carried easily and fastening it tightly. At the moment her own hands touched the velvet of the cloak, her eyes widened and she began to feel panicked, guessing what her mother intended.

"There is little that can be done. Serenity," The queen now had her daughters face cupped in her hands, tears of her own shimmering in her eyes, "you must go to Earth to King Amadais and tell him what has befallen us." Princess Serenity's own hands fastened around her mothers wrists and she began to sob, pleading for her mother not to stay here while she was sent away, promising that they could survive if they stayed together. The queen shook her head and pressed her forehead to her daughters, her bottom lip trembling slightly as she tried to block out her daughters pleas and continue. "Listen to me! Go to Amadais and warn him what is coming! He will know what is to be done. Do not let this be in vain, Serenity, they must know! Two weeks later and we'd have been on our way there anyway to introduce you to your guardians. They will all know you for who and what you are, even without me by your side." Sighing, she pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, resting her cheek on the princess' head with her eyes closed, a solitary tear escaping her eye. "You have been tutored well, and I do not fear you will not find your way, yet I wish with all my heart you did not have to be alone. Oh dear Serenity, my heart will always be with you, never once doubt it. I will watch over you and one day, no matter what happens here, we will meet again. I swear it!" Princess Serenity was sobbing in anguish, clinging to her mother and trying to form words that could not be understood through her tears.

On the opposite end of her room, the doors to the hallway burst open in a shower of splintered wood, exploding inward with enough force to have chips of wood flying through the balcony doors. Princess Serenity screamed in fright, clasping her hands over her ears and barely noticing her mother had pushed her away and had summoned the moon staff. A soft glow surrounded her and her skin began to tingle, causing her to open her eyes just in time to see her mother chanting the last sentence of a transport spell before spinning the staff and slamming it back to the floor. Serenity screamed again, reaching a hand out to Queen Serenity, her fingertips brushing against her mother's hand at the exact moment the staff slammed against the floor and she disappeared completely, with only crystal tears falling to the floor to ever mark she had been there. A shadow slid into the room and Queen Serenity turned to face it grimly, already chanting another spell, a ward to shield her from having the shadow get too close.

Even as she formed her protection, she doubted it would last more than a few minutes against a foe such as what she faced.

A.N: Please review me and tell me whether or not you think I should continue developing this story. I'd really like to hear what you guys think.