Chapter 17

A New Morning

Serenity woke to a warm embrace encompassing her, she smiled into the warm chest that she was snuggled against. This is the most perfect of mornings. She thought to herself as she bought up a hand to slowly draw circles against the chest she was smiling against. As though her fingers were the magic touch of waking up, Mamoru stirred against her. He smiled as he felt the fingers touch his chest ever so lightly. "Ummm, Usa-ko, I know that you are happy to see me, but if you don't stop that now, you may see how very happy that I am to see you awake." He stated quietly against her hair.

She tilted her head back to look into his midnight eyes, "Oh, Endymion, you're so silly. We've done this thousands of times before." She laughed, her twinkling silver blue eyes shone with mischief.

"Yes, Serenity, we have done this many times in our past life, but in our current incarnations we have not done this at all." He laughed.

She blinked her eyes, the memories of the last couple of months hitting her like a blast of water from a hose. "Oh, Mamo-chan. What happened? The last thing I remember is seeing Minako coming in the door at my house when everything bombarded me."

From the doorway, Minako smiled to herself, At least the ritual worked, she seems more centered, although her waking just as Serenity concerns me. She should have had both memories at once, not at internals. She thought to herself as she slowly back away from the royal chamber.

She walked into the front room to tell her sister-in-arms that Usagi was awake, and seemed well but there was no girls in the living room, just a tall silver-haired man, pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table. Kunzite!

"Kuchinashi," He turned towards her, as he heard her voice exclaim his name through their link. "How is the Prince and Princess?" He asked, remaining professional when all he wanted to do was whisk her into his arms and plant a thousand kisses upon her face.

Minako stiffened as he said her name from thousands of years ago. "The Hime has awaken, refreshed it seems. The Prince is watching her as we speak to see if there are any terminal effect from the overload of memories." She stated as she started to walk to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, or perhaps one of Mamoru's hidden stash of Mountain Dew. Kunzite watched as she stiffened, shaking his head internally he was hoping for a more welcoming greeting, but had thought that the worst would happen. This was mild coming from Kuchinashi.

"Kuchinashi, please, we need to speak." Kunzite tried to begin.

"Stop right there, Kunzite. My name is no longer Kuchinashi. I am Aino Minako, the leader of the Hime's Senshi. You have created a high offense to her highness in the last lifetime you had. I will not forgive you so easily. My sisters-in-arms have every right to love their soul mates, to trust them and forgive them at their own free will. However, I will not forgive you that easily, there was too much at the end to forgive you at first sight." She stated as she turned around and faced him, having to tilt her head up to look him in the eyes. "I cannot forgive and forget the hurtful things that you said that last night, nor will I forgive you for letting Daemond into the palace to destroy my hime."

Kunzite bowed his head in acquisition. He turned away from the orange-tinted hair that he had once loving shifted through his fingers, away from the sea-glass eyes that had gazed over with adoration and love for him once upon a time, and walked to the balcony door. "Please tell the Prince that if he has need of us to just call. I hope even though you have hardened your heart against me, that we may work together to protect the Prince and his hime this lifetime. So that maybe I can show you that I have indeed changed." He stated as he flew from the balcony into the early morning sky.

In the kitchen, Minako's heart was breaking apart. I should have forgive him, I should have let him take me into his arms, I should have... The thoughts keep running through her mind as she slowly slide down the refrigerator door to the floor, silent tears falling from her eyes.

IN THE BEDROOM

Usagi slowly unwound herself from Mamoru's arms as she scooted towards the end of the bed. Sitting up on the edge, her hair fell over her arms in waves of silver. "It's true, isn't it? I'm the princess that Ami and Makoto were looking for? How can I be a princess? I'm klutzy, lazy, and have no academic achievements other than failure. How is that princess material?" She questioned herself.

Mamoru wrapped his arms around her from behind. "It doesn't matter about klutziness, laziness, or if you have the brains of a Mercurian, all that matters is the size of your heart, and Usa-ko, you're heart is the size of the solar system. You are the very being that I fell in love with a thousand years ago, and here today because of your huge heart."

She smiled a little. She looked down at her clothes, wrinkled and unkempt. "Mamo-chan, Endy, oh Goddess, I don't know what to call you... May I please take leave of your bathroom and possible a shirt and pants?"

He laughed, "Of course, Usa-ko, and I think it would be a little odd if you started calling me Endymion in front of everyone nowadays."

"Of course." She replied, sliding off of the bed, "Umm, where is the bathroom?"

Mamoru pointed to the door on the opposite side of the room. "It's over there, Usa-ko. Go ahead and start getting ready and I'll grab you some clothes to wear."

She smiled at him thankfully. Heading towards the bathroom, she turned around once to look at him, he had lavender tracing his hair, and his eyes held spots of gold in them, but otherwise all she could see was the same man that she fell in love with in this lifetime. She opened the door and stepped through to the bathroom. A huge mirror dominated one of the walls. She turned and looked at herself in the mirror. Long silver hair cascaded down her back and trailed on the floor going out the door, she pulled all her hair in the bathroom and then shut the door. She walked closer to the mirror and looked at her face, it was no longer childish in looks, but held a regal bearing that she had never once had in this lifetime. Her eyes were laced with silver as they looked back at her. She shook her head, trying to think of an explanation that she could reasonable give to her Terran family now that she was fully Lunarian.

She slowly took off her dirty clothes after starting the water, stepping into the shower, she let the hot water cascaded down her body as she let it take away all the darkness and evil that had lurked around her after the memories bombs.

Outside of the bathroom, Mamoru slowly stood up and stretched. He walked out into the living room, hoping that maybe one of the girls would have some clothes for his Usa-ko to borrow. He could not find a single person in the living room, but could hear sniffles coming from the kitchen. Walking into the kitchen, he could see Minako slumped against the refrigerator. "Minako-chan!" He exclaimed. "Are you alright?" He asked as he squatted down by her.

Minako looked up into the eyes of her hime's Prince. She hardened herself before she spoke. "Yes, your majesty. I am fine, just a little overwhelmed by my hime's recovery." She stated.

"Yes, I have much to be thankful for because of you. Please, if it is not any inconvenience, do you have some clothes that Usa-ko may use? I told her she could take a shower while I located some clothes for her." Mamoru replied, not completely believing her story.

EAN: So here is a little more that just came to me, just hope and pray guys that my writer's block will leave me alone so that I may at least finish this story. Thanks everyone!

Belle-chan