Destiny Leads The Dance
From: Cleo Bertrand <bertracl@bc.edu>
Okay, this is my first attempt at a #FanFiction so please don't flame me, I'm real sensitive about things like that.
This story is an attempt to find out what makes Luna the way she is sometimes. I may have made some grave errors and totally gone against the SM timelime (American or Japanese) so I'll apologize ahead of time.
Please e-mail me with your opinions. Since this is my first published work, I want to know how to improve. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.
Destiny Leads The Dance
By Cleo Bertrand
"Come on little one, open your eyes... I don't understand it Mercury, its been almost ten days, the rest of the litter is already up and walking."
"Paitence Serena, she will join the rest of them when she is ready."
I was born on a peaceful day during the beginning of the Silver Millenium. Queen Serenity had ruled for only three years with her husband who helped her build an empire that would be the greatest the universe had ever known.
"Luna, open your eyes!"
I, however, was not ready to join this new world, where change was happening at a pace that seemed faster than the speed of light. Serenity had already quelled the rebellions on the Outer planets that had claimed the life of her father, the king. She had successfully brought the kingdom back together and was ready to lead them to an age of peace and prosperity.
"Serena, yelling at her won't help."
Serenity would be the greatest leader and the last of the glorious Moon Kingdom. I did not know it at the time of my birth, but the fact is now a grim reality to me as an adult.
"Look! Look! She's trying to open them!"
If I had known all that I would go through, I may have decided to keep my eyes closed. But we never know our future and besides, I was curious. I am a cat afterall.
The first thing I remember was the gray fuzzy thing that stood in front of me. Something inside me instantly recognized her. I mewed, since it was the only thing I knew how to do. The gray fuzz was replace by a pink streak and I suddenly found myself very wet.
"Oh Serena, she's beautiful! You must be so proud."
"I am Mercury."
My mother was always proud of me and though she never admitted it to the rest of the litter, she loved me the best. I was the runt of the pack but in a few months I began to catch up with my brothers and sisters. They used to make fun of me but my mother was always there to reprimand them.
My early days were spent on the gardens of the moon. The sea of color never seemed to bore me. I could spend hours staring at the simple daisy to the beautiful rose. This love of flowers would prove to be a problem later on in life when I started my studies. I was never interested in diplomacy or history. I loved only my flowers and that was enough for me.
I was however not enough for my mother, who wanted me become the best cat I could be. She never understood my love for flowers and it was the only thing we ever disagreed on. It was inevitible that the day would arrive and I would have to leave my beloved garden no matter how much I wanted to stay.
"Luna, you have to understand, that a cat in your position simply cannot waste her time watching the flowers grow."
"Why not? If it is something I love, why should I stop doing it?"
"My darling Luna, you must learn that in life, things do not always turn out the way you planned and that in some cases you need to take responsibilty for who you are."
"I don't understand."
"Oh Luna. You are the daughter of the Royal Advisor to Queen Serenity and with that rank comes alot of responsibilty. I need someone to follow in my footsteps and you are the only one whom I can trust enough to do that."
"Why should I be forced to do something that I was born into!" My voice was becoming jagged and harsh as I felt the anger rush through me.
"Luna, lower your voice."
"I will not! How dare you tell me that I have to give up the one thing I love in order to become something I never wanted to be."
My mother was a wise cat and she knew that all I wanted her to do was yell at me, give me some reason to run away and never return. But she just looked at me, watching the crystal tears disappear in the fine black fur.
"Luna, you will learn soon enough, everyone has to make sacrifices. We do not chose the life we are born into and we can do little to change it. All we can ever hope is to enjoy what we have been given."
I wanted to scream, to protest, to cry until my tears caused all the seas of the moon to overflow. But as I stood there watching my mother look down on me with those intelligent green eyes, I felt very foolish.
Hurt and humiliated, I was grasping for anything that could save my precious gardens.
"What would you know about sacrifice?"
The blow was harder then I expected, harder then I had wanted it to be. My mother's face crumpled so suddenly. Her ears lowered, her whiskers dropped, and her entire head sagged. She turned away from me, her shoulders began heaving as she began to sob quietly.
I tried to approach her but she turned away and ran off.
During the months that would follow, I never stopped in the gardens. I missed the blooming of the cherry trees, I missed autumn passing, and I missed the rebirth of spring. All that mattered to me was diplomacy and history. I tried to impress my mother with my wonderful grades but she merely smiled and nodded, keeping her distance.
School finished and I was granted an apprenticeship under one of the lower court advisors. I buried myself in my work, making my way from the apprentice to the assisstant to one of the higher ranking advisors. It was clear that I was following in my mother's footsteps. And with every advance I made I hoped that my mother would come to me and say "My darling Luna, I love you so much, I am so proud". But she never did.
Countless seasons passed and flowers continued to bloom without me. I had grown into a mature cat and I was already handling some of Serenity's minor affairs, things she could no longer take care of since she had to rest her body that was in constant struggle to keep the tiny life inside it happy.
It was on the ninth month of Serenity's pregnancy that my mother feel ill. Mercury did all she could but in the end there was nothing left to do.
"Serenity's power can only keep us alive for so long, Luna. With time, the body does age, until it can no longer survive."
"How long," I said not showing any emotion.
"Not long, it's her heart. She may wake up one more time. I'm sorry Luna, I know you were very fond of your mother."
"Mecury! MERCURY!" It was coming from outside. Suddenly Mars rushed in, her hair in disarray.
"Mars, what is it?" Mercury said approaching her friend.
"It's Serenity. It's begun."
Mercury looked back at me.
"Go on, Serenity needs you. There is nothing you can do now."
She started to go but turned back quickly and gave me a light kiss on my forehead. Then she followed Mars as Serenity's labor cries filled the air.
I moved beside my mother's bed, watching the gray body raise slowly. My mother who had loved me so and I had disappointed her. Why had I been such a fool in my youth? I know now that my true destiny is beside Serenity. If only I could have accepted that so long ago.
"If only you knew how much I wanted you to be proud of me. If only you knew how sorry I was for that day. I never meant to hurt you. Please open your eyes. I'm so sorry."
"I know, my darling."
I looked down startled. My mother's eyes were open. She looked at me, not with the intelligent and powerful eyes she had had on the day of our fight. Her eyes were filled with compassion and love and it was enough to bring me to tears.
"Don't cry my darling Luna."
"Please don't go mom. Tell me...tell me what to do. I'll...anything...just tell me."
"Oh Luna, there is nothing you can do. I am dying, I know I am. I have been slowly decaying ever since the day we fought." Serenity screams echoed down the halls.
"I...I..don't" I said between sobs.
"Luna, my sweet little one, have you not figured it out."
"What?"
"That when I spoke of sacrifices, I didn't not speak only of your gardens, but of my sacrifice as well. Oh Luna, had there been any other way... But you loved those gardens more than anything in the world. I knew that it would take a great thing to make you leave the garden and presue your work. It was so important to me to leave someone behind to take care of Serenity and the Kingdom."
"What are you saying?"
"Luna, that day when you told me I knew nothing of sacrifices, you were wrong. I had already made the greatest sacrifice a mother could make. I needed to make you leave the gardens." Her thoughts were becoming jumbled, her breathing was slowing, her eyes were closing.
"Mom, what was it?" I said, crying softly as I watched her start to leave me forever. "What was your sacrifice?"
"You, my darling Luna."
And with that she died.
My mother was intelligent, more intelligent than she every let on. She knew that the only thing that would take me away from my gardens was by removing herself from my life. She knew that she was the only thing that mattered to me more than even the gardens of paradice and that I would do anything to get her back.
What price did you pay? What pain did you go through, knowing that you could never show your daughter love, no matter how much you wanted to? It was all for the Kingdom, for Serenity and I could not hate either for doing this to us. I know that our fates were sealed long ago when our anscetors began to serve the moon kingdom. But I only wish that for one moment you could of turned to me and said that you were proud.
'You know I always was, prouder than any parent had ever been.'
I looked around but there was nothing. Only the passing breeze that slowly moved across my forehead as it left the room.
I walked into the nursey, walking as slowly as I could. Serenity was there, holding the tiny bundle in her hands, cooing to it as she rocked it back and forth.
"Her name is Serena," she said softly.
"Thank you, your Majesty," I said bowing my head.
"Someday, she will be ruler of this kingdom. Promise me now, Luna, that you will always watch after her."
"I promise."
* * *
"WAAHHH!! But I don't wanna!"
"Serena, be quiet!" Luna walked up to the girl whose books lay sprawled across the table.
"But Luna, it's too hard."
"Serena, you are the heir to a kingdom and as a potential queen it is imperative that you at least know how to multiply."
"But why do I have to be a princess! No one ever asked me."
"We do not chose the life we are born into and we can do little to change it. All we can ever hope is to enjoy what we have been given."
I kept my promise Serenity and I made you proud mom.
Cleo Bertrand
