Senshi Illusions

Chapter 3: The Ceremony

Almost 45 minutes later, all the girls met in the hallway and grouped together, admiring each other’s dress choices before Amanda finally drew order to the group. “Okay everyone, we need to quiet down and get ready for the ceremony. We start in 15 minutes. So everyone, let’s get in our ranks and get ready to go.” Amanda said cheerfully. Everyone smiled, accustomed to Amanda’s motherly attitude. She’d always been a great leader. Everyone quickly went to their places, forming 2 lines with Serenity and Minako in front followed by Amanda and Ami. Close behind them stood Makoto and Rei. “Everyone ready?” Minako asked. Everyone nodded and the sequence began. “Moon Power! Venus Power, Mercury Power, Mercuriana Power, Mars Power, Jupiter Power!” the girls called out in unison. Lights blazed around them, gold, orange, blue, red, and green all swirling around as the girls transformed into their Senshi forms. Each girl stood in her basic Senshi form, eager to receive her full powers. Only Mercuriana and Mercury stood in advanced forms due to their mother and aunt’s death, which had already given them their full powers. Each Senshi would become an Eternal Senshi tonight with the receipt of their special gift, including Mercuriana and Mercury. Everyone was full of excitement as Sailor Moon and Venus led the way toward the throne room where the ceremony would take place. The 6 girls stood waiting in a side hallway as the last few guests streamed into the throne room. They heard the blast of trumpets announcing the arrival of Queen Serenity and her court and the 6 Senshi moved forward, standing to one side as Queen Serenity entered the main doors to the throne room, followed closely by Queen Jupiter, Mars, and Venus with Luna and Artemis trotting along beside Queen Serenity, one on each side. As the queens ended their walk, Queen Serenity gracefully took her seat in the large silver throne, followed by her fellow planetary queens sitting in elegant chairs that had been provided for the occasion at Queen Serenity’s sides. Artemis and Luna leapt onto small pedestals at Queen Serenity’s sides and then the trumpets blared once more as a page announced the entrance of the younger Senshi in order of their appearance. Slowly, Serenity and her court entered the room in their Senshi forms and walked to stand at the foot of the dais, spreading out in order on either side of Princess Serenity. Queen Serenity smiled at her daughter and friends before standing and looking to the crowds of people before her. Close to the front stood the Princes of Earth and she smiled, nodding to them. “Lords and Ladies, tonight we gather here for a sacred ceremony…the passing on of our great powers to our children and future queens. This is a solemn and very exciting ceremony for these young women as they achieve their full Senshi forms. Tonight we will celebrate their coming of age.” She said in her soft voice, though it carried even to the back of the room. She then looked down at Sailor Moon and motioned for her to come up to the dais. Sailor Moon took the two steps up and then knelt before her mother. Queen Serenity smiled as she laid a gentle hand on her daughter’s head, fighting back her tears of joy. “Princess Serenity…Sailor Moon. I pass on to you, my daughter, the powers of the Moon.” She said softly as a silver light glowed around her hand and then seeped into her daughter’s body, surrounding her for a moment before settling down. Queen Serenity then reached up to her chest with both hands, the Silver Crystal glowing as it slipped from her body. Queen Serenity’s eyes closed momentarily and silver light engulfed her, as the Crystal seemed to duplicate itself. She held each crystal in her hands before raising one crystal back to her chest and it slowly disappeared back into her body. “Stand, daughter.” She commanded softly. Sailor Moon stood gracefully and looked at her mother, gazing in awe at the Crystal in her mother’s hands. Carefully, Sailor Moon lifted her hands and cupped the crystal as her mother had instructed her and then turned to face the people, holding it up above her head as silver light flashed around her. Slowly, her fuku changed, revealing a three-layer skirt and a puffed sleeved blouse as beautiful wings grew out of her back. As the transformation completed, Eternal Sailor Moon slowly brought her arms back down and to her chest. A moment later, the crystal sunk into her chest, taking it’s eternal home there to be drawn out only in great need. As this happened, a small tiara formed on the top of her head, sparkling with diamonds and crystals. She smiled to the crowd and then closed her eyes as her mother touched her shoulders, imparting her unique gift to her daughter. ‘Friendship and determination…’ a voice whispered in her mind. ESM smiled softly, her eyes still closed. Her gift was friendship. She would always have the ability to impart love and friendship to those around her and always have the determination to fulfill her legacy. She slowly opened her eyes and turned to her mother, smiling as they hugged gently before ESM stepped back down to the center of her court. Queen Serenity then motioned to Sailor Venus and then quietly stepped back as Queen Venus stepped forward, smiling at her daughter. Sailor Venus bowed before her mother as she gently laid her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. An orange glow surrounded the two and then gathered around the younger Senshi’s body before seeping in amongst a bright flash of orange light. Sailor Venus slowly stood up as the light swirled around her. There was another flash of bright orange light and when the flash died down, she was wearing a beautiful tiered orange skirt with ribbons criss-crossing around her and flowing down the back of her fuku. There was also a small tiara with an orange gem set in the center sitting on the top of her head. Eternal Sailor Venus turned and hugged her mother before walking over and kneeling before the now seated Queen Serenity. She reached out her hand and rested it on Eternal Sailor Venus’s head and closed her eyes, smiling as the Senshi’s gift was revealed to her. “Love…you will always be able to see and share love, even when it is hidden from other’s sight.” A voice whispered in her mind. Venus smiled softly and stood, bowing to Queen Serenity in thanks before walking back down to stand at Princess Serenity’s side. Queen Serenity then motioned for both Mercury and Mercuriana to come up onto the dais. Both girls walked up and bowed before Queen Serenity. “You have had to grow up much more quickly and have advanced further than your friends due to your mother’s untimely death protecting me. I wish every day that your mother and aunt were still here to see how much you two have grown. You are queens in your own right. You have your mother and aunt’s powers already. All you have left to receive are your special gifts.” She said quietly and then reached forward, touching Mercury and Mercuriana’s shoulders. There was an unexpected flash of silver light that soon died down as the whispering began in their heads. “You have the gift of healing and a strong connection with your sister.” The voice whispered in Mercury’s head. “You have the gift of telepathy and telekinesis and you will always be bonded by your connection with your sister.” The voice whispered in Mercuriana’s mind. Slowly, the two young queens opened their eyes to see that their fuku’s had changed. Mercury’s fuku resembled Venus’s except it was in shades of blue and she had a blue gem seated in the middle of her tiara. Mercuriana blushed as she saw her fuku. The top was cropped up to a few inches below her breasts and she had a layered short blue skirt with tall navy boots with stars at the tops of each boot. She glanced back to see beautiful wings folded at her back, just slightly smaller than Princess Serenity’s new wings. She blinked in surprise, not having expected her transformation to be so drastic. Aunt Akira had never had wings and her fuku was most definitely not cropped…of course, she had only seen old photographs of her mother and aunt as Senshi. They had long since grown out of their Senshi fuku’s, as had the other planetary queens. Slowly the two girls stood, bowing before Queen Serenity before walking back to their places. Mercuriana caught Edward’s open and appreciative stare and blushed even more before she turned back to face the queen. After a few more minutes, Mars and Jupiter had also received their eternal Senshi transformations, their fuku’s also resembling Venus and Mercury’s fuku’s in their respective colors of red and green. They received their own special gifts of premonitions and telekinesis. Queen Serenity then called Eternal Sailor Moon up onto the dais and had her stand in the center of the open area of the dais. She then called each Senshi of her court up to join a circle around Eternal Sailor Moon. Queen Serenity stood and moved to stand at the back of the circle as her court moved to circle around the younger Senshi. “I now bind you each to the other and to your ward, Princess Serenity. You will protect her in life and in death. I seal the connection between each Senshi and her ward as well as each other. You will know when each other and especially your ward are in need through this strong, unbreakable connection. No matter what happens or what space is between you, you will always be able to feel this bond. It is a great responsibility that can never be forgotten. I now pronounce each of you Eternal Senshi of the Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. May you always stand strong in your pledge!” Queen Serenity said for all of the court to hear. Then came the vows. “Do you, Venus, swear to protect your fellow Senshi and Princess Serenity for all eternity?” Queen Venus asked as she looked to her daughter. Sailor Venus smiled as she looked ESM in the eye. “I do so solemnly swear!” she replied. The same questions were asked of each Senshi by their mother, with Queen Serenity asking Mercury and Mercuriana, each responding in the same manner. Finally, Queen Serenity looked at her daughter. “Do you, Eternal Sailor Moon, Princess Serenity, swear to always love and protect your court, and follow their instructions for your own safety and always keep the bond of love and friendship whole between you and your protectors?” Queen Serenity asked quietly. Moon slowly turned, looking at each of her friends and protectors before answering her mother’s question. “I do so solemnly swear.” She replied quietly. Lights sparked around the group as they chanted out their planetary powers and each Senshi’s colored band of light flew toward Sailor Moon and surrounded her. At the same time a silver light flew from Sailor Moon and surrounded each of her Senshi. The lights swirled and surrounded each person before flashing brightly. Suddenly, each Senshi felt their bond with each other strong in their hearts. The strongest bond they felt was to Sailor Moon, their ward and princess of the moon. “I now present to you the Eternal Senshi of the Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. Their bond is now complete.” Queen Serenity called out to the crowd. Clapping and shouts erupted from the crowd in congratulations as each of the Senshi lined up across the dais. After a few moments, they detransformed and curtsied to the crowd in their regalia, each of their dresses a symbol of their positions. Princess Serenity was dressed in the traditional dress of the moon princesses. Mercury was wearing a simple but elegant silken light blue gown. It had double spaghetti straps with an empire waistline that gathered a long, flowing a-line shaped skirt that fit beautifully over her slim curves. Beside her, Amanda was dressed in a renaissance style dress with sheer slit sleeves that went down to a tip below her knees. It had a rounded square neckline with an empire waistline as well and a long flowing a-line skirt as well and a short train at the back of the skirt. It was of a beautiful dark blue satin material with a sheer overlay. The other girls were in equally beautiful dresses with their own unique style and color. Rei’s dress was slim and straight while Minako’s was a ball gown with a full hoop skirt. Makoto’s dress was a beautiful green dress that was loose and flowing all over and only had one shoulder. The girls smiled at each other and then at the large group of people before them. Each of the girls reached out their hands as the princes of Earth walked up and bowed before them, kissing their respective princess’s hand and then leading the girls to the center of the room. They formed a circle around Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion as the music started up. The group began to dance a beautiful waltz with Serenity in the center. They almost seemed to float as they dance, the girls’ long skirts swaying as they moved around the dance floor. After the dance was completed, everyone cheered happily. “Now, let us feast and dance as we celebrate this momentous occasion.” Queen Serenity called out to the crowd as the sidewalls drew up to reveal spacious seating and sumptuous dining on both sides. The crowd moved slowly to take their seats as a table was placed on the dais before the planetary queens. Another longer table was placed at the front of the dance floor as a full orchestra was revealed to the side of the dais. The royal court took their seats and the feasting soon began.

A couple hours later, the ball was slowly beginning to wind down and Edward began to grown nervous. Amanda was laughing and talking with several other young women before being drawn aside by Queen Serenity for a short meeting. Amanda smiled over at him from where she stood beside Queen Serenity, talking with her quietly. Edward almost jumped as Endymion lightly slapped his shoulder. “So…when are you planning to ask the big question?” Endymion asked curiously, smiling at his brother’s nervousness. Edward drew in a shaky breath. “I was thinking of asking her tonight. I thought I’d take her out to the balcony…you can see Mercury from the side balcony fairly well this time of night. I thought it would be special for her that way.” Edward replied quietly, his eyes glued to Amanda’s beautiful form. “Hey…it’s obvious that she loves you. Don’t worry about it so much okay.” Endymion replied quietly. Ami and Jadeite walked up behind them. “What’s this I hear about my sister?” Ami asked teasingly as they stopped directly behind the two princes. Both men began stuttering, their faces red at having been caught talking about Edward proposing to Amanda. “Ummm…well…. Edward ummm…” Endymion started. “Ummm…I ummm…we were talking about Amanda because I…I plan to ask her to marry me tonight.” Edward finally stuttered out quietly, hoping no one else would hear. Ami’s jaw dropped in surprise and then she squealed with joy as she hugged Edward tightly. “I can’t believe it!! I can’t wait to hear about her reaction. Don’t you worry about a thing. She was just telling me this afternoon how much she loved you!” Ami said excitedly as she pulled back to look up at Edward. Edward looked around nervously, hoping Amanda hadn’t heard her sister’s outburst. <What’s going on over there Ami? > Amanda sent telepathically, testing out her new gift on her sister as she noticed Ami practically jumping around in excitement. She couldn’t hear what was going on but watched silently as she saw Ami suddenly blink and immediately stop and look around for her sister. <Amanda? Wow…this is weird…. Hey you can’t read my thoughts right now can you? > Ami asked in her mind. Amanda chuckled mentally. <I probably could…but I won’t. But what’s going on? > Amanda replied. <Oh nothing…you’ll find out later I’m sure. > Ami sent back and then looked up to see Jadeite, Edward, and Endymion looking at her strangely. “Ummm…Amanda’s gift…is telepathy. We can talk to each other through our bond as sister’s now…in our mind.” Ami said sheepishly. “But don’t worry, she doesn’t know about your surprise.” Ami added a moment later, causing Edward to relax slightly. He turned and smiled at Amanda, who was still throwing glances their way as she finished her conversation with Queen Serenity. She soon curtsied politely before wading around the dancers to where Edward, Endymion, Jadeite and Ami stood talking quietly. Just before she reached them, Sere tugged on her arm, pulling her back to the side. “Whoa…hey what is it Sere?” Amanda asked quietly. “Ama…you’re with Edward a lot right?” Amanda nodded slightly as Sere continued. “Do…do you think that things will work out with Endy and I? I mean…I’m so much younger than he is and well…you know the history of my family. Moon Queens just don’t leave the moon! We’re stuck here! Mom and Dad…it tore them apart because Dad always had to be on Earth and Mom never leaves the Moon except for short visits to other planets. She used to go see Dad from time to time up until he died…even though they were separated. I don’t want to end up like that Ama…” Sere said quickly, her voice low. Amanda gently soothed her friend. “Shhhh…it’s okay Sere. I’m sure you two can work things out. Don’t worry about it so much. I’m sure Endymion will find a way for you two to be together when you’re old enough. It’ll be okay.” Amanda whispered and then gently hugged Serenity. “Come on…let’s go over there and spend some time with our handsome princes and worry about such things later okay? I’m sure that if you two talk about it you won’t be so worried about it so much anymore okay?” Serenity nodded slightly and the two walked arm in arm over to join the small group. Amanda and Serenity slid between the two brothers and Amanda wrapped her arms around Edward’s waist. “Why do I get the feeling y’all are plotting against me?” She asked teasingly as she leaned up to kiss his cheek lightly. Edward chuckled. “I know nothing of the sort.” He replied as he looked down at Amanda adoringly. “Come on…let’s go for a walk out on the balcony. I haven’t had you to myself since the gazebo early this afternoon.” He said softly. Amanda nodded and waved to the others. “I’ll see you all later.” Amanda said as she smiled at the others. Ami grinned. “Have fun Ama!” Ami called to her sister. Serenity started to lead Endymion out to the balcony as well but he pulled her back. “Wait…Edward needs the balcony to himself for a little while.” Endymion said quietly as he watched Amanda and Edward walk through the doors onto the balcony. Serenity looked at him curiously. “Edward’s asking Amanda to marry him.” Ami said quietly. “Serenity looked between Ami and Endymion in surprise. “Really! That’s awesome! Oh I wish I could watch!!!” Serenity said excitedly. Ami chuckled. “You’re not the only one Sere…but Endymion’s right…they need their privacy for this.” Ami replied. Serenity finally nodded in defeat. “Okay I suppose you’re right. Well, in the meantime, let’s dance. I’ve hardly had a chance to dance with you tonight, my prince.” She said teasingly as she looked up at Endymion. “Of course my dear.” Endymion said as he twirled her onto the dance floor among the many dancing couples. Ami and Jadeite chuckled before joining them happily.

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Last modified: 2/19/2006