"Rini, move it up a little," a tall woman with vivacious green eyes indicated the white satin banner interlaced through the Doric columns circumnavigating the ballroom.

Rini climbed to the top of the ladder and scooted the fabric up a few inches on the smooth marble cylinder. "Is that good, Lita?"

Lita stepped back a few feet to see the full effect. "Yes, that's perfect," her mahogany ponytail bobbed energetically.

Rini carefully slid a safety pin into the filmy material to hold it in place. "That's everything, isn't it?" she climbed back down, disengaging her bangs from her sweaty forehead.

"I think so. Thanks for helping me Rini; I got done twice as quickly as I would have on my own!"

Rini smiled, glad that she was able to aid her friend with the decorations for the ball tomorrow, but her reasons for volunteering weren't purely selfless. "It helped me get my mind off things."

"Care to talk about it?" Lita asked, handing her a frosty mug of lemonade. "Here, I made some cookies," she gestured to a nearby table with a platter filled with enough cookies to feed all of Crystal Tokyo for a week, which meant that there were just enough to make a snack for Lady Serenity. Never one to turn down free food of any kind that wasn't a vegetable, Rini sat down and began piling a plate with snicker doodles.

"Lita, there are some left for the guests, right?" she joked.

"I'm going to start cooking for the party tomorrow. Now, what has been going on with you Rini? Everyone is really concerned about you. You can talk to me about anything; I won't tell your parents if you don't want me to."

"Well, let's just say I had to say goodbye to someone I really cared about."

"Why? Did this person do something to upset you?"

"No, nothing like that, we just can't see each other anymore, I really cannot say more then that," Rini looked down at her plate and began nibbling on an oatmeal raisin cookie nervously.

Discerning that the young woman would not confide anything else, Lita put her arm reassuringly around the princess. "It's okay, I understand. Look on the bright side, we are having a fabulous ball tomorrow night, and there will be a gaggle of cute guys tripping over themselves to dance with you; perhaps one of them will be able to cheer you up!" she grinned.

"Perhaps," Rini said half heartedly. But I doubt it.

The Crystal Ball, thrown every year in honor of the beginning of Crystal Tokyo, was considered to be the biggest social event of the year. Luminaries from all over the galaxy came to attend, including Princess Kakyuu and the Sailor Starlights. Queen Serenity always turned it into a reunion of sorts; it was a mix of rigid formality and easy familiarity, a time for friends to reminisce and an opportunity to impress ambassadors in the hope of forming treaties. Mostly it was a celebration of the utopia Earth had become thanks to Serenity reawakening the dormant planet with the Silver Crystal. Rini had adored it since she was a child; it was the first "grownup party" she had been permitted to go to. This year, however, the thought of pretending to be happy and carefree, yet polite and restrained, filled her with dread.

Rini knew that men would be swarming around her like angry hornets, vying for a dance with her. No, not her: Lady Serenity, Crown Princess of Crystal Tokyo. They would praise the exoticness of her red eyes, worship her alabaster form, write sonnets to her pink hair, and not mean a word of it. All they saw was the crown on her head and themselves ruling the earth. Helios conveyed more love with the utterance of a single word then any amount of superfluous flattery ever could: maiden. Not Your Highness, not Princess, just maiden. To him, she was the girl who let Pegasus live in her beautiful dreams, the child who pestered him with questions about love and friendship, and the maiden who helped save all the dreams of the earth. That she was a princess was secondary, in fact, things would be a whole lot easier if she wasn't. If only she wasn't princess of the planet, and he wasn't the guardian of dreams, and they did not have any responsibilities. They could live in a house and raise a family, maybe have a little girl with strawberry hair and golden eyes and "This is so not helping!" Rini turned the faucet of her bathroom sink, splashing some water on her face, willing the icy liquid to wash him from her thoughts. Drying her visage with a towel, Rini spied black and pink smears on the supposed to be pristine white hand towel. "Oh crap, I forgot about my makeup!" She looked at her ruined reflection and banged her head against the glass.

Half an hour later Lady Serenity emerged from her apartments, makeup retouched and hair in place. She was just closing the ornately carved wooden double doors behind her when a soft female voice called, "Rini, there you are! I was just about to come in to find out what was keeping you," the woman hugged Rini tightly, fine black hair swept up in a bun at the back of her head, with a few pieces framing her violet eyes in ringlets.

"Good evening, Hotaru," Rini's eyes lit up at the sight of her best friend. "I had a slight case of temporary insanity and had to reapply my face."

"Well let's go, everyone is waiting to see their princess," Hotaru gently tugged Rini's upper arm, leading her down the corridor.

"By 'everyone', do you mean spoiled, over-coifed, over privileged, simpering, and whiny princes?" Rini smiled wryly.

"Oh Rini, their not all that bad," but Hotaru covered her mouth to suppress a giggle in spite of herself. "A few of them are well…" she trailed of, a blush coloring her pale cheeks.

"Hot? Sexy? Gorgeous? Bootylicious?" Rini grinned as her companion became a shade redder with each successive question. "Don't worry Hotaru; you can have your pick."

"Oh I highly doubt that," the Senshi of Silence raised a knowing eyebrow, quickly recovered from her friend's teasing. "They'll all be to busy looking at you, princess." The laughter of both girls rang through out the palace for the duration of their short journey to the ballroom.

As she was about to make her entrance, Rini stopped at the top of the staircase to take everything in. While she thought she and Lita had done a good job with the decorations, Rini was astounded at how magnificent the room looked. The satin banner she had painstakingly strung through the columns supporting the round chamber had taken on an almost dreamy quality thanks to the candlelight reflecting off it. Lita had added strings of roses to the columns to give color to the whiteness of the room. However, Rini soon regret her pause for it allowed all the guests an opportunity to stare at the princess. Instead of her usual white and gold dress that illustrated her status as the moon princess, Rini had decided to wear a black silk evening gown. It had an empire waist and sweetheart neckline with straps that wound around her neck and crisscrossed down her back. As predicted, a throng of young men had congregated at the base of the staircase waiting for her like a pack of dogs waiting for a slab of steak. Taking a deep breath, Lady Serenity placed her hand on the polished banister, preparing to greet the wolves while simultaneously cultivating an exit strategy. "Care for a waltz, princess?" Haruka appeared, parting the sea of suitors easily, taking Rini's outstretched hand and leading her out of the jungle of princes.

"Thanks a lot Haruka. I was torn between sliding down the railing and making a run for it; or using the candlestick to poll vault over them," Rini laughed while the tall blond woman in a tuxedo instead of a ball gown bowed to her as the first bars of a waltz vibrated through the air.

"You know I don't mind keeping those puppies off you. As a matter a fact, I consider it to be my favorite job," the wind sailor smirked, twirling Rini around the room expertly. "Men only want one thing, and there is no way they're getting it from my little rabbit."

"Oh, I don't think it's just men Haruka," a graceful woman in a sea foam dress that coordinated perfectly with her hair appeared before the unconventional dance partners as the last strains of music floated away.

"Really, and just what do you want, Michiru?" Haruka gave her longtime lover a knowing look.

"Why don't you tell me?" she said slyly.

"Why don't I show you?" Haukra's grey eyes glinted as the pair fell into their favorite pastime of exchanging double entendres.

"You two are getting as bad as my mom and dad!" Rini shook her finger playfully at them. "Thanks again for the help Haruka." Rini left the couple to their banter, catching the eye of Queen Kakyuu who beckoned her over.

"Rini, how wonderful to see you again!" Kakyuu embraced her.

"It's nice to see you too Queen Kakyuu," the two women sat down.

"So I hear you are going to be a queen yourself in a little while."

"In two years. Queen Kakyuu, have you ever had to sacrifice something you truly loved for the sake of your kingdom?" Rini fiddled with the tablecloth, meshing it in her hands, not directly looking at the redhead.

"You mean have I had to give up my love for my people? Yes, princess, I have. My lover was killed by Galaxia during the war on our planet. I had to go on. I traveled to Earth in the hopes of being able to rebuild Kinmoku, even though I knew my love could never be a part of it. But Rini, being queen is not a prison sentence; you can still pursue your dreams. I lost my love, but when I returned to Kinmoku I found love again with Seiya. Does that help?"

"A little, do you still miss him?" Rini inquired, desperately hoping that she had all but forgotten about her fallen lover.

"Rini we never forget those who truly touch our souls, though we might sometimes wish it," Kakyuu grasped Rini's hand and gave it a light squeeze, then rose in search of her husband.

Rini was so immersed in her thoughts about her conversation with the fireball queen that she did not see the young man heading for her until, "Princess might I take the liberty of claiming your hand for the next dance?" a nasally voice broke her thoughts.

Rini looked up in agitation to see who it was and inwardly groaned. It was Prince Carleton of Habiota, a planet on the outskirts of the Milky Way. He was the epitome of pompousness and boredom, not to mention a terrible dancer. Rini would like nothing better then to stomp on his foot (he had certainly trampled on hers often enough), but her mother was trying to persuade Habiota to sign a trade agreement with Earth. Apparently the planet had a large surplus of crops, and there was a famine in Western Africa at the moment. So either I dance with him or little African kids starve, Rini thought bitterly as she stood up. "Of course Prince Carleton, it would be my pleasure," she smiled sweetly, giving her cool hand to his hot sweaty one. It was the Viennese waltz, and sure enough Rini's big toe was throbbing by the end of it. She tried to make her escape, but right when the dance had ended another one began and another prince had claimed her hand. Rini danced with dozens of men, some young, some old. Prince Andre of Spain was only eight and just too cute, while Prince Siegfried of the planet Cromicio was pushing 70 and refused to keep his hands on her waist. A few were rather good looking as Hotaru had said, and one or two were even mildly interesting, but not a single prince could make her forget about a certain priest. Rini finally excused herself, saying she needed to speak to her parents about something and made a beeline for the terrace. There was a trapdoor in the rose garden that covered a passage way which led to her room. She had discovered it when she was five while playing dolls. She had used it to escape the palace when the Black Moon attacked, but it would suit her purposes just as well now. She bent down by the largest rosebush and was about to pull the latch on the concealed door when a snap of a twig caused her to turn around.

"Doing a little midnight weeding, are we Lady Serenity?" a man Rini had never seen before came forward and taking her hand, lifted her to her feet.

"Do you always accost girls on their own at parties, or is this a special occasion?" Rini retorted before she thought about politeness, snatching back her hand. Something in this guy's tone just made her want to argue.

"Why, we can't let the princess of Crystal Tokyo go wandering in the night by herself, someone might bother her," the stranger said smugly.

"Quite true, I thought I'd be safe in my own garden, but evidently I was mistaken," she said sarcastically.

"Well I'm glad I was here to save you then," he smiled, not taking her bait.

"What? But that's not what I…" Rini flushed in frustration. "The only one who is going to need saving buster is you unless you tell me who you are and what you think you're doing!"

"Forgive me, princess, I seem to have forgotten my manners. Prince Janus of Cendall at your service," he bowed deeply.

"Well Prince Janus of Cendall, I think I've had enough of your services for one night," Rini stomped off into the ballroom. Spying a familiar black bun at the edge of the room, Rini made her way to Hotaru.

"Well, I see the escape didn't come off properly," Hotaru chuckled.

"I was interrupted by the most insufferable of men," Rini muttered.

"Ooh, do tell," Hotaru's purple eyes gleamed excitedly.

So Rini began to tell her tale. Hotaru was the only other person who knew about the secret passageway, so Rini was able to fill her in on everything. "And then he had the gall to act as if he was helping me! So I told him he was the one who would need help if he didn't say who he was and he made this ridiculous bow and said his name was Janus," Rini vented.

"Janus? As in the prince of Cendall?" Hotaru's eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Rini, he is considered to be one of the wealthiest most powerful men in the galaxy! Not much is known about Cendall, but supposedly it is a star and Janus's family rules the entire system of planets," Hotaru whispered in Rini's ear.

"Well no wonder he is such an arrogant asshole," Rini took a glance at the platform where her parents were sitting on their thrones and watched in horror as she saw them both laughing, laughing, with him. She stalked over there determined to expose the man for the jerk he really was.

"Ah Rini, I'm so glad you came over here. There is someone I want you to meet, Janus, may I present my daughter Princess Lady Serenity," King Endymion smiled.

"Thank you Your Majesty. I have already had the delight of meeting your charming daughter," Janus said silky, intense green eyes focusing on Rini.

"Wonderful! Why don't you two have a dance then?" Queen Serenity clapped her hands together.

"I would be honored to dance with the princess. My lady?" Janus extended his hand toward Rini.

Her parents beaming at her, Rini had no choice but to take it. She expected him to lead her straight to the center of the dance floor, but instead he stopped by the orchestra and whispered something to the conductor too softly for her to hear. "What was that about?" she looked at him skeptically.

"I thought this party could use some livening up," he said mischievously. Now they were in the middle of the ballroom and before Rini could ask what he meant by livening up the music began. Rini recognized it as "Amparito Roca", a famous Spanish pasodoble. Janus dipped her and they began the fast-paced dance.

"How dare you do that?" Rini spat at him as he spun her around.

"Do what, this?" he dipped her again.

"No," they separated now, preparing to charge one another. "Act like that with my parents!" They were so involved in their conversation and dance that neither noticed that they were the only couple dancing and everyone was watching them.

"I was merely making polite conversation. Besides, what would they say to your little gardening escapade?" he followed her around the room, both of them raising their arms and moving their hips as they mimicked a bullfight.

"Why you son of a-," Rini began, cranberry eyes locked with his emerald ones as they revolved around each other.

"Ah careful princess. You wouldn't want to say anything you'll regret later," he began leading her backwards towards the core of the room again.

"I can think of fifty things I want to say to you," she muttered with vehemence.

"Oh, you know fifty ways to say I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you? I'm impressed by your vocabulary princess," he quipped, spinning her with nimble movements of his arm.

Rini had never met someone who antagonized her so easily. "You know that's not what I mean!" he dipped her one last time as the music ended, and then raised her slowly until her face was merely inches from his, her leg still wrapped around his hips. She hadn't noticed until now how incredibly handsome he was, with thick black hair that half covered his startling green eyes and olive skin. She also had not realized how close they were, feeling both his hands on her bare back and his lips so close that if she just leaned in a little more…The guests ended their brief silence and broke out in wild applause, allowing Rini to come back to earth. Had she really been considering kissing that narcissist? She quickly extracted herself from his arms and turned to leave when she felt her hand being pulled back. She turned around to see Janus caressing it.

"Thank you for a most remarkable evening, Lady Serenity," he bowed again, bringing her fingers to his lips, letting them linger a moment longer then necessary. Before Rini could respond he melted into the river of partygoers and was gone.

"That was an interesting bullfight, was it not Michiru?" Haruka put her arm around her partner's waist.

Michiru put her aqua head on Haukra's broad shoulder. "It certainly was. But I wonder: who was the bullfighter and who was the bull?"

Author's Note: Pasodoble is both a style of music and dance, modeled after a Spanish bullfight. Janus was a Roman god who had two faces (also where January comes from, hey who said fan fiction couldn't be educational?). I have some news which you guys probably won't like. I am putting this story on hiatus for about two months or so. There are a few reasons for this. One, I am going to Governor's School this weekend and will be gone for five weeks. I'll be taking two college classes, so obviously I won't have time to write. I go back to school a week after that (I'm on year round, so my summer is really short). I'm going to be a senior next year and I want to apply to college early and just get it out of the way, so most of July will be spent writing my essays. The good news is that my college stuff should be done by August and then the rest of the year should be low drag for me (and I'll be able to write a lot!). Another reason is that I'm having trouble with the middle of this story. I have the end planned (you have no idea how incredibly excited I am about the ending, it's going to be awesome!) but I am not completely sure how to get there. I think some time away is the perfect remedy. There is a minuscule chance that chapter 5 with be posted before I leave,but don't bet on it. So fear not, I will return. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, please review and feel free to message me with any extra comments or questions. I hope everyone has an amazing summer!

Catalinabella