Crystal Flaws - Part 04 Crystal Bells

The next morning dawned clear, slightly breezy, sunny and not too warm considering it was the end of July. In other words, perfect for a Princess’s wedding.

Amazingly, Usagi was up early. Even Mamoru was still asleep! Usagi wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she was a bit nervous. This was a momentous day, not only to the bride, but maybe even more so to the mother of the bride. Usagi thought to herself, [I’m probably more anxious today than I was for my own wedding. I guess my perspective is different.] Usagi thought with a sigh, [I just want this day to be perfect for her.]

The Queen had requested breakfast in her suite and was now sitting at a table on the balcony overlooking the gardens. The Crystal Tokyo Times had been included with her tray and she idly flipped through it as she sipped her coffee.

She saw a headline on front of the local news section that caught her eye.

“Extra-Terrestrials in Bar-Room Brawl?”

[That’s weird,] she thought, [the Times doesn’t usually report stuff like that.] She started to read.

“A bar-room brawl in Crystal Tokyo last night ended with two injured. An anonymous woman, who had witnessed the fight, described a group of six men involved. She said, “Four of them were identical, unusually large with long white hair. The fifth was smaller with white hair. The sixth, the leader, had brown hair.””

“I’m going to kill them,” Usagi quietly muttered as she continued to read.

“The brown haired man had Herculean strength according to the woman. She described the fight: “He lifted a big man up with one arm and threw him across the room. It left a big hole in the wall. He also attacked another man, broke the guy’s leg in two places and knocked him out cold.”

An anonymous man also told our reporter he saw four flying horses with two riders fly away from the front of the bar. He said both riders were male, one had white hair and the other had brown hair.

An investigation of the incident is pending. Anyone with information on the fight, or these men, should contact Crystal Tokyo police.”

Usagi calmly picked up the local section of the paper. She folded it so the article was on top then rolled the paper up and held it in her fist.

Purposefully striding into the bedroom, Usagi walked up to the side of the bed where Mamoru peacefully slept. She looked at him a moment then resolutely smacked him in the head with the paper.

Mamoru woke up with a start, yelling, “Hey!” as he shielded his head from any possible further blows. He peeked out from behind his arms with bleary eyes and asked with confusion, “What was that for?!”

His wife stood by the bed with a furious expression on her face. She held the newspaper article up in front of him and demanded, “You knew they went out last night, didn’t you?!”

Poor Mamoru’s brain was not awake enough to find a good lie or excuse. “Yes,” he tiredly admitted.

Usagi glared at her husband as she yelled. “I can’t believe you let them go! They almost got themselves killed! It’s even in the paper!!”

Mamoru sighed as he sat up and held out his hand for the article. Usagi handed it to him. He struggled a moment to focus his eyes then read it.

Sighing again, Mamoru observed, “Of course, the paper doesn’t say that the thugs had threatened them.” Mamoru then chuckled. “Extra-Terrestrials huh? I guess they could be called that.”

Usagi put her hands on her hips. “What happened to ‘little or no contact with our world’?”

Mamoru nodded his head.. “Yes, I probably shouldn’t have let them go. I don’t know if I really could have stopped them though. Our Palace security measures don’t include a way to keep someone from flying off Palace property. Onto the property, yes, but off, no.”

Usagi thought about this then sighed. “Pegasuses bring unique problems with them. I guess we have to get used to it.”

~~~~~~~~

Elios woke up slowly. His first thought was, [Where’s Serenity?] He then remembered and opened his eyes. Putting his hands behind his head, he smiled. [Today we’re getting married!]

An hour later, Elios heard a knock on his door. “Come in,” he called.

Terrance opened the door and said as he came in the room, “Elios, my job today is to make sure you’re ready and on time for your…”

Terrance didn’t finish his sentence as he stared. He could see Elios had already finished eating breakfast, taken a shower and was dressed in his tux. The only things he had left to do were tie his tie and put on his coat. He even had his socks and shoes on!

Shaking his head in disbelief, Terrance complained, “You know, you take all the fun out of being a best man. A little bit *EAGER*, I see!”

Blushing, Elios explained, “I couldn’t sleep anymore, so I got ready.” He continued with a smile. “If you want a challenging job, go get the brothers ready. I don’t think they’re even out of bed yet!”

Terrance laughed. “That job is big enough for both of us! Since you’re already ready, you can help with the brothers too. Come on.”

They laughed together as they left Elios’ room.

~~~~~~~~

Hotaru had locked everyone out of the room and had drawn the curtains shut. She tried to give Serenity every second of sleep she could get. When a quiet knock and a voice from outside the door announced the hairstylist and manicurist were there, Hotaru knew it was time. She had tea and breakfast waiting. Shaking Serenity’s shoulder, Hotaru quietly said, “Wake up, sleepy head. You can’t sleep through your wedding day.”

Hotaru’s words slowly broke through the fog of sleep in Serenity’s brain. Suddenly they registered in her consciousness. Her eyes flew open and she quickly glanced at the window.

Hotaru smiled as she threw open the curtains. “See, it’s beautiful out! It’s going to be a great day!”

Serenity shielded her eyes. “You’re right, but it’s a little too bright right now. Please shut them again.”

Hotaru complied then pulled Serenity to sit up. “A bunch of people are here to make you even prettier. Sit in this chair and eat while I let them in.”

~~~~~~~~

Sailor Mars stood in front of the Shrine’s altar. Elios, in a white tuxedo, quietly stood to Mars’ left as he looked down the aisle to the closed door. Terrance stood next to Elios. He wore a light gray tuxedo with amethyst accents and an amethyst rose boutonnière. The brothers also wore light gray tuxedos. Castor had golden-yellow accents and a golden-yellow rose. Volans was next with crimson accents and a crimson rose. Pollux had sapphire accents and a sapphire rose, and Jabbath wore emerald accents and an emerald rose.

The brothers did not look comfortable in their outfits. Terrance and Elios had spent a large part of the morning cajoling, bullying and begging the brothers to keep the bowties on.

All the wedding party’s flowers had come from Elysion.

The music’s volume increased as the double doors opened. Juno entered the sanctuary first. She wore a strapless, fitted, drop-waist, emerald satin gown with a long flowing skirt draped from her hips. In her hand she carried a bouquet of white and emerald-green roses. Next was Pallas in a sapphire gown with white and sapphire-blue roses, Vesta was in a crimson gown with white and crimson-red roses, and Ceres was in a golden gown with white and golden-yellow roses. The four girls walked to the front of the sanctuary, lined up to Sailor Mars’ right then turned toward the door. Hotaru entered the sanctuary wearing an amethyst gown and carrying white and amethyst roses. As she moved to stand by Sailor Mars, the music changed and swelled to a crescendo.

Everyone stood as King Endymion, in his lavender tuxedo, and Lady Serenity began to walk down the aisle together.

Serenity looked every bit like the Princess she was. Her strapless gown was white silk with hand-sewn seed pearls. It hugged the curves of her body then flared into a full, layered skirt at her hips. The skirt formed a train behind her. Serenity’s hair had been styled with her traditional buns, and the ponytails had been intricately woven together to form a flowing filigree cape of pink curls down her back. Her fingertip length veil was held on by a beautiful fire-rose gold and diamond tiara. Elysion’s Fairies had sent the tiara with Elios’ sisters as a wedding gift. Her bouquet had one rose of each color her attendants carried, and the rest were white roses. A ribbon of each color hung below the flowers and trailed down in front of her dress.

Elios had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t, but when he saw his beautiful maiden, he couldn’t stop himself. Tears filled his eyes and silently coursed down his cheeks. He was awed that she could love him, and that she, and the little ones she carried inside of her, would be his to love and cherish for all time.

The King and Lady Serenity approached Elios. Serenity paused. Lifting her veil, she gave her father a kiss. She smiled and whispered, “I love you, Poppa. Thank you.”

Mamoru began to choke up, but pulled himself together. He knew he had a job to do. As he held Serenity’s hand he smiled and whispered, “I love you too, Pumpkin.” Mamoru place Serenity’s hand in Elios’ hand and held them both tightly. With bright tear-filled eyes he quietly said to both of them, “Be happy.”

As her father sat down, Serenity looked at Elios. She smiled at him and reached up to wipe the tears from his cheeks. It had touched everyone’s heart to see the love in Elios’ eyes and to see his tears. Even Sailor Mars paused a moment as she cleared her throat and wiped her eyes.

As Serenity and Elios held hands, Sailor Mars began the Shinto purification rites, offering and prayer.

The ceremony Serenity and Elios had put together with Mars’ help was a combination of Shinto and Christian rituals from the past that were meaningful to them. When Serenity had asked Elios if there were Pegasus marriage rituals to include in the ceremony, his answer had been cryptic. Smiling, Elios had gently put his hand on her stomach and said, “All Pegasus marriage rituals were fulfilled with these little ones.”

The time had come for them to speak their vows to each other. After that they drank three sips of sake each, from each of the three ceremonial cups, then exchanged matching fire-rose gold wedding rings. The ceremony concluded with Sailor Mars pronouncing them husband and wife. “Elios,” she stated, “You may now kiss your bride.”

Elios carefully lifted Serenity’s veil. He smiled, gathered her into his arms and gave her a very thorough, breath-draining kiss.

Everyone sat there as they waited for the kiss to end. After a few moments Mars sighed, reached over and smacked Elios on the head. They broke their kiss and Mars said with exasperation, “That’s enough kissing! Get out of here already.”

Elios and Serenity both blushed as they clasped hands and headed down the aisle. Everyone clapped and cheered as the wedding party left the Shrine.

~~~~~~~~

Horse drawn carriages were waiting outside the shrine to take the wedding party to a lake on the Palace property for pictures.

As photographers from the media and the official wedding photographers fussed over poses and lighting, Elios listened to the brothers. For the third time since the ceremony had ended, they asked the Senshi to let them remove their bowties and for the girls to take their braids out.

Finally with exasperation, the girls had firmly said, “It’s not time to remove the bowties. We will tell you when you can, so please don’t ask again!”

The brothers shut their mouths and their expressions reflected their emotions. Elios could see they were annoyed and dismayed that the girls had said not to ask again. Elios could even see a little fear that the girls might never let them go. Elios chuckled at his friends’ harmless discomfort.

Serenity heard Elios laugh. She looked at the brothers too and asked, “What’s so funny?”

Shaking his head Elios said, “I’m just watching the Senshi keep the brothers on a short leash. It’s very funny to watch them chafe under the girls’ control.”

Perplexed, Serenity responded, “What do you mean by, “the girls’ control”?”

Terrance walked up while Elios was explaining to Serenity the significance of the braids. Serenity covered her mouth and giggled. “I’m sure the girls have no idea what they did.”

Laughing, Terrance added, “It’s a good thing the girls did it though. I was getting tired of arguing with the brothers about the bowties. The girls told them to stop asking and the brothers haven’t complained since!”

Elios chuckled, “After this, the brothers may not want to come back to the surface for a while.”

Serenity could tell Elios was joking, but what he said still caused her some concern. Worried, she asked, “Could the girls really offend them so much that they wouldn’t want to come back?”

Smiling, Elios reassured her, “I don’t really think so. The guys are uncomfortable, but as long as the girls don’t abuse their power, the brothers will get over it quickly.”

“How could they, ‘abuse their power’?” Terrance asked.

Elios answered, “The girls would have to tell the brothers to do something that was offensive to them.”

Curious, Serenity asked, “Like what?”

Elios struggled to find the words that would explain something Pegasuses don’t really think about, they just react to. Finally he said, “I guess the best word to explain it would be evil. Evil is very offensive to all Pegasuses. If someone had a tie down control on a Pegasus and they asked it to do something evil, the Pegasus would resist and break the compulsion, but it would be emotionally painful and traumatic to them.”

Terrance nodded his head yes. “It is highly unlikely the girls would ever ask something like that of them.”

Serenity agreed. “That’s true, but I think we should tell the girls what’s going on.”

Looking a little disappointed, Elios said, “Okay, but can we wait until after the ceremonies at the reception?”

Terrance was also looking at Serenity hopefully.

Sighing, she said, “I guess we can wait, but not too long. It’s really not fair to either group.”

~~~~~~~~

The wedding party was finally brought to the Palace. Makoto had been in charge of arranging everything for the reception, and her expertise showed. The banquet hall had been decorated with flowers, greenery and ribbons. White lights and candles twinkled and peeked out amongst it all.

The wedding party was seated at the main table, toasts were made and finally it was time to eat.

While the food was being served, Elios leaned over to Serenity. “I have to admit, I don’t like eating with a bowtie around my neck anymore than the brothers would. Will it cause a problem if we remove our coats and ties now?”

Serenity said with a teasing twinkle in her eyes, “If I said no, would you keep them on because you have a tie down compulsion to me?”

He thought about it for a moment then answered seriously. “Yes I would, but more from love and a desire to please you than from the tie down. I hope your answer would be based on your customs though, and not on trying to control me.”

With a reassuring smile, Serenity said, “Of course it would. You can remove your coat and tie anytime you like now.”

Elios gave her a quick kiss then began to take his coat and tie off.

Serenity and Elios passed the information down the wedding party table. When the brothers heard, they instantly complied with audible sighs of relief.

The food served was picked from the very best the world had to offer. Makoto’s chefs had then taken that food and with Mako’s recipes and creativity, turned it into a tantalizing and delectable feast.

While the meal was being finished, the orchestra started playing dance music. Other couples had started to dance and Serenity and Elios stood to dance also. Terrance asked Hotaru if she would like to dance. The Pegasus brothers were watching the dancing couples very curiously.

Jabbath spoke as Elios passed in front of the table. “Elios, what is dancing for?”

Elios stopped, looked at the brothers then smacked himself on the head. “I totally forgot you guys wouldn’t know about dancing!”

At a loss, he looked at Serenity. She shrugged her shoulders and he realized he’d get no help from her. Sighing, Elios finally answered. “It’s just for fun. It’s not hard to learn. You can do it, just do what the girls tell you to do.” Elios turned with Serenity and headed toward the dance floor.

The brothers looked from Elios to the girls with dubious expressions. The girls smiled back at them. Ceres said, “There’s no time like the present to learn, so let’s go,” as she stood up. The brothers and the other three girls stood also.

The girls showed the brothers how to hold them and how to move to dance. At first the guys were a bit uncomfortable, but they finally did relax. Pegasuses have a natural grace to their movements, and soon they learned well enough to move further out onto the dance floor.

As they danced, Castor looked around at the other couples. He noticed that some danced like they were dancing, and others danced much closer, like they were hugging. He spotted Elios and Serenity dancing like that too. He looked at Ceres and asked, “Why do some couples dance like this and others like that?” as he looked toward a close couple.

Ceres smiled and explained. “It depends on how comfortable and close relationally you are with a person. Acquaintances and friends usually dance like us. Couples in love and married couples dance closer. I guess it shows intimacy.”

Terrance had led Hotaru onto the dance floor. He put his arm around her and they began to dance. They danced well and easily together. “Hotaru,” Terrance said and she looked up at him. “You dance very well.”

Blushing, Hotaru said, “Thank you. I don’t get the opportunity to dance often, so I was worried I’d be a little rusty. You dance very well and that makes it easier for me.”

Terrance laughed. “Thank you, I’m glad I’m a help and not a hindrance.” Hotaru’s eyes sparkled as she laughed too. Before he thought about it, Terrance quietly said, “You look very pretty. The dress color brings out the violet in your hair and eyes.”

Hotaru blushed again and looked down. She whispered, “Thank you.” Terrance barely heard her.

When the music stopped, Terrance asked Hotaru if she wanted to return to the table for a drink. She nodded her head yes.

The rest of the wedding party had returned to the table too.

As Terrance and Hotaru walked up they saw Serenity was talking to the Asteroid Senshi. Suddenly the four girls looked shocked and upset. Terrance said, “Uh-oh,” under his breath as they approached the table.

Pallas, in a surprisingly angry voice, demanded, “Why didn’t you tell us right away? That’s terrible! I feel awful. That’s not what we intended at all!” The other three girls nodded their heads in agreement.

Serenity started to try and explain when Elios joined the conversation. “I asked her to wait,” he volunteered. “It was a lot easier with the brothers being so cooperative during the pictures and reception ceremonies.”

Juno accused, “So, you used us is what you’re saying! What must they think of us? We wanted to be their friends, not their owners! Elios, that was a mean thing to do. I’m very upset that you would do this to them and us!”

Elios hadn’t thought about how his behavior would be perceived. He looked down. “I’m sorry. I guess it was pretty selfish of me.” He looked up. “The brothers do know you weren’t aware of what you did. I’m sure they won’t hold it against you.”

Serenity slipped her hand in Elios’ for support, but stayed quiet. She knew her Senshi and her husband would have to work this out for themselves.

Ceres said, “That explains why they kept asking us to take the braids out. They were so polite about it. I just wish they had told us. We would have taken them out right away!”

Vesta looked at Elios. “You’re still in the dog house with us. It was mean and selfish and you should have known better. We depend on you to help both groups understand each other. If we can’t trust you to be open and honest, then we are all going to have problems. You’re the only one who knows both sides and you can’t play games with us!”

He now knew he deserved to be yelled at, and Elios felt very badly. He rubbed the back of his neck and wondered if there was anything more he could say to make things better again. Finally he said, “You’re right. I should not have done this. I promise I will be more careful from now on. Please forgive me, I’m really sorry.”

He looked so sorry and contrite. All four girls sighed. Juno spoke for them. “Okay Elios. We’ll forgive you, but don’t ever pull a stunt like this on us again. If you do, you may need Serenity’s protection from the wrath of the Asteroid Senshi.”

Pallas looked at the others. “I’m going to take Pollux’s braid out right now.” The other girls nodded their heads in agreement.

The brothers had been sitting at the table during the discussion. They hadn’t been able to hear what the discussion had been about, so they were surprised to see the girls were upset.

Each girl silently stood next to her escort and began to remove the braid. Juno said, “We were just told what the braids mean.”

Vesta added, “We are really very sorry.”

Pallas spoke next. “We never meant to take control of you. We only wanted to stop you from teasing us.”

Ceres ended with, “Please forgive us.”

The braids had made the brothers’ long strands of hair very wavy. The girls gently combed their fingers through the strands to try and smooth them.

Castor could see Ceres was really upset. He reached back and caught her hand. Bringing it to his lips, Castor gave it a gentle kiss. He looked into her eyes and quietly said, “I know you didn’t mean it. All is forgiven.”

With grateful tears in her eyes, Ceres asked, “Why didn’t you just tell me? I would have taken it out right away.”

Looking down and blushing, Castor quietly admitted, “I can’t speak for my brothers, but, I um, It was kind of fun to have you bossing me around and you didn’t know you were doing it.”

Blushing, Ceres was surprised by Castor’s words. However, her expression was nothing compared to the astonishment on Jabbath’s face. He was sitting closest to Castor and had overheard what he said. Both Pollux and Volans leaned over and asked, “What? What did he say, J?”

Shaking his head, Jabbath answered, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you!”

Castor turned his head and stared at his brother. He said in a low quiet voice, “Good choice. Just keep it to yourself.”

Again astonished, Jabbath just nodded his head yes.

Elios watched the exchange between the Senshi and the brothers. He hadn’t heard what was said, but Castor’s behavior and expressions made Elios feel vaguely uneasy.

The other brothers also said they forgave the Senshi and it looked like the situation had finally been resolved. Everyone went back to dancing.

~~~~~~~~

After the cake was cut, the reception started to wind down. Everyone knew Serenity and Elios needed to catch the transport soon.

Back in their room, Elios and Serenity were supposed to be changing and gathering any last minute things to pack.

Elios helped Serenity out of her wedding gown then he slid his arms around her and held her close to him. He kissed her neck and gently caressed her.

Serenity sighed and ruefully said, “So, whose idea was it to schedule our flight right after the reception?”

Whispering in her ear, Elios reminded her. “Yours I believe, my beautiful sexy wife. I remember you said something about not wanting to spend your wedding night at the palace. It had to do with your Senshi and the brothers being able to bother us or pull pranks on us.”

Serenity nodded her head and sighed again. “You’re right, it was my idea.” She turned around in Elios’ arms and passionately kissed him. Their lips slowly separated and she continued with a pout. “I now think that was a bad idea.”

Elios kissed the tip of her nose and chuckled. “Regardless, it’s too late to change our minds. A mob of people is going to be at our door any minute to go to the station with us.

As he was saying this, Elios’ hands were traveling over Serenity’s body leaving fiery trails of desire in their wake. Her hands were similarly occupied with Elios. They both quietly groaned then desperately kissed each other again.

BANG, BANG, BANG! “Hey, aren’t you two ready yet? Everyone’s waiting and it’s time to go!” Terrance’s voice carried loud and clear through the door, interrupting them. They could also hear the Senshi giggling as Vesta said to one of the brothers, “Hey, don’t open the door!”

Cursing under his breath, Elios let go of Serenity and ran to lock the door.

Serenity, a little disoriented from their kiss, fell back onto the bed with a small startled squeal.

There was dead silence from the other side of the door then lots of poorly stifled laughter and giggles. They heard Terrance audibly sigh then loudly state, “If you are not out of there in five minutes, you will miss your transport. Hurry up!”

When Serenity and Elios finally emerged from their room, they were both hastily put together and flushed from hurrying.

“Finally!” stated Terrance.

All it took was one look at the couple for the Senshi and the brothers to again burst into gales of laughter.

As their friends teased them and giggled, Elios pulled Serenity close. He whispered to her, “Actually, I think it was a good idea to leave now.”

Serenity nodded her head in agreement as they headed out the door.



(Crystal Flaws - Book 5 should be out soon. ^_^ )


This story was edited and enhanced by the great mind and imagination of Sophia Prester. Her help and ideas have been of great value to me! Thank you Sophia! ^_^

Sophia Prester is also the author or a *wonderful* continuing Sailor Moon fanfic called \"Empire of the Sun\". Her story is very intricate and absorbing and I highly recommend reading it! The most up to date version is on Fanfiction.net . ^_^

Thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did like my story, or if you have any (kind and gently worded) suggestions/comments about my story, please let me know. I truly appreciate feedback. You can email me at ndeblock@att.net .

Bye, Luna Hope ^_^

Disclaimer - Sailor Moon and all her friends (except for Prince Terrance Donovan and the Pegasuses - They\'re mine! ^_^ ) don\'t belong to me. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi. I just borrowed them for a little bit of fun.