Crystal Flaws - Part 03 Crystal Clear

The next three days seemed as if they were the longest and most horrible three days of Serenity’s life. Everyone knew not to say anything to her about the newspaper, but that didn’t stop people from talking about it to each other. More than once Serenity had walked toward a group of people talking. They had looked at her then stopped talking until she passed. As she continued on her way, she’d hear them stifling laughs and whispers that Serenity knew were at her expense. Serenity cried herself to sleep each night and missed Elios terribly.

The worst thing of all was her parents and Terrance who tried to act like nothing had happened. Serenity didn’t know what her mother had said to her father and brother, but it seemed as if there was a big cloud hanging over their heads that they all tried to pretend wasn’t there.

Tuesday evening the four of them silently ate dinner together. Serenity couldn’t take any more. She pushed her plate of uneaten food away then put her face in her hands and cried bitterly. Three sets of arms instantly enveloped her and Serenity choked out, “I’m sorry!”

Her parents and Terrance tried to comfort her. Her mother tearfully whispered, “It’s okay. We still love you.” Her father and Terrance each handed her a rose simultaneously, and this made Serenity giggle in spite of her sadness. She looked up at them and instead of seeing the shame and condemnation she expected, she only saw sympathy and love in their eyes. With a sigh of relief Serenity realized they really did still love her even after all this.

~~~~~~~~

The next morning Serenity woke up to someone gently stroking her cheek. She opened her eyes and was delighted to see Elios. He leaned down and softly kissed her.

“Good morning, My Maiden,” he quietly said with a smile.

Serenity smiled back and started to sit up. A wave of dizziness and nausea swept over her. Tightly closing her eyes, she curled up in a ball on the bed and groaned.

Elios realized Serenity felt sick and he said, “I’ll be right back.”

Serenity didn’t even notice he left as she gratefully drifted back to sleep.

Elios returned and was glad to see she had fallen back asleep for a bit. Again he woke her but this time he said, “Don’t sit up.”

Serenity opened her eyes and saw he held a cup of tea and some crackers in his hands.

Holding the cup level with her head, Elios said, “Just take a small sip then try a few bites of cracker.”

Serenity didn’t have a better idea so she did what he said. A few minutes later he offered her more tea and crackers.

Slowly Serenity finished 4 crackers and the whole cup of tea. She smiled at Elios and said, “Thank you. I do feel better.”

Elios asked, “Do you feel like you can sit up?” Serenity cautiously tried and was happy when the illness didn’t return. Elios gathered her into his arms and set her on his lap.

Serenity leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. She quietly said, “I’m so glad you’re here. I had a horrible three days.”

Looking concerned, Elios asked, “Why? Didn’t the Queen keep people from bothering you?”

With a sigh Serenity said, “Mother did do a good job of keeping people from talking directly to me, but I kept hearing them talk to each other.”

Elios hugged her close and said, “Listen Serenity, something new will come along soon then they’ll forget all about this. We just have to try to not let it get to us.”

Looking at the clock, Elios said, “Dearest Maiden, you need to get ready or we’ll be late for our appointment.”

Serenity didn’t really want to go, but she stood and headed for the bathroom anyway. She quickly took a shower and finished in the bathroom. She stepped out wrapped in a towel and sat down. Sighing tiredly she said, “I don’t feel good again. I guess I’m nervous.”

Elios, who had been patiently waiting for her, said, “How about you get dressed and I’ll go to the kitchen and see if I can find something easy for you to eat?”

Serenity, who had walked to her dresser, absently agreed with him. She was bent over the drawers searching for something to wear. Her towel slipped off of her and fell to the floor. With a sigh Elios forced himself to turn away and go do what he said.

Five minutes later Elios returned with a peach, a muffin and half a glass of milk. He was both disappointed and relieved to see Serenity was dressed and ready to go. He handed her the muffin and they left to see Sailor Mercury.

~~~~~~~~

Mercury’s office was attached to the Crystal Tokyo Elite Military Infirmary. She was the senior doctor in the Medical Group. Mercury personally handled all Senshi and Royal Family medical care. She had delivered Serenity and was the only doctor Serenity ever had.

Mercury entered the examination room where Serenity and Elios were waiting. She glanced over Serenity’s chart then smiled and said, “Hi, Serenity. Hi, Elios. I’ll start with a scan and we’ll go from there.”

Mercury slid her visor in place and opened her computer. She held it in front of Serenity and started to type. After a few moments she said, “Serenity is pregnant.” Mercury continued typing while the young couple absorbed the news. After a moment Mercury looked up and asked, “Serenity, is there any chance that you could be more than 10 days pregnant?”

Serenity looked surprised. “No. That was my first time.”

Mercury looked at her computer again. “Your blood hormone levels are high for a 10 day gestation. Have you started to feel sick at all?”

Nodding her head, Serenity answered, “It started this morning. I thought it was nerves.”

Mercury noted Serenity’s response in her file then said, “I want to do a full size ultrasound scan. The picture will be more detailed.”

Mercury asked Serenity to lie down on the examination table as she opened a wall panel. Hidden behind it were a large monitor, a full size keyboard and a few other things. Mercury picked up a white squeeze bottle and made a face as she looked at it. “I keep meaning to find a way to do ultrasounds without using gel, but I haven’t got to it yet.” She smiled apologetically to Serenity and explained, “The gel helps the machine get a clearer picture, but I’ll warn you, it is messy and a bit cold on the stomach.”

Elios pulled a chair up on the other side of the table by Serenity’s head and sat down. Mercury turned the machine on then slipped her handheld computer into a slot on the Keyboard. She held up a probe with a wire leading to the machine and said, “I will slide this over your abdomen and it will send pictures of your insides to the computer.”

Serenity lifted her shirt up to expose her stomach and Mercury asked her to also lower the waistband of her pants past her hips. Serenity did as asked and Mercury squirted some gel on Serenity’s abdomen below her bellybutton. Serenity gasped and shivered as she said, “You’re right! It is cold!”

Mercury placed the probe on Serenity’s abdomen and started to slowly slide it around. Serenity and Elios watched the screen as images that were indecipherable to them flitted by. Mercury stopped the probe a few times and typed on the keyboard.

A look of surprise and concern briefly crossed Mercury’s face and Elios asked, “Is something wrong?”

Mercury smiled then answered, “No, nothing is wrong.” After another moment, she stopped moving the probe and pointed her finger at an irregularly shaped blob on the screen. “This is a normal 10 day old fetus,” she said. Mercury moved the picture a very little bit and pointed to another irregularly shaped blob. She said, “This is also a normal 10 day old fetus. This explains why your levels are so high and why you’re feeling sick early in your pregnancy. I didn’t see any more, so it looks like you’re having twins. They share the same amniotic sack so they are identical twins.”

Serenity was stunned. She looked at Mercury incredulously and asked, “Twins? Are you sure? There aren’t any twins in my family and the heir to the Silver Crystal’s power has only ever had one child, a girl! How is it possible I’m having twins?”

Elios, who had been listening quietly, spoke up. “I can explain it.” Mercury and Serenity both looked at him with surprise. He continued, “Multiples are part of my family genetics. We usually have twins or triplets, rarely quads, and always identical. There has never been a single birth in my family that I know of.

As Elios spoke Serenity’s face drained of all color. Mercury noticed her reaction as she wiped the gel from Serenity’s abdomen. Mercury thought to herself, [I’m glad Serenity was lying down when she got this news]. She also made a mental note to tell Serenity to make Usagi and especially Mamoru sit before they were told.

After a few moments Serenity sat up, looked at Elios and asked, “So, your sisters, they’re twins? How about you, are you a twin? What else don’t I know about you?!” Serenity’s voice was gradually getting louder and she sounded a bit hysterical.

Elios tried to calmly answer her questions, but she suddenly covered her face with her hands and burst into tears. Elios gave up on answering her. Instead he enveloped her in his arms and rocked her. Mercury reached for a tissue box.

Serenity and Elios finally were able to leave Mercury’s office. Mercury had told them the pregnancy was high risk because of the twins. She went on to say many things but most of them Serenity didn’t catch. She was still too shocked by the news.

Serenity did remember Mercury said she was to immediately give up all Sailor Moon duties until at least six weeks after delivery. Mercury said to have her mother temporarily reassume those duties. Serenity also remembered Mercury advised her to live at the Crystal Palace until the babies were born. If the pregnancy developed complications it would be safer to be close by.

Only two of the things Mercury said sounded good to Serenity. One, to help with her morning sickness, Serenity should eat anything she wanted as long as it was small portions and she needed to eat at least five small meals a day. Number two was that it wouldn’t hurt Serenity or the babies if she and Elios had sex.

~~~~~~~~

Elios and Serenity walked arm in arm toward the Palace. He noticed she was very quiet and trembling. Elios realized Serenity was still upset and probably nervous about telling her parents. He asked if she wanted to walk or sit in the garden a bit and Serenity nodded her head yes.

Elios found a secluded bench and sat down. Pulling Serenity down onto his lap, Elios cradled her in his arms. She rested her head against his shoulder and started to cry again. Elios rocked her silently. He rubbed her back and neck as she sobbed.

Serenity brokenly whispered, “I’m not even seventeen yet!” Her shoulders shook from the force of her tears and Elios soothingly whispered in her ear. “Hush, my Sweet Maiden, hush,” as he continued to rock her. After a while Serenity quieted down. Her breathing was ragged and she hiccupped.

Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, Elios gently wiped her tears. He kissed her cheek and tried to offer what comfort he could. He knew there wasn’t anything he could say that would make this easier for her.

Suddenly Serenity sat up and shakily whispered, “I know I said I’d be okay about being pregnant, but now that I know I really am, and twins no less, I don’t think I can deal with it!”

Elios could hear the fear in her voice. He hugged her and said, “This is difficult, but you’re not going to do it alone. I’m here and I’ll do everything I can to make it easier for you. We can do this together. If together we were able to defeat an evil Queen bent on world wide destruction, then having babies can’t be much worse.”

Serenity couldn’t help but giggle at Elios’ comparison of having babies to fighting Nephrenia. She hiccupped then sighed. “I guess you’re right. Together we’ll get through this.”

Elios kissed her forehead. “Yes, we’ll take it one step at a time, together.”

Serenity grimaced. “This next step I particularly dread. Everyone is going to flip when they hear.”

Elios hugged her closer. “Just stay close to me and when you feel afraid squeeze my hand. As long as we stay together we’ll be okay.” Serenity looked up, gave him a weak watery smile and nodded her head yes.

Elios smiled too then asked, “How do you feel?”

“A bit nauseous,” she admitted.

“You should eat something before it gets worse. What do you feel like eating?” Elios asked as they stood up. He took her hand and led her toward the dining room.

Serenity thought a moment then gave the answer, “Sherbet.”

Elios sat her at the table. ”I’ll see if I can find some.”

A few moments later Elios returned from his search with a bowl of rainbow sherbet. Sitting down in a chair next to Serenity, Elios gently pulled her onto his lap. He then filled the spoon with the colorful desert and guided it toward her mouth.

Serenity giggled when Elios said, “Open wide.” She complied and he fed her the spoonful of cool smooth confection.

Serenity smiled as she felt it melt in her mouth and flow down her throat.

Elios held up the next spoonful and Serenity eagerly opened her mouth. He moved the spoon toward her, but at the last second he grinned and stuck it in his own mouth.

Serenity pouted at his teasing smile and said, “Humph!”

Laughing, Elios got a new spoonful for her. Serenity petulantly refused to open her mouth. Elios started to quietly whisper in her ear and Serenity blushed as she listened.

Elios brought the spoon up to Serenity’s lips again and she absently opened her mouth. He continued to feed her as she listened to his whispered words of love.

When the bowl was almost empty, Elios kissed Serenity’s cheek then put a spoonful of sherbet in his mouth. Putting the spoon down, he turned her face toward him.

Elios kissed her and Serenity’s eyes opened wide in surprise as he shared the melting bite of sweetness with her. They both started to laugh and broke their kiss. Sherbet dribbled down their chins from Elios’ antics. He reached for a napkin and wiped first Serenity’s chin then his own.

By the time the bowl was empty Serenity seemed much more relaxed.

They returned the spoon and bowl to the kitchen, then Elios hugged her and said, “We should get this over with. Waiting isn’t going to make it any easier.”

Nodding her head, Serenity hugged Elios back and said, “At least we can face whatever happens together.

Continued…

(“Crystal Flaws - Book 4 - Crystal Bells” 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 Pegasus, Castor - They\'re mine! ^_^ ) don\'t belong to me. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi. I just borrowed them for a little bit of fun.