Chapter 5: Gifts are Given

Venus awoke, fully rested, back in her quarters. 
She looked out her window to see that the Sun and
 Earth had just risen over the horizon. They 
greeted her cheerily. Venus stretched and flipped
 her legs over the side of her bed. She was about
 to slip her feet into her fuzzy slippers when she
 saw a note stuck into one of them. It read:

Dear Ms. Venus,
I sneaked you into your room last night, you were
 sound asleep. I hope you are feeling better now.
There is a ball at the Earth Castle tonight and I
 would enjoy your company. Please get some kind of
 rope ready so you can go out through your window.
 I'm coming to get you tonight around 7pm Earth time.
 I hope you will join me.

Sincerely,
Kunzite

PS: Look in your closet.

Venus read the note a couple times. How sweet of him,
 she thought. Then stood and walked over to her closet.
 She opened the door, and gasped when she saw what it 
contained. A lovely, white, floor length gown with silver
 ribbons. There was also a choker with a silver pendant,
 white high heels and elbow length gloves. Venus removed 
the gown from its hanging place and held it up in front of
 her. This gown is fit for a Princess to wear, she thought
 happily, I can't believe he did this just for me!

Venus quickly changed into the dress and modeled in front
 of her dresser mirror. Two thin straps held the top of the
 dress snug around her bust, and two silver bows were tied 
where those straps connected with the gown. Another silver 
ribbon tied around her waist, flattering her already gorgeous
 figure. The dress' bottom puffed out just enough so it 
would twirl when she spun around, and it hung just barely 
above the ground so she appeared to be floating instead of
 walking. Venus watched herself in the mirror and she felt 
beautiful, even more beautiful than Serenity.
I just have to go to the ball with Kunzite, Venus thought, 
so I can go and show off my beautiful new dress. I can ask 
Mars to watch Serenity closely tonight, she won't mind…
That's when Venus remembered. The Earth's had attacked! What 
had happened? She rushed about, quickly changing into her 
Sailor uniform. She rushed out the door to Mars' quarters.
Venus knocked rapidly on Mars' door and waited impatiently 
for a reply. She could hear grumbling from the other side of
 the door, and then it slowly opened. Mars peered out, still
 half asleep. Her eyes suddenly widened when she saw Venus.
 She jumped up and threw her arms around her friend's neck.
"Oh, Venus! I'm so glad you're safe!" Mars cried happily.
Venus hugged her friend back. "I'm glad to see you're all 
right too. I was so worried!"
Mars invited Venus inside and the two found comfortable 
spots to rest on Mars' bed. "So what happened to you?" Mars
 inquired, "We heard you at the palace trying to warn us, so
Mercury, Jupiter and I ran out to see what was going on. 
We saw tons of horsemen, but you were nowhere to be found.
 We thought you had been killed!"
Venus laughed, "No, I wasn't killed. Almost, but no. Someone 
saved me…" Venus said, "A man from Earth, but he was a 
good man. He fights against the Earth's revolt."
Mars sighed. "That's SOOOO romantic! Being rescued by a 
handsome stranger…" Mars stretched out on the bed and 
rested her head in her palms. The two girls giggled.
"What happened at the palace? Everything seems to be fine 
now," said Venus.
"Well, when we ran out there, all the horsemen were 
trying to break through the palace gates. But Jupiter, 
Mercury and I stopped them. Our powers helped us!" Mars
 explained, excited that she had gotten to use her special
 powers.
"Yes, I got my power, too," Venus said, "it's very strange,
 it used all of my energy." 
Mars nodded. "It's a good thing you had Serenity locked up 
in her room, or the horsemen would have gotten her. She's 
still in there now. The Queen is having a fit. She thinks 
you were brilliant for locking her up in there. She'll do 
anything to keep her daughter safe, after all."
"Well that's good!" Venus said, relieved. "I was afraid she 
might be angry! By the way Mars, could you keep an eye on 
the Princess for me tonight? I would like to, um, go to
 bed early tonight. I'm still exhausted after that fight."
Mars agreed. "No problem. You can count on me!"

	"Why do you look so happy?" Serenity snapped.
Venus looked up from the book she was reading. "Why does 
it matter to you? You hate me."
Serenity scowled. "I don't hate you. I hate what you're 
doing to me, though." She watched as Venus' eyes scanned 
the pages of the picture book. Venus admired the pictures 
of beautiful women dressed in elegant gowns, and the 
handsome men wearing stylish suits. They would be holding 
each other, or even kissing. Venus sighed and blushed. 
Maybe that will be me tonight, she thought, Kunzite and 
I, at an elegant ball on Earth…
"Hello? Are you listening to me?" 
Venus shot her head up again. "What do you want, Princess?"
"I don't know. I wish you'd talk to me, though."
Venus shut the book and walked over to Serenity. "I know 
you're mad at me for locking you up in here, but I have no 
choice. You think it's fun for me to be cooped up in here 
with you all day?" 
Serenity shook her head slowly. "It's okay, Venus, I 
understand why you're doing this. You just want to protect me."
Venus was surprised that Serenity thought this way. "Well, 
I'm glad you're not mad at me. Would you like to look at 
this book with me?" The Princess nodded. The two girls 
gazed at the pictures together and dreamed of love.

Venus was in her quarters at 7:00 sharp, dressed up in 
her gown with her hair done up in elegant curls. She 
still wore her tiara, and it accented her whole outfit,
 making her look even more like a princess. She had 
several blankets tied up like a rope, and she was ready 
for her dissension. She gazed outside, watching for Kunzite.
 Her heart pounded in anticipation, she could hardly wait any longer. 
Finally, Kunzite appeared below her window. He motioned 
that it was safe, and she tossed the blanket chain to him.
 She tucked up her gown and slid down to the ground safely.
Kunzite looked her over. "You look absolutely gorgeous. 
Just like a Princess," Kunzite said, proffering his arm, 
"You ready to have some fun?"
"You bet I am!"