She sprinted off, leaving the other girls openmouthed. Holly was the next to break into a run, followed by Denise and Abby. Krissy stayed in the lead, being the fastest runner, but Holly was less than an arm's length behind her. She was also quite a fast runner. Abby and Denise were a bit farther behind, almost in perfect stride.
The girls dodged and wove their way around the maids, who were obviously annoyed.
"Be careful, young majesties!"
"What would your mother's say?!"
"Such behavior for princesses!"
"Soon you will be the Queens of your planets!"
"Start acting like young ladies!"
The comments were ignored as the girls raced on. Krissy was the first to reach the tremendous door, breathing heavily, but with a grin on her face. Holly slammed into the door next to Krissy, and Abby stopped next to Denise, both panting.
After the girls had regained their breath, they all pushed open the enormous door and smiled as the cool breeze blew into their faces. The door slowly shut behind them, and they turned to face the beautiful Crystal Tokyo.
The princesses sighed. They knew they were incredibly lucky. They didn't have to be followed by bodyguards everywhere, or stay within the palace walls. Of course, their mother's did think that the girls had their guardians with them, but the royal preteens didn't need them. They all knew every alley, store, street, and park like the palace grounds. (Which they knew very well, seeing that they had been confined there until they were eight.)
Abby's thoughts were off the city, though. 'Poor Rini,' she thought sadly. 'Always having to be escorted by Diana, and rarely ever allowed to leave the security of the palace.'
Denise looked over at her friend. "Thinking about Rini?" she asked.
Abby nodded. "Yeah..."
"I feel sorry for her." Holly sad softly.
"Her mother and father are very protective of her..." Krissy added.
There was a long pause. The girls' fathers had all stayed alive just long enough to see their daughters born. Their mothers had been expecting it, though. Neo-Queen Serenity had used her power to enable them to live longer, but could not allow them to live as long as the warriors, their descendants, or Endymion and herself. This meant that Mina lost Andrew, her husband, Amy had lost Greg, Raye lost Chad, and Lita lost Ken.
Holly blinked the tears from her eyes and snapped the others out of their trances. One by one, each girl's hand fell back to her side, leaving a tiny gold locket resting on her shirt. Inside every one was a picture of the girl's mother and father. The lockets were heart-shaped, with the first letter of the princess's name carved into the cover of each one. The Sailor Scouts had fastened the lockets around their daughters neck when the girls were just toddlers, no older than three.
Now the four nine-year-olds looked at each other, nodded, and took off in different directions. They knew where to meet each other--at the park in the center of the shopping center, at the water fountain. Each girl took a different route to get there, so once their feathery friends realized they were gone, it would be harder for them to find the princesses.
Back to Chapter Two
Chapter Four
