Reaching Equilibrium Based off of the prelude to Jackie Chiang's 'Senshi Kurai' by Greenbeans Yes, I did steal Jackie's characters without her permission, but she's forgiven me, so it's okay ^_^; I'll say as I always do, all characters are property of their respective holders. (Heh heh, the Queen's page is mine, finally a character that I've created ;) Yes, I did mess up Jackie's timeline. But by now it should be well established that I will fudge a little for the sake of the story ;) Yes, this began as 8 pages handwritten. This just demonstrates how small I write :P Thanks to Pooh-chan (aka Winnie) for proofing this for me. ********** "C'mon Uranus!" The girl's twin huffed a little at her sister's impatience before running to catch up. "Where are we going, Sunaru?" "You'll see," she answered sweetly. They snickered. Uranus now knew their destination. Slowing down from the run they were at, they strolled leisurely through the palace gardens. Moving casually, they were careful to give no hint of their true destination to the palace guards stationed about. Once the coast was clear, they slipped through a hole near the base of one of the hedges that lined the palace itself. "We should tell them about this security risk," Uranus mumbled. She was feeling slightly guilty and very alarmed about how easy it was for them to access the palace through alternative means. "We should," Sunaru agreed, "but if we do, we get in a load of trouble for finding it and for the times that we've used it." "Hmmm..." Uranus thought about it while climbing that palace wall with ease. "It was funny when we dripped water on the Martian ambassador throughout the entire Ambassadorial Banquet." She grinned at the memory. Sunaru had reached their destination first. She helped her sister get over the lip of the no longer used (for official purposes), Sunaru added, sentry post. "It wouldn't have been nearly as funny if he wasn't a drip himself." The twins laughed at the well beaten joke. With a practiced routine, they prepared for today's observing. This point was a mere 10 feet off the ground, but it gave a perfect view into the private gardens of the Queen. Neither of them cared about this aspect of their hiding-hole except when the Queen held grandiose receptions there that their parents were invited to and they were not. Ususally, they would just watch nature around them. This spot provided them with perfect cover from below, but it was what flew above that interested them. Together, they have been compiling a manual on the various species of bird that frequent the palace. Sunaru pulled the well loved notebook out of it's hiding place. She flipped through it idly and grimaced. "Our sketches suck." Uranus had a hurt look to her. Sunaru then realized that she had stopped on a page drawn by her sister when she had said that. She smiled sheepishly and pulled her in for a hug. "Not yours, silly, both of ours, though yours are the better." She perked up some from her sister's words. They sat back comfortably to wait for their subject of interest to appear. Sunaru nudged her sister awake from her doze when she heard voices from below. "It's your turn to watch. Wake me up when you see something," she mumbled sleepily and yawned. The sun had baked her to a comfortable warmth. "I do see something. Wake up!" She poked her again. Uranus sat up and stretched. "I'm awake, I'm awake, what bird do you see?" "Not a bird, look," she pointed to lead her gaze. "What? Oh!" She crawled forward, placing her chin on the ledge. Sunaru was at her side in a similar position. They watched as the Queen entered the garden along with a royal couple. "Who are they?" Uranus asked in a hushed voice. Sunaru thought quickly to recall all of the royal couples she had seen. "Hmm... I don't recognize them. Wait, I know. They must be the rulers of Neptune. I overheard one of the cooks discussing their visit yesterday." Uranus glanced at her. "And what were you doing in the kitchen?" "Ah, well," she hedged while scratching the back of her head. "Next time get a cookie for me too," they grinned before returning to their watching. The royalty below them spoke for several minutes. The King motioned to someone out of view. Two girls, Princesses, came before them. "They're so --" "-- pretty." Sunaru finished. There was no other way to describe them. They were visibly twins, but instead of sameness, they were opposite. Where one had blue in her hair, the other had green. They were elegant, poised, and left the twins of Uranus in a state of admiration to the point of stupefaction. "I want to meet them," Uranus whispered. Sunaru nodded, then shook herself. "Silly, we will get to meet them. If they are the Princesses of Neptune, then they are Senshi like us." "Yeah," she answered, still in awe. "Wha-? Sunaru, there's the lark we've been waiting for," she pointed to a tree near the group. She pulled out the notebook and began to scribble furiously. "Lark? How can you think of a lark at a time like this?" She pushed further forward to get a better look at the Neptune twins. Uranus snorted. "Who wanted to come up here today?" While leaning against the ledge, Sunaru turned to retort her sister's jibe, the plaster fell away with Sunaru falling backwards too. Uranus caught her hand with her own, but only managed to be pulled down with her. They landed in some bushes, stirring a small animal to scurry across the garden. They froze, waiting to be discovered. When nothing happened for several moments, they let their breath out slowly. "That was close," Sunaru murmured. "We'd be in a lot more trouble if we're caught now than we would ever be in for the Martian ambassador." "Yeah," her twin agreed. "You okay?" "I will be once you get off me." "Sorry," Uranus scooted off her sister. They were both scratched up and tangled in the bushes. "Good thing we got our hair cut short, eh?" She quipped. "We haven't told Father or Mother yet," Sunaru cautioned. "Wait to be glad until after they have their tirade." Neither had poked their head up from the cover of the bushes. They already knew their problem. Sunaru finally voiced it. "How are we gonna get outta here without being discovered?" "If we gave you a lift, you could climb over the wall," a very feminine voice suggested. The twins looked at each other before slowly raising their heads out of the bushes. They each were face to face with one of the Neptune Princesses. "A little bigger than the small animal we saw," the one with more greenish hair said to Uranus. "A little cuter too," her sister added to Sunaru. The Uranus twins blushed. "So why are you guys sneaking around the Queen's garden?" The one before Uranus asked. "Guys? We're not guys! See, Uranus, we shouldn't have gotten our hair cut this short," she stood up the rest of the way, revealing that she was taller than the Neptune twins. Annoyed, she tried to shake the twigs caught in her hair out. "Shuddup, Sunaru," she punched her twin lightly in the arm. "You didn't protest at the time." The Princess across from Sunaru stopped picking twigs out of her hair. "Excuse me, but do you mean to say that you are Princess Uranus and Princess Sunaru?" "One in the same," they leaned back to back and crossed their arms in a practiced cocky gesture. "And who are you?" Sunaru asked. "I am Princess Neptune and my twin is Princess Poseidon." "Neptune and Poseidon, a pleasure to meet you. Now if you don't mind, we really need to get out of here before the palace guards show up," Uranus grinned. Poseidon shook her head in disbelief of these outrageous sisters. Neptune and she boosted them over the wall. With a wink and wave, they jumped down to the other side. "Such -- interesting -- twins," Neptune commented politely. Poseidon nodded, then noticed something in the bushes. She had to stretch her arm to retrieve the notebook from the grips of the bushes. She flipped through it quickly with Neptune looking over her shoulder. They smiled at each other before leaving the garden. ***** "Ow, ow, ow," Uranus hissed as her sister applied ointment to a scratch on her cheek. "Sorry," she hugged her quickly before continuing. "We've got to get cleaned up the best we can before anyone noticed our newest set of scratches." The fact that their chaperone kept tabs on their mischief by the freshness of their wounds was annoying. They had been able to throw her off some by taking care of themselves instead of asking her to bandage their knees, elbows, fingers, and anything else they managed to injure that wasn't too serious. Occasionally, they could talk Saturn into healing them up some. But that was risky because she was still learning how to use that aspect of her powers. "Sunaru, Uranus!" Their chaperone called for them. They quickly shoved all their medical supplies under the bed before she came in. "Oh, there you two are. No mischief today?" She waggled a finger at them while they held back a snicker. "I wanted to tell you that the Princesses from Neptune arrived today. They will be formally introduced at dinner this evening. Everyone is to be dressed in formal court attire. *Feminine* attire this time. I expect your best behavior in welcoming them to the palace. Understand?" She locked eyes with both of them until they mumbled the expected 'Yes, ma'am.' She brushed a hand against Uranus' cheek. She kept from wincing in pain. "Uranus, dear, I think you are beginning to break out. Putting some ointment on your face should take care of it." Sunaru could no longer resist snickering. Her twin elbowed her. "Yes, ma'am," she answered. "Very good. I will see you both before dinner. Let's please try to go an entire day without any problems. You're doing well so far," she smiled kindly at them. "Yes, ma'am," they echoed as she closed the door. ***** "What do you think?" Uranus asked her twin after tugging on her bodice again. "You look like a girl," she easily dodged the pillow thrown by Uranus. She twisted about and asked. "What do you think?" Before Uranus could fire off some scathing remark, their chaperone answered from the doorway. "You both look wonderful!" She took hold of Uranus and turned her about so that she could get a look at her. She knew that with these two especially, if one did something, the other wouldn't be far behind. She was well and truly surprised at the amount of care taken without her prodding. She brushed her hand past one of her ears. "Earrings even, and both ears at that," she hugged the girl. She felt like a proud parent whose lessons were finally sinking in. With her mind set at ease at the twins apparent agreement to good behavior, she delivered the message the Queen had sent with her. "Since you two and the Princesses of Neptune are so close in age, the Queen has requested that you show them around court until they are acquainted with their new surroundings. A good place to start would be to show them around the palace this evening after dinner." "What?" Sunaru blurted in surprise. She frowned at her, misinterpreting her stunned expression. "This is a great responsibility that the Queen has placed on you. She's trusting you a great deal with this." She looked from one Princess to the other before continuing. "*I* expect you to behave yourselves. No dragging them into the trouble that seems to swirl around the two of you." "Yes, ma'am," they answered obediently. "Very well, let's get going then," she escorted them from their room to the banquet hall. The Uranus twins found themselves sitting across the table from the Neptune twins. The girls felt as though they were being watched, studied even, despite the politely indifferent expressions they wore. The two girls were doing their best to be polite and 'mature' like the Neptune Princesses, but it was a struggle. "I hate this, Sunaru," Uranus whispered to her sister. "Why can't we ever be ourselves?" "You two usually are," Hades on her right answered softly. "Who are you so intent on impressing?" "Hades," she acknowledged politely. Her and Pluto always seemed to know the latest scuttlebutt, though they didn't join in it's propagation. She nodded to the girls across from them. "Ah yes, Poseidon and Neptune. You two are supposed to show them around, correct? Why bother trying to impress them? We are all going to be living together for the next several years. They will find out what you two are all about probably within the next few hours." "You're right, Hades," she smiled in thanks to the older girl. Uranus stroked her hair back before removing the loop from her right ear. She reseated herself comfortably, then began to eat with less regard to being dainty. It had been an exciting day and she was hungry. Sunaru noticed what she was doing. Quickly she followed her lead, earring and all. Hades chuckled from besides them. Neptune and Poseidon openly watched them now. Their chaperone, who was seated besides Sunaru, let out a startled gasp at this sudden reversal. She was about to scold them when the Queen caught her attention with a slight gesture. "Let them be," she told her. The Queen knew that the Uranus twins were stubborn enough to have kept up the dainty, polite act all night, but they wouldn't have liked it. This wild pair just needed a reason to mellow a little. She had spotted their falling from the sentry post this morning. Against her motherly, protective, instincts she had resisted the urge to go check on them. Long ago she had discovered their hideout and notebook. The detail and care put into it had greatly affected her opinion of the seemingly unruly girls. She had ordered the guards to ignore them if any spotted them sneaking into their place. She didn't want to do anything that might interfere with a growing interest in a 'quiet' hobby. She had even gone so far as to have a few extra lessons on birds slipped into their course work with the tutors. Poseidon and Neptune presented an opposite set of problems. Admittedly, they were well behaved and refined, but they were also shy. They had the 'public face' well drilled into them. So much so that she couldn't pry much of anything out of them that was personal. Watching them help Sunaru and Uranus over the palace wall had given her the idea of pairing these opposites together. If things worked out as she hoped, Sunaru and Uranus would mellow for the sake of Poseidon and Neptune. The opposite would also hold true with the Neptune twins being drawn out of their shell. The Queen laughed to herself. 'Drawn' was probably too weak a word. 'Pulled', 'pushed', or just plain 'evicted' from their shell would be more suited to the situation she expected. If anything, it should be interesting to see how things turn out. ***** The Uranus twins met the Neptune sisters outside the banquet room. "We're going to get changed into something comfortable before we show you around. You two should do the same thing. We'll come get you after we are changed, okay?" Sunaru scrunched her eyebrows up a little during her instructions. The Princesses from Neptune didn't seem to be overly enthused with the idea. "C'mon, we'll have fun. Besides, the Queen wanted us to show you around," Uranus grinned. Even though the Queen had ordered it, that reason fell relatively low on the list of reasons why she wanted to show them around. "Alright," Neptune agreed slowly. "We will see you then." They turned away, heading for the room they had received earlier today. The twins snickered before racing down the halls to their own room. Once there, they quickly, but carefully, shed the formal gowns they had been wearing. They put on their play clothes, which were rattier than everyone else's play clothes. They refused to surrender them to the seamstress in fear of losing them to the rag pile. Dressed in their matching shirt and overalls, they raced each other to the Neptune Princesses' room. Uranus would have won this time if it weren't for her sister's flying tackle that slammed her up against the wall besides the door. They were still wrestling when Neptune poked her head out to see what the ruckus was. With one arm pulled back and her sister pinned to the floor, Sunaru turned her head sideways to ask, "Ready?" Uranus took advantage of her sister's distraction by slipping out of the hold and shoving her up against the wall. Neptune giggled into her hand. "We're ready, but it appears that you two will need a few more minutes," she closed the door softly. "Uranus?" She grunted in response. "Lemme up." "Why should I?" She pushed harder, smashing her face up against the wall. "'Cause if you don't, we'll never show 'em around before bedtime." She grunted again. "Good point," she slowly got off her, ready to retackle her if this was some sort of trick. Sunaru sat on the floor for a moment scrubbing her face. She stood, shook out her hair, and straightened her overalls. Uranus accepted a hand up from the floor. She likewise combed her hair into place with her fingers. "Behave," Sunaru scolded. "Bah! Who started it?" Uranus crossed her arms. "Bah yourself. I started it and I will finish it. Now behave," she knocked (which was the equivalent to 'pounded') on the door. Poseidon answered it. "Ready?" The Uranus twins nodded. The two girls left their room to follow where Sunaru led the group. "Hey, we said to get dressed in something comfortable, why are you both in skirts?" Uranus asked. Sunaru elbowed her. "Skirts are comfortable," Neptune answered. Sunaru and Uranus looked at each other like the Neptune twins were crazy. "Weird," Uranus whispered. "Hardly," Poseidon challenged. "What's odd is why each of you are wearing only one earring. Couldn't you have shared to make one pair and then decided who got to wear them?" "Wha-?" They both unconsciously put a hand to their ear. "We have the mates," Sunaru defended. "We chose to wear them like this!" "It makes you look like boys," Neptune teased. The twins grimaced. It was an often heard complaint from their chaperone. "You act like boys too," Poseidon added slyly. "Well - well, maybe we are boys and no one knows it!" Uranus sputtered. "Your mother would," Neptune pointed out. "Oh yeah," Uranus looked at her shoes crestfallen. Neptune took her hand and smiled. "Come on, you are supposed to show us the palace," she tugged lightly. "Right," Sunaru perked up. Taking Poseidon's hand in her own, she lead the group forward again. "We have some great places to show you. But I'm still not sure about wearing skirts..." "We can do anything wearing a skirt that you can do wearing breeches," Poseidon answered her challenge. They all chased off towards unseen adventures. ***** Sunaru stifled a yawn. She was tired after last night, plus neither her or her twin were much of morning people. Neptune and Poseidon, who were seated in front of them in class, seemed none the worse for wear. They cheerfully answered every question put to them correctly. "It should be against the law to be so happy so early in the morning," she mumbled to Uranus, who nodded sleepily. They had shown the Neptune twins all over the palace grounds last night. They had shown them some of the good spots for hiding when playing hide-n-go-seek. Of course, they didn't reveal their favorite spots that they frequent, but their spots were often good because they required effort to get there. Poseidon and Neptune hadn't backed away once when they suggested any climbing or crawling. Though they hadn't taken them to any *serious* places that would be challenging. Their persistence in keeping up had surprised them to the point of slowing down so that they didn't have to work so hard. They had given tips in other areas as well. Such as how to get a cookie from the palace cooks before dinner time, and to always listen to Hades and Pluto. 'They know everything,' Uranus had said with her nodding her agreement. They liberally sprinkled such kernels of knowledge that could easily improve the quality of palace life. Some may call them scamps, but they certainly knew how to live! "Sunaru," the teacher called. "Eh? Yes?" She sat up straight and snapped to attention. "What bird is it that can eat of the Wallow berries and not feel the effects of it's poisons?" She read from the text. Sunaru didn't need the text's help to answer this question. "The Midnight Lark," she answered confidently. "Are you sure? Uranus?" "The Moonlight Lark," she mumbled before nodding off again. "Moonlight Lark? We haven't done that one yet, have we?" She whispered to her sister. She yawned. "That was the one I was working on when we fell off the -OW!" The class stopped to look at them. Uranus winced slightly because of her newly smashed toes. The teacher let out the sigh of someone long suffered before continuing. "Sorry," Sunaru said to her twin, "but you almost blurted out what we did yesterday." Uranus bit her lip, sniffled a little, and nodded. "There are gentler ways to tell her to be quiet," Poseidon commented without turning around. The disapproval in her tone was obvious. "I said that I was sorry," she defended. "Well don't do it again," Poseidon chided. "I won't," she said firmly. Poseidon turned around to look at her. "You mean that, don't you? You won't do it again." "I won't stomp her foot to shut her up again," Sunaru said solemnly. "I'll smash her fingers with my book." Uranus coughed. Neptune snickered some. Poseidon only sighed, a counterpart to the teacher's earlier one. ***** Everyday after class the two pairs of twins went off to the gardens to play. Some days it would be rough and tumble with the Uranus twins eventually pulling the Neptune ones into the 'fun'. Other days, they were more sedate with them lounging in the grasses while working on their assignments. Today was a mellow day. Sunaru had just finished braiding Poseidon's hair. Neptune looked up from her reading to say. "I wish I had seen it before you two cut your hair short. I bet it was lovely." "'Fraid you're two weeks too late." Sunaru secured the braid. "A shame," Neptune stroked her hand through the hair of the nearby Uranus. Uranus looked up from her studies to join the conversation. "Not really. It was too much work to keep it nice like yours." Neptune blushed some. "Are you two going to come to the recital tonight?" Poseidon asked. "Recital? Sure. When? Where?" Sunaru scooted back to her books with Poseidon seated close next to her. "The banquet hall at 7," Poseidon said. "And it's formal," Neptune added. That would be the sticking point for them showing up. "Banquet hall at 7, we'll be there," Uranus grinned at Neptune. They had gotten to know each other so well over this past week. She wouldn't disappoint her by not showing up. ***** The Neptune twins finished tuning their instruments. They still had a lot to learn, but they were quite good considering their age. They were part of a recital being held before the Queen by school children of various ages. It was an annual event that was looked forward to by all; the children, the proud parents, and especially the Queen. She loved seeing the talents of her subjects brought to their fullest. The twins meditated upon their performance until it was time to go. They were called on stage. They nodded to the Queen, then scanned the audience for Sunaru and Uranus. A pair of loud whistles from the shadowy sides alerted them to their position. They couldn't see what they were wearing, but they knew roughly where they were. The piano accompanist began. Neptune raised her violin to position and closed her eyes. Sweet sounds were produced as she drew the bow across the strings. A moment later, her sister's viola joined her violin. They played well. The audience showed it's appreciation in it's applauds. Sunaru and Uranus showed their appreciation by whistling at them. They curtseyed before leaving the stage. "Sunaru, I want to be the one playing piano with Neptune," she said softly while wiping a tear away. The performance had truly touched her. "I was thinking the same thing about Poseidon," Sunaru sniffled a little. "Hello," the players greeted from behind them. "Poseidon, that was wonderful!" Sunaru hugged her. Uranus did like wise for Neptune while expressing similar sentiments. "Do you think so?" She asked while blushing. Sunaru nodded enthusiastically. "So much so that Uranus and I are going to ask to take piano lessons. We want to be the ones to accompany you." "Really?" Neptune hugged Uranus again. "You don't need to do that." "We want to," Uranus grinned back. Poseidon pulled away from Sunaru to appraise her outfit. It was formal court wear certainly, but that type that the males wore. "Like it?" Sunaru asked slyly. "You look great, single earring and all," the four of them laughed. From her balcony, the Queen watched the scene below. She couldn't hear what was being said and they were draped in shadows, but the pattern that had been forming throughout the week continued to develop. How quickly they became good friends had surprised her some. It wasn't anything to be alarmed about, it was just unexpected. "Five crystal pieces says that the Uranus twins ask for piano lessons tomorrow," she said to herself. "Pardon, Your Majesty?" She blushed slightly at the page who had overheard her. She then smiled. "Please inform the music instructor that he will have two new pupils beginning tomorrow. The twins from Uranus will be starting piano lessons." "Yes, Your Majesty," he bowed slightly before leaving. She smiled once more as the girls left the room. At a sedate pace she noted. Not running, not screaming, but walking politely. Such rare occurrences had been going up in frequency since the Neptune twins had arrived. They were all like daughters to her. She received daily reports of their progress and took the appropriate actions. The reports on Sunaru and Uranus held far fewer accounts of their mischief, and several comments about their sudden good behavior. Poseidon and Neptune had warmed up quickly to their 'sisters' with Sunaru and Uranus prodding them. Even she had been able to coax a true smile from them. ***** After the performance, they returned to the Neptune twins' room. Uranus and Neptune sat on her bed while Sunaru sat on Poseidon's. Poseidon went to her bag and pulled something out before sitting down next to Sunaru. She handed the lost notebook to the girl seated next to her. "What? How did you get this?" She asked stunned. "It was in the bushes you had fallen in," she smiled at her. "I didn't even know it was missing," Uranus admitted. "Of course, we haven't been up there since we met you." "We hope you don't mind, but we redid some of the drawings," Neptune said hesitantly. Sunaru opened the notebook and flipped through the pages. She motioned excitedly for her sister to come look. "These are beautiful," Uranus said in awe. Neptune had come over also to look. Uranus hugged her tight. "Thank you." She blushed prettily. "Anything for you. Thank you for making us feel so welcome during this past week." "It was nothing," Sunaru put an arm around Poseidon. "You're our friends, right? We haven't scared you off with our boyish ways?" "Only if we haven't scared you off with our girlish ways," Poseidon leaned against her. They all giggled before continuing to examine the redone notebook.