Sorry I’m Late- A La Reconquista Mini-Fic

I went to my parents’ grave. I didn’t know if I’d get a second chance to do so.
Makoto has something she wants her parents to know.
Word Count: 559
 This scene has been at the back of my mind for ages, and I finally got it out. I hope you enjoy.

            “Hi mom. Hi Dad.” She puts the picture she keeps in her wallet in the grass between her gravestones. The creases are too deep to unfold completely anymore, but that’s okay. The two crinkly white lines converge on her nine-year-old face so that if she doesn’t look closely, it’s like it’s just the two of them. It’s more like she’s really talking to them if she can’t see herself. “I’m sorry I haven’t visited for awhile. I’ve been busy.” Her fingers pull her skirt along her thighs. “I… I’m actually a soldier of justice. A magical girl like in the stories you used to read me.” She takes a deep breath. She aches to know their reaction. None of the others have told their parents, but surely, surely hers would have been understanding enough to know. “You always told me to be strong, Daddy, and I am. I’m strong enough to fight monsters and pull lightning down from the skies. But I worry that’s not eno…”

            She shakes her head. “That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. I want to make sure you know about my friends.” Another picture comes out, a photo strip with an English phrase written across the top. Minako said it meant “hot babes,” but Ami said it meant “friends forever.” Their five faces crowd into each panel. “That one’s Rei. When you’d first meet her, Mama, you’d purse your lips and say, ‘Well, she’s an interesting girl.’ She comes off as a little brash at first, but once you get to know her, you see she’s really got a big heart. You might know her mom. She’s somewhere up there with you.

            “And Daddy, Minako would make you laugh. Everything she does is like a performance, even fighting.  She’ll be famous someday. She sort of already is. Before any of us found each other, she fought alone…” She shakes her head again. “You’d both love Ami. She’s a genius who gets top scores on all the exams, but she’s the most sweet and modest person you can imagine. She says she’s going to make sure we all get into high school. If you knew us all, you’d know how hard a goal that is.”

            She points to the final girl in the pictures, the one who only managed to get her full face into the frame in the last shot. “And that’s Usagi. She’s… she’s the one who found me first.  We’re a perfect pair, really, she eats anything I cook and says it’s the best I’ve ever made. A little like you guys used to. We’re supposed to take care of her, but I think maybe she actually takes care of us. But that’s why…” Her fists ball around her skirt. “That’s why we’re going without her. They have Ami, and…”

            She shakes her head again and smiles through her watery eyes. “I wish you could meet them so badly, but I don’t want any of them to meet you anytime soon. So I’m going to fight. And we’re going to win.” She carefully folds the pictures back into her wallet. “I just wanted you to know.” One drop of water hits the grass as she stands up. “And I love you.”

Silver Millenium Earth Headcanon

La Reconquista really got me thinking about Beryl and the Silver Millenium and how it can all make sense, especially taking both La Reconquista’s references to her as a member of the Royal Family and to the old Sera Myus’ declaring her Endymion’s fiance. My headcanon is somewhat lengthy, so I’ve put it under the cut.

So in my idea of things, Earth as a kingdom is relatively young (and small in terms of population). The ruling family goes back at most five generations (keeping in mind that Earth people do not have the same longevity of the Moon’s citizens). The entire royal family therefore lives in the palace, even though only the oldest child of the current ruler will inherent the throne.

Beryl is that child, hence she is referred to as Queen in Reconquista. For the first year of her life, she is the beloved Princess of her people.

Then her (somewhat distant) cousin Endymion is born. People immediately sense that he has some kind of divine power (the golden crystal, though no one knows that). It’s similar to the aura of the Moon’s soldiers, who rarely come to Earth but are surrounded by destruction every time they do (the Earth people neither know nor particularly care if the Moon soldiers cause destruction or stop what is causing it; they care only that they have the power to do either with little more than a flick of their wrist). As news spreads of the newborn’s perceived power, most of the Earth’s citizen’s split into two factions. One believes that Endymion’s power is a sign that he is the true prince of Earth and will put Earth on level with the Moon, and the other believes that he is potentially dangerous and the bloodline that has yet to fail them should keep a heavy watch on him.

The Royal Family sees only one solution- Beryl and Endymion will marry, and Endymion will be forever in the presence of guards not only to protect him as a future king, but to ensure that if he ever discovers his power, he does no use it against the citizens of Earth.He is also more often than not in Beryl’s company. The one year she has above him in age makes her seem fascinating and knowledgeable. He first declares his love at age five and gives her a single red rose stolen from the palace garden.

Beryl at first is resentful of being tethered to a toddling little boy for so much of her waking life, but having had the importance of their union drilled into her head from a young age, plays along until slowly she begins to feel genuine affection for him. By their midteens she’s fully in love, and he continues to bring her a red rose every time he puts his feelings for her into words.

But she’s noticed they’re no longer stolen from the palace garden, instead drawn from what seems to be thin air. Rumors are going around nearby towns about a man who comes in the night and heals the deathly ill in their beds. Beryl knows it is Endymion, and knows the longer it is kept a secret the worse it will be. She convinces him to be truthful to the citizens and to convince them that he is only using his power for good. Earth’s citizens are still uneasy and dissent forms again, this time with harsher emotion behind it. People ask what will stop Endymion from assuming the god-like status of the Moon soldiers, and other people ask angrily why he should let people die if he can stop it.

A civil war has all but broken out when Beryl assumes the throne at 18, but Beryl is nothing if not a deft politician. She declares her engagement to Endymion, telling the world that they will be partners, but she is the rightful queen and he shall only use his powers under her law. She arranges for people who wish to be healed by Endymion, now to be hailed as Prince until he comes of age and they can marry, to come to the palace if they wish to be healed or have a family member healed. Those that feel his powers are unnatural do not have it force upon them and feel comforted that it is under tight control, and those that want the prince’s powers put to use get to see that they are not wasted.

It is only a matter of weeks, however, before Princess Serenity comes to Earth and meets Endymion. All the affection and reverence he had for Beryl is overwhelmed by his new love for the Princess. They meet in secret for months until Endymion begins to feel bad for his deception. They confess first to Queen Serenity, who is intrigued by the power she senses in him. He calls himself the prince of Earth because he has gotten used to the title, and the Moon is so detached from the Earth’s politics that no one knows that he is only so by engagement.

He goes alone to speak to Beryl, planning on confessing but instead ending up suggesting a summit with the Moon Court, hoping that estabilishing them as allies instead of enimies might soften the eventual blow. Beryl is suspicious. Endymion has shown little interest in politics. She weighs the backlash people will have out of fear against the peace that will follow a successful negotiation- if the right deal is made, people will lose their fear of the Moon and her soon-to-be husband’s power, and she will be the queen of a happy people. She consents and arranges for a meeting. Beryl invites representatives from neighboring towns to sit in along with the politicians and noblemen so that word will spread about the (hopefully favorable) outcome quickly.

Queen Serenity explains about the youma that have been cropping up not only on Earth but in every populated area of the solar system. She claims that if they are not struck down quickly a greater evil will rise in their wake, and that is why she sends her soldiers to Earth on occasion. Beryl barely maintains her composure as she furiously asks why no one on earth was previously informed of this. She sees in Queen Serenity’s eyes that the people of Earth are not important, they do not have the miraculous powers that Moon people have and thus are of no consequence. A tenuous peace treaty is formed, in which the Moon Kingdom agrees to have any soldier sent to Earth report to Beryl. Beryl can tell Serenity is humoring her; they both know the Earth could do little in retaliation if the treaty were violated.

Worse still, the princess and Endymion spend the entire conference making eyes at each other. Beryl notices, as does everyone else. That is the news that spreads through the kingdom. The Earth has been duped. The Prince is in league with the Moon Kingdom. Fear runs stronger than ever. Beryl takes much of the backlash- she should have known, she should never have invited those creatures, she should have bashed in the prince’s head when they were children to save the Earth from this fate.

Beryl’s hatred, however, is reserved for Queen and Princess Serenity. They have the power that can lay ruin to everything, they ruined so much all ready. Her kingdom is in chaos and defenseless against their whim. And Serenity had so many soldiers with godly powers, why did she need the only person on earth who was comparable?

Days later Metalia, barely more than a wisp of air, comes to her. Would she like to have power enough to contend with the Moon Kingdom? She would. At what cost? Any cost. That is-any cost but the Prince. Beryl will reclaim him as Serenity watches from her kingdom’s ruins, and that hateful princess will know the feeling of powerlessness.