Title:  Vacation-- Part 3
Rating: PG
Author: Lilac Summers
salaices@leland.stanford.edu

  Okay!  *Almost* caught up with e-mail, but not quite, so please be a
little bit patient if I haven't responded.  I will!  And please continue
to send me your comments, flames, etc!  I'd rather have a hefty inbox and
be behind a little than to see my poor little inbox get all sad and
lonely.

  Thanks to all of you who are e-mailing me, and following along.  Much
love!!  And GREAT, HUGE thanks to the A Sailor Moon Romance.

  Sorry this one is so short . . . test tomorrow.  'Nough said.

  Disclaimer:  I'm only saying this one more time, so will you stop asking
me?  I don't own Sailor Moon!  I really don't!  PLEASE, stop begging me to
buy Naoko out!!  ^_^
*~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ * ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Vacation
by
Lilac Summers

Part 3

Three days later . . .


  "You understand what we must do!"  Minako's voice rang with all the
fervor of a dictator addressing the masses.

  The other Senshi nodded solemnly, casting quick, furtive glances at the
amount of luggage that was quickly piling up in the main foyer.  The Queen
and King themselves were nowhere to be found.

  "They're insane if they think they can pull this off and not kill
themselves in the process.  When was the last time they went out in the
wilderness, after all?"

  Ami whipped out her palmtop and pressed a key.  "435 years ago, when
Artemis got lost in Alaska on an embassy trip."

  Minako blew her bangs out of her face and rolled her eyes at Ami.  "Yes,
thank you Ami-chan, though that was a completely hypothetical question.
My point was, they haven't had to rough it in quite a while."

  Rei cocked her head slightly, a thoughtful look on her face.  "I don't
know, Minako-chan.  I mean, they aren't exactly defenseless, right?  If
they could handle youmas when they were teenagers, I'm sure they can
handle nature now that they're . . . now that they're . . . god, just how
old are they?!"

  Palmtop flashed out.  "1390 and 1394, counting the Frozen Period*."

  "She wears it well," Makoto pointed out magnanimously.

  Rei poked her in the ribs.  "Dork, she's the exact age we are."

  Makoto's charitable expression turned into horror.  "My god, we're that
old?"

  "There there, grandma," teased Ami.

  Minako waved her arms to gain everyone's attention amidst the flurry of
giggles.  "Okay!!  So look, it'd be fine if they were going camping with
an entourage to look after all their needs.  I'd even say if was fine if
they went with the full intention of using their powers, but--"

  Rei jumped in, shocked.  "They aren't planning on using their powers?!
Like, for nothing??  Since when?!"

  Minako smiled, fully gratified to finally have gotten their attention.
"Sere-chan said wanted to be 'normal', remember?  Bet you five days of
border-duty that she means *normal* in every sense."

  Rei took one more look at the pile of luggage that seemed to multiply
exponentially.  "Oh, dear," she groaned, "they are *so* dead."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  "I don't know, Sere . . ."  Endymion couldn't help wincing as he looked
in the mirror.

  "What don't you know, muffin?"  Serenity expertly coiled her long silver
hair into a mass of complicated braids, deviating from the highly
recognizable Odango style she usually wore.

  Endymion plucked with distaste at his absurdly flowered shirt.  "I don't
know about this . . . this atrocity of a shirt.  I'm sure I didn't wear
this kind of stuff when I was plain old Chiba Mamoru."

  Serenity turned after finishing her hairdo and analyzed him critically.
"Hmmm," she began, circling him slowly.  She'd picked out the pink, green,
and purple-flowered shirt herself, certain that it'd simply scream "NORMAL
MALE ON CAMPING TRIP!"  Now she wasn't so sure.

  "Well, though I do like the fact that it bares your fabulous biceps,"
she teased, "I think there's something missing."  She rummaged through the
pile of "normal" clothes she'd had delivered and came out with a bright
yellow waterproof parka.  Her staff, not privileged to know where exactly
their monarchs were going, had simply brought in a variety of clothing for
all occasions.  All she had told them was to "make it look normal,"
whatever that meant.

  "There," she finished, stepping back to look at her handiwork.
Endymion's outfit was replete with khaki shorts that displayed
spectacularly muscular legs (Serenity's choice, of course), and the
blaring yellow parka over his much-loathed Hawaiian shirt.  He looked like
a dork.

  "I look like a dork," he muttered, watching his wife through the mirror
as she chose perfectly sensible black hiking pants and a light pink
sweatshirt with matching parka.  "How come I have to look like a dork and
you get to look just fine?"

  Serenity's voice was muffled as she pulled the sweatshirt over her head.
"Because I'm a girl and you're a guy and everyone knows guys have a lousy
sense of fashion."

  "Says who?!"

  "Says me.  I was a teenage girl, so I know these things," she announced
grandly.

  "Well, I was a teenage guy and I never dressed like this," he huffed
loudly.

  She skipped over to him and admired her new ensemble in the  mirror,
smiling happily.  "That's cuz you feel comfortable in tuxedo's, of all
things.  Believe me, no regular guy feels comfortable in formal wear.  You
were most definitely the exception, not the rule.  Trust me."

  Endymion looked once more in the mirror and tried not to shield his eyes
from the glare of his clothing.  "If you're sure . . ."

  Serenity smiled beatifically.  "Oh, I am."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Somewhere in the bowels of the castle:

   The shadowy figure moved out of the corner of the long-forgotten room
slowly, adjusting the old-fashioned camouflage clothing.  It fiddled with
its wristwatch, finally bringing it up its lips and saying clearly:  "Red
Eagle ready for phase one.  Can you copy, Green Eagle?"

  From another equally-forgotten room, another figure, almost identical to
the first, responded quietly into its wristwatch.
  "Copy, Red Eagle.  Over and Out."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  The destination of the Royal couple's vacation was a highly guarded
secret.  Of course, that only engendered more speculation.  Every man,
woman, and child who had cause to be in the castle on the time of
departure was fighting for a glimpse of their monarchs before they made it
into the private jet.  Thus, they were more than slightly disappointed
when a perfectly regular looking King and Queen, down to the usual
diplomatic dress, rushed by and hopped into the jet as load after load of
designer luggage was piled in after them.

  "Must be Europe again," remarked the same maid from a few days before.

  "That, or some far-off island in Venus," said a pretty-faced gardener as
she bounced her young child on her back.

  The cherub faced child, bouncing joyously as she chewed on the end of
her braid, let go of her hair long enough to inform both adults on what
was really going on.  "Mitchy, who plays with Mindy, who talks to Robbie,
who knows Danny, who's Sally's brother, who sometimes plays with the
Princess, said the Princess' mommy and daddy are going camping."

  The child's mother stopped bouncing her girl and stared incredulously at
her maid friend.  For a few secondsthey stood in shock that way, until one
finally began to guffaw loudly.  "HA!  Camping?!  Oh, that's rich!  And
I'm Queen Serenity, to be sure!"

  The gardener joined in until soon they were laughing till their sides
ached.  "Oh, can you just imagine them camping?  Not in this lifetime!
Now, Betty, stop spinning tales and go back to chewing on your hair."

  Betty shrugged, thinking what odd people adults were, and stuck her
braid back in her mouth, bouncing up and down once more.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  The crowd dissipated quickly once the jet flew out of view, reporters
and camera crews going back to their stations to file the report that, as
always, the Qeen and King were off to some romantic getaway.  Soon enough
they'd find out where, and find some way to take pictures, hopefully racy
pictures, at that, of the handsome couple.

  Serenity and Endymion, watching from a window high up in a crystalline
tower, breathed a sigh of relief as they saw the crowd buy the fake
couple's departure.

  "I can't believe they actually believed Haruka, in a really bad black
wig, was me," mused Endymion.

  "Ha! You?!  Minako looks nothing like me!  Her odango's were crooked,
too.  Brings back bad memories," grouched Serenity.

  "Ah, well, people will see what they want to see,"  he stooped down to
pick up the expertly packed hiking gear Haruka had prepared for them
before, and offered his yellow-clad arm to his wife.  "Shall we, my lady?"

  Serenity curtsied lightly and grabbed his arm.  "Why, certainly, sir."

  They were almost out the door before Endymion realized Serenity wasn't
carrying anything.  "Sere, your gear."

  She looked at him, slightly confused.  "Don't you have it?"

  Endymion turned to see it sitting right smack on the floor, next to
where his had been.  "Nope.  This one is mine, and that," here he pointed,
"is yours."

  She glared at him.  "No.  I mean, aren't *you* gonna carry it?"

  He looked at her sternly.  "Sere . . . get this straight right now.
*YOU* wanted to go camping!  I refuse to have to carry around ALL the
luggage!"

  Serenity sniffed haughtily, letting go of his arm so she could stomp
back to her pack.  "FINE!  It doesn't bother *me*.  Sorry if I didn't know
your gentlemanly courtesy didn't apply to camping gear!"

  She shrugged her gear onto her back, making sure to wince as she felt
the weight settle on her shoulders.  She took two steps, then stopped to
readjust the straps. She took two more steps, and stopped to rub one
shoulder as if she'd developed a knot already.

  Endymion watched his wife struggle with the pack.  God, she was almost
dwarfed by it!  Well, he reasoned, she wasn't used to carrying anything
heavy.  And she was so . . . well, so delicate.  Surely it wouldn't hurt
if he carried her pack for a little bit.

  "All right . . . here, give it to me."  He stretched out his hand and
she smiled at him with such blatant gratitude that he felt like an ogre
for snapping at her before.

  "OH, thanks so much, Endy!  I'll get used to it later, I promise!"

  He swung her gear onto his back, where it fought for space along with
his own pack, and almost doubled over under the combined weight.

  "I'm just carrying your stuff to the helicopter, okay?  After that, you
are going to have to be responsible for your own pack."

  Serenity shrugged blithely, a movement impossible for him to do under 80
odd pounds of gear, and skipped ahead.  "Yeah, sure, whatever."

  "And could you just help me out with a few things for right now?" he
called after her as she continued to skip forward.

  She returned rapidly and halted by his side.  "Sure!  Of course!"  She
ran up behind him.  "Hmm, let me see . . . I'll take this and this . . .
and this.  Alrighty!" She appeared before him carrying two canteens and
one sack of trail mix, his weight none the lighter.  "I'll run up ahead
and tell the girls what's taking us so long."

  With that, she ran ahead and through the doors, leaving Endymion to
wonder what the hell had just happened.

  Groaning under the weight, he trudged out the room and began the long
ascent up to the helicopter pad.  He knew, from that exact moment, that he
would not survive a week.

  "This does *not* bode well."

*************~~~~~~~~~~~~~****************~~~~~~~~~~~~~****************
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to be continued...

Again, sorry it's so short this week.  Still, tell me what you think!
salaices@leland.stanford.edu