Tsuki no Bara, Beauty and the Beast/Sailor Moon Fanfic

[Ceara Ivory]

Tsuki no Bara

Written by Ceara Ivory

Summary: This story is an epic semi-crossover focusing on my favorite Disney Princess and my favorite anime. Avid (or should I say rabid?) fans of Sailor Moon and the musicals might recognize the title as Venus' catch phrase in the song "21st Century - Koi no Senshi Ja Irarenai" This story will include a “what-if”. What if Belle had another reason for refusing Gaston? What if instead of playing coy, she actually told him flat-out, though in a kind way, that she wasn’t interested? This story is also a prequel. This is basically what happens when the Sailor Moon plotline and the Disney Beauty and the Beast plotline collide. It’s not a crossover, but not exactly not a crossover, if that’s making any sense. You will not see Usagi or Minako. Mamoru will not be there. But Luna will. Queen Beryl and her generals will, all except for one, and I’ll reveal that later, in time. Gaston won’t be a complete jerk, and one of the triplets might have a change of heart. Ami, Rei and Makoto’s French counterparts will be in this. I give fair warning. Several Disney BatB characters will seem out of character, Gaston most of all, simply because I’m using his conceited and spoiled nature as a shield for what’s really going on in his head. I can’t have him be a true villain for reasons crucial to this plotline. You will see many similarities between this and the manga, for instance Kunzite’s relationship with Zoisite will be more as it was in the manga as opposed to the anime. However, you won’t see Sailor Moon commit suicide either. So I guess you could say it’s Beauty and the Beast adapted to Sailor Moon as opposed to an actual crossover. Sorry if this is getting a little confusing I’m having trouble explaining it. You’ll have better luck understanding if you simply read.

Part One: Grace My Heart

Narrator “A thousand years ago, our Moon was home to a great civilization ruled by Queen
Serenity. Everything was peaceful until the arrival of the evil Queen Beryl.”
Queen Beryl “Ha ha ha ha. First, the Moon shall be mine. Then, the Universe!”
Narrator “To conquer the Moon, Queen Beryl unleashed the awesome power of the Negaforce.
Although her world was destroyed, Queen Serenity's last hope was the power of the
Imperium Silver Crystal and the Crescent Moon Wand.”
Queen Serenity “Only this Crystal and Wand can combat the power of the Negaforce. Never let our enemies get them, or the Universe is doomed, but most of all, you must protect our dear
Princess Serena. Understand?”
Luna & Artemis “Yes.”
Narrator “Frozen in Moon Beam Crystals, the queen sent the Princess and the children of the
Moon to the future on Earth. Their memories lost to them all, the queen's cat advisors,
Luna and Artemis, must find the Princess, so she will at last be safe. And so, our story
begins.” - Sailor Moon - Episode 1: “A Moon Star is Born”

Act One

In a dense fog, a handsome young man stood clad in a fine tuxedo. He was confused. Where was he?

“You must find the Imperium Silver Crystal.” said a sweet, strangely familiar voice. Who was it?

“Who are you? Tell me.” the man pleaded. He had to know who this mysterious yet captivating voiced belonged to. He had to find out.

“Find the Imperium Silver Crystal, set me free!” the voice requested over and again, fading away. Leaving the perplexed man standing to ponder.

“Wait!” the man shouted.

**********************

“Gaston! Hey Gaston!” came a call from beside a tall, buff man in a red tunic. His hair pulled back into a fine ponytail.

The man, Gaston, looked down at his short, fool of a lackey, LeFou. “What!” he demanded. How dare this worm interrupt his concentration.

“I brought you that beer you wanted.” LeFou replied handing up a frothing mug.

Gaston said nothing in response but took the drink and gulped. It was just a dream. It had to be. It meant absolutely nothing. Nothing at all.

Suddenly the tavern doors flew open to admit Madame Rose, the town dressmaker and well-known gossip. “Everyone, you’ve got to come. That little cottage, the one on that abandoned farm, it’s been bought and the new owners are moving in today.”

New neighbors? That was strange. Not many people wanted to live in such a backwater hamlet. But if it were true, than a proper welcome was called for. And if it was really just an old man and his daughter, they would need help. Strong, muscular help.

“Okay everyone, let’s go!” Gaston directed, leading the way. He knew that old cottage well. For many years it had sat empty. It was the last vestiges of a terrible tragedy that had occurred when Gaston was just a little boy.

*********************

It was as Madame Rose had said. A small family, only an old man and his daughter, were moving into the abandoned home. They didn’t seem to have much. Just some old furniture and clothes and a cow and a chicken and two other boxes.

Gaston’s eyes immediately fell on what seemed to be an angel. She was absolutely mystifying in her beauty. He approached first. “Good morning.”

The old man looked his way and grinned, “Hello. Belle, look our new neighbors have come to welcome us.”

The angel looked up from the box she was carrying. “Bonjour monsieur.”

“I’m Gaston.”

Belle smiled stiffly. “I’m Belle and this is my father, Maurice. Now if you’ll excuse me, we have unpacking to do.” She turned to climb up the stairs into their new home but stumbled due to the incredible weight of the box.

Instinctively, Gaston shot forward and caught the box and her hand, keeping her from falling. “Whoa! Here, let me take that. It’s much too heavy for such a delicate thing like you.” he took the box from her and carried it into the house, not noticing how the girl’s eyes darkened at the mere mention of weakness.

Maurice laughed nervously and shrugged at the others who had come. “She’s a little shy.” he said by way of explanation. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you. We’ll probably see you in town from time to time. Au revoir.” he took the other box, not quite as heavy as the other, up the stairs and into the house as well.

“Merci Monsieur for your help.” Belle told Gaston again with polite stiffness. “I’m sure you have much better things to be doing. Adieu.”

Gaston was confused. Any of the other women in the town would have been all over him if he had helped them. Did he do something? Say something? “What is in this box anyway?” he opened it slowly and pulled out, “Books?” he held one up. “The Complete Works of who?” he read with some difficulty.

Belle snatched the book away. “Shakespeare! These are my things. Thank you again, I’ve got it from here. Adieu!” she hoped he would get the hint this time.

Gaston decided to leave before she tried to physically kick him out and made his farewells. Standing outside the cottage, he found a peculiar feeling in him and recalled his dream from the night before. He has an odd dream and the very next day a strange, new, beautiful goddess of a girl arrives in their little village. It couldn’t be a coincidence. It had to mean that they were destined to be. Yes. A woman as beautiful as she, she was the only one worthy of being his wife. And he would see to it.

AN: See, a little out of character. Belle is just recovering from the death of her mother, and is a little skeptical of life at the moment. Not to mention, she’s just moved into this town. She’ll open up and be much nicer with a little time. As to why I opened with Gaston. I needed a different beginning to this then the traditional start with the heroine type deal. I hope you enjoyed this beginning. I’m sure you can guess why I need to have Gaston be not such a bad guy now. If someone could please suggest a different title for this, I’d appreciate it.

[Ceara Ivory]

Rose of the Moon

AN: Here’s chapter 2. This chapter will be straight from Belle’s POV. You’ll see exactly why she was so cold to Gaston in the last chapter. Yes I know she hates him in the movie. But she’s just moved to this little village. She’s just met him, and all in all, I’d say he’s been pretty nice to her, helping her with that box and all. So she can’t exactly hate him yet. There has to be a reason she doesn’t trust him, right? So anyway this’ll address Belle and her role in this fanfiction. I know you’re all probably expecting her to be Sailor Moon right? After all, this is her movie. Well, you’ll just have to read and see.

Part One: Grace My Heart

Act 2

“Belle, I know this isn’t easy, but that man was just trying to help you with that box. It was very heavy.”

I nodded, “Yes Papa. But, he insinuated I was weak, delicate he called me. Like I can’t take care of myself.”
I knew I was being petty. There was no way that guy could have known I would be offended. And he was just being nice. “I’m sorry Papa. It’s…it’s just…”

“I know. It’s only been a few months since your mother died, and everything started going south from there. But I know this move is the best thing for us, a start of a new life. It’s what your mother would want, for us to start over and move on.”

“I’ll try Papa. I’m going to start putting things away.” I took the box and began unpacking all of the books I had ever acquired. They had been Mother’s books really. But…Mother was gone now. They were all I had left of her. She loved to read and I can still remember how she would lift me onto her lap and read to me when I was just a little girl. Her voice would take on those of the characters and take me into a world of enchantment.

I pulled out one of the books. “The Legend of the Moon Kingdom.” It had been Mother’s favorite. About a glorious kingdom on the Moon ruled by a beautiful queen and her daughter, and four princesses who were always at the Moon Princess’ side, and the doomed love between the Moon Princess and the Prince of Earth. Such a beautiful sad story. And somehow, everything I heard it, I could feel a strange sense that something was missing, that maybe the story wasn’t really a legend. But that wasn’t possible. People can’t live on the moon. I slipped the book onto the shelf.

As I put the books away, one by one, a yawn overtook me. There was another reason I was so cold, I was grumpy. I hadn’t gotten a decent night’s sleep in the last few months. They started the night Mother passed away. I remember the first one.

I seemed to wake up in a whole new place, a whole new era. I was a tall, athletic blonde with startling blue eyes. I couldn’t help thinking that this couldn’t be me, and yet, in the dream it was. I was on what was called a volleyball team. Volleyball is a game played with a net and two teams. The teams try to score on each other by getting the ball over to the other floor of what was called a court without the other team sending it back. It was fun, but in the real world, I’m not very athletic at all.

In the dream, I wasn’t a bookworm like I am in real life, and I was boy crazy. I’m not like that at all in real life. I’m not popular like I was in the dream. I lived in a country called Japan, in a city called Tokyo, District 10 or Azabu Juuban. Yeah, thanks to these dreams, I know a whole other language. Oh boy, people are going to think I’m crazy here. Anyway, in the dream I was fourteen, in reality I’m almost eighteen, and I went to an educational facility called a Junior High School. And I had a crush on an older student, Higashi-senpai. But he wasn’t what he seemed to be at all.

Anyway, all over the school there was this adorable white cat following me with a crescent moon bald-spot on his forehead. I was back in the my house, in the dream, and he appeared again and told me that once upon a time, I had been “Born with the protection of the Goddess of Beauty” and that his name was Artemis.
He told me that I had been chosen for something and gave me a golden crescent moon compact. I opened the compact and looked into a small mirror, and there I was, but with a very strange outfit, sort of like the uniform I wore to school. And a red mask and more importantly, a crescent moon on my forehead. I had no idea what it meant, but he took me into space. The Earth looked so pretty from space, like a blue bead.

And he took me all the way to the Planet Venus. Venus is a planet about the same size and shape as the Earth. He called it Earth’s Twin Planet. My Mother Star, the Fiery Planet of the Goddess known as Venus.

Now I knew all about the Goddess Venus. The Roman Goddess of Love. I love mythology. But that I could really be from the Planet Venus, who wouldn’t be skeptical. It’s completely impossible.

Another spoke up and told me I was born to fight. And that’s when I woke up back in my real life.

It was so strange. So surreal. I naturally passed it off as just a dream. But ever since then, I’ve been having continuous dreams of becoming a heroine, who fights against crime and a man in tuxedo, with a face that looks a lot like that Gaston fellow. My mind says it’s not him, that the dreams are just that, dreams that mean nothing. But, my heart says that there is some truth to them. That I really am the Sailor-Suited Pretty Soldier Sailor V, Champion of Justice.

AN: Okay, we have our next full tie-in with the original series. Yes this chapter is basically a summary of Codename Sailor V Act 1, but I have my reasons. It’s up to you to interpret. Is she just dreaming of her other life, training in her dreams? Or is she living a double life entirely as Aino Minako? Please read and review.

[Ceara Ivory]

Rose of the Moon

AN: Please, if you are reading this, please take the time to review and tell me what you think. This is really an experimental fiction. In order for me to get accurate results I need reviews. Anyway, in this act I will introduce a new character and reveal further peculiarities about Belle. Oh, please, if you have any ideas of what could be a better title for this, please let me know.

Part One: Grace My Heart

Act 3

One Month later

“Find the Imperium Silver Crystal…” the voice echoed about.

Gaston sat up in his bed. “That dream again! Why won’t it stop? It’s just a stupid dream!” he clawed at his head. He hated having to think so hard. He was a man, men weren’t supposed to think about dreams. That was the job of a overly romantic woman, dreaming of him of course. That’s the way it was supposed to be. But not this. “The Imperium Silver Crystal. What is it? And how am I supposed to find it? This princess person won’t even give me a damned clue! I have nothing to go on, so what am I supposed to do?” He looked out his window, where he had the perfect vantage point for Belle’s cottage. “Yes, Belle. The Princess must be her, guiding me to her. I’ll just get the proposal over with and we’ll marry the same day. Then the dreams will stop, and we will be perfectly happy.” Okay, that didn’t really explain the Silver Crystal part, but he was done thinking for the night.

****************

Belle entered the village the next morning, a basket in one arm. Her destination, the library. She had read all of her books and the bookseller was kind enough to let her borrow books, one at a time. It was a beautiful day. Unlike the dream she’d had the night before. In the dream world it had rained the entire time. She was glad that it was sunny.

“Good morning Belle,” came the voice of the baker as she walked past.

“Ohayoo gozaimasu!” Belle returned, not realizing exactly what she said until it was too late. She gasped. “I mean, good morning.” she corrected herself, trying to ignore the bewildered look of the baker.

The Baker shrugged a little. “Where are you off to this morning?”

“The bookshop. I just finished the most wonderful story. About an evil Queen who wanted to take over the Earth by way the Golden Crystal. And there was a priest, Helios, who fought against her and was imprisoned.”

“Yes, that sounds very nice. Maury! The baguettes NOW!”

Belle shook her head and walked on. She hated this village. No one really understood her. Of course, it didn’t help matters that she would blurt out in Japanese when caught unawares. She didn’t mean to. It just came from those dreams every night. She could almost speak it fluently now and she thought it to be a very lovely language. But no one could know she was having such dreams, they’d label her insane, if they didn’t already think her so now.

“Oh, who cares what they think anyways? I have all the friends I need in my dreams.” she whispered to herself. “And in my books. I need no one else.” With a purpose she moved her way through the town, to the bookshop.

“Ahhh, Belle,” the bookseller, the young blonde Tony smiled at her. “I was hoping you’d come in today.”

So there was one person who liked her in this town. Belle couldn’t help but return his smile. Tony was always so good to her. And he had some really interesting books too.

“I just wanted to return this.” she said handing him the book in her basket. “It was really very good.”

Tony reached into the shelf closest to him. “We got in a new collection today. Papa had them shipped here from his shoppe in Paris. And I think this one got mixed in by mistake.” He held out a beautiful, gold plated book. On it’s cover was the title, written in kanji.

Belle took the book, awe clearly written on her face. How had such a book come to be even by accident in this tiny bookshop? “Maboroshi no Ginzuishou no Densetsu.” she read aloud. “Legend of the Mystical Silver Crystal.”

“I thought you might like it. I figured someone as intelligent as you would be able to fully enjoy it.” Tony said. “Papa, before he left for Paris, always said that you were very smart. Very special too, though he wouldn’t say how. Please, take it. You’re the only one who could actually get any use out of it in this closed minded town.”

Belle traced the beautiful characters. “Thank you Tony. I will treasure it.”

AN: And that’s the end of Act 3. The next act will see the proposal/rejection scene between Gaston and Belle. Yes, Tony is the French version of Motoki, and yes I wanted him to be the bookseller, the son of the original bookseller in the canon Beauty and the Beast. I did my research and the characters save for Belle and Gaston will have the French Dub names from the Sailor Moon anime. I’m not sure if I will include a version of Naru-chan or not, it depends. In a few acts we will see the introduction of Sailor Moon and her family. That will happen after Belle disappears from the scene for a little while.

[Ceara Ivory]

Rose of the Moon

Part One: Grace My Heart

Act 4

She was walking down a long road lined with ginkgo trees. Their yellow petals were so lovely. Birds sang their song as she walked along. It was so peaceful.

“Hey there sweet stuff.” came a sleazy voice from behind her.

She turned around. Two scruffy men were standing there holding knives.

“You shouldn’t be wandering out here all alone. It could be dangerous.” One told her as they moved in.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“You’re trespassing on our turf little girl.” One replied.

“Yeah,” Two added. “You need to pay a toll to get through here.” Two reached for her blue pleated skirt. “AHHH!” he screamed as someone grabbed his arm and twisted it back and up against his shoulder blade.

She took the opportunity to move away from the sleazeballs and eye the newcomer. He was a tall very handsome man with shoulder-length silver hair. His blizzard blue eyes was glaring at the other creep.

“Aren’t you a little old to be picking on innocent young girls?” the man asked, twisting the other’s arm harder.

One lunged forward with his knife. “Who’s gonna stop us?”

Her rescuer picked up his captive and threw him at his attacker. “I am! Now get out of here before I beat your asses into the ground.”

The two cowards knew when they were bested and ran away in terror. Her rescuer came over to her.

“Are you alright?”

She nodded. “Yes, thank you for saving me.” What was this feeling pooling inside of her. It didn’t feel like a crush at all. This was a different feeling. “I thought I was a goner.”

The man smiled gently at her. “Well those jerks won’t bother you anymore. I promise.” He took her hand and kissed it softly. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, my princess.” With that he faded away and darkness settled around her.

****************************

Belle opened her eyes and felt wetness on her side. It felt like someone was splashing her. She looked up and groaned inwardly.

“Gaston, stop that.” she glared at him.

He smirked. “I had to do something to get your attention. Who falls asleep at a fountain?”

“It’s none of your business where I sleep. One doesn’t have to always pay all their attention to you.” she fired back. She stood up with her new book and began to stomp away.

“Hold on.” he grabbed her shoulder.
Without warning she latched onto his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder and planted him flat onto his back. Belle panted as she realized what she’d done. How had she done it? Did she know she could do that? She couldn’t answer those questions. She had only acted on instinct, on the feelings of danger she had felt in her dream. She hadn’t managed to shake them yet.

Gaston stared up at her in shock. This had never happened before. A girl had flattened him. He looked around slowly. As he feared, everyone was staring at them. He stood up quickly and stepped closer to her.

Belle backed slowly away, looking around her. She had done it now. She’d never be able to fit in. Despite what she told herself, she did want to fit in. Tears pooled in her eyes and she fled past him, running as fast her legs could carry her.

Gaston watched her retreating form, at a loss for what to do. His gut told him that she hadn’t meant to do what she’d done. There was certainly something strange about her. Strange, and yet, alluring at the same time.

“Whoa Gaston, that Belle just flattened you. How did she do that?” LeFou asked.

Gaston nodded. “Well, I wouldn’t want to marry a girl who couldn’t defend herself when she needed to, would I? I can’t be there to protect her all the time. What if someone tried to hurt her while I was out hunting or something?” he reasoned. “All girls should know a little about protecting themselves at the very least just in case they’re alone when they’re in trouble. Besides, I let her flip me. Yeah, that’s it, I let her flip me. I better go after her and make sure she didn’t hurt herself.” he looked at his feet and picked something up. “And she forgot her book.” Before anyone else could say anything, he jogged off after her. That was embarrassing, but hopefully he had defused the situation.

*******************

At the cottage, Maurice was preparing his cart and Philippe for what appeared to be a long trip. An interesting contraption sat upon the cart.

Belle had managed to calm down before she approached her father. She didn’t want him to know what had happened in the town. She just wanted to forget it ever happened. “Papa,”

Maurice welcomed his daughter home with a smile. “Belle, did you have a good time in town?”

“Are you on your way to the fair already?” she replied, really not wanting to discuss town at the moment.

“Yep. I finally got this boneheaded contraption working. I’m positive it’ll at least attract some interested people. The fair’s tomorrow so I have to get going if I’m going to get there in time.”

“Be careful then Papa.” Belle hugged him. “Good luck.”

Maurice mounted Philippe and pushed gently but firmly into the horse’s sides. “Bye Belle, take care while I’m gone.”

Belle watched as her father left. She went to get her book from her basket and realized with horror that it wasn’t there. “Oh no, I must have dropped it.” She’d have to retrace her steps and find it. Tony and his father had meant that book to be especially for her, she knew it in her heart. She had to find it.

“You mean this?” Gaston’s voice startled her.

She leaped and turned around. “What is it with you and giving me heart attacks?”

“Heart attacks?” What was a heart attack, he wondered. “You dropped your book and I wanted to bring it back to you.”

Belle took a deep breath and saw he was holding her book out to her. She took it. “Thank you…” Why would he do something so nice for her? She didn’t think he really noticed anyone besides himself, only did things that served himself in one way or another. But she didn’t really know him very well, she realized, so how did she know all that.

“How can you read that anyway? Those aren’t letters I’ve ever seen before.” Gaston asked. “And it doesn’t even have pictures.”

Belle put the book in her basket. “I can’t really explain, but I can read Japanese characters. That’s what these are. Kanji to be exact. I just know how to read them. Thank you for bringing it back to me. That was very nice of you. And….I’m sorry for what happened in town, you just scared me and I reacted. I don’t even know how I did it.”

“Don’t worry about it Belle.” Okay, where did that come from? He hadn’t meant to say that, but he just felt like he had to forgive her. After all, he was about to propose to her, better to let sleeping dogs lie. “I actually was very impressed. It just makes you all the more attractive. After all, a girl should know how to protect herself in case she gets in trouble while her husband isn’t there to do it. I’m glad to know you’ll be safe while I’m off doing whatever I need to be doing to feed and shelter us.”

Belle cocked an eyebrow. “Wait a minute, us? What are you talking about?”

“Belle, you’re the most beautiful girl in town, and apparently the strongest girl in town. And now you’re the luckiest. All the girls want me, but I don’t want anyone else but you. I want you to be my wife.” he advanced.

She backed away slowly. “Gaston…I’m speechless. I really don’t know what to say.”

“Say yes.” he urged her. Say yes and end these confusing dreams, he begged mentally.

Belle laughed nervously, “Gaston, that’s a very flattering offer but….I just can’t marry you. I’m sorry.”

Gaston frowned. “Why not?”

“I just can’t. You see, there’s another man. Someone I love more than anything else in this world.” she recalled her dreams. That silver-haired man had been in many of the ones that weren’t centered in the future world.

“Who?” he demanded. “Who could be better than me?”

“We’ve only really met once before.” she seemed to forget Gaston was even there, staring off into nothing, her mind carrying her far away. “At the tree-lined street with young spring leaves. When I first saw that person something rang within my heart. Without thinking or moving, I watched him leave. During the summer that glowed with gold he showed off his perfect somersault for me at the tree-lined street of memories. We gazed at each other as the autumn days drifted by. My first love.”

As she spoke wistfully of this first love, Gaston listened. He didn’t know why he wasn’t saying anything. He was flabbergasted. No one had ever told him no before. It just didn’t happen. She should be throwing herself at him and practically begging him to take her to the chapel immediately. That’s how girls are supposed to be around him. But as she’d shown him earlier, she wasn’t exactly like other girls.

Slowly an image superimposed itself over her. A goddess with long golden hair with a red bow upon it. A yellow silk dress flowed out from her and he realized. This wasn’t the princess from his dream. He was following the wrong lead. He was just now starting to accept that maybe these dreams weren’t just dreams. The book he’d given back to her seemed to clinch it. He had looked through the book on the way to her home, curious as to what it was, since the writing was so strange. And that moon symbol. The same symbol he’d seen on the forehead of the princess in his dream. He didn’t say anything, but somehow he too could read what it said. He couldn’t tell her, he couldn’t tell anyone. Belle wasn’t his princess, but somehow, she was connected to his dreams. He was going to have take time and search a little more for the answers.

“So you see Gaston. I just can’t marry you, I’ve already promised myself to someone else.” she broke him out of his thoughts. The image of the goddess faded, leaving only Belle.

He frowned but said nothing and left a bewildered Belle. He didn’t care that she had rejected him, he couldn’t marry someone who wasn’t his princess. His princess had blonde hair, but it was in these cute little buns on top of her head. And her gown was silver, as he remembered from his dreams. It wasn’t Belle.

AN: Okay, I know that seemed a bit rushed and Gaston is DEFINITELY OOC, letting Belle go and all that, but I can’t have him putting Maurice in the asylum. He’s a good guy in this. And my version of Belle didn’t play the coy “hard to get” game that the original Belle did. These dreams are really altering their perceptions, things are different. Wait til you meet who I’ve chosen to be Sailor Moon.

[Ceara Ivory]

Rose of the Moon

Art Challenge: Draw Belle in Princess Venus’ dress or as Sailor V.

Part One: Grace My Heart

Act 5

The next morning…

Belle sat on the large cliff that overlooked a peaceful river with her book. “And so the Mystical Silver Crystal was split into seven rainbow crystals and reborn inside the hearts of seven humans. When all seven rainbow crystals are found…”

A panicked whinny interrupted her reading and she looked up. Philippe was rushing towards her, still hooked to the cart, but without his rider. She gasped.

“Philippe! What are you doing here? Where’s Papa, where is he? Take me to him Philippe, quickly.”

Philippe complied, going as fast as his stocky legs would carry them. Their journey took them to a dark-looking castle in the middle of the forest. Bravely, Belle dismounted her house, steadying him as she looked about.

“What I wouldn’t give to be able to be Sailor V right now.” she murmured to herself, pushing open the gate. She nearly missed her father’s hat, lying on the stone bridge. “Papa!” she dove for it, picking it up. “Don’t worry Papa,” she whispered. “I’m going to find you and rescue you.”

Cautiously, she entered the fortress. As scared as she was, she couldn’t help but wonder if this would be anything like her dreams. She almost hoped it would be. She would love to become Sailor V in real life and not just in a figment of her imagination.

“What am I thinking? They’re just dreams.” she muttered. “Just dreams. They can’t be true. They can’t be.” she shook her head of those thoughts and turned her focus back to her task. “Papa! Where are you? Can you hear me?”

Suddenly, a door creaked behind her. She whirled around, hearing footsteps. Hurriedly she ran after them. “Hello, who’s there? Wait please, I’m looking for my father…” She followed the footsteps up a large winding staircase. “I…”

“Belle?” came a surprised voice from up ahead as she reached the top at last.

“Papa!” Belle cried with joy, running towards the cell-door. She clasped the hand reaching out to her from the small opening in the door. “Oh Papa, you’re so cold. We have to get you out of there.”

“Just a minute Belle, how did you find me, you shouldn’t be here.” Maurice told his daughter. “I want you to leave at once, it’s not safe.”

“Not until I get you out of here!” Belle countered. “I won’t leave you!”

A heavy hand clasped down onto her shoulder and flung her about. “What are you doing here?” A monstrous voice roared as she hit the wall.

Belle stood, assuming a stance she had taken many times in her dreams. “Who’s there? Who are you?” She was prepared to fight, even without being Sailor V. After doing it so many times in her dreams, it seemed so natural to do it now.

“I am the master of this castle.” the voice answered harshly.

“I demand you release my father, at once!” Belle ordered, almost consciously sensing her dream-self merging with her real-life self. “Can’t you see that he is sick? Have you no compassion?”

“Then he should not have trespassed here! He is my prisoner and you must leave now!” the voice ordered her.

“If you will not release him, then I will have to…” she prepared to launch an attack but stopped.

“No, you must not attack him. Offer to stay in your father’s place.” a mysterious voice said. She looked around to see if someone else was there but saw no one, nor did she see any indication that anyone else had heard anything. “Fighting is not necessary here. It is here that you will find what you need. Offer to take his place.” the voice said again. She had heard that voice only in her dreams before. What did it mean that it was speaking to her now.

Belle swallowed. “If you will not simply release him, I will make a deal with you. Let him go and I will stay in his place. I will be your prisoner.”

The owner of the voice stared her down, but his eyes gained a softness. “You would really take his place.”

Maurice shouted in protest, “No! Belle no! You can’t! You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“On my word, I will stay in his place. But you have to let him go in exchange.”

The monstrous voice stepped forward into light to approach the cell. Belle fought down screams at what she saw. It was a horrible monster, like the youma in her dreams. She almost reached for the power stick but stopped, reminding herself that she wasn’t in her dreams but reality. She reached for her father’s hands again.

“Belle, please no. I’m old, I’ve lived my life. I can’t let you do this.” Maurice pleaded as the cell was unlocked.

“Don’t worry Papa. I’ll be alright. I know what I’m doing.” she looked back up at the Beast. “I think…”

********

In a dark, evil palace of obsidian…

“Jadeite, report your progress.” ordered a tall, lovely, red-headed woman. Her long form-fitting amethyst gown accented every curve.

A young, blonde man knelt before her. “My servant Morga is in place. We will begin collecting energy from these pathetic humans.”

“Good Jadeite. Remember, we need an enormous amount of energy to achieve our objectives. It is time for us to gain control the Earth, the Moon, and finally the universe!”

“Yes, Queen Beryl. Soon, the universe will know your greatness.”

********

A sleek young blonde girl in a coral pink frock walked with her sisters through the village. “Oh, isn’t Gaston just the most handsome, manliest man you’ve ever seen in your life.”

“Ohhhh yes.” her green-clad triplet answered. All three let out a sigh of adoration.

“It’s just a shame that he’s got his sights on that Belle. What does he see in her? Why would he want her and not us?” The yellow one pouted.

Pink shrugged. “We have to do something to get his…”

“Bunny….” came a whisper behind her, causing her to stop.

Bunny looked behind her, bewildered. “Huh?”

“To get his “what”, Bunny?” Green asked.

“What?” Bunny blanked. “Sorry Nanou, I got distracted. I mean, his attention. We have to break whatever spell that witch has on him.” Witch obviously referred to Belle. “What do you think, Blanche?”

The three of them continued their stroll home. No one noticed the little black cat following after them.

AN: Alright, finally we have finished Part 1. Part 2 will begin shortly. Please, if you read, tell me what you think. Even if it’s in the negative, please tell me.

[Ceara Ivory]

Rose of the Moon

Part 2- Real Justice

Author’s Note: This is it, the full on beginning of our Sailor Moon/BatB adaptation. At last, Sailor Moon will be introduced. I am taking inspiration from all four forms of Sailor Moon (Manga, Anime, SeraMyu, and PGSM). Montlune is a fictional town in France that I just created. Seemed fitting since Lune is the French word for Moon. Mont is short of Montagne which is French for Mountain or Mount. So you essentially have Mount Moon Village.

Act 1

Bunny was just a typical girl in this small town of Montlune. Just another of the ordinary pretty faces that resided here. Was it really any wonder that Gaston didn’t notice her, she sighed. She must really sort of blend into the crowds. It would have to take an exceptional woman to catch Gaston’s eye. That must be Belle’s secret. Belle was so strange, so mysteriously beautiful and smart to boot. Normally smart women weren’t all that wanted here, but Gaston would need something besides beauty since there were so many beautiful girls in this town and he was so special. He would want someone as special as he was. So as much as she said she disliked Belle, really her dislike was all based on her jealousy. If she could have, she would have done everything she could to gain Belle’s friendship, if only to get closer to Gaston and perhaps learn how to snag him herself. But her sisters would never let her, they’d never understand it.

So, as usual, she stood off to the side with them at the fountain as Gaston demonstrated his great strength by lifting a heavy barrel of fish. She had to pretend that she was content with simply swooning over the man, knowing it was truly impossible for him to notice her the way she wanted.

“Bunny, you alright?” Nanou asked her.

Bunny waved her hand at her sister. “I’m alright, sister, I just have a headache. I think I should go home and lay down for a little bit.”

“Good idea.” Blanche agreed. “Go on, we’ll be home soon to help Mama with supper.”

Bunny took one last glance at Gaston and turned to leave. She didn’t get far down the path when she felt something heavy land on her head. Startled, she screamed and batted at whatever it was. Quickly the weight left her and land at her feet.

“Oh, it’s just a cat.” she sighed in relief and a feeling a foolishness washed over her. She’d lost her cool over a dumb cat. “What are you doing jumping on my head, kitty.” she knelt to pick up the cat and scratched at it’s ear. She looked into it’s eyes. “Is that a moon on your forehead kitty?”

“Luna! Here Luna!” a call came from a nearby shop. The cat leaped from her arms and went over to Tony, the bookseller’s son. Tony smiled at her. “I’m sorry if she bothered you.”

“Oh, is she yours?” Bunny asked. She’d seen the young man in passing before but never really talked to him. He was a book person, books weren’t proper for a girl after all. But now that she saw him close up, she realized how good-looking he was. Not at all like she thought.

Tony shook his head. “Nah, she just wandered in one day and I’ve been feeding her. I saw her jump on you and I was worried you might be upset. I’m sorry.”

“No, she just scared me that’s all.”

“She seems to like you though. She’s never done that before. Maybe she could find a permanent home with you, if you’d like to keep her that is.”
Bunny’s eyes lit up. “Really?” She realized she would like to keep the cat. She was so pretty and with that moon on her forehead, she was a rare find. Maybe she could train the cat and show her at the contests at the next fair.

“BUNNY!” came the excited cries of her sisters as they came running up to her.

“Bunny, we know you have a headache, but you have to come quick!” Nanou said. “There’s a new dressmaker and she’s giving away some dresses as a grand opening special. “Quick!”

Nanou and Blanche latched onto their sister and began dragging her away. She turned and bade farewell to Tony. Luna bounded after them.

“I feel something from this girl.” the black cat murmured. “Is she the one I’m looking for?”

The dresses at the new dressmaker’s shop were certainly very lovely.

“Go on girls, one dress free to every customer. Any dress you like.” the shopkeeper bellowed with a smile.

Bunny and her sisters looked over the dresses. “Do you girls think a new dress would get his attention?” she asked absentmindedly.

“Of course it will.” the shopkeeper assured her from behind. “These are special dresses. They’re sure to make your love dreams come true dear.”

Bunny was about to try one on when she felt something at her ankle and looked down. “Luna, you followed me. What do you think, should I get one?” she showed the sparkly pink dress to the cat. If she hadn’t known better she would have thought she’d seen the cat shake it’s head. She looked back at the dress, suddenly filled with second thoughts. “Will a new dress really make me more beautiful than Belle, beautiful enough for him?” she thought to herself. She looked over to where her sisters were trying on bright, sparkly dresses of their own.

*************

“The time has come for us to attack the other dimension and release our master, Metallia.” Queen Beryl stated to her people. “But to do that, we must gather energy, lots of energy. Jadeite, tell me of your plan.”

The Dark Kingdom was an evil universe filled with horrid monsters and an even more horrid Queen. They had been locked away for many centuries, punishment for their attempt to take over the Moon Kingdom which had nearly succeeded.

“Yes, Queen Beryl,” Jadeite bowed low. “My servant Morga has positioned herself as a new dressmaker in this small, quaint village of Montlune, in France. These dresses will sap the energy of those pathetic humans and all those near them. Soon, the Dark Kingdom shall be free and you Queen Beryl will rule the universe.”

**************

Bunny didn’t understand why, but she felt she had to leave the dress shop as quick as possible. Without even telling her sisters, she slipped out with the pretty black cat. In her hurry she didn’t watch where she was going and bumped into something, or someone, and fell to the ground.

“Hey, why don’t you watch where you’re going….” she began to shout at whatever had knocked her down but stopped herself. “Gaston…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean…” she stood up quickly. “Sorry.” Her face colored with embarrassment and she ran away.

With his eyebrows raised, Gaston watched her run off. That was the second girl who had run away from him. Was he losing his touch?

AN: Luna has made an appearance and I hope we can now figure out who Sailor Moon is. I thought it would be good to give the triplets a bigger part then they have in the movie.

[Ceara Ivory]

Rose of the Moon

Part 2- Real Justice

Art Challenge 2: Design Bunny’s Sailor Moon locket, according to the description in the paragraph.

PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE!!!

Act 2

Bunny ran right into her house and up the stairs to the room she shared with her sisters and locked the door. She curled herself up into a ball. “Oh, how could I do that? There’s no way he’ll ever want me now that I’ve made a complete fool of myself.” she lamented her actions.

“That’s hardly the worst of your worries, Bunny.” said an unfamiliar voice at her feet.

Bunny uncurled herself and looked down. The only one she saw there was the cat, Luna. She must have followed her in. “Who said that? It couldn’t have been you kitty.”

“Actually it was.”

Bunny let out a shriek and jumped to the other side of the room. “You’re talking to me. I’m talking to a cat! I must be losing my mind.”

**********

In the shop, several of the customers began collapsing weakly to their knees.

“What’s going on?” one woman asked. “I feel so strange…so weak..”

Nanou, who had not yet been able to try on the dress she wanted, looked around. Her sister, Blanche, was fainted on the floor and Bunny was missing. “Umm…what’s going on here? Everyone’s fainting around me.” She eyed the room, searching for the shopkeeper. “Hey, something’s wrong here. We need to get help for these people.” The shopkeeper was clearly not paying attention. “Hey, didn’t you hear me? These people need help.”

An evil laugh emanated from the woman. “There’s no help for them I’m afraid. Or for you.” The head twisted completely around until it was facing her.

**********

“No, Bunny, you are not losing your mind. As Tony told you, my name is Luna, although how he knew that remains a mystery, perhaps it was just a coincidence. But that’s something totally different. I have been looking for you. I know you won’t believe me, but you are a very special young woman. You have been chosen, Bunny.”

“Chosen? For what?”

“To be the Sailor Soldier of the Moon, sworn to defend the Princess of the Moon.”

For a moment everything was quiet. The quiet ended when Bunny began to giggle. “A soldier? Me? That’s impossible, I’m a girl. Only men can be soldiers. You’re probably looking for someone like Gaston.”

“No Bunny. And speaking of Gaston, I suggest you stay away from him until I’m sure he’s not really a spy from the Dark Kingdom.”

“What are you talking about? Stay away from Gaston? Spy? Dark Kingdom! Start making sense already.”

“You don’t believe me then, alright, I’ll prove it to you.” Luna leaped into the air and spun into a flip. When she landed, a beautiful gold crescent moon locket, hanging on a gold chain, sat on the bed.

Bunny gaped. “What is that?”

Luna smiled. “That Bunny, is a special locket just for you.”’

“For me? It’s beautiful, thank you.” Bunny picked it up and fastened it around her neck. She went over to her mirror.

“It’s not just a piece of jewelry, Bunny. Listen to me. You need that locket to awaken your powers within. You are Sailor Moon and you must fight evil when it confronts you, you must not be afraid.” But clearly, Bunny was not listening. “Fine, I’ll prove it to you, again. Repeat after me, Moon Prizm Power Make-Up.”

Bunny shrugged. “Alright. Moon Prizm Power.” Before she knew it, her pony-tail was rolling up and dividing into two pigtail-buns on top of her head with two round-red barrettes. Her dress skirt shortened and became blue pleats. Her bodice changed into a leotard with a red bow and a crescent moon broach in the center, just like her locket which still hung about her neck. Her simple shoes became red knee-high boots and her arms from her elbow down to her fingertips were garbed in red and white gloves. Her earrings were crescent moons and stars. Finally, her forehead was adorned with a gold tiara with a red jewel in the center. She looked at herself in the mirror and nearly screamed. “What is this? This is completely improper clothing for a girl like me and it’s totally gaudy.”

“Well you can’t expect to fight evil in long dresses do you? You’ll trip and break your neck. Pleats are more durable and the skirt covers enough of you to be proper. And it is not gaudy!” Luna protested.

A scream echoed in Bunny’s ears. “HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME! THIS DRESSMAKER’S CRAZY! HELP!”

Bunny looked at Luna. “That was Nanou. She and Blanche must be in trouble.”

“Yes, Bunny. Some powerful evil forces have come to Earth, and it is your duty to fight them.”

“But what can I do? I’m just a girl? I’m not a soldier.”

“You are Sailor Moon. You will know what to do when you look into your heart. Believe in yourself.”

Steeling her nerves, Bunny knew what she had to do. Her sisters were in trouble. “Okay.”

**********

As they had predicted, Nanou was currently in terrible danger. The dressmaker was now a hideous monster and she had Nanou by the throat.

“Help me please, somebody.” Nanou cried in desperation.

“No one’s gonna help you now stupid girl?”

“Let her go.” a voice demanded from the shop doors.

The monster turned it’s head. “Huh?”

“I said, let her go!” the voice demanded again.

“And who do you think you are?”

Bunny stopped. What was she to say to that. “Um…I’m.” She looked up towards the windows, the full-moon light shining through them. “I am Sailor Moon, champion of justice. I will right all wrongs and triumph over all evil and that means you.”

“Sailor Moon? We’ll see what kind of champion you really are. Arise my slaves, and serve the power that is the Dark Kingdom.” Morga called forth her drained-customers as if they were zombies. “Destroy her.”

Bunny suddenly realized that as much as Luna had said she would, she didn’t know at all what to do as the zombie-customers attacked her. She didn’t know anything about fighting. She quickly began dodging blows and trying her best to get away. “Luna, help me! I don’t know what to do!”

A blow from one of the zombies knocked her into a wall and she turned around with fear. “Oh no…what am I supposed to do now. Luna, please…help me! I don’t want to do this anymore.” she began wailing. “I want to go home!”

Morga moved in for the kill. “As you wish, little girl. AHHHH!” Morga screamed with pain as a sharp item sliced across her hand and embedded itself in the floor.

A closer look from both parties revealed that the item was a beautiful red rose. “Sailor Moon!” a male voice called to her from the window above.

Bunny looked up. There in the window was a handsome man clad in a black tuxedo and top hat. A cape framed him.

“You must not let this evil witch win! Look to the warrior within you!” the man instructed her.

“But I don’t want to be a warrior.” Her wails kicked up a notch and the world seemed to quake.

The zombies fell to the floor, Morga’s spell broken thanks to her crying. Morga held her ears, feeling as though her brain was about the explode.

Luna came up behind her. “Sailor Moon, take your tiara and saw Moon Tiara Boomerang.”

“Why, what good will that do?”

“Just do it!”

Unsure what else to do, Bunny took off her tiara. Instantly it became a sharp discus and she knew that it would work. “Moon Tiara Boomerang!”

Her tiara flew at the monster and seconds later, it was dust on the floor.

“I knew you could do it Sailor Moon. Good work!” the man called to her. “Now all of these innocent people are free and have their energy back. Others will test you but you cannot let them win. I will fight with you. I am Tuxedo Mask!” With that, the man leaped out of the window, leaving a shell-shocked Bunny behind with her guardian cat.

“Well, Sailor Moon, I see we have a lot of work ahead of us, but don’t worry, I will have you in shape in no time.”

But Bunny wasn’t paying any attention. All of her attention was on the now empty window. “Who was that masked man?” she whispered. “He was so handsome.”

**********

The next morning, as usual, the sisters were at their usual spot ogling Gaston. One of the many village women walked over to them.

“Hey, did either of you have a weird dream?” the lady asked them.

Nanou scratched her head. “As a matter of fact, I did. I was being attacked by this ugly monster and this beautiful girl named Sailor Moon saved us.”

The lady nodded. “I had the same dream.”

“So did I.” Blanche added followed by several other women in the hearing range. “That’s odd.”

“Very odd.” Nanou agreed. “Bunny, isn’t that really strange?” she realized that Bunny wasn’t beside them as usual and turned around. There, sitting on the ground, leaning against a haystack was a snoozing Bunny.

AN: Okay, I know that was very similar to how the first episode went but I couldn’t resist. PLEASE REVIEW. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

[Ceara Ivory]

Rose of the Moon

Author’s Note: Alright, the use of computers will be here, but only the scouts and anyone related to the Sailor Moon plotline will have access to them, think of them as magical items. In a way they are. Yes, I am giving the senshi their control room much like they had in the manga. I might show Belle at least one more time before I have her fully awaken as Sailor Venus, I’m thinking she might discover Artemis utilizing a secret control center hidden deep in the Beast’s palace unknown even to him.

Part 3: Genius the Veil

Act 1

The full moon shone bright in it’s place above the Earth. A clearer, crisper night was rare and Luna knew it. She relished being out in the night, as all cats do. But she wasn’t simply out to enjoy the night. She had a destination. The bookshop. From the moment she had set foot in this small town, she had known that she would need to get things ready. Things were going to start happening and if she didn’t find them soon, all would be lost. This bookshop had the been the perfect place to set up base, very few people really entered.

She peered in, making sure that Tony really was not anywhere about. She knew from experience that Tony often liked to stay in the shop until late at night, even if it was only stocking new books onto the shelves Satisfied that the place was empty, she crept in moving quickly towards the backroom. She smelled and scratched at the various places on the wooden floor until she found what she wanted. She looked up to the thatch roof. Her crescent moon birthmark glowed and a glass skylight appeared in the roof, giving her a direct view of the full moon. Concentrating, she closed her eyes. A beam of light shot down from the moon and reflected off the birthmark and onto the wooden floor. In a shimmer of light, the floorboards vanished and a staircase appeared. She descended the staircase and came to a door with a security lock complete with hand and voice recognition. She jumped up onto some boxes she had placed under the lock for that purpose. With precision she pressed a series of numbers.

“Identify.”

“Luna.” she spoke loud and clear, placing her paw on the scanning device.

The door automatically opened into a high-tech computer room. Luna hopped onto the base of one of the many computers that lined the walls. She knew that computers had not yet been rediscovered by the humans since they were forced to start over again after the war of a thousand years ago, but thanks to moon magic, she was able to relocate an old computer system from the former kingdom to this secret chamber. Again, she began pressing a series of numbers which caused the computer to boot on and she sighed.

“What have you to report Luna?” a computerized voice asked her.

“It’s this Bunny girl. She’s not at all like I hoped she would be. She’s so absorbed in how she looks and what she wants and that oaf who calls himself Town Hero, Gaston I think his name is. I’ve tried talking to her since that first night, but she doesn’t seem to want anything to do with me or our mission.”

(“Why do I have to be a soldier of justice anyway? Why are these Dark Kingdom creeps MY responsibility. I saved my sisters and destroyed that first monster but don’t expect me to do it again. I’ll just break my nails.”)

“I just don’t know what to do with her.”

“You must continue to train her Luna. She doesn’t have a choice. If she doesn’t fight, then everything we know will be destroyed. On to new business. I may have located the next soldier.” A mug-shot of a cute, honey-haired girl graced the screen. Tortoise-shell glasses accented her butterscotch eyes. “Her name is Molly Frotte, she is the niece of the owner of the bookstore. She will arrive tomorrow morning to live with her cousin and help in taking care of the store.”


“Is she at least intelligent? Please tell me I’ll have some intelligent conversation.” Luna begged. “I can’t stand all of this bubbly-perky-idiocy.”

The computer-voice laughed at her. “Yes, Luna. In fact, she is a graduate of the Sorbonne University. One of her professors will be accompanying her to give a lecture to those who wish to hear in two days.”

Luna sighed with relief. “Gods bless girls with brains.”

**********

“Tell me of your new plan for collecting energy Jadeite.” Queen Beryl ordered her minion as he kneeled before her.

“My servant Garoben is currently disguised as a professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She has slowly been siphoning her students of their energy. And in two days she will be in the small town of Montlune where she will collect the energy of the small minded inhabitants and turn them into our slaves.” Jadeite replied.

Queen Beryl nodded. “Very well, you may continue with your plan. But I warn you Jadeite. Don’t fail me again or I shall have to get angry with you.”

**********

“Awwww, Luna, why do I have to go to the bookstore? I wanna go with my sisters and…” Bunny protested as Luna forced her to follow her. In her hand she carried a fairly long list.

“And what, waste your time ogling that pig of a man? No. You may not want to be a Sailor Soldier, but I’m afraid you have no choice. When the world is saved, then and only then can you be as flaky as want. But for now, you will train. Not only your body but your mind as well. I refuse to spend another moment with a complete imbecile whose only care is whether or not her hair looks alright.” Luna said. “Besides, you were the one who said that you wished you could be as good as that Belle was, right? And Belle reads. So, if you want to be good enough to catch that pig’s eye, you have to beat Belle, that means you have to start reading.”

Bunny grumbled but conceded. She did want to be good enough for Gaston and that meant showing him that she was better than Belle any day. So, if that meant reading, then into the bookstore. “Hello…” she called out timidly.

Tony’s yellow hair peeked out from under the front counter. “Good afternoon Bunny. Didn’t expect to see you come in.” he stood up and looked at her with his one of a kind smile. “Hey there, Luna. I see you two are getting on just fine. Can I help you?”

“Um yeah…” Bunny handed him the list. “I need these books here please.”

Tony’s eyes went wide. “Wow, this is some list. I never thought of you as a reader type, guess I was wrong.”

“No, really I’m not. But Gaston is so hung up on that Belle girl, I have to do something to show him that I’m just as good as she is.”

Tony nodded with understanding. “These are difficult titles though. They could prove a little overwhelming. Hey, I know. My cousin just arrived from Paris. She’s a graduate of Sorbonne and until she can decide what to do next, she’s going to help care for the store. She could help you with these.”

Bunny tried shaking her head in reply but Tony was already calling out through the store. “Molly, can you come here for a moment?”

The girl that came out of the backroom was a demure, lithe-bodied young thing with cropped honey hair. Bunny couldn’t help but think how pretty this girl was, for so obviously being a book reader. Why were book reading girls so much prettier than they should be? It wasn’t right.

Molly took off her glasses and pulled a cloth out of her pocket. “Yes, Tony?”

“Wanted you to meet someone, another girl about your age. Molly, this is Bunny, one of the local girls. Bunny, this is my cousin Molly Flotte.”

Molly replaced her glasses and looked down. “It’s really nice to meet you.”

Bunny gave her a polite smile. “Yeah, it’s nice to meet you too.”

“Molly,” Tony handed her Bunny’s list. “can you get these books from the back for me?”

Molly took the list and quietly went back to find the books.

“I’m glad she’ll have someone to talk to here in town.” Tony told Bunny. “I had wanted to introduce her to Belle, I thought they would get along splendidly, but she hasn’t come in yet today.”

Bunny fought the urge to roll her eyes. Tony was really the only one who liked Belle for her reading. It wasn’t right for women to read. Women were supposed to focus all their time on looking pretty and finding a man and learning to cook and clean and sew. Women didn’t read. “Well, I hope she’ll like it here.”

Molly came back out with the thick books. “These are some really good ones. I think you’ll really like them, I sure did. Especially Moliere.”

“I hope I like them. To be honest, I’m not really much of a reader myself.” Bunny confessed, although why it was any of this new girl’s business she couldn’t say. For some reason, she felt the essence of a friend coming from her.

“Really.” Molly smiled knowingly, understandingly.

“Yeah. But there’s this man I really want, but he’s got his mind fixed on this other girl who is a lot like you. She reads a lot and is extremely beautiful.”

“So you want to try and show him that you’re also these things.” Molly stroked the cover of one of the many books. “If you want, I could read these with you and help you understand them. That way you’ll not only have read them but be able to show that you know what you read.”

For a moment Bunny hesitated. To be seen with a brain like this Molly, this book reading girl, it would be scandalous in the eyes of her sisters and other friends. But on the other hand she found that she wanted to get to know her and be her friend. It must be hard to be new to a village like this without anyone you can call friend.

“I’d like that. Thank you.”

Luna grinned inwardly. Things were going quite well.

AN: End of Act 1 of Part 3. I love the song Koi no Senshi Ja Irarenai and Drive Me the Mercury from the musicals, so I thought Genius the Veil was the perfect title for Part 3.