2187/A Path To Happiness

A Path To Happiness
Date of Scene:	27 December 2024
Location:	The Snow Kingdom of Chanteur
Synopsis:	Laura, Yokina, Usagi, Chibiusa, Mamoru, and Amy meet Sharon again, and learn a lot about the snow princess.
Cast of Characters:	Laura La Mer, Chibiusa Tsukino, Hotaru Tomoe, Mamoru Chiba, Amanda Faust, Usagi Tsukino
Tinyplot:	Chanteur, Land of Happiness

---

Laura La Mer has posed:
"Ahh, what a beautiful spring!" After the lunch with Yokina, Haruka and Amy, Laura had decided to go on a post-meal walk to help her disgestion. Something certainly needed given the meals at Chanteur tended to be on the bountiful side.

Somewhere along the way the snowy environment had given way to a lush inner sanctuary isolated from the rigid boundary of winter all around, the only indication of its existence some flowers she had previously seen grow even through the snow. She thinks she has seen them somewhere before, but where?

Without hesitation, the mermaid dives underwater, immediately refreshed by the pleasant sensation of the pure water, her head resurfacing a second after. A vaguely echoing "Kururun" claims her attention from within the Aqua Pot nestled in her hair, the pink seal leaping out of the magical bottle as soon as Laura takes it out.

"Let's swim together, Kururun!", the pinkette says joyfully, a cheerful agreement coming from her fairy friend. Turning to look at the sky, Laura swims forward at a leisurely pace, humming a relaxing melody from her "Song of Friendship". A few seconds after, another melody reaches her and the ears of anyone who may have been in the surroundings.

"A song?", Laura murmurs surprised, holding still for a second. Swimming closer to its source, she stops just before the end of the spring, peering up at the small open tower in which Sharon is sitting, giving her back to the pinkette. The melodious humming fading to its end, Sharon starts speaking, not turning from her position. "Won't you come up here and have a talk with me, Laura the mermaid?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa is dressed in a thick, warm light blue wool coat. She's wearing white mittens and a dark blue scarf with snowflake print. She's got a skip to her step and her nose is in the air, proud of herself for recently 'totally winning' at Hide and Seek against Mamoru. She never knew exactly how he managed to track her so well, in this timeline or the other, but this time she lasted longer than average so that's pretty good, right?

    Hopefully no one spoils the mystery for her.

    While walking through the snow, wondering what kind of game or play she should pull her alt-u parents into next, she hears a melody ringing out from somewhere nearby. Actual mermaids and other magical songstresses are still pretty new to her overall, so turns to Mamoru and says, "Hey, let's go find out what that is! I wanna see who's singing like that."

    Then she runs ahead without a second thought, regardless of what anyone else says. She must feel pretty safe here.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Yokina Meiou was exhausted, in a good way. She'd had one minor incident since arriving, but nothing too major. And now? She was... tired. She'd run around, had a snowball fight, ran around some more, played games, more snowballs, made snow angels, pet kururun, brushed Yochu's hair (No, Yochu had not been in her luggage).

She'd, of course, come to the meal and even eaten... a tiny bit. She rarely ever ate much, and lately her appetite had started to become even smaller, but she'd still enjoyed spending the time with everyone.

And as she was walking, she saw Chibiusa returning with Mamoru. She lifted an arm up and waved. "Heyyy! What are..." and then she went quiet. Singing? Ohhhh. Someone was singing... She followed after Chibiusa... and was likely fairly noticeable.

Bright red and white jacket and mittens were anything but subtle. But she wasn't supposed to be subtle, there were no (real) dangers here!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Endymion laughs, jogging with long legs to keep up with the running of a little kid. He's gone full speed ahead with wearing whatever fantasy prince clothes that the fairies suggest, but always in his colors, dark blue with light blue and gold accents-- and in the case of going outside, fur-lined.

This shouldn't be that surprising, this is the boy whose henshin is complicated men's formalwear.

Mamoru waves to Yokina as he theatrically goes after Chibiusa, light blue silk lined woolen hood falling back on his head, liripipe hanging down nearly to the hem of his cloak. The snow fairies really do know their fairytale fashion.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy, taking the opportunity to have fairies keep making her all kinds of clothes, is now wearing a pastel yellow-with-darker-trim heavy coat over a pale yellow dress with orange and purple designs on it with a matching hat with a long fuzzy pom-pom on the back as she ventures into the snow again, trying to determine if a compass works consistantly here or not. The sound of singing calls her attention though, and -- having no particular reason to expect sirens in winter -- she follows it, and is surprised to find -- "A spring? ...I have more questions about the structure of this world. Does this imply geological processes that create a hot spring, or is it just magic and there's a spring here?"

    Amy smiles as she sees Laura swimming around, "Must be a pleasant surprise that there's somewhere you can swim in a world like this, huh?" If the area around the spring is warm enough, she doffs her coat and hat, but she's not leaping in the water just yet.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi yawns a little as she chases walks after Chibiusa and Mamoru - who knew that keeping up with little kids was so tiring? Sure, she'd never exactly considered herself the most high energy person, not when her favorite sport was competitive napping, but seriously, Chibiusa could give the energizer bunny a run for his money when she wanted to.

She's dressed in winter princess attire - a thick, fancily embroidered wool coat of purest white, well-made pants in a pale-gold, and a white shirt underneath, all of it patterned with snowflakes - she'd asked the Frost Fairies to give her their best shot, and she was amused to be wearing the efforts.

Having worn fancy clothes her entire life, she's wearing them well.

"There is no way I'm getting in the water," she concludes, looking at Laura and shivering in her coat. "But, your singing is pretty, Sharon-hime."

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura would have given Yokina worried glances at how little she had been eating during its entire duration, all the more so since she had exerted herself so much during their previous game that her cousin literally had to carry her inside the castle. There should be no way she wasn't hungry. Was she ill?

For now, she had put those thoughts aside to better consult a library in Tokyo once she is back there, or, failing that, the one in Grand Ocean (but humans should know humans best, really.)

A startled "huh?" reaches Sharon in response to her invitation, not expecting to be busted when she wasn't even looking at her. Taking her up on her offer, she kicks up a stream of water, leaping up and landing perfectly on a bench next to Sharon between the railing and the ceiling. "You certainly are an adept swimmer", Sharon tells her with a smile. "Well, that is because I am a mermaid", comes the pinkette's cheerful reply.

"That goes for all you too, Usagi Chibiusa Tsukino and Usagi Tsukino, Yokina Meiou, Mamoru Endymion Chiba and Amanda Faust", Sharon lists the names told to her in their brief previous meeting. "Join us for a talk if you would like, the weather is pleasant, and I don't have any urgent duties occupying my time", she invites them with a smile.

Once the rest of them join the two up there, the talk can commence in earnest. "Not just that, the water is fresh and pure, swimming in it in heavenly", Laura tells Amy happily, clearly not bothered at all by the cold of the 'fresh' water. "I could give you another ride through it if you want, Usagi-chan", Laura winks at the blonde girl.

"That was a beautiful melody you were singing", Laura looks at the other girl with admiration. "Thank you very much, Laura-san, Usagi-san", the snow princess bow her heads towards the two of them. "It's a song from the Kingdom of Chanteur. It is passed down for many generations, and it is often sung by the people of this country", Sharon replies, mouth open in a smile at the two girls' compliments.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Upon hearing Yokina's voice, Chibiusa smiled and waved her over. "Come on, let's go see!"

    As they reach the spring, she hears the invitation from Princess Sharon and says in a cheerful, singsongy voice, "Okay~!"

    She is, of course, not quite as fancily dressed as Usagi and Mamoru, but her clothes are still well fit and tailored such as they are. Small Lady can't dress up to her usual station without giving away the game. Or so she thinks.

    When they finally reach Sharon, Chibiusa is listening quietly, being well behaved for the moment, with her hands clasped behind her back as she rocks back and forth on her feet. "So does everyone around here sing like that? Even the fairies?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Yokina Meiou couldn't help but appreciate just how amazing the others looked. It was like she was traveling to a winter wonderland filled with princes and princesses (and her guardian in this case could be both).

"The singing really is pretty. I hope one day I can sing like that." Granted, she sometimes has theme music, so she supposed it was a suitable trade. Actually, no. She wouldn't trade Luminous Titan for all the singing in the world.

She moved to one of the seats, her face slightly flushed and gaving Laura a small smile. Yeah, she was certainly sick. It'd... likely be a while before Laura knew just how much.

She'd never know, if Yokina could help it...

She then glanced back to Chibiusa and smiled. She was a good girl. Though now Yokina wondered if she should stand, too. But... well. It was best not to over exert herself. The last thing anyone wanted was that...

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"No thank you, Laura-chan! It's got to be cold in there, I'll stay nice and warm and dry," Usagi declares, plopping down on the ground comfortably. If they're going to talk, why not be comfortable?

"Suna-san would probably pay for singing lessons, if you really wanted to learn to sing, Yokina-chan," she adds lightly, glancing at the girl she knows is actually Hotaru. "Or you could try and join choir class."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Initially thinking it must be a hot spring, given the green plants around it, Amy considers whether to find snow fairies for a swimsuit or not, and then Mamoru's arrival, she decides, does shift that to be something necessary -- but then she realizes she doesn't feel any heat. It's cold?! But of course, mermaids can swim in the open ocean... they're probably magically resistant to cold tempoeratures, or at least to losing heat to cold water. "We will freeze." Amy notes to Laura.

    She smiles up at Sharon. "That was beautiful singing." Amy thinks for a moment. "Do you have sheet music of it we could take home?" She taps her chin. "I could share music from Earth with you but there's so much... I don't know where to begin!"

    Yokina wants to sing? Amy gives her a curious look, "How well do you sing now? Can you hit the right pitch?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru says with a sidelong smile and an inclination of his head, "Endymion is fine, Highness, thank you for your invitation and your welcome-- and for the lovely song." The smile turns into a slightly cheeky grin and the prince pushes up his glasses. His eyes then seek out Usagi, and he folds himself down to sit between her and Yokina. Then his attention's split between Chibiusa on the one hand and everyone else on the other, with Usagi taking priority, then Sharon after her... but then he makes himself focus on Sharon. "I feel like this is storytime," he says with a smile, and holds his arms out to Chibiusa questioningly.

Laura La Mer has posed:
"The frost fairies don't sing, not like we do, but they are able to play instruments well. You will be able to hear them yourself at the coronation tomorrow", Sharon tells Chibiusa. "Everyone in my country has the opportunity to learn it, and I don't see why it would be any different for you, Yokina-san."

Sharon hmms pensively at Amy's request. "I should have something like that somewhere, but I will have to look for it. If I find nothing, I will write it down for you to consult later", she tells the redhead, before turning her head towards Mamoru curiously. "Storytime?", she repeats, not understanding the reason.

When Usagi mentions lessons for Yokina, Sharon adds. "It is always possible that she could get a head start here. I am a skilled singer, so I wouldn't have any problems pointing her in the right direction", Sharon offers serenely.

The pinkette raises her face proudly towards Sharon. "Eeeeh... I am a skilled singer, as well you know? Back in my country of Grand Ocean, I would often sing for everyone, both other mermaids and fairies alike. We could help her out together", she smiles, both interested in seeing how they compare and giving Yokina tips. Admittedly, it's not something she would casually suggest, but what are friends for?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You'd have time for something like that?" Usagi asks with genuine innocence, looking at Sharon in surprised (but definitely not displeasure!). "With your coronation coming up, I'd have thought you'd be pretty busy."

With the planning and the responsibilities and all of that. Not that making time for friends isn't great, but given the event...

Laura's bragging earns a faint smile. She really is proud of herself, isn't she?

"I mean, you're going to be queen, right? It's a pretty busy job. What's that English phrase... something, but, about crown's being heavy and all. I mean! I'm sure Yokina-chan would like learning from you, but, no one wants to be a nuisance!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
"O-oh, no, I... huh. Choir. I wonder if I could join choir club now... I could actually join a club..." Yokina said, her voice becoming a hushed, excited whisper. Her eyes all but sparkling. She could join a club. "I could join a club with other kids... I could be a club goer..." Yup, definitely sparkling. "Huh? Oh, ummmm... I... don't know. I hum pretty well? I sometimes hum my own spy music when I'm scheming. Oh! And I hum world domination music during risk. I did also 'flight of the griffons' when I got the griffon armada that one time..." There were a LOT of house rules...

But then... she was offered lessons. And yup, her eyes DEFINITELY sparkled. "I could get singing lessons from TWO princesses?! A mermaid AND a Yuki-onna?!"

... It might be about that point that those in the party... might realize that Yokina just assumed Sharon was some kind of 'snow woman'. Then again, what could you expect from a girl who was literally a card-carrying member of the Oresky fan club, had a haunted doll, was trained by Riventon and would be a member of the Sailor Moon fanclub in a second, if it existed? Of course she just assumed the magical fairy land was ruled by some (good aligned) snow spirit.

But Usagi made a fair point. "O-oh. Right! Um, but only if it didn't cause problems. I-I know there's a lot of work to still do. With the coronation and all. Maybe we could after, though? How busy are queens?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Small Lady's face lights up when Endymion holds out his arms, and she runs into them. Then she takes a seat next to him and turns back to watch and listen to Sharon. So, there's going to be little frost fairies playing instruments while a princess-turned-queen sings. It sounds magical.

    She glances towards curiously Laura and Yokina as talk of learning how to sing comes up. "I bet you could learn if you really wanted to," she says, offering her support. "What kinds of clubs do you like? Have you ever thought about joining one?"

    To Usagi, she frowns and glares as she considers internally what to say. "You know, if it's too hard for you, you can always let someone else wear the crown."

    Chibiusa crosses her arms as she weighs in on Yokina's question. "Well, pretty busy overall. You gotta run around and talk to people a lot, and when they act up and do bad things you have to solve it yourself. On the other hand, you get to make friends all over the world with all the other kings and queens, and you get to live in a big palace and have parties."

    Well, that's how Chibiusa sees it anyways.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Oh! I thought-- well, nevermind what I thought," laughs Endymion a little sheepishly, one of his hands briefly going up to rub at the back of his head. But then Chibiusa does run at him and he grins!! and catches her in a hug, then resettles once she's seated next to him.

"I just-- thought, well, funny but... where are all the human people? And then I thought, well, this is a fairyland, maybe it's part of a curse where you can't ask for help."

He sounds earnest, he sounds concerned, he also looks like he's expecting to be told he's silly. "Are you able to accept it if help is offered? I'm just-- you wanted people to do things that could make someone smile... right?" He's not going to directly ask about her parents. His are gone, too. "And... you've never met us before, we're strangers to your country. I'm so grateful for your hospitality, this isn't me trying to question that -- I just want to know if we can help in a more directed fashion."

He knows he's changing the subject somewhat too directly, but he likes to know what's going on. He Looks At Usagi and Exchanges A Glance when Chibiusa starts talking about being a queen.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "It's '[heavy is the head that wears the crown]'," Amy offers, "saying the responsibility of rulership is metaphorically weighing down the person wearing the crown, which is probably pretty physically heavy if it's made of gold..."

    She smiles at Yokina. "You like to hum music? That's a good sign! And yeah, you can join choir! ...Wait, who's a singing yuki-onna?"

    Amy then returns to the previous topic, "That all said, maybe if all her citizens are snow fairies she's not as busy a queen as she'd be ruling over so many humans?"

    She frowns slightly at Chibiusa's description, but in the presence of multiple royals simply isn't the time to complain about the societal problems with monarchies.

Laura La Mer has posed:
"Most of the preparation is ready, it would not be a bother at all", Sharon looks kindly towards Usagi. "And it would just be a small favour to repay all of you for helping spread smiles throughout my kingdom", she looks kindly towards Usagi.

She blinks with an undecipherable expression at being called a Yuki-Onna. She knows what kind of beings they are, so she is not completely amiss to why Yokina has thought she was one, but even so something about that idea feels weird to her.

Not having an answer ready to that, she just decides to... continue focusing on Yokina's music lessons. "The fact that you are able to hum all those different tracks will be a ton of help", Sharon smiles towards the green-haired girl. "We can try something a little more difficult by seeing how well you can follow along when I hum something new, and then we can decide how to proceed from there", she informs Yokina of her tentative plan.

"I have no issue asking for help Mamoru-san", Sharon replies seriously now. "That's why I have sent for you after all, like I have written in the invitation. And I am very thankful for you being here. I am in need of your strength and skills if I want Chanteur to be overflowing with happiness under my reign", she adds sternly looking up at the man. "I will to deal with many hardships", she nods towards Amy in acknowledgement, "but there is nothing more I care about than this country, and I really want it to prosper."

"What sort of place is your country like, Laura-san?", Sharon turns to the pinkette, having demonstrated clear interest while she was talking about it earlier. "It's a wonderful Kingdom, located in a realm close the middle of the oceans, a place where everyone lives in complete harmony and hosts the beautiful bubble flowers", Laura tells her enthusiastically, before wincing with hesitation. "Right now they aren't doing so well though..." she adds with a sigh. "Why is that?", Sharon asks aggravated.

"Some horrible villains stole the motivation power from all the mermaids and sea fairies...", the pinkette turns her gaze downwards, followed by Sharon sighing in sympathy. "I am going to bring peace to Grand Ocean however. After all, I am next in line to be Queen!", she tightens her hand into a fist with angry determination, before distending her hand to cover her mouth. "Ahhh, sorry, I have said too much again", she apologies to Sharon in embarassment.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Yokina Meiou shook her head to Chibiusa. "No. I've uhhh... never really had the chance. Due to health reasons. But... I might be able to now. That'd be fun. When we get home, I can ask my caretakers if that'd be okay." Well, she had three of them, and only one had attended.

"Wait... they have to solve everything themselves? That would sound hard... You'd need to be really busy and hard working, able to take care of everyone in the kingdom, to make sure they were all happy. Though, I guess if it's mostly ceremonial, it wouldn't be that hard. But if you're solving it all yourself, then being able to make all the choices yourself would at least make it be... fast?" she offered, looking unsure.

Then Yokina's gaze turned to Amy. "I mean... she's a beautiful snow princess in a land of fairies. What else would she be? She's obviously magical. I'm currently banking on a good yuki-onna, a lot of their tales aren't bad! Well, most are. But some aren't! And she's really nice! I don't actually know a lot of stories about magical snow princesses, though. Oh! Or maybe she's a kami of sorts? I... oh. I... I'm sorry. It's... rude of me to postulate all of this right in front of you, isn't it? I'm sorry, your highness! I just love things like this! There's so much magic and beauty in the world, like phoenixes and mermaids and moon princesses and werewolves and possessed dolls! And some of it's bad and needs to be stopped, but a lot of it is kind and warm and amazing! But... don't worry. You don't need to tell us what all is going on until you're okay with it! I'll stop making guesses in front of you, okay? Sorry!" Yokina said sheepishly.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    To Amy, Chibiusa says, "I thought it was 'Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown'. Because like... if you're a monarch then you can't get any sleep."

    Someone has apparently given her a very G-rated version of that particular Shakespeare play.

    As for Amy's issues with monarchy, Chibiusa isn't aware of them, though it seems like there's always someone with an opinion about how her mom runs things. She'd probably be sad to learn how Earth monarchies have gone in the past, and would probably appreciate her mom a bit more if she really knew, but no one wants to tell a child princess about that.

    To Yokina, she crosses her arms. "I mean, not completely by yourself. You can have smart people around to help you make good choices, but at the end of the day everyone you care about is depending on you to make the right call."

    Chibiusa glances towards Sharon as the yuki-onna topic is discussed, though she's not sure what to say about it. "I mean... are you one? Not that being an ice princess isn't special enough."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It's not too hard for me," Usagi huffs, "But I'm also not the one with a whole kingdom that's more than like, eight people, now am I? Sharon-hime has all these fairies to look after..."

And Mamoru is putting their cards on the table, for Sharon, offering his help - their help - because it's for them both. And she glances down at Chibiusa with pursed lips, listening to that description, because - well -

Honestly, except for the part about other kings and queens, it's just like her mother's life - and honestly, with so many princesses running around, it had been a bit like that too...

But Sharon says she has no problem asking for help, and that they're spreading smiles - "Oh, are we? I guess because I've only seen us and the Frosty Fairies, I didn't realize we were managing that! Well... that's good. And if the people we're making smile want to come out and hang out with us, that would be great!"

Unless this really is a Princess Peach situation, in which case Sharon is really just a giant frost fairy! That would be okay too but also maybe she'd be a little rude - "Both of those sound right to me, Chibiusa-chan, Amy-chan. Being a queen is busy stuff..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Very g-rated. Endymion looks at Chibiusa a little askance, then considers, then decides that everything is fine.

"My kingdom is ... five people! If you include me," Mamoru says to Usagi with a smile -- after a long moment watching Sharon. She didn't answer the question about where the people are, and she'd do anything for her country...

His gaze flickers back to Usagi at the end of it. "Six if you include Anko." He glances to Laura and Sharon and explains, "My talking cat."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy shrugs at Chibiusa's correction. "Probably has multiple versions."

    Yokina brings to mind something Chibiusa said that Amy didn't think about... she can correct that, at least. "Monarchs usually have advisors." She nods as Chibiusa elaborates. "While they are the final decisionmaker and arbiter of law in their land, most decisions at all but the highest levels are made by those under them."

    The snow princess must be a yuki-onna. ...Amy gives Yokina a funny look as she suddenly wonders just what the young girl's conception of a yuki-onna is; aren't they something whose main interaction with humans was predatory?

    Amy will later look up yuki-onna and realize she is the one woefully undereducated on this creature of Japanese myth.

    And Yokina goes on -- did she say possessed dolls?! Does she know Taro?!

    She looks back to Sharon as the royals present enumerate their kingdoms. "Uh, your highness... are your people the snow fairies, or are there like, cities we haven't seen, or...?" She's not sure how to ask this entirely politely.

Laura La Mer has posed:
Sharon stares at Hotaru taken aback by the energy she is putting into this. She is raising a subject that makes her feel uncomfortable, and a part of her find some manner of rationale in what she is suggesting, yet that is more than she wants to ever deal with.

"I can see your excitement about this", she forces herself to tackle the subject, especially as her reasoning is starting to drag others like Chibiusa into that, "but I am not in any way special aside from my lineage as princess of Chanteur. I am completely, undoubtedly human", she shuts that subject down with a force that even Laura looks at her with slightly shock.

Ok that she only recently started having a positive outlook on humans, but Sharon makes it sound that being transformed into something other than human wouldn't be all that nice. She doesn't really find herself agreeing with that, but there is such a need in the snow-haired girl's voice that she starts feeling concerned for her.

"Like a fairy?", Sharon shows interest in Anko before Laura can bring anything up when Mamoru mentions he has a talking. None of the fairies here ever say anything despite having their own intelligence. That is definitely novel to her.

The snow princess only gives Usagi a pleasant nods, and she sets out to answering Amy. "I am sure you have seen how vast Chanteur is when the train brought you here. This city was supposed to house all the honoured guests I sent the invitation to, however not many accepted it clearly...", she says in a bit of a sad tone.

Shaking her head, she puts a smile back on her face and starts reassuring Laura over the embarassment the mermaid had demonstrated. "Shall we dispense with the formalities for a while?", Sharon offers, not at all perturbed by Laura's indignation for her people's situation. "Both of us are aiming to become Queens, after all!", she closes her eyes in a friendly expression again.

Laura places her hand on her tail again and looks at Sharon with an appreciative smile. "You are right. Okay then, Sharon, once we both become Queens, how about tying the great nations of Chanteur and Grand Ocean together in friendship?" The snow-haired girl's reply comes quickly. "I'd love to! I'm happy to hear you say that, Laura!"

Laying against the railing, Laura asks her new friend another question. "Sharon, why do you want to become Queen?" Sharon nods and replies "My father was the King, so I am the next in line. My father and mother were adored by everyone across the country, and brought hope to everyone, just like the snowdrop that blooms here. So I want to be loved like them too. What about you, Laura?"

"I want to become like the current Queen of Grand Ocean. She is always surrounded by others who all rely on her. Just like Her Majesty, I want to... No, I had decided that I will become the Queen. If I become Queen, my kingdom will be a wonderful place, no doubt about that!" the mermaid exclaims with fervour.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Yokina Meiou glanced between all of the royals. Huh. There... were a lot of them, weren't there? "So... a kingdom of eight people? That's like... 'my home is my castle', right? Like a family. That does sound nice..." she said, giving a delicate little smile.

Of course, Sharon's sudden shut down of the topic made her glance over a little nervously and give Laura a slightly concerned look. Fortunately, the topic was quickly steered away.

"Yes, the talking cat is amazing..." she whispered in a soft, excited tone. Of course she thought so.

However, when she heard that not many people accepted the invite, she looked sad and... slowly... gingerly... she reached out and pat the queen on the back. "I... I know that probably hurts. I mean... nobody ever came to my birthdays, either, when I invited them. And... that's... okay, not the same, but... I... think it's... kind of... hurts the same, maybe? Sorry. I've never been a princess, I wouldn't... know..." she mumbled, suddenly managing to look even sadder. "Actually, the idea of me being a princess kind of makes me sad... Weird..." she mumbled, looking thoughtful... and then shrugging.

"Laura is going to be an AMAZING queen one day! She's so cool and sweet and swims so beautifully! And she has a secret magic base and rules the seas in RISK!" So many, many house rules. "Her battalion of narwhals were unstoppable..."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Small Lady's kingdom right now is a floating catball and four circus performers who don't know who she is yet, but who's counting? Not Chibiusa, since she doesn't know about the circus performers, either.

    On the topic of invites, Chibiusa asks, "How many did you invite? I mean I know you invited a lot of people from Radiant Heart, but did you send invitations to other places?" Not that the future princess would have any idea where to send such invites here, but she's pretty curious.

    On the topic of birthdays, Chibiusa gives Yokina a sad look, then glances away. "My birthdays were more about family. I had one friend, but she couldn't even come because she was always on duty."

    At the second mention of RISK, Chibiusa tilts her head. "Do you play a lot of RISK, Yokina-san?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mhm. A kingdom of my people, like Endychan has a kingdom of his Shitennou," Usagi explains shortly, hoping to avoid mentioning the Silver Millennium again in any way, and preferring not to even mention the Senshi, because - well, the last thing this coronation needs is either Saturn or the monster inside Hotaru coming out. "There's not a lot of us anymore, but.... that's not a bad thing. Nothing wrong with a small kingdom!"

But then Sharon has a sharp retort, and Usagi's eyebrows are up high after that firm declaration. Okay! Okay, Sharon is a human, nothing but a human, decidedly a human. She glances at Mamoru, meeting his eyes and suspicions. Something is definitely going on here... ...but it's probably fine, right? This post-Christmas and pre-New Years event is definitely going to be a peaceful and cheerful event! This Princess just needs to relax more!

Yeah! Yeah...

"My birthdays always had lots of friends," Usagi says with a wince, quickly getting the sense that she might be the only extrovert and the only person with a real social life in this room whoops. Laura, Laura, you've got tons of friends too, right?!

Is being loved a good reason to be a queen? She... doesn't think so. But is it really her place to tell this girl who clearly misses her parents that? Nope.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy looks increasingly unimpressed as Sharon dodges the obvious question.

    Yeah, she says she's sure she's human, but it could be it is a Princess Peach situation and her parents didn't tell her before (dying? Falling into a cursed eternal slumber? Being turned (back?) into fairies? Who knows!). Amy was pretty sure about some things too once and turned out to be wrong!

    Along those thoughts is Yokina discussing the idea of being a princess. "If I turn out to be a princess it will be very weird."

    Chibiusa only ever had one friend, who was always on duty. That... is sad, but the kid is like 6. 5? She has plenty of time to make a more pleasant childhood yet. "Are you making friends at Radiant Heart?"

    Usagi's birthdays had lots of friends! Amy smiles at her, "I think I'd like to have some birthdays at Radiant Heart, now that I've got friends, but I'm not much of an organizer..."

    Sharon, though... she's dodged the question too many times. "Listen, uh, Princess... I'm not trying to... I'm bad at saying things politely, but I'm trying: Where, exactly, are your people?" She nods towards Usagi and Mamoru. "As you've heard, others here have... small kingdoms at the moment, so it's not like we're judging you if it's just the fairies or something. We just want a better understanding of your situation so that we can help you."

    Beat. Another thought occurs to Amy.

    "...Who's regent until you're crowned, anyway?"

Laura La Mer has posed:
"Family is important", Sharon agrees, returning Yokina's smile with a sad one of her own. "And no matter what, you must look forward and rebuild even if you lose it. You are very kind, Yokina-san", Sharon says softly when the other girl reaches out to pat her on the back.

"I am really sorry your kingdom fell on hard times too, but it makes me really happy that you all have each other and are so tightly-knit", Sharon tells Usagi without any hint of deceit or sarcasm. No matter how one looks at it, she comes across as genuine.

Laura smiles widely at Yokina's endorsement of her future Queendom. "That's right, and of course, I am going to invite everyone for the coronation, and you will be able to personally see just how happy it will be after we get everyone's motivation power back. And of course, at the celebration, we will introduce everyone to our very own Risk, and you can explain it all to them, Yokina-chan. Everyone will be completely impressed, I am sure!"

"Are you interested in Risk too, Chibiusa?", Laura asks to Chibiusa even if she was talking to Yokina. "We should all play together! Yokina-chan, Tsubasa-kun and I have already started a group, and you should join too!", she invites her passionately.

Sharon's lips tighten when Amy asks the direct question everyone has been dancing around. "My citizens... You will see them tomorrow. They promised to gather for the ceremony, and Chanteur will be happy again then", she sighs. This is going in direction she isn't ready to tackle. Not here, not like this.

"I understand this puts you in a difficult situation, but I ask that you please come, all of you", she stares at all them. "I can't create a kingdom overflowing with smiles without your help. I am sure that together everything will be made right", she adds, frowning slightly. "This time for sure...", she finishes with an edge on her face.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Risk? "I liked Risk 2210 AD!" Amy smiles. "I know the gaming club at school liked Godstorm, but I've never played it. ...You can conquer underwater colonies in the 2210 AD version! And also the moon!" She gives Usagi a brief glance there.

    Amy shakes her head slightly to Sharon. "It's not a difficult situation. This has been a pleasant vacation so far! We're happy to come..." She gives a somewhat worried glance to Usagi and Mamoru, though, who seem to also suspect something is up.

    Perhaps the nascent queen would like a change of topic. "Perhaps you can tell us about your wonderful country? Like the origins of that song you were singing! Or what local passtimes and cuisine and festivals Chanteur has?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Yokina Meiou glanced to Chibiusa and gave a comforting smile. "I... can understand that. Daddy was always taking care of his duty, too. I only saw him for a little bit. Though... in the last year or so I've had a lot more friends, so it's been much nicer. And when you have your next birthday, I'll be sure to come! Besides, when you're surrounded by friends every day feels like a birthday party!" she said happily.

"And I love RISK! I play it all the time with my friends! We have a bunch of house rules, though. Laura ruled the seas, Tsubasa ruled the skies and I ruled the lands! Mwa ha ha ha ha! My tyranical control of the world was almost complete, last time, but then... then Laura defeated me with *friendship*! Alas! Tanks and laser shooting geckos couldn't stand against such might... and then I think we just kind of faded off. It was fun, though. You should definitely join us! You could make your own kingdom and rule with an iron fist! Or like, a silk glove! Any way works, really, so long as everyone has fun."

So many, many, MANY houserules.

She glanced towards Usagi and wondered if she'd be invited to her next birthday. She hoped so. IT sounded amazing.

However, then Amy just... flat out asked. And Yokina tensed up, glancing to the princess. Was... it going to go badly?

Fortunately, Sharon's response told them that, tomorrow, everyone would be there. And made right. And a sad look fell over her face. Slowly, she started to reach a hand out... then stopped, pulling back.

"... If you need help... then that's okay. Sometimes we all need help. So I'm sure we can help bring smiles to everyone's faces, especially yours."

"I... am actually feeling a little faint, I think I'm going to go lay down. It has been wonderful seeing all of you and, ummm, I hope I can take you up on those singing lessons later," she said before, shakily, getting to her feet.

It wasn't long before a fabulously dressed Haruka would be at her side, to help guide her away to the castle to get more rest.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa considers the invitation to board game. "Um... sure! As long as we can do it in a safe place, like at Radiant Heart." Small Lady is, after all, still hiding from a certain group of baddies.

    The inclusion of house rules doesn't really daunt her that much. After all, there are so many custom versions of Risk modeled after one property or the other. She does have to wonder what kinds of house rules they put in place though, because Chibiusa isn't aware of RISK having a friendship mechanic. With a smile she says, "I'll look forward to playing your version of the game. We'll have to play sometime."

    As for the topic of Sharon's people... So, the citizens will show up at the coronation tomorrow. Chibiusa hadn't been one of the people pressing that particular question, but... the way that the would-be Queen says it feels a bit ominous. She frowns at Sharon, not out of disapproval but of concern. She leans against Endymion, and wraps her arms around herself a bit more tightly. Somehow Chibiusa gets the idea that the coronation will be a bit more difficult than she thought, or there might be complications that are difficult to foresee or explain.

    "We'll help as much as we can," promises Chibiusa, the one girl here who doesn't know how to use her powers. Maybe she could do something useful with Luna-P? One can hope.

    As Yokina says she needs to go lay down, Small Lady says, "Okay. I'll see you around. Rest well!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Everything's going to be okay tomorrow, huh? Well, we're here to see your coronation, after all," Usagi says, and her smile is genuine. There's the faint gleam of worry in her eyes, though, and she nods slightly when she catches Amy's eyes. "I've never actually played Risk."

This last bit is in the goal of easing the conversation around, because they aren't going to get more answers.... and thus they don't need to amp things up. Right?

Right.

"You could conquer the Moon? I don't know how to feel about that..." she giggles about it though, slightly in the goal of cheerfully breezing things around.

"Chibiusa-chan would probably be great at it though; she's bossy enough to conquer the world just fine." There's fond pride in her voice as she delivers this. "But later. Rest well, Yokina-chan, Haruka-san!"

She's glad the subject of spending birthdays together wasn't further addressed - because hopefully, Chibiusa will be able to be back with her parents by then. June is a loong time from now, after all...

Laura La Mer has posed:
Mermaid Laura says, "Sharon...", Laura sighs feeling sorry and concerned for the other girl. Even if it's obvious she is hiding something, she can't turn her request down. Not after she swore to her Grand Ocean's, and her own, friendship. "I will give you my help, Sharon. I promised, and I meant it. No matter what."

"Thank you, all of you, for still lending me your help", Sharon breathes with relief, glad to still have that support she so desperately needs.

And then Yokina has to go, again with that weak constitution she has. It's a hard fight inside Laura between the part that wants to demand to know what is going on and help, and the one that wants to respect her privacy, but before either can win, Haruka comes along and takes her away. "Rest well, Yokina-chan", Laura watches the shrinking figures of her best friend and her cousin in the distance.

"That girl must have it hard too", Sharon looks in the same direction as Laura. "If we can stop whatever is giving pause to her smiles..." She doesn't end the sentence, and instead looks at Amy.

"My country puts a lot of importance on smiles, and it has many beliefs of a magical nature to wish it upon others. Smiling faces as far as the eyes can see, lacking nothing and unaware of misfortune. That song is one of those ways", the snow-haired girl explains, her face looking more joyful now.

"And this is another one", she adds after a brief pause, bringing out a snow-white ring. "Laura, please take this. This ring is given to wish happiness upon others", the princess of Chanteur holds it high up for the mermaid to see.

"Happiness...", Laura repeats, just as Sharon presses her hand together with the ring between them, her face close to them with her eyes closed as in prayer. "May Grand Ocean be enveloped in peace once more, and may Laura's future be full of happiness", Sharon says, then taking Laura's hand and placing the ring on the central finger.

The snow-haired girl smiles as Laura raises her hand in wonder and happiness, the ring shining with a brilliant white light. "It shines in response to your feelings. This light will guide you down the path of happiness", Sharon explains. Turning her attention to her, Laura cheerfully exclaims. "Thank you! Hey, teach me that song you were singing earlier now. The song of this country!" Sharon is quick to return her smile. "I'd be happy to!", she cheerfully agrees, starting to sing that melody again.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    What could it be? Are the citizens cursed and can only appear that day? Amy supposes whatever it is, they'll find out soon...

    "I'm down for Risk, if these house rules of yours limit the game to a few hours or so.

    Yokina has to go... the girl seems ill; Amy wonders what's up with that, but now isn't the time to ask -- she merely offers a hug if the kid wishes.

    Sharon finally speaks to her.

    Somewhere, Keaka Hoshiko happens to think of a past time when her justice speech included 'to protect everyone's smiles.' She briefly feels wistful, but she has other concerns now.

    The phrase doesn't have such connotation to Amy. Instead, she frowns, thinking of thought experiments of the AI told to make everyone smile, working towards such a poorly-worded utility function rather than working towards a happier world. "Unaware of misfortune? But then how will you have stories of heroes overcoming great trials, or of people dreaming to work towards a better world, or aspiring to help the less fortunate?"

    Her mouth may have run a bit ahead of her brain.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa smirks and crosses her arms at Usagi's praise. "That's right! I could totally conquer the world! I wouldn't even have to be mean about it." She does give Usagi a sideways glance and a frown, though. It's a little hard to buy into her modesty when Small Lady already knows that world conquest is something she'd be capable of. "I could totally win in a couple of hours," she adds. Could she really? Probably not, but she's feeling boastful and competitive.

    Then again, Hotaru's version might not actually be a well tuned PVP experience, Chibiusa suspects. Small Lady has opinions about competitive gaming that she's pretty sure didn't come from dad.

    At Amy Faust's comments, Chibiusa shrugs. "Hey, don't knock utopia until you've tried it. A world where everyone gets along is a lot happier than one where everyone is getting into fights all the time. Especially for the less fortunate."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Well... if no one knows about bad things... maybe they have different problems to need heroes for. Instead of heroes who stop crime, they get heroes who shoot for the stars?"

She considers this - a world that's so peaceful and happy that there aren't any less fortunate...

"Utopia, huh?" She glances at Chibiusa again. That's a concept for a little kid to know, alright... "Smiles are important. If smiles are what you're hoping for, that's something we can provide tomorrow, at least."

Laura La Mer has posed:
"There wasn't a better world, Amy-san. That was the better world. Everyone was perfectly happy, and there was nothing anyone would lack", Sharon frowns after she has finished repeating the melody for Laura's sake.

"There was no need for heroism, and nobody was less fortunate. Just complete happiness, and any small disagreements didn't last long out of the people's own accord" Sharon explains to Amy, not caring of any idea they might have about the veracity of her words.

"Thank you, Chibiusa-san", Shaon smiles, glad to have her support. She must have seen such an utopia herself for having this precise idea of what's like. "Everything will be ready", is all that Sharon has to say to Usagi on the matter.

"I want to take you up on that, and see it for myself", Laura shoots Chibiusa a challenge after the other pinkette declares she would have a quick victory. "You are welcome to win - Only if you actually can", her face shines with determination.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy stares at Chibiusa with wide eyes.

    Where is this kid from?! she wonders internally.

    Sharon... also seems to be from a strange world. Amy looks suspicious of the claim, though. "Well, yes, I'm all for immanentizing the eschaton and all, but... at least back on Earth, we have yet to 'make a utopia. So it sounded more like... you were talking of a place where the bad things are simply ignored. Sorry." Amy hangs her head apologetically. "I forgot this was another world. Maybe you've actually achieved it here."

    Although she doubts it.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa smirks at Laura's challenge, and sticks her nose in the air as she boasts. "I could totally do it! Just you wait."

    In her mind she thinks that all she has to do is wait for the world to fall to calamity and then purify everything. That totally works in RISK, right?

    Poor Chibiusa has no idea what she's getting herself into. Then again, being clueless has never stopped anyone from being boastful.

    She glances at Amy and considers her words, but she doesn't have much to add. Small Lady may say too much once in a while, but if she actually wanted people to know about her she would've just told them.

    Nah, actually, the less they know about her the better. She'll have to leave here one day, after all.

    With a smile, she says to Sharon, "I'm sure you'll do a good job. Don't worry!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Everything will be ready... which means Usagi is definitely bringing her broach and making sure she or Mamoru have Chibiusa in their arms or at the ready for a grab, just in case...

She thinks Sharon wouldn't do anything horrible. But you can only be a magical girl for so long before you start to think of the worst that could come.

"I'm looking forward to it. It would be nice to see what your world is like..."

She though she can't help but note that she said that was the better world, that everyone was happy, that there was nothing anyone would lack. Does... does that mean it isn't like that, but she hopes it will be again?