Reign from the Shadows

Prologue

A long, long time ago...

On Earth, there were no traces of celestial power. It was a benign planet, yet one full of bravery and boldness. Most star systems never even heard of it...and so it was the perfect place to begin anew for a civilization.

A tall woman with black, curly hair hovered before a human couple. Her long hair moved as if there were wind blowing peacefully. However, contrasting the gentle aura around her, there was a pleading in her eyes. Behind her stood four young women, in the clothes of Sailor Scouts, who bowed. The black-haired girl on the farthest left, who carried a black, long staff had a dark cloth over her left shoulder. It appeared like she were holding something underneath.

"My name is Nyx, Queen of the planet Shadow and I am seeking safe haven on this world," spoke the leader, "I know little of this planet but I know enough to be sure this is the safest place for my daughter."

"Your daughter?" asked the King of Earth, his eyes scanning the four women standing behind Nyx, debating which one was the daughter.

Nyx knew that and smiled slightly. "These are my four loyalest guardians - my daughter's future Sailor Guardians."

"Where is your daughter?" the Queen curiously wondered out loud.

Nyx made a motion with her arm to the black-haired guardian. That guardian pulled the cloth back to reveal a baby girl with tufts of fiery red hair. She was asleep in the Guardian's arm, probably not aware she was no longer in her home planet.

"My daughter is already one of the most sought out Sailor Scouts despite her young age," Nyx informed, sadly. "My husband died protecting her and now...I must make sure that death was not in vain."

"If she's a Sailor Scout then perhaps our world is not the one you should be seeking for safe haven," the King admitted. "There is the Moon Kingdom, with Queen Serenity, who has more Sailor Scouts than we can count-"

"I will not risk my daughter by surrounding her with dozens of unknown Scouts," Nyx spoke over him but not with disrespect. "I am well aware of the Kingdom on the Moon but you must understand that my daughter holds a special sort of power capable of tempting any scout to the dark side. I only trust those without celestial power and my own Sailor Scouts," she spared a look back to her guardians.

"We would lay down our lives for the princess," a guardian with platinum blonde hair spoke up. The tattooed silver stars on her arms made some impression on the Royal humans.

"Very well," the King let it go. "What would you require if we were to provide you with our planet?"

"Not much. I have the power to cast a powerful spell that would shield my people from yours. We require only a solitary place on this world where I can construct an invisible barrier and prevent anyone from seeing us," Nyx explained.

"How many of you are there in reality?" The Queen asked.

"Thirty survivors including us here."

"Why are you running in the first place?"

"War," Nyx said with terrible sadness. "A war that we were never a part of and yet we suffered by losing our home. The Sailor Wars sparked an interest in my daughter - and Chaos is not an entity to be taken lightly. My daughter needs to be kept a secret. We seek to start over, to hide my daughter and protect her. We would never interfere with your people. In return for letting us stay here, I will pledge myself to you for whatever you may require."

Now this piqued the interest of the King and Queen. Earth, so far, had been left alone by any celestial being. The closest civilization was the Kingdom of the Moon, Silver Millennium, but there was a strict no-interaction rule imposed between them. Still, there were always informants of any attack in the system and while the Queen of the Moon, Serenity, always seemed to have her Sailor Scouts on the job, it would be nice to have guardians specifically for the Earth.

"You will pledge yourself to the safety of our royal bloodline," the King said at once. Nyx gave a firm nod. "Whenever we require you..."

"I give you my word."

"Then you may stay," the King looked to his wife to see if she had something more to add.

The Queen was gazing at the baby girl in the blonde guardian's arm. She was still fast asleep, peaceful as ever. "One more thing," the Queen spoke up, "Your daughter - what is her name?"

"Reign."