The Star of Night | MIYAKO

act twenty-five { from tear to crystal: the moon drops remember, part one }

"What were you like when you were younger, papa?"

A printed photograph of Miya's father was held her in her hands. Her eyes looked over the young man's dark hair whilst the king himself lay on his back next to her. Behind the photograph was a ceiling decorated with lit crystals. 

"What was I like?" Endymion pouted his lips in thought. "Well, I was studious and had many friends both in and out of school." The black-haired girl picked up another framed picture of her father with a group of girls. She scanned the smiling faces and casual dresses before showing her father. 

"Then how about you and mama? I know that before marrying someone, you have to date them for some time, and before that you have to get to know the person on another level."

Miya craned her head to peek at her father's pink ears. I got him. Once the mighty king of Neo-Tōkyō begins to blush, it means you only have a few seconds before you can force the truth out of him. 

Endymion flipped the photograph from his daughter's hands to see what her eyes focused so much on. Free of his mask, he could see everything Miya saw. His younger self, leaning on a tree trunk, had an arm wrapped around a girl's shoulders while the rest of their friends posed for the picture. Her hair was milky blue and eyes as deep and vast as the ocean. His eyes glazed with painful nostalgia before he forced himself to speak.  

"Your mother and I weren't always so close. That might have been because I dated Usagi--"

"You dated Auntie Serena?!" Miya sat up in a rush too fast to be normal. 

"Hey, you don't have to yell it out loud." Quickly calming herself after jumping on her bed, Miya took in a long breath before speaking again, her voice slightly quieter. 

"You dated Auntie Serena? But why? She's clumsy and always whines and--"

"I know, Miya, I know." Endymion didn't need to be scolded by his daughter to know how dating his now sister-in-law sounds. He's heard it enough from his wife in their many, many years of marriage already.  

"It was before your mother's memories of the past returned. At that time, everybody knew that Princess Serenity was alive, but we didn't know where or who she was. We all remembered her, but not her face."

Miya nodded, her crossed legs under her as she leaned across the bed.

"Your aunt had confessed that she liked me a few months before. You know your aunt is really nice and all, but...." In the depths of his mind, Endymion was looking for the best words to describe dating her aunt that would be appropriate for her young ears. "...my love wouldn't satisfy her big heart." 

The princess ingested everything her father said, like the noblewoman who gossiped with her mother at high tea times. 

"At first, I turned her down, but she's a stubborn woman, always confessing and whining until she gets her way. I didn't want to hurt her, so I accepted her confession." 

When the king looked to his daughter to see if she was still listening, he was met with a blank, unsatisfied stare. Miya crossed her arms with a firm headshake. 

"That's not nice, papa. Even if somebody is being annoying in confessing to you, you owe them the truth when it comes to love."

"Well, what could I do? You know how much Usagi complains." 

Suddenly falling silent, the father-daughter duo quickly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah, that's true. But still, that's no excuse! Mama told me that she really liked you and was going to confess one day, but her heart broke when you two were dating."