A Love Eternal
Title: A Love Eternal
Author: O. C. Rendell
Chapter 01 – Perfect Stranger
Character Perspective in C.01: Princess Serenity
Updated: Bi-weekly (to allow enough time for revisions/editing)
Main characters: Princess Serenity, Princess Venus, Beryl
Synopsis: The story of how a pretty, capricious princess would come to be undone by the one emotion she valued above all others; of how the unrequited love of a servant girl would become the rage of a jealous queen; and, finally, of the forbidden love that would ultimately bring a kingdom to its knees. Witness Naoko Takeuchi's classic story of love and betrayal as it's never been told before.
She had to be dreaming, for no face on the Moon could have been that heart-achingly beautiful.
They were standing in the gardens at the Moon Palace, where they always met. Though it was nightfall, she had seen his face often enough to know every exquisite feature by heart.
Wisps of his slightly unkempt black hair hung around his dark brows, drawing her attention to the smooth perfection of his jaw line. He looked like a statue, or like one of the immortals from the old legends. She wanted to touch that angelic face, but was afraid he would vanish if she did, so she kept her hand at her side.
He stared at her with adoration, and she once again found herself drowning in the depths of his cerulean eyes. She saw strength there, but it was not without kindness. He had a gentle spirit, one that spoke to her own soul on such a profound level that she knew he was the One.
"Who are you?" she whispered, her white gown sparkling in the moonlight that bathed her fair skin. She trembled, but not from the night's chill nor out of fear. No, this was from something else entirely.
He strode toward her, his crimson cape billowing behind his obsidian armor. With each step he took, her heart beat that much harder, so much so that she was afraid it might leap from her chest.
At last, he was directly in front of her, and she found she had to tilt her head to look him in the eyes. Her pulse raced; he had never come so close before. He was even more devastatingly handsome up close, and she found it increasingly difficult to breathe. Her face felt hot, and she knew she must be blushing, as she so often had when she was around him.
Then, unexpectedly, he removed one of his black leather gloves to reveal a hand that should not have belonged to the great warrior she thought he must be. This hand was slender, with long graceful fingers, the type a musician or artist would have.
She stared in wonder as that hand slowly reached down to grasp hers, his soft fingers closing gently underneath her palm. A soft sigh escaped her lips as he brought it to his mouth and placed a tender kiss on the back of her hand.
A wave of dizziness rolled over her, and she thought she might well faint if he hadn't spoken.
"My lady… my love…" It was a seductively smooth bass with an undercurrent of unabashed affection. She could have melted at the sound of those words, for she had never heard any other voice like it. It was melodic and enchanting, the type of voice she could have listened to all night.
He gently pulled her to him, and she gasped. He smelled of earth and pine, a rich heady aroma that suited him perfectly. She inhaled deeply, wishing she could bottle up that sent and keep it all for herself as a reminder of him. He slid one hand behind her back while the other tucked her head against his chest. At first, she resisted; she had never been that intimately close to a man before and it felt strange and wonderful at the same time. But when she heard – felt – his heartbeat through his armor, she leaned into him and sighed in content, placing her frail hands on his chest.
He rested his chin on top of her head, and they stayed that way for a long while, enjoying the feel of each other's presence. At last she felt complete, and she knew no other man in the world could give her this feeling.
She closed her eyes, wishing that night would never end.
Her mind began to wander, and her subconscious vaguely registered that she was being watched. Only it wasn't by her Dream Prince.
Slowly, her eyes fluttered open to stare into the face of a pretty blonde who sat on her bedside. The morning sun was filtering through the window, and the sheer white curtains were blowing gently in the fresh breeze coming through the open French doors of her balcony.
She was in her room again at the Moon Palace and disappointment seeped into her. Then she remembered she was not alone, and her heavy heart lightened somewhat.
"Mina…" she murmured, smiling gently at her best friend.
The petite girl shook her head, a mischievous glint in her bright blue eyes. "You were dreaming again," she said, a knowing smile on her petal pink lips. "Was it him?"
Serenity sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, her pale yellow hair spilling over her shoulders in a cascade of waves. She sighed and studied her nails. "For seven long nights now he has haunted my dreams," she murmured, resisting the urge to return to her dream prince. "I cannot fathom why he chose me. He's too perfect to be real."
Mina stifled a laugh. "Look at you. He is a figment of your imagination, and you are utterly, irrevocably smitten," she said, enjoying her best friend's love sickness much more than she should have been, in Serenity's opinion.
"I'm serious," Serenity said irritably, tucking her bangs behind her ears. She blushed at the thought of him, and her heart ached to see him again. "You should have seen him, Mina," she said wistfully, staring at the white satin sheets. "Though it was but a dream, he felt more real to me than any man I have ever met."
That produced another giggle, which earned Mina a reproachful look. Mina threw up her arms in mock surrender. "Hey, you know I jest," she said playfully. "I was simply wondering if the next time this 'perfect stranger' enters your dreams, if you could ask him if he has a brother, or perchance, several equally good-looking, dashing best friends? You know the rest of us would appreciate that."
Serenity laughed out loud. That was what she loved about the Princess of Venus; she never took life too seriously.
"I shall be certain to tell him the next time we meet," she said, swinging her legs over the side of the high four-poster bed.
Mina bounded to her feet, and skipped lightly to the other side where Serenity sat fiddling with her silver slippers. Her actions were still a bit slow from the grogginess of sleep, but otherwise she felt that warm glow inside that she always felt when her Dream Prince visited her. He filled her with such joy and longing that she could hardly contain it.
If only such a man did exist…
Sighing dreamily, Serenity started to stand when Mina gently pushed her back down onto the bed, a silver brush in one hand. "Allow me," she said, crawling onto the bed and scrambling into a sitting position behind her. She combed through Serenity's hair with her fingers first to undo any snarls before running the soft bristles of the brush through it.
Mina settled into a rhythm and both girls sat in silence for a while, each lost in her own thoughts. Mina began humming a tune Serenity was not familiar with, keeping in time with the brush strokes. She had to admit it was very soothing.
"What is that you're singing?" she asked, drawing her legs up and wrapping her arms around her knees.
"Hmmmm?" Mina hadn't seemed to have heard her question.
"That song," she repeated. "Is it an original? I know how much you like to compose."
There was a pause, and Serenity knew Mina must be grinning. "You know me too well," said Mina, switching to the bottom portion of Serenity's hair. "Yes, it's something I started on last night. It just kind of… er, came to me…"
Serenity quirked her eyebrows in amusement. "Oh?"
Mina nodded. "Um hum. Whenever I write melodies, I hardly ever have to try very hard at it. It's just something that – I don't know – 'happens.'"
"I see," said Serenity mischievously. "And here I was convinced all this while that you only wrote sonnets when you were pining away after some new mysterious love interest," she joked.
Mina punched her playfully in the shoulder. "That's not fair! I can't help it I'm so gorgeous, being from the planet that worships love, after all."
Serenity giggled. "I'm guessing said planet also values humility?"
"But of course, your highness!" Mina said in her snootiest voice, the one so many courtiers donned at parties and royal functions. "It is one of humanity's highest virtues."
Serenity shook her head, smiling gently. "I wish I could be like you, Mina. Most of the time it seems like I am expected to be someone I am not."
Mina kept stroking the brush through her hair at a slow, rhythmic pace. "We are all actresses, Serenity," she said thoughtfully. "It's part of being royal, I think. We 'don the mask.'"
Serenity pursed her lips. She didn't like not possessing the freedom to simply be herself. All of her friends seemed to have no trouble with it. She fully realized her function in the universe, how the Moon held sovereign over the rest of the cosmos, and that someday she, too, would become the Queen of the Silver Millennium. But did that mean she had to sacrifice her own happiness?
"Alright. I'm finished," chirped Mina happily, sliding from the bed to place the brush back in its designated spot atop her ivory vanity. Mina picked up the small hand mirror and gracefully twirled back to the bed, placing it in front of Serenity's face. "You look beautiful, darling!" she gushed, winking slyly at her.
Serenity leaned forward, trying to hide the frown slowly forming on her face. Not much looked different; her hair was tamer, its unruly curls reduced to soft waves that gleamed in the early morning sunlight. But other than that, she looked completely ordinary. Same small button nose; same round light-lashed eyes the boring color of periwinkle; same thin, dusty rose lips. All set in a pale, oval shaped face. She looked washed-out, not radiant like Mina always did. There was absolutely nothing extraordinary about her own appearance.
She sighed, her shoulders slumping forward. "I hope beauty comes with age," she muttered glumly to the polished marble floor.
Mina clucked her tongue and bent down, tucking a finger under Serenity's chin and lifting it up to look her in the eyes. Their faces were literally a few inches apart.
"You promise me you are going to try to be happier, both with yourself and with being the heir to you-know-what," said Mina fiercely, her normally playful blue eyes taking on a much more serious tone.
Serenity stared back unblinkingly. Her friend looked almost unrecognizable when she was like this; it was not the Mina she had grown up with and loved so dearly. Fearing to cross her more, she simply whispered, "I promise."
Satisfied, Mina nodded once and turned on her heel to deposit the mirror. She danced over to the gilded wardrobe as Serenity lifted herself off the bed.
"You're wearing something special today," chimed Mina, throwing the doors open and surveying the lineup of dresses and shoes. "I do not like this somber version of you. It doesn't suit you."
Serenity thought back to the almost menacing stare Mina had fixed her with just a few moments before. Look who's talking, she wanted to say, but thought better of it, deciding to join her friend. It was such a small expanse of floor space between them, but she still managed to trip over her own feet twice, once even having to stop to return the back of her slipper to her heel.
Maybe she would outgrow clumsiness, too.
Mina had already drawn out several dresses of varying shades and styles by the time Serenity made it to her side. She gawked at the ever mounting stack piled atop a plush midnight blue armchair. "I hope you aren't expecting me to try on all of those," she said warily, pointing to the heap of dresses.
Mina shook her head as she dove deeper into the wardrobe. "Well, not all of them."
"Mina!"
Mina scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Just calm down. I am most certainly not going to put you through that since I know how much you hate it. However…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened.
Serenity leaned over to try to see what she had found, but the Venetian princess was completely blocking her view.
At last, Mina gasped so loudly you would have thought there was a huge rat in the wardrobe poised to attack her. Instead, she pulled out a flowing silver dress that Serenity had never seen before.
"This one. Definitely this one," said Mina.
The dress must have been added to the collection by one of her handmaidens while Serenity was out of her room. It was too exquisite and too perfect to have gone unnoticed by her eye.
Mina held it before her, and Serenity's mouth hung open in awe of its simplistic beauty. It was long, and the material – gossamer, she thought – was pleated at the high, empire waistline. A string of yellow pearls ran along the waist, and the sloping neckline was embroidered in a gold half-moon pattern. The sleeves were small and delicate – poufy, but with a swirling, spiral effect. She had never seen anything like it. It was so original, so unique. So her.
Serenity timidly reached up and ran her hand along the fabric. It was as soft as spider silk and as light as a cloud.
A tiny gasp escaped her lips as she stared at it.
"It's beautiful," she breathed, taking in the shimmery pearl-like sheen of the fabric.
Even Mina was eyeing it up and down. "Oh, yes," she said, handing the hanger to Serenity and holding the dress up to her. "This is the dress. You have to wear this to the ball."
Serenity groaned, her fantasy with the dress dissolving immediately at the mention of the ball. "I cannot believe mother is throwing another one," she said dismally. "How many does she expect to throw by the end of the century?"
Mina waved her hand dismissively in the air. "Who cares, as long as it's a party," she said, her attention still on the dress. "Besides, if you do not come, who would keep me company all night?" She pouted, a dangerously charming effect on her angelic figure. No doubt many hearts would be broken by that look if she hadn't broken some already.
"All of the men you flirt with?" answered Serenity teasingly.
Mina rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me some credit," she said, throwing her head back in exasperation. "I only flirt with a few."
Serenity gently laid the dress down on her bed and clasped her hands together in front of her. "And by 'a few,' you actually mean 'every eligible bachelor – and then some – in the room?'"
Mina grinned wickedly and spun toward the door. "Just because some of them are spoken for does not mean I cannot talk to them," she said coyly over her shoulder. "The 'look, but don't touch' prerogative."
Serenity shook her head, fighting back a small smile. "Oh, Mina," she sighed. "What am I to do with you?"
Her best friend winked and opened the door, turning to face her. "Keep me entertained until I am swept off my feet," she said grandly. "And that, my dear, will surely be a while to come since I am having entirely too much fun being a free spirit. Later, doll."
With that, she blew her a kiss and slipped out the door, her sunshine gold dress fluttering behind her.
Serenity sighed once more, thinking about the ball. Another boring royal function at which there will be no man I am even remotely interested in, she thought, trudging back to her bed, trying not to slip on the slick, freshly polished floor.
She came to the silver dress and picked it up, cradling it in her arms. She smiled hopefully at it, thinking of the dark knight who visited her only in her dreams.
Maybe he will be there, she thought, her heart racing at the notion of meeting him in person.
Then her brief flicker of happiness was gone, blown out as quickly as a candle by the wind.
It is too bad the perfect stranger does not exist.
She hugged the dress to her, closing her eyes, the image of her perfect prince burned into her mind.
And my dreams certainly never come true.