A Week of Freedom
Serenity's POV"You will be marrying the prince of earth in a week serenity. I want you to prepare yourself," my mother, Queen Serenity, said.
I bowed to her, "yes mother," I said and left. In my room, I cried till I had no more tears within me. I knew that my mother only had the moon's best interest at heart and she just wanted me to be happy, but marriage to some snotty prince I never met before. I just knew I wasn't going to be happy with him. But, I would do as my mother wished. And she wished me to marry the prince. I had a week of freedom left and I decided to spend it my way. I wasn't going to be ruled over by a man just yet.
Endymion's POV"Prince, you'll be marrying the princess of the moon in a week. Don't you think you should prepare for her arrival," my advisor, and best friend Andrew, said.
I sighed, "I suppose your right. I'll leave it to you," I said. He bowed and left. The treaty had been settled upon this morning. There was no war going on between the earth and moon but both wished for a better relationship. I, the prince of earth and the last living member of my bloodline, had to do what was best for my planet. A marriage between the earth and moon would make it easier for our people to get along. But I was not happy about marrying a stuck up princess who thought herself better then all the others. She'd most likely be a hideous, whiney girl who thought that she was beautiful.
I sighed again, one week of freedom left. Well as much as a prince had. I just wish that I could have seen the outside world better. Gotten to know my people more and see their hardships. Maybe I should.
Serenity's POVSailor Venus was practically my twin. With a little tweaking of her hairstyle and a crescent moon sticker, she and I looked exactly alike. She was my best friend and one of my guardians. But she agreed with me and offered to help. I tied Venus's red ribbon around my forehead hiding my moon mark. I had a week of freedom and I was going to spend it on my future home getting to know the people so I could at least try to understand their problems. I tucked my long ponytails into the hood of my cloak. With the dark blue cloak on, no one could see my face, hair, or cloths.
I grabbed a small purse that I had gotten from a royal dignitary of mercury, an elderly archduke I believe. It wasn't fancy at all; in fact, all it was was plain blue cloth stitched into the fashion of a pouch with strings. But inside, it was much larger then it looked. It held a space pocket that could hold as much as I'd need to fit into it. Once I even stuffed my whole closet of cloths into it and it still had room for more. I think it could even hold a full-grown person. The best thing was that only I could get into it. It would only work for me so I was safe putting anything in it.
Any way, I dumped a bunch of coins into it: a small mountain of copper coins, several handfuls of silver coins, and a handful of gold. The purse weighed no more then it did before the money, another nice quirk to it. In total, it probably had over a thousand dollars in it. A little excessive, I know, but you never know what may happen. I did need to buy a weeks worth of day and night cloths as well as food and other needs.
I checked to make sure I had ever thing in place and slipped into the night. There was enough earth light to guide me to the planet portal. Luckily, it was unguarded. I turned it on and set it to earth then stepped into it and vanished.
The night air of earth was a little warmer then the moons and I felt a soft wind blow across my face. I started walking and found that earth's heavier gravity made it hard for me to walk at first. I stumbled once but caught myself. I finally found my footing as I got use to the gravity.
The portal had taken me to a city just beyond the gates of the palace. Threw the bars I could see how beautiful the palace was. I stood looking at it amazed for a moment, the towering crystal walls sparkled even in the night. I tore myself away from it knowing I had to find a place to stay for the evening.
The inn I found was beautiful too. I walked into the main lobby admiring the stone pillars and marble floors. I walked up to the counter where a man sat reading over some documents. "Excuse me," I said gently.
He looked up at me. Her checked out my cloak and purse and sneered, "I'm sorry but we do not have any rooms available."
"And why not, you've got to have at least one room free," I said a little annoyed.
"We do not have any rooms available for peasants such as yourself, that is why," he said.
I frowned and dug into my purse. I pulled out a gold coin and smacked it down on the counter. "Is this enough," I asked.
He looked at it wide eyed, "but of course, this is more then enough." He rang a small bell and a girl about my height with short red hair came out "molly, escort this fine young woman to our best suite."
"Yes sir," she said and bowed to him. "Follow me please."
"Alright," I said and followed her.
The room was huge, but not as big as my room on the moon. Truthfully, it was about the size of my closet. I admit, I only have a huge closet because I have so many cloths. It's because of this annoying shopping habit that I got to love too.
Molly showed me around the room pointing out where everything was: the giant shell shaped bathtub with matching sink, the closet, and the fully stocked breakfast nook. But lastly, she showed me the balcony and I had a perfect view of the palace. Even from here it was magnificent.
"I'm sorry for my bosses attitude to you when you first came. He can be a real jerk sometimes when it comes to serving customers," molly said.
"That's ok, in about a week, I intend to change that," I said smiling.
"Really, what will happen at the end of the week," she asked.
"I'm getting married," I said. For some reason, saying it made me giggle.
"Oh yea, to who," she asked again. "Oh I'm sorry, I'm a real big gossip, I shouldn't be asking you that."
"It's ok, can you keep a secret," I asked.
"Yea I can," she said.
I patted the bedding next to me motioning for her to sit. I pulled off the hood and let my long blond hair free. She sat next to me and looked at me intently. "Well molly, do you know who is marrying the prince?"
"Yes, the moon princess right. No one here has seen her ever but we all know her name. It's serenity I think," molly said.
"Yes it's serenity, and yes she is marrying the prince. And I'm her," I said.
"No way, you're the moon princess," she said amazed.
"Yes," I said simply.
"I don't believe you," she said.
"It's true, I'll show you," I said. I took off the cloak and the ribbon around my head. "See the moon mark, it shows that I am a royal member of the moon family. And the dress, it is a traditional dress only made for the princess."
"Wow that is so cool. I mean, I'm sorry princess for not believing you," she said. She got up and bowed to me as if ashamed of her actions.
"Oh please don't do that. Listen, because I'm going to marry in a week, I want to have fun here. I'm under cover. So don't treat me like a princess, I want a friend while I'm here too," I said.
"Really, well ok," she said rather reluctantly.
"Thank you. So I was wondering if you could help me with something. I can't go around in this dress all week. Do you think you could go shopping with me tomorrow? I'll get you some stuff too," I pleaded using my puppy dog eyes.
"Oh alright, if it'll stop you using those eyes on me. Man where did you learn to do that, no one could resist that," she asked.
"Lots of practice," I said smiling. "So, see you tomorrow morning in the lobby?"
"Sure princess," she said.
"Call me Serena," I said smiling, "it's my code name."
"Ok Serena, I'll see you tomorrow," she said and left.
I fell back on the bed, my arms spread wide to the sides, and soon I fell asleep.
Endymion's POVMy own guards would be after me soon enough but they wouldn't catch me. I could run as fast as the wind and nobody would be able get to me. I'd finally reached the wall and hopped up into a large tree. I kept going up until I was at the same height at the top of the wall. With one last jump, I'm over the wall and am free. I look around to make sure no one saw me. I don't see anyone except a retreating figure down a street. I'm suddenly curious about this person because it is late at night and they're the only one out.
Cautiously I follow her, I can tell it's a woman because her movements are so fluid and graceful. There was something about her that stood out even though I couldn't see her. She walked into an elegant inn, one that would be way too expensive for any commoner. I knew that I too had to have a place to stay for the night so I decided to spend it in the same place as her. I entered the lobby just after she left; I could see her figure retreating down a hall. Walking up to the counter, I could see the man was amazed at something. I waited a moment while he put what looked like a gold coin into a safe box. That woman must have paid with the gold coin because I could see no one else who would have.
I clear my throat and he looked up. I admit my cloths weren't the best. They were one of my less formal tuxedos. I also wore a white mask across my face, a simple piece of fabric but no one would know who I was with it on. "Is there something I can do for you sir," he said as if he were board and really didn't want to attend to me.
"Yes, who was that lady who just went down the hall," I asked.
"I don't know sir but she is rich, I can tell you that. Now if there is nothing else you need, please leave," he said rudely.
I frowned, were the people outside my palace really as rude as this man was right now. "I need a room please," I said.
"Do you have the money for it sir," he asked skeptical.
"You know, with this inn being such a nice place, I would think the personnel nicer then that," I said.
"I'm sorry sir, no money no room," he said.
I pulled a few coins from my pocket and picked out three silver coins among the handful of gold, copper, and silver. "This ought to be enough," I said and laid them down.
He eyed them for a moment looking like he didn't believe that I could have such an amount of money. "Yes sir, this is plenty, molly should be back in a moment to escort you to your room," he said. The young girl came down the hall that she and the other woman had gone down not moments before. "Molly, this gentleman just got one of our suits, please escort him to one."
"Yes sir, right this way," she said and we went back down the hall.
There was silence for a moment while we walked down the hall. "Excuse me but that woman you led to a room just now, is they're anything you can tell me about her. I'm willing to pay for the information," I said.
"I'm sorry sir but I am sworn to secrecy. Customer confidentiality sir," she said.
"I understand," I said. Well, I didn't know any more about her then I did when I first saw her except that she was rich. It was at least nice to know that there were some honest people around.
We got to my room and she showed me around. It was a nice room. Cozy yet spacious.
"I'm sorry I couldn't answer your question before sir," she said.
"Like I said, I understand, in fact I commend you for being a good person like that," I said. "Say you wouldn't happen to know of a good place for someone to go shopping for cloths?"
"Well yes sir, the market inside town sells many things including cloths. Have you ever been to this city sir," she asked.
"Once, a long time ago, but most my life I was forced to stay inside and learn my lessons. I was only allowed out for sword training," I said.
"Sounds boring, I'm sorry. Well I hope you have fun here, how long are you staying," she asked.
"For a week, I'm just here so I can relax before my wedding," I said.
"You're getting married, how lovely. To whom if you don't mind me asking," she said smiling
Curious girl that one, but I didn't see any harm in telling her. "Can you keep a secret," I asked. She nodded and I believed her. "Well, I'm marrying the moon princess," I said and took off my mask.
She gasped, and bowed before me. I wonder why I had never seen such a nice girl working inside the palace. Andrew usually hired girls like her because they had some special quality within them, the same that molly had.
"Please no bowing, this week is for relaxing only, I'm not going to do anything diplomatic at all," I said.
"Yes prince," she said and left.
Nice girl, I think when I go back, I'll personally hire her to work in the palace. I take off the tuxedo until I only have the cloth pants on. The large bed is certainly comfortable and I fell asleep immediately.
Serenity's POVI woke early feeling the warmth of the dawn sun streaming into my room. It's considerably warmer now and I find I like it. I could feel the energy from the sun start to revive me from the wonderful sleep I had. Most people don't really understand the concept of where lunatarians get their energy when not at home. The energy we get from the moon is stronger then what we get from the sun. But really the moonlight is just sunlight bounced off the moon.
I'm meeting molly today and I can't wait to go out and see the city. I have a feeling that today is going to be a wonderful day; something good is going to happen. I get up from the bed and straighten my dress out. I then run my fingers threw my long hair to make sure there's no tangles. Of course, there aren't any because I'm the princess. There's a magic spell is always working to keep me looking well groomed.
I do a quick check in the breakfast nook to see that there is a nice variety of foods. As I reach into the small cooler, I go past the muffins and sweet rolls that I would love to eat and chose an apple. I have to watch my figure so I fit into my wedding dress. I chow down on the apple very un-princess like but for some reason it's sweeter then the moon apples I've had before. Most likely it's because they are real apples, not the fake ones we make back at home. Just for good measure I grab another apple and eat it too. I'll have to try the other fruits during the week.
Right now thou, I must get ready to meet molly. I get Venus's ribbon and tie it back around my head to cover the moon mark. Then, putting the cloak on again and making sure it fully hides my dress; I head out of my room.
Endymions POVI wake up with the sun, always have, always will. Ever since I was young I was awoken at the break of dawn for all kinds of training. Soon it became a habit and I was up before anyone woke me. I stretch while still on the bed; even my bed in the palace is this soft.
The old tuxedo bottoms I'm wearing are wrinkled from sleeping but they'll do until I can do some shopping. I put on the undershirt and jacket without doing it up in the fancy fashion. I don't care if I look messy. Finally I put the white mask back on and head out; I'll have to get some fake glasses to hide who I am.
Serenity's POVI walk in front of a door and it suddenly opens. A man walks out and bumps into me and I fall to the floor. Really I should have known not to walk that close to doors but I didn't think any one would be up this early. I do a quick check to make sure my dress is still hidden and I'm happy it was.
I look up at the man who knocked me down and I find myself almost lost in his deep blue ocean eyes. His ebony black hair falls in front of his eyes but not enough to make it so he couldn't see. He wears a white mask. Why I don't know but it makes his eyes stand out even more. He is quite handsome, I'll admit, but he also seems so mysterious. I can't help but blush when I realize I'm starring at him.
After a moment he holds out his hand to help me up. "I am sorry about that miss, I should have watched where I was going," he said.
I take his hand and let him pull me to my feet. I must be head over heels for him for as we touch, I think I see silver and gold sparks fly between us. But they disappear and I figure I must be seeing things. "That is alright but I'm afraid I must argue for it was I who must apologize for bumping into you. It was just my mishap to fall," I said.
"No, it was my fault. Please let me treat you to breakfast to make it up to you," he said.
"That is a nice offer sir but I must decline. I have a shopping to do before I can go anywhere. But lunch sounds nice though I won't be letting you pay for it all," I said.
"Fair enough, shall I meet you in the lobby around noon," he asks.
"Sounds great. See you then," I say and half jog down the hall to the lobby where I find molly and we leave together.
Endymion's POVI walk out of my room and accidentally bump into a young lady. I look down at her and notice it's the girl that I followed in. I can see that it's her by the cloak. She is beautiful. Her sky blue eyes are framed by long, and I mean long, blond hair. Her skin is beautifully pale and flawless. I'm completely overwhelmed by her.
. "I am sorry about that miss, I should have watched where I was going," I said holding out my hand to help her up. Gold and silver sparks fly from our touching hands but disappear making me wonder about this girl.
"That is alright but I'm afraid I must argue for it was I who must apologize for bumping into you. It was just my mishap to fall," she said.
I feel bad that she is blaming herself. "No, it was my fault. Please let me treat you to breakfast to make it up to you," I say.
"That is a nice offer sir but I must decline. I have a shopping to do before I can go anywhere. But lunch sounds nice though I won't be letting you pay for it all," she said.
"Fair enough, shall I meet you in the lobby around noon," I ask.
"Sounds great. See you then," she says and half jogs down the hall.
I watch her leave. She is an angel, a goddess, perfect in it's self. I have to get to know her, even for the week. But something strikes me as odd with her. She is pure, completely void of any evil. No normal person is without a dark thought within them.
Serenity's POVMolly and I walk around all morning going into different shops and buying all kinds of cloths and souvenirs. I can tell that she's nervous at first but she gradually loosens up and starts treating me like a person. We have lots of fun as we go and I'm glad I got to know her. Maybe I can convince my future husband to let her work in the castle so I can at least have a friend besides the scouts.
But the entire time, I'm thinking of that man. He was so nice but something is weird about him. He had no evil in him, not even a thought. That reassures me because I wouldn't want to have lunch with someone with bad intentions. I really can't wait until lunch but it seems so far away.
Back at the room, I lay all of my new cloths out onto the bed. I stuff all the little trinkets into my special bag until I go back home. There are a variety of dresses on my bed and I don't know which to choose first to wear. Finally I choose a lovely blue dress. It has a high waistline and a thin ribbon in a bow on the back. It reminds me of Mercury's royal princess gown, I always liked that dress. It fits well with my blue eyes. I exchange Venus's red ribbon for a new yellow one. I curl the ribbon in my hand. "To Princess Venus," I say and it disappears. I know she'll be glad to have her ribbon back.
It's almost noon and I'm ready to meet him. I walk down the hall and wait. The man that had checked me in sees me and is dumb struck by me. I have to admit I do look good.
He enters the lobby and I am stunned by how good he looks. He isn't wearing the mask bow but a thin pair of glasses, and he has a very nice tuxedo on. He smiles and walks over to me. "Good after noon fair lady, are you ready for our lunch," he asks.
I smile, "why yes I am."
He holds his elbow out, "then let's go."
I take his arm and we walk together to a small restaurant. We sit and have some tea, which amazing because we both love the same kind. Black rose tea, a rare kind costing a total of one silver coin for the both of us. It's an acquired taste because it's very sweet and at the same time bitter. We talk for a long time.
Nobody's POV"So, you haven't even told me your name yet," he says.
"It's," Serenity paused. She knew the people who live on earth already know what her name was. She knew she couldn't use her real name. "Serena, my name is Serena."
"Well lady Serena, it is very nice to meet you. My name is," he pauses as well. He too knows that every one knew his name and couldn't use it. "Darien."
"Well sir Darien, I'm glad we can have this talk," Serenity said.
"Lady Serena, you do not seem to know this are you from another city," he asked.
"Well yes. I am not from around here. I'm from the moon visiting for the week," she says honestly. This man makes was making her want to spill the truth about everything for some reason. But she can't, she knew what would happen if she told any one except molly.
"Just visiting for the week. Are you here to see Prince Endymion's and Princess Serenity's marriage," he asked.
"Well no. I'm on vacation for the week. At the end of the week, I will be heading back home so I can fulfill my duties. See, my mother is a high ranking official on the moon. She is marrying me to someone from earth so to make things a lot easier between our families. I don't want to disgrace her so I'm complying with her wishes," Serena said.
"Well I hope your future husband is kind to you. But I understand what you're feeling. I too am marrying at the end of the week. But it's my choice so as I can carry on my bloodline. I'm the last living member of my family so I must. But I've never seen or met my wife to be. Well any way since we both seem to betrothed, why don't we spend more then just today together? I know that nothing will ever develop between us because of our marriages. But I would like to get to know you more," he said hopping she would say yes.
Serenity thought for a moment. "Yes, that sounds great," she said smiling.
For the entire week, serenity and Endymion would meet for early morning breakfast. Then, they would take a trip around town, a different place each time. From there, they'd have a small lunch with tea. Finally, they headed back to the inn and separated about mid afternoon.
Finally, the morning of their wedding came and neither wanted to go home.
Serenity's POVThis was it. No more pretending like I'm someone else, no more hiding from my duties, and no more time with Darien. I know that during this last week, I've fallen in love with him. He is so kind and gentle but also strong and brave. The perfect man in my book. But he and I can never be. He is just a commoner and I am a princess. There is nothing that I could do to be with him without disgracing mother.
The dawn light saddens me because I know my time is up. I want to see him again but can't. It would be too hard for me to say good bye. I pack all my things into my small purse and once again don my cloak. The red glow of the sun gives me light enough as I slip from the inn.
This time as I get to the transporter, I see that it is guarded. Someone stops me and asks for my transport ticket and my passport. "I don't need one. I must get back to the moon right away," I say.
"Every one needs to pay and no one goes threw without a passport that shows his or her identification," he says.
"Listen, do you want to be the one blamed for stopping prince Endymion's wedding," I say angry.
"And how would I go about doing that," he asks sarcastically.
I pull off the cloak hood and my yellow ribbon reveling my moon mark. "Because I am Princess Serenity, and stopping me means starting a war. Now step aside."
"S-s-sorry princess, please go on threw," he says and moves.
I walk threw the portal and suddenly, I am home. My four sailor scouts greet me, "princess, it's time."
"Yes, let's go prepare me for my wedding," I say sadly. I glance over my shoulder and see the beautiful big blue marble called earth start to rise over the horizon.
"Princess," Mars starts.
"Venus, guys, don't worry about me. What's done is done and I can never return to that, I know. So let's go have a wedding and forget that I ever went to earth. Happiness is not something I can afford when it comes to my planet.
"It'll turn out ok in the end princess, we'll be there for you," Jupiter said.
"Thanks," I say plastering on the same fake smile I had done for the past 14 years of my life. "Besides, it might be fun."
All five of us walk together back to the castle and I get ready for the big 'I do'.
Endymion's POVI feel bad for my Serena. She is expecting me for breakfast and here I am ditching her. I know if I'll see her, I fear that I'd loose myself and kiss her. I was able to hold myself back for this long but I'm not that strong when it comes to my Serena. I wish I could have told her that I loved her.
I sneak out of the inn just before dawn. I walk up to the large gates and a guard stops me. "Sorry, no entrance today," he says.
I take off my glasses, "you deny your prince and future king entrance to his own castle thus stopping him from preparing for his wedding and starting a war."
"P-prince Endymion, please go threw," he said and the gates open for me. On the other side, Andrew and my four head guards are waiting for me. I sigh and nod at them.
"Welcome back prince, it's almost time. Are you ready," he asks.
"Yes I am Andrew. Prepare my transport and lay out my wedding tuxedo. I shall have a bath before I leave," I say.
"Right away prince," he says and motions to some servants.
"Oh and Andrew, there is a young girl working at a local inn by the name of molly. Fetch her right away and give her a job at the castle as one of my personal servants. And get her some nice clothing so she may accompany me to my wedding," I say. I didn't want to leave her behind. She became a good friend while I was there and she deserves more then what that awful man was giving her.
"Of course prince," he heads off to do my task and I go to my room where I take my bath and get dressed in my wedding tuxedo.
With molly among my group, we all step into my personal transporter and go to the moon. Four girls clad in sailor outfits usher me to the church where I stand before queen serenity herself. As I look at her, I think of how familiar her hair is. But I'm quickly drawn out of my short trance as the music starts. Few minutes later, a girl in all white steps up beside me. I glance at her to see her vale is covering her face in blanket of white fabric. I can't see her at all.
The ceremony starts and we say I do. Finally we turn to each other and I lift her vale so to kiss her and make it final binding our kingdoms together forever.
Serenity's POVI'm dressed and ready and I wait at the end of the aisle. The music starts and I do the slow walk up to the altar. I do not look at his face fearing the worst. I can see threw the vale but to anyone on the other side, it's to thick to see threw. But I still feel everyone's eyes on me. So, I close my eyes threw the whole ceremony. It helps but only slightly.
We say our 'I do's to my mother and turn to each other. But I do not open my eyes until after I feel the vale rise over my head. Looking up at the face of my new husband, I see only Darien. I gasp slightly looking into those deep blue eyes that I love.
I mouth the word prince to him and he nods. He mouths princess back and I nod too. We both smile for a moment before he leans down and we kiss. The crowd cheers but I don't hear them because I'm lost in his kiss. I can feel our souls call for each other loudly until they finally merge into one. We pull away from each other and smile again.
"I love you Serena," he whispers.
"I love you too Darien," I whisper back smiling.