The palace was vast and held a maze of hallways that left many opportunities to lose ones way, especially in the dark of the night. But his feet had traced these steps many times over in secrecy in the past and his steps fell silently as he moved through the dark halls. Eventually he found himself at a massive room along the far edge of the palace. The chamber was filled with large statues along the edges depicting the bodies of gods and goddesses and the walls were ingrained with silver scripture of ancient languages long past. In the center of the room was a large crystal pool whose water was made black in the inky darkness. The stars reflected off the waters making them appear as a thousand shimming diamonds all trapped just below the surface. At the one side of the room was not a wall at all. It contained only a marble rail and pillars that opened out the room into the night.
And that was where his eyes fell upon her.
She sat silent and unmoving along the alabaster rail, her back leaning upon one of many pillars surrounding the immense room. One of her legs was bent to have her knee pulled close to her body while the other was left to dangle over the edge of the railing. She was turned away from him, looking out into the vast blackness of the sky and to the swirly blue marble in the distance that was his home. She did not show any outward acknowledgment of his presence but he knew she was aware he was there. They had always been able to sense each others presence in that way.
Under any other circumstances he would have relished in seeing her in this unguarded way. And even in the troubled purpose of his visit he found his breath hitched at her radiance. Her hair was released from its usual style atop her to head to cascade down her shoulders and back in silver waves. Her dress too was not that of her traditional public image but a mass of silver and white silk draping over her every curve that also left her shoulders and back exposed. Her feet were bare and her milky white skin looked almost iridescent in the night.
By the gods, he loved her.
"You have to leave this place," He whispered, "You have to run."
He waited in silence for a response but received none. She made no move, nor sound that she had heard him at all.
"Do you not understand, Serenity?" He stepped forward into the light suddenly so he could see her face, his voice dropping to a harsher tone. "The enemy is coming tomorrow to destroy this place, to take you away from me!" He gulped, "I cannot stop this from happening!"
The eerie light of the night bounced atop the crystal water to cast dancing shadows across the features of her pale face, her gaze never swaying from the dark horizon and the luminous body of a world just beyond it. He could see the sadness pooling in her eyes and he knew that though she did not acknowledge his words aloud, she understood them as the truth. But along with the sadness was something he found himself terrified to see….resolution. He saw the resolution and acceptance of someone who was embracing their destiny, no matter how tragic it may be. He had seen that look many times on the faces of his soldiers before war, soldiers that had been slain in bloody battles that had left him with nothing but haunted dreams. And now the same look was on Serenity's face. A breeze lazily drifted through the room, slowly caressing the sheer draping hanging from the ceilings that seemed so tranquil in contrast to the raging sea of emotions in his heart. She lifted her chin slightly and closed her eyes.
His mind was a bundled swirl of panic and fear as these emotions played across her face and when he spoke again he could not hide the agony in his voice.
"Serenity, please."
She opened her eyes once more but did not turn to face him as she spoke. Her voice was barely a whisper and even in the silence of the night he had to strain to hear it.
"I will not abandon my people to die alone Endymion. If the gods have chosen this as their fate, so shall mine be as well."
His lips wavered for a moment before he fell to his knees beside her. His hands gripped the cloth of her dress and his head fell to her lap as an anguished moan slipped from his throat.
"Please," he tried once more, a tear falling from eyes.
She lifted her hand to rest upon his head and stroked her fingers through his hair but her soft gaze continued on to the dark horizon.