Notes: This is a story set in the Silver Millennium that we created in response to a challenge/contest on Facebook. We had three prompts: Endymion for a person, boots for an item, and regret for a theme. Gee, hard to pick what to write!

Warnings: Angst, talk of war (broad strokes)

Pairings: Endymion/Serenity, one-sided Beryl/Endymion

Extra-Special Credit: Beta-wrote, ideas, and all-around cheerleader shout-out goes to Setsuna-chan22! You rock, sweetheart!

Echoes
by Rosethorn

Endymion studied his boots critically, checking from the top of the cuff to the bottoms of the soles. He sighed as he caught sight of the hole in the heel of his left boot, knowing that he would need to get another set from supply—if there were any left. War with Beryl had left his kingdom strained for supplies, and things like boots were in high demand. It was interesting, he reflected with a certain sense of irony, what usually would be taken for granted during peace became a matter of life or death during war.

Another glance at the boots had him noticing a small moon and star motif up the collar of the boot, winding its way to meet toward the toe, above the buckle. It was subtle, small even, but there in silver thread was a pattern that Endymion had no difficulty recognizing as the Moon Kingdom's coat of arms. How ironic that he was wearing a gift from his beloved Serenity during a war over the very thing that had brought them together.

We must stop meeting like this.
Why?

He remembered first meeting her, a small, slip of a girl who appeared in his gardens late one night. She had not expected him to be in the gardens at that exact moment, she had confided later. She would see him from her view screen on the Moon, and had longed to meet him. She had visited before to watch him more closely, rather than from afar. Something about him was so different from what she knew of the Moon and its customs.

He hadn't known at the time that she was the Crown Princess. He had only known that she was the kindest, gentlest soul he had ever met. Her quirks fascinated him, from her ability to eat her own weight in food, to her knack of smoothing tensions over between his generals. Every so often, during those first few months of friendship, she would have others accompany her. It was then that Endymion began to piece together that Serenity was more than she appeared.

Communication between the people of the Moon and of the Earth is forbidden…It is the way of the gods…

Tensions had risen between the Moon Kingdom and the Earth. The Moon had always been hailed as mysterious and secretive, but that mild unrest soon turned to open scorn and derision. The people of Earth, jealous of the Moon Kingdom's apparent wealth, prosperity, and their citizens' long lives, began to blame the Moon for the failing of their crops and the apparent sickening of the land and people. Endymion had tried to quell the rumours and dissention, but to no avail.

We musn't fall in love…
But it's already too late…

Serenity told him of her heritage when he told her he had fallen in love. He cursed his own folly at falling in love with the one person he could never truly have. He sent her away that night, back to the Moon, and told her not to return. He told himself that it was for her sake that he sent her away. That it was to save her life and avert a war that would surely destroy the peaceful Moon Kingdom.

It was cold comfort in the face of her tears.

He lasted only a few weeks before he felt the urge to see her again. She had become vital to his existence, to his very being. He felt pulled in two. He knew that they could never marry. Never truly be together. But oh, how he longed for her. She filled his every waking hour, his dreams, his thoughts, his hopes…everything he was.

He knew that many of the nobles of his own court had allied in the common cause of war. They hoped to force his hand and attack the Moon Kingdom. To claim the riches that they desired so greatly. They flung their daughters at him, hoping to catch his attention and draw him into their cause, as well as raise their influence at court. Talk swiftly arose of a match between him and the eldest daughter of the ringleaders. Beryl was pretty enough, he supposed, and she was certainly sweet enough, always wanting to be on hand to assist him with whatever he needed. She was smart and clever to the point of being cunning. Her eyes studied any given circumstance thoroughly before taking any action. In short, she was a perfect match for a future queen of Earth. A decision was made, and an announcement read; Endymion and Beryl were to be married in one year's time.

Endymion struggled with his new obligations. He begged his parents to release him from his contracts. He tried to explain to Beryl his concerns, plead for her to release him, only to have her dip her head demurely, cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Everyone has fears of a marriage before the vows are spoken," she said quietly, eyes flicking up shyly to meet his. "I know that ours will prove to be just as unfounded as any other couple."

Seeing no escape in sight, his heart began to feel more like a millstone weighing on his chest, slowly crushing the very breath from his breast. He longed for Serenity, for her silver hair and golden voice. She would know what to say to make him forget, even if only for one moment stolen out of the day. He mourned the continued silence growing between them, knowing that she suffered as much as he from it.

The weeks steadily marched by, uncaring of the turmoil surrounding him and his kingdom. The unrest steadily grew, tensions mounting on either side. The nobles in favour of war began to pour on more and more pressure against those who stood against them in their cause. Conflicts began to erupt between the factions, quickly escalating to skirmishes, to all out military strikes on either side—the royal family caught directly in the center. It was during this escalating violence that Endymion faced the death of his parents. Killed in the crossfire while touring a village close to the capital, Endymion watched as the death was used on both sides to further their causes. Civil war was looming, and he felt helpless in stemming the tide. His coronation also lurked on his horizon, and it chilled him as much as the conflicts on either side. He knew that he would be expected to uphold the marriage contracts, that Beryl would advocate for her family's position of attacking the Moon Kingdom, and that he would be helpless to stop the Earth Kingdom from entering a war on all sides. The millstone in his chest grew heavier with each passing day.

He began to sneak out once more, avoiding the watchful eyes of his generals, to sit in the garden—their garden—and just…breathe for a moment. Pretend for a few minutes that everything was as it once was before. Or that he was not in line for the throne and Serenity was just another girl from the Moon. No duties, no obligations, just two souls entwined forever in love.

She appeared to him during one of those secret vigils, just as she had when they first met. He found he could not move—could scarcely breathe at the sight of her. Quickly, she ran to him, flinging herself against him, his arms already spread open to catch her. She sobbed in his arms as he wept in her hair.

"I love you," he rasped, voice all but strangled by his tears. "I will love you forever." He knew then that he could not marry Beryl. He could not honour those promises made for him. He clung to the hope of ending the conflict in his poor kingdom, spare his people any further horrors of another war right on the heels of this one. Maybe then, when things had settled, when he was crowned king. Maybe then, he and Serenity could be united forever. He could be strong until then. Keep her away and safe until then. He drew her tighter in his embrace before leaning down to share one last kiss. A flash of red in the corner of his eye drew his attention as he withdrew. He turned his head, but there were only the roses fluttering in the soft breeze.

Gazing back at his beautiful Serenity, he gently placed a lock of her hair behind one of her ears as he explained his plans. She looked up anxiously at him, but nodded in agreement when he asked her for time. He promised to send for her as soon as it was safe. He watched as she materialized back to the Moon, fading slowly before his eyes. Even knowing that he would see her again, her departure pierced through him like a sword. Looking again at the roses, he strode back to his chambers to plan.

The boots had appeared a few weeks after Serenity's final departure. He saw nothing of her, but on them was a note telling him that they would keep him safe when she couldn't—watch over him in her stead. He was wearing them when Beryl walked in, strangely pale and withdrawn, to wish him a pleasant day before drawing out an edict stating that he was to abdicate in favour of Beryl as soon as they were wed, the date having been moved up to a month in future. Reading further, he saw that any refusal of this order would be seen as an act of treason against the people of the Kingdom of Earth. He would be stripped of all royal powers and placed into imprisonment for the remainder of his days. He asked her for time to think. She left, posting guards at his door.

He escaped that night with the aid of his trusted Generals, fleeing to the rebel army. At the final gate out of the palace, Beryl stood before him, pressing a pack into his hands, and wishing him well. She bade each General to take care of her future husband, before turning and striding back to the gatehouse, ordering the guards to lift the gate. He called his thanks to her as he fled into the night.

Finally, I had you…Prince Endymion…
I only…wanted…you…

Rumours soon reached him of Beryl becoming the leader of the deposing army. It seemed so at odds with the woman he had watched. She had confided in him once that conflicts made her nervous. He wondered what had sparked the change, or if her family had placed her in that position.

He soon found his answers in his first skirmish with the nobles' armies. There she stood above the field, hair blood red in the sun, flying unfettered in the wind. He caught snippets of her orders, his blood running cold as the words "no prisoners other than the prince" reached his ears. They lost ground that day, and continued losing it across several hundred miles. His armies finally fled to regroup in safer terrain in the south.

They hadn't gotten far enough away. The day after they had settled, a messenger rode through the rows of tents to his, knowing unerringly which it was, though his tent was the same as every other, no larger, no smaller, no bright colours; nothing to delineate which tent housed royalty. The messenger bore a message from Beryl, who had since been crowned queen by the Council, instructing him to meet her that day upon the hill above. He sent word to his Generals, who quickly followed him up the hillside.

Beryl met them under a tent more suited for a picnic, bright smile on her face, eyes chips of ice. She gave him a chance to surrender, eyes growing colder still at his refusal. She once again bade the Generals to take care of him, though the sincerity and warmth from her voice was lacking, and made shivers race up Endymion's spine. She then vanished before them, cruel laughter echoing down the valley.

The next day, war began in earnest.

How does our planet look from the Moon?
It looks like a beautiful blue crystal ball.

Endymion dashed a hand across his face, angrily wiping the tears building in his eyes. He knew that there was little more he could have done in the face of the overwhelming odds against him, but his heart ached all the same for his subjects. They were, he felt, paying the price for his folly. And folly it was, for all that he loved her with every breath he took. Regret choked his throat and stole at his breath.

He still did not understand the sudden violence against the Moon Kingdom, or the apparent madness that had taken hold of Beryl, but he hoped that she would see reason—that all his people would see reason—and stop the assault. He absently traced over the pattern stitched on his boots once more, thoughts racing in several different directions. Battles to be fought, strategies to implement, and contingencies to plan. And, of course, a boot to repair.

Sighing, he pulled on his spare set of boots, taking the damaged boot with him as he made his way to the riverbank. His father had once told him of a remedy for repairing boots involving dried grass and mud packed together in the hole and left to bake in the sun.

"Your Highness!" Endymion looked up to see Kunzite striding toward him, Nephrite, Jadeite, and Zoisite close behind. "We have a matter of grave importance to discuss with you." The prince stood, boot still held within his grasp.

"It must be urgent indeed to send you out in the full sun, Kunzite," Endymion replied lightly, trying to parse the problem behind his First's blank face. Looking behind Kunzite, Endymion's heart sank to see the same non-expressions on each of his general's faces. "What has happened?" he asked finally.

"Prince! We are tired of submitting!" Kunzite's voice rang out. Endymion blinked in shock, seeing the anger crossing his First's face. "We can no longer stand the Moon Kingdom's rule! They spy on our every move!"

The boot fell from his numb fingers.

Fin

End notes: Yep, that's the end. I'm thinking about turning this into a series spanning the entire Silver Millennium up to where they're reborn. Also covering what caused Silver Tokyo. I don't think I want to handle the actual series because 1, it's already canon. There's not a lot to add. 2, better authors than I have done canon writing that more than accurately explains everything.

Hope you enjoyed!

~Rosethorn