AN: Posting early as I'm going away for a week. Hooray for fun!
Chapter Two:
Darien opened his eyes slowly, painfully, as if he'd forgotten how. When the haze cleared from his mind and he blinked a few times, he realised there were stars in front of his eyes. He was literally looking at thousands of stars. All he could see was an endless night sky, and the stars were everywhere – much brighter than they should have been; closer, too.
He glanced to the right. More stars. When he looked to the left, however, he felt as if he'd just had a sick, practical joke played on him. Whatever he was staring at, it looked like the Earth. It was bright and colourful, glowing green and blue. And it was very, very close. Much closer than it should seem. But he knew it couldn't be. That was his planet. Looking at the Earth would mean he wasn't on it.
A low groan sounded somewhere close by and he sat up quickly, this time seeing stars from dizziness. He flung his hands over his eyes as he waited for the feeling to subside.
The groan sounded again, longer and louder, and Darien got to his hands and knees –not feeling up to standing yet – and crawled through the short grass towards the sound. Seconds later, he found Serena lying on her back, stirring.
"Meatball Head?" His voice cracked with relief as he realised he wasn't the only one stuck in the weird place. Then he remembered who it was he was relieved about and groaned. "Not her!"
Serena slowly opened her eyes, as if waking from a deep sleep, and focused on the face hovering above her.
"Sammy?" she asked in confusion.
Great, she was still just as ditzy as he could remember.
"No, it's Darien," he snapped. Serena blinked before jolting up.
"What? Whoa!" Her head rocked for a few seconds before she fell back to the ground.
"Where are we?" Darien demanded.
She glared at him as best she could before closing her eyes again. "How should I know?"
"Well it's your fault for us both being in the storm!" he said harshly.
"I didn't ask you to come after me; I would have gotten home just in time if it hadn't had been for you!" She leapt up, swaying unsteadily on her feet before falling back down.
Darien watched as she hit the ground, and the fight drained out of him. She was just as confused as he was, and he was taking his anger out on her. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Where are we?" Serena whimpered, staring up at the starry sky with wide and fearful eyes. Her lower lip quivered.
"I don't know," he muttered.
"Did you feel that... that thing before we woke up?"
Darien nodded. "If you mean that black void thing, yeah."
"It hurt," Serena pouted, reaching for her chest. He watched as she pressed against her sternum.
"Let me," he said quietly, gently brushing her fingers away and pushing down. When she jolted under his touch, he smiled grimly. "I think it's bruised."
"But how!" Serena gasped as she sat up slowly, clutching above her sternum with a hand.
"My guess would be the pressure. You're pretty frail, you know."
"I am not!" Serena snapped.
"Shh!" Darien hissed, holding a hand up.
"No I will not s-" He clapped his hand over her mouth and they both stilled, wide eyed with ears strained for the slightest sound.
A clopping noise was getting louder – perhaps a horse was coming? Serena was about to jump up and ask for a lift back to the nearest city, but Darien pushed her to the ground.
As she opened her mouth, ready to yell at him, she turned to find him lying in the grass beside her. What was he doing?
The sound grew closer and closer, revealing what sounded like two horses and a carriage. Darien shook his head, warning Serena not to speak. She rolled her eyes, silently agreeing not to, and huffed.
"I hate that stupid brat so much! I can't believe how much she gets away with!" a woman's voice said from inside the carriage. Darien and Serena subconsciously flattened themselves further into the grass. "She's out on some lovely picnic today," the voice sneered, as if a picnic could be anything but. "And she's out with him. She only has him for protection today, so if I find them... You can distract him so that he is safely out of harm's way, and I can kill her easily." Serena's eyes widened drastically. "Yes, who'll be blessed then? Huh?" The voice cackled at the thought as the clopping sounds drove further into the distance, taking the speaker away with them.
When silence had reigned for several seconds, Serena turned to Darien. "Who was that?" she breathed in fear.
"Don't worry about it. We should just head in the opposite direction and ask for help. Maybe someone can show us how to get back home."
Serena nodded quickly and got to her feet. "Hey!" she said. "Where's my schoolbag? And my milkshake from the arcade?"
Darien rolled his eyes at her back as she hunted for her possessions and turned to survey their surroundings. There wasn't really much to work with – they'd have to walk beside the road if they wanted to stick to their direction.
"Leave it, Meatball Head."
"Don't call me that!"
"Hey, is that a milkshake?"
"WHERE!?"
"Just kidding."
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"Darien, are we there yet?"
"No."
"Will we be there soon?"
"No."
"Do you know how long it will be?"
"No."
"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"
"No."
"Do you deny that you're the biggest jerk in all the world?"
"Yes."
"Hey! You are listening!"
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"Oh my god, when are we going to get there?"
"Stop whining."
"Darien, I'm thirsty."
"Go find a puddle then."
"And I have to pee."
"Meatball Head! That's gross."
"What? I do!"
"Well go in a bush."
"I can't!"
"Why not?"
"Bushes are icky."
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"I'm sooo thirsty."
"If you don't shut up, I'm going to find a sharp object and cut out your tongue!"
"Have you ever considered chopping up a body and leaving it in a drain?"
"What? No. That's disgusting!"
"Just checking... What about feeding body pieces to a shark?"
"How do you even think these things up? Are you even old enough to watch crime shows?"
"Hey! For the last time, I'm not a kid! I'm 16!"
"Glad to hear it."
"Darien?"
"WHAT?!"
"Nothing."
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"Darien?"
....
"Darien?"
....
"Darien?"
...
"Darien, are you ignoring me?"
....
"Okay, I have something really important to say!!"
"Oh god, WHAT?"
"Your jacket's really ugly."
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"How long do you think it's been?"
...
"How long have we been walking, Darien? Coz I'm thirsty, and hot, and tired, and I really have to pee, and -"
"It's probably only been an hour, Meatball Head. Now for gods' sake, shut up!"
"Sorry."
xXxXx
"I think we're here."
"We're not, now be quiet, you're driving me nuts."
"No, I think we're here. Look Darien!"
Darien sighed and turned to see where Serena was pointing. It was a little to their right, but the road they were following curved straight to it. Darien suppressed a nervous gulp as he took in the size of the building. It was massive, and it looked strangely like a castle... A castle made entirely from marble.
Serena skipped ahead, and Darien had no choice but to hasten after her before she got lost. She met him at the shiny chrome gates, where a golden cat sat on the other side. It looked Serena up and down, and then turned its gaze to Darien, who suddenly felt self-conscious. As if the cat could scrutinise! All of a sudden, he was aware of a faint buzzing sound, coming from the other side of the gate, but before he could determine what it was, the gates swung open, allowing them to enter. Serena laughed joyfully and clapped at the feline. "Who's a cute kitty? Huh? Who's a cute kitty?"
The cat opened its mouth, as if it had gone to say something, but simply yawned instead. Darien eyed it warily as he passed. It eyed him back just as carefully.
Serena made her way up the white cobblestone path and disappeared around the corner. She was really starting to bug him. "Cut it out," he said. She wasn't even being careful!
He rounded the bend and was surprised at the sight. Hundreds of people were out and about, talking amongst each other, selling produce, hanging washing – it looked like the middle of a town!
A woman near Serena gasped and knelt to the ground. Serena frowned at her and walked over. "Hey, um, are you alright? Did you hurt you're back?"
The woman shook her head, keeping her eyes on the floor. Pretty soon, many gasps could be heard as the other townsfolk caught on, and all kneeled on the ground as well.
"Oh my god." Serena backed into Darien. "What's going on?"
"Your Highness!" A young girl with dark, wavy hair ran up to her, curtsying respectfully.
"Why are you here? You know you mustn't use the town streets!" Her eyes shifted to Darien, who stood beside Serena. They were both speechless, but the girl continued.
"Come now, if your outing has finished early, we must hurry you back to the palace. You have a lot to do before dinner." She reached forward and grabbed Serena and Darien by their wrists, dragging them up the street. "And great Selene! What are you two wearing?"
xXxXx
Serena and Darien were ushered through enormous marble doors as the small girl poked them from behind. Darien was getting irritated by her insistent jabbing, and was ready to turn around and tell her when she could put her fingers when the doors swung shut right behind them. The sound echoed across the vast room, as if the very doors had signified their entrance.
Serena gaped in amazement at the structure – it was like a fairytale castle! Hundreds of large, white pillars could be seen from where they stood, and two incredibly beautiful thrones sat in the middle of the extensive space. One was silvery white, and was the taller and more detailed of the two, whilst the other – by no means less impressive – was pearly white, and had rounder edges to its design.
The small girl squeezed her way in between the frozen couple and danced to the centre of the room. Serena leaned into Darien and opened her mouth, before snapping it shut as another stranger made her appearance.
She was beautiful, and Serena felt a flood of despair just looking at her. Her perfect features gave her the face of a doll, and she walked with a level of grace that Serena had never thought possible. She wore a strapless silver gown, which flowed to the floor as if were merely air around her, and she held an atmosphere of importance. Serena felt embarrassed for not curtsying immediately – though who curtsied, anyway?
But perhaps the most peculiar thing about the strange and unearthly woman was her hair.
It was exactly like Serena's.
Well, it was grey and longer, but the style was definitely the same; Serena felt another flood of despair as she realised how much more it suited this... this... this silver-haired goddess, more than herself. And she'd been wearing hers like that all her life! The 'meatballs' were her signature look.
"Thank you, Aria, you may fetch the others now."
The girl left so quickly, Serena could have sworn she saw dust fly behind her – not that there was a speck of dust anywhere about. The woman who'd spoken turned to Serena and Darien, a dazzling smile crossing her beautiful features.
"Darling." She raised her arms in acknowledgment to Serena. "Back so soon? I take it there was reason to rush?" Her eyes raked over Serena's face for a telltale sign, but saw nothing, so she continued. "The Scouts will be here in a moment; we must work quickly if you are going to be ready for tonight."
Once again, her eyes roved over Serena's sweaty face, her hair plastered to her forehead, and her school uniform. She frowned delicately.
"What on the Moon are you wearing?"
Serena and Darien spun to the new voice as another blonde girl, who looked very similar to Serena, stormed into the throne room via yet another door. Her short skirt was bright orange and matched her collar, attached in between with a white bodysuit and bow.
Darien thought she looked like a skimpy sailor.
She marched into the room with long, purposeful strides as the doors she'd burst through slammed loudly behind her. Seconds later, a girl with dark hair and a red version of the first girl's outfit huffed in, rubbing her nose. She stopped dead when her eyes landed on Serena and Darien standing awkwardly by the first door. Her momentary pause caused the tall, green-clad girl behind her to crash into her back. A loud sigh could be heard from the hall behind them, and a shorter girl edged around them, revealing the same suit as the other three, but in blue.
Serena couldn't help but gape at their get ups, trying and failing to remove the stunned expression from her face. Poor Darien didn't know where to look; eyes too low and he'd be staring at their long, shapely legs, eyes too high and their emphasised chests – flaunted by their outfits – would be the object of his focus. He gulped and settled for staring at the top of Serena's head.
The blonde strode over to the now-shaking Serena and grabbed her wrist. "Whatever you two are wearing those things for, I care not for it, all right? Leave the cutesy costumes for when you don't have something to prepare for after. Now I just have to work twice as hard, good grief."
She began to drag Serena away, who threw Darien a terrified look over her shoulder. But Darien didn't catch her glance, as the tall brunette in green was staring at him, scrutinising him with her sharp eyes. She gave him one last look-over and spun on her heel, following the struggling Serena and the other girls.
It was only when the beautiful woman in the centre of the room beckoned Darien with a finger that he realised something with dread. They had no idea where they were, and now they were separated.
Hope you're enjoying the story so far
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