Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't want to.
Since everyone seemed enthusiastic about Endymion's POV; here it is. It clears up a few more things, hope it's not disappointing. Thank you for all of your reviews about the previous chapter, I really loved getting them. I must admit it took a while to get this out, but suffice to say university started again and there's quite a lot of reading involved, leaving me with less time; my apologies for this.
Also, to one of my reviewers (LadyArcana81); thank you for your comment, I don't know how realistic her fighting is (I'm not an expert and it is mostly based on just my fantasy – so I suppose it's not very realistic) but it should also be taken into account that she's not doing too much straight-out fighting. Most of her kills are quick, sneak attack ones with no resistance from her intended target and even in fighting, she is mostly evading rather than attacking. Furthermore, everyone she's fighting has been in a lot of battles already and is more tired than she is, considering she was in the castle before that.
~Because of You~
To put it frankly, he was irritated. Nothing was going the way he wanted it to and he couldn't even sleep. Tonight was yet another night of pacing across his tent and hoping sleep would come to him sometime soon. He knew he'd need his rest if he wanted to be able to at least make a dent in his enemy's army tomorrow, but there was just too much to think about right now. Not to mention that his shoulder wound was still hurting quite a lot.
Although it might be stupid in the middle of a war, his wife-to-be was the most important thing on his mind. He had been stupid to accept the agreement with her father. Their kingdom was richer than his and he'd really wanted to set up an official trade with them. The other king had agreed, as long as he married his youngest daughter. In no way had he been looking forward to that, but if it was for the good of his kingdom, he would. Besides, he'd have to get married one day, and he supposed this would be as good as it would get.
From what he'd seen from his parents, he'd never expected to find love like the one he'd seen with his generals and their wives. In fact, he'd been prepared to hate the princess that was to come to his castle six months early, in order for them to get to know one another. Nothing had prepared him for the actual experience.
Her beauty had thrown him off first, but he'd seen too many beautiful women to let that sway him in any way. They were usually worse, since they thought too highly of themselves. He made sure to keep telling her every step of the way, if she kept insisting to talk to him, that he did not want to marry her and that she should really stop trying. Her words wouldn't sway him, and this was nothing more than a marriage of convenience.
Then, when she'd finally gotten the clue to stay away from him, he started seeing her around the castle. She talked with his generals' wives and even the generals themselves, and they were charmed. So he started looking at her and discovered a kind woman that was trying to do her best in a strange environment where she knew no one.
Slowly but surely, he'd found himself falling for her and this only caused him to push her away further. After all, this only made her more able to hurt him in the end. He had hoped pushing her away would make it better, even if he didn't know exactly how it should be helping. Still, allowing her to come close after all those other women, after all he'd seen from his parents, was too difficult for him to think on, and so he kept on pushing her away by telling her he didn't want to marry her, that he hated her even, and he treated her more like an enemy than like his future wife.
He'd never tell her, but the war between him and Demando wasn't just about ground or riches. The other man had wanted his future wife, ever since she had been young, and was enraged that she was to marry him. It probably hit exceptionally hard since they'd been rivals since childhood, but nonetheless this was what finally caused the war that had been brewing for years already.
Getting Beryl's support hadn't been hard for Demando, since she was still enraged at his refusal to marry the crazy woman. Fortunately, he'd gotten his own support from his wife-to-be's kingdom in the form of her brother, who had joined him on the battlefield. He found he liked the other man and they quickly became good friends, often just talking in the evenings in order to calm down from their heavy days. It was unfortunate that the subject also returned to his sister quite a lot, considering she was to marry him.
Through this source, he got to know her even better and came to admire the things he was told about her. More than ever, he fell for her and couldn't wait to get married to her. But he was also coming to regret the way he had been acting toward her, knowing she hadn't deserved any of it. His goodbye to her had been awful and had actually angered her, something he hardly ever succeeded in no matter how he treated her.
And now, Endymion was starting to think that there might not be time to make it up to her.
It had soon become clear that Demando's army was larger than his was, so they were at a distinct disadvantage. Then, he'd gotten hurt in a battle because of an arrow that had fortunately only pierced his shoulder. It still impaired his fighting, though, and he was questioning whether he'd make it out alive if it came to a personal battle between his enemy and himself. Which would soon happen, he suspected, since they both tired of the war and wanted it to be over with.
Of course, he hadn't told his wife-to-be all of this. The last thing he wanted was to worry her. By now, her brother had made it clear to him that she was able to fight, but he still didn't want her anywhere near this massacre.
He'd been treating her wrong all this time, and since he couldn't seem to get her safe from himself, he'd surely keep her safe from this war. When it was finished, he would go back to his castle and tell her everything, he would make sure that she knew he cared about her more than he ever had for anyone. He would make up for everything that he had done to her in an effort to push her away.
That would be hard, since he had a lot to make up for, but almost dying had put things in perspective and he knew he didn't want to lose her. He'd finally realized what she meant to him and what she could come to mean for him in the future, and he wasn't going to lose her now. Not to Demando and most certainly not to his own stupidity.
Some talking to her friends and her brother had helped this along, of course, since they'd all made sure to tell him he was being an idiot and he'd better get his head out of his behind. By then, it had been a little too late to tell her in person and he hadn't wanted to send her a letter explaining things. That would be too impersonal and he wanted it to be sincere. He wasn't as sure now, since it looked as though they might be well on their way of losing this war. A depressing thought, however truthful it was. Right now, a miracle would be needed if they wanted to stand a chance at winning.
Dissatisfied with the results of his thinking, he moved to lay down. He knew he'd be needing all the strength he could get if he wanted to be able to fight the next day. Battles were exhausting and both armies were tiring as it were. The last thing his men needed was a leader that was tired because he couldn't get his future wife out of his mind.
It still took quite a while before he was able to fall asleep, as it seemed that he was unable to stop his thoughts from wandering to his worries. Everything just appeared impossible at the moment, and he wondered where he had gone so wrong as to have it result in this situation.
Perhaps it had been when he'd first met Demando. They'd both been children then, and he and his parents were visiting the other kingdom. The prince had been a spoilt brat even back then, but he had tried being kind to the other. An end had been put to that when Demando was of the unshakeable opinion that the other's horse really should belong to him, since it was a majestic horse and he deserved the best. A fight had started then that never really ended.
Since that hadn't been his fault, he supposed keeping up the fight might've been the problem. Although, to his defence, Demando had never apologized for his behaviour back then since he still thought he was in the right. And he sure as hell wasn't going to apologize for something he was not only right about but that he also hadn't caused in the first place.
In the end, it might be the fact that he would be marrying the princess Demando had wanted himself. Even this wasn't his fault, though, since he hadn't really known that his wife-to-be was the woman the other king had desired for so long. That was probably the limit of the other king, and he had declared a war not long after. He supposed the other had made sure to do so before they got married, since it would be easier to claim her for himself.
Finally, Endymion's breath evened out in sleep, his last thought on his wife-to-be and how she was doing.
~*~
Waking up was never his favorite part of the day, but he knew it would be necessary. Like every morning, he briefly prepared himself before moving to the tent where they usually did their tactical planning. A few of his generals and their wives were already there, as well as his future wife's brother and a few of his generals. He greeted everyone and sat down at the head of the table.
Not long after, all of them were there, and they soon got to planning. It was one of his generals that told them that something seemed to have happened to Demando's army overnight and that they were pretty evenly matched now. No one knew what had happened, exactly, but all they knew for now was that the war had evened out, and that they stood a chance again. All of them were happy, since this was about the first good news they'd gotten along the course of all the fighting.
For the next hour, they were discussing how to best use this to their advantage, and they all knew some sort of decision had to be reached in the next couple of days. No matter how much the advantage of the other army was gone, they were going to end up simply fighting everyone to death if things continued as they had.
He decided not to tell any of them that he was planning to confront Demando today. Not because he didn't trust them, but because he knew they would protest to his actions. Although it would be easier if they knew, since they could help him out in that case, it would also mean that they would insist he wait a couple of more days, and he wanted to prevent as many deaths as possible. Today had to be the day.
With their course mapped out for the day, all of them went outside to command their armies. Heading for the battlefield, they found Demando's army already there and ready for battle. Both armies charged, once again starting the bloodshed.
Part of his army went over the side, trying to drive the enemies into the forest, but it didn't help too much. They heard stray whispers of a demon and wondered what that was all about. It was entirely possible that was what had happened to the army to have it cut down so much. If he wasn't mistaken, they all looked somewhat tired as well, although they all were after so many days of fighting one another.
His first encounter with Demando was from a distance, and the other king demanded to know why he'd sent the demon into his camp. He was clueless, but it did confirm his suspicions about what had happened. Apparently, his enemy also saw that he didn't know, so he quickly went back to fighting.
The second encounter was what they had both been waiting for; a personal confrontation between the both of them. They were headed directly at one another and soon met, swords as well as eyes clashing harshly.
Both of them were talking, trying to lure the other into an impulsive attack. It was soon discovered that talking about his future wife was able to get the both of them in a rage, which made it both the best and the worst subject to be talking about. Eventually, it turned out Demando's 'your precious little fiancee will soon be the spoils of this war for me' and the lecherous grin on his face that broke his control, provoking him into attacking. Not the wisest move, as soon became apparent when he was on the ground, another wound in his leg and Demando's sword above him.
The screams of his generals, as well as his future wife's brother reached his ears, but they had been locked out by enemy soldiers. He cursed mentally as he realized this whole confrontation had been Demando's plan from the beginning and knew this would be the end.
That thought was confirmed when the man prepared himself for the final strike, with another lecherous grin and an 'I'll have everything that once belonged to you, now'. More screaming filled the air as the sword came flying down at him, but he couldn't do much more than stare back at his enemy, never showing any fear even in the face of death.
Until another sword appeared in front of him.
Whispers of 'demon' could be heard, and he was surprised to see a small figure dressed in black attached to the sword that had saved his life. There was no way an entire army of enemy soldiers were afraid of this tiny thing, no matter how grateful he was that it had saved him.
Demando seemed excited to get to fight this new ally and he vaguely noticed all sound around them had stopped temporarily, taking in the scene currently playing out in front of him. Both were taking the other in consideration, trying to see what kind of enemy they were. He was kind of curious as to how much of a fight the small figure would be able to give, and he was given the opportunity when Demando attacked.
It was obvious the figure was just teasing him, evading all of his attacks and angering him more every time it actually worked. Looking back at this fight, it was highly likely that he would thoroughly enjoy the look on his enemy's face as someone finally refused him something he wanted and didn't even seem all too serious about it. This was the ultimate way to annoy a man that thought he should be crowned King of the World and self-absorbed enough to think everyone and everything should revolve around him. The question was how well the figure would do when forced to fight back, though.
Soon enough, that became obvious as well. The figure started fighting back, even though it was still more focused on evasion rather than confrontation, and the two of them looked amazing. He regretted having to say so, but Demando had serious skill and it was being matched by this small black figure. As things got more and more intricate, he realized he would have some trouble if he had to fight this figure as well, since their fighting skills were amazing.
The two of them were beyond impressive, and he was so busy staring at them he hadn't even realized the circle of enemy soldiers had widened enough for his generals and his wife-to-be's brother to get near him. All of them were as mesmerized by the fighting as he was, and he noted his friends' faces taking in all of the moves being made, hoping they'd be able to learn some of the ones they hadn't yet known.
Beryl's inclusion in the fight had been a surprising one, but unfortunately she had been smart enough to order soldiers to hold back him, his generals and his friend. There was nothing they could do as the fight became two against one, but it seemed it wasn't that necessary either. Even though the initial attack was unexpected and had delivered another wound on the figure, it soon became apparent that their number didn't give them an advantage. Beryl and Demando couldn't fight together (and he secretly suspected Demando's self-importance had as much of a role in there as Beryl's barely above mediocre skill with a sword) and the figure was easily able to evade attacks and rest some while the other two were trying – and failing – not to interfere with one another.
Their horrid display soon became tiring, however, and the figure seemed to want to end it so that the true fight with Demando could be resumed. He noticed it didn't take long for the figure to drive Beryl into a vulnerable situation and kill her with one blow. His eyes fell onto Demando, who obviously wasn't trying very hard to prevent this from happening.
Although the loss of one enemy did help, he couldn't help but feel sorry when he heard Esmeraude's cry at the loss of her sister. When his eyes finally found her, he was almost surprised that she was looking with hatred not at the figure that had just killed her sister, but at Demando himself. He knew that, even if this fight was lost, their cooperation would be destroyed because of the other man's actions, so there would be less to worry about in such a case. A slight sense of regret filled him as he thought of the situation so coldly, but it was war and it was necessary at the moment.
Then, the fight between Demando and the figure was on again and if it had previously been impressive, it was now completely incredible. Both seemed to be ready to put everything to an end and were throwing all of their skill into the battle, swords clashing and swinging at one another in an intricate dance he'd have a hard time following himself.
Slowly, it became clear that the fighting would have to end soon enough – no matter how amazing it looked, wounds were being acquired by both parties and something had to give. To his surprise, it seemed this would be Demando, even though he was obviously bigger and stronger than his opponent. He seemed to realize this as well, as his attacks became more desparate and clumsy. His chances kept getting worse.
It still shocked him when the man suddenly turned to him and charged, his generals and friend crying out but unable to do anything due to their enemies' hold on them. Once again, he was ready to face death, and once again, there was interference.
Demando's look was that of a madman as he charged, his sword held out to stab his enemy straight in the heart. The only thought on his mind at that moment was his future wife; how she'd react to the news of his death, what she would do now that she had been set free from her obligation to him and how he wished he could have told her everything he'd wanted to.
And then there was a slight weight on his chest as the sword reached him.
Looking down, he saw that the black-clad figure had taken the blow for him, the sword sticking out of their shoulder and hovering just inches from his own chest. For a moment, he was unable to do anything, shocked anyone would take a blow like this for him, especially someone he didn't even know.
Then, he heard his friend's desparate cry as he wrestled free from the one that held him and charged Demando, the sword cutting the man's head straight off. Everything had broken into chaos and he vaguely heard Esmeraude calling for her army to retreat back to camp, Safiru doing the same after a little while.
Meanwhile, his friend was carefully lifting the body of the figure off his chest as two of his generals took charge of his army while the other two were helping him sit up, his leg wound hindering any movement. The tears on his friend's face surprised him as the other man looked down at the figure, and for the first time he realized his friend must know who it was that had been fighting Demando.
There was no time for any of them to ask him, since he slowly started removing the hood and mask. One of his generals' wives was called for, not only a great strategical thinker but also a beyond good doctor. It would take a little while for her to reach them, though.
When the hood was removed from the figure, his breath caught in his chest and he was unable to say anything. No matter what, that hair he would always recognize. And when the mask was removed and his worst suspicions confirmed, he let out a broken cry, pulling out of his generals' arms as they protested against it and crawling to his friend and his wife-to-be.
Her breathing was labored and she seemed to be unable to focus on anything, although she was doing a good job of keeping her eyes on her brother's. He was unable to hear what his friend was saying to her, exactly, looking at the severy bleeding wound on her shoulder as well as all the other wounds she'd gotten in her defense of him. Quickly, he started applying pressure to her wounds, begging for the bleeding to stop before it killed her.
Finally, the medics arrived as they started asking questions. He was answering them as well as he could, since his friend was still talking to the small form of his future wife. Then, they told him to back off and he protested, telling them he was going to stay with her. It was his friend that finally made him let go, telling him that she needed help he couldn't provide for her and that he'd end up killing her if he kept refusing to let her go.
With great regret, he watched her being carried off by the medics, only then noticing the tears on his own face. Breathing was difficult at the moment, since all he could feel, could see, could smell was her blood on him. Then, the medics came to him to in order to take care of his leg wound. He'd completely forgotten about it.
At the moment, Endymion was completely numb.
~*~
Waking up brought him back to the cold of reality, something he wasn't entirely sure he was ready for. It soon became clear he'd better be, since there was quite a lot to do in the wake of the war.
Over the next week, he was hardly able to visit his wife-to-be due to his various obligations. He knew she seemed to be doing quite well and that it was likely she would recover from her wound. The doctors told him she was a fighter, and he could only nod as he remembered the graceful fighting she'd displayed before... before it. He told himself he'd get his obligations done as quick as possible so that he could be there for her when she woke up and to be able to explain everything to her, like she deserved from him.
All of them had moved back to the castle, where it was much easier to organize everything and make sure everyone would be alright. His future wife was back in her old room, and whenever he wasn't doing anything, he was sleeping beside her bed.
Negotiations with Safiru and Esmeraude, as well as getting his country back in order and make sure all of the perished soldiers got a proper burial, were exhausting enough to make sure he didn't have any time to think on anything else, and he was grateful for this. For now, he had to focus on being a good King and making sure his country was doing well. The distraction was the only thing that kept him standing.
Both of the former enemies were a lot more reasonable than their older siblings had been, and while they were willing to shoulder enough responsibility for the war to satisfy him and his friend, they also weren't willing to act as though they were the sole cause for the entire fight. It didn't take long for both parties to agree there would be a treaty. For now, they just agreed not to take up weapons against one another for an entire year, in which they would negotiate the exact contents of a treaty between them.
Finally, that was over and the two of them went back to their own countries, prepared to restore the order and take up the responsibilities their older siblings had shouldered before them. It left them to take care of their own contries.
Regretfully, his friend left as well, promising he would be back as soon as he had given his father his rapport about the war. His friend would've preferred not to leave his sister at all, of course, but it was an obligation he could not escape. He offered that his friend would always be welcome and that he would be delighted to have him back as soon as possible, knowing his wife-to-be would enjoy the company of her brother.
With all of that done and mostly a lot of paperwork to be done, he practically locked himself into his wife's room. All his food was brought there and he didn't even leave her side to sleep, preferring to do so in the – admittedly extremely uncomfortable – chair beside her bed. There, he could finally think fully on what had happened that last day of the war.
His future wife was a fighter, in both senses of the word. He could still recall the way she'd gracefully evaded Demando's attacks and how she would've defeated him, hadn't it been for his cowardly actions. He could still recall the callings of 'demon' and how Safiru and Esmeraude had told him what had happened in their camp that night. He could still recall the amount of blood covering her, him, his friend and the ground around him as she stared up with empty eyes, trying hard to keep conscious.
More than ever, he regretted not getting to know her the way he should have. She was kind, beautiful and strong. The perfect wife had been thrown in his lap, and all he had done was shove her away because he was afraid to let her in. To think of how things could've been, if he hadn't acted the way he had.
He imagined long walks in his secret garden, hidden away from everyone but him, as they talked about all kinds of subjects – he knew she was intelligent. He imagined them training together, their swords dancing beautifully as they challenged one another – he knew she was an amazing fighter. He imagined having someone he could talk to and could dance with at one of the various parties he was forced to attend every year, men staring at him in envy – he knew she was beautiful and a delightful companion. He imagined them making plans for their wedding together, arguing playfully over small and unimportant details – he knew she would keep on challenging him. He imagined them sneaking out together just to annoy their guards, laughing and going to visit the riverside his mother had shown him when he was very young – he knew she was playful. He imagined their wedding itself, finally being able to kiss those lips he'd been yearning for, and he imagined their wedding night – he knew she was innocent. He imagined their life together – he knew he loved her.
Now all he could hope was that she could love him too.
It had been beyond stupid of him to treat her the way he had, and she had deserved none of it. But he would make it up to her, he would show her that he loved her, that she was the one for him and that he wasn't the complete ass he'd been acting as. All of those things he'd been dreaming of, he would do. He would do whatever it took to make her happy.
Aside from doing the paperwork necessary for the kingdom, he wrote down the exact things he wanted to tell her when she woke up. He wrote down plans for outings and plans to woo her when she woke up. He wrote down ideas for their wedding that he resolved to talk to her about when she woke up. At night, he rested in the chair on the side of her bed, unwilling to leave her.
One day, the tenth, his generals had dragged him away to clean up some, claiming he wouldn't want her to be terrified when she woke up to see him sitting next to her. They'd also gotten him to train a bit again, although his shoulder and leg still bothered him. He wouldn't want to get fat and lazy, after all, now would he? He returned to her as quick as possible, but the woman he'd left with her, one of his generals' wives, told him she hadn't woken up yet.
Everyone was hoping she'd wake up as soon as possible, both for her sake and his. He'd heard his generals talking when they thought he was out of earshot, about how she wasn't the only one wasting away. The servants, too, had seemed to have taken a liking to their future queen over her time at the castle and did what they could to make her as comfortable as possible.
Finally, on the twelfth day, she truly woke up. Her brother had returned two days before and was a regular visitor to her room. Her friends visited a lot too, his generals a bit less. That morning, they were all meant to go do something together, but he'd refused to go as long as she hadn't woken up, at least. He suspected she'd been awake that night as well, since he'd found a blanket on top of himself when he woke up and he was pretty sure none of the servants had done it, but he wasn't willing to wake her up just to confirm his suspicions in the morning. So he went to work again, looking at her once in a while to see if her eyes had opened yet. Every rustle had his eyes snap to look at her. Of course, it could be that he just needed an excuse to get away from all of the paperwork waiting for him at the desk.
Frustration replaced relief as he grabbed another document, having finally finished the exhausting previous one. He'd only barely gotten a look at what was on this one when a soft voice interrupted his reading, and he instantly turned to face his wife-to-be.
A smile lit up his face as his eyes looked into her bright blue ones, and it was obvious that she was not only awake but also aware of everything around her. Those eyes instantly displayed surprise. Realizing this was because he'd never smiled at her before, he felt a sense of regret and he couldn't keep his eyes on hers.
Moving to the side of the bed, trying to walk on his wounded leg as normally as possible, he asked if there was anything she wanted. His voice was gentle, which she seemed to find strange, but she did request some water. Walking to the door, he told the servant that had been stationed there that he needed some fresh water instantly and that she was to get his future wife something light to eat in a bit, since she needed the sustenance badly at the moment.
When the water had been delivered, he returned to her side and helped her drink a few sips, since she was too weak to do so herself. Needing his help seemed to embarrass her and he hoped it was mostly because she wanted to be independent instead of it being the fact that it was him helping her. Then, she requested to hear what had been going on since Demando's attack.
It was hard, but he managed to make sure his voice didn't break as he told her what had happened just after she had taken the blow for him. Her brother's anger, his beheading of Demando and the following chaos. Then he proceeded to tell her what had happened afterwards, the peace negotiations going on and his efforts to get his country back to the way it had been before. He told her of her many visitors, meanwhile helping her take another few sips of water during his story. Carefully, he told her nothing of himself, not sure she would want to hear it and knowing he wouldn't be able to keep himself under control if he did.
Of course, that couldn't last too long and she admitted to him that he was acting odd. He knew she was pointing out that he was being nice to her, since this was the way any man should treat the woman that he loved, if not better. He was ashamed of the hesitance that was in her voice as well, knowing that she expected him to snap at her for what she'd said – something he would have done before but now knew he would try his hardest to never do again. It was obvious his actions had hurt his usually strong wife-to-be, and again he couldn't keep looking at her.
Such stupidity, there was no need for him to treat her the way he had. He'd just been too scared of what could happen if he started to care for her, not realizing that he had done so in the end, anyway, until it was too late to admit it and he was on a battlefield trying to stay alive. Not only had it been useless, it had also hurt the one person he had come to care so much about, and he would stop at nothing to make this right.
Starting with telling her the truth.
Once his eyes met her, his completely prepared speech flew out of the window and he started rambling about everything, probably not making any sense to her at all. He kept on rambling, telling her everything but that one important thing he most wanted to tell her. When he trailed off and looked into her eyes, he realized this.
She was still weak and had just awoken after twelve long, long days. Then, she found herself confronted with a future husband that not only acted completely different than how she was used to him acting, but that also started rambling without there appearing to really be a point to any of it except for a point that would be impossible for her to believe. After all, how could she ever draw the right conclusion when all he had done so far, except for this little time, had shown her the exact opposite.
Running his hand through his messy hair, he collected his thoughts. This needed to be exactly right, and he needed to stop rambling before she gave up on him. Then, he looked at her again.
"What I'm trying to say is... I love you."
Shock spread across her face, and she stopped breathing for a few seconds. It was clear this wasn't what she had been expecting. Then, the shock was replaced with quick joy before disbelief took over. No matter how much she wished, this couldn't be true – he could see her thoughts on her face.
Shame and determination took over, and he told her – promised her – that she needn't worry. For now, she should know and then he would start proving it to her, starting right this minute. This wouldn't be an easy forgive and forget, and he didn't want it to be. Considering her character he was afraid she'd forgive to easily and never forget, so he made a note to himself to make sure to talk to her friends about how they should make her make him truly prove it for her to forgive him. He didn't want it any other way and he didn't deserve it any other way, he knew.
When she would finally believe that he loved her, she could forgive him. When she would finally believe that he loved her, he might start forgiving himself. When she would finally believe that he loved her, she would truly believe it. He would do anything.
Noticing the painful expression of hope on her face, he felt a stab straight through his heart, knowing he had caused this. And when the tear came down her face, he caught it, determined the only tears she would ever again cry because of him would be happy ones. He promised her this and she gave him a hesitant smile, trembling and unsure but a smile nonetheless and he promised himself he would help fix what he had broken.
He would make sure Serenity would never doubt his love for her.
~The End~
Well, that was it. I hope it wasn't too disappointing – I'm always afraid a sequel would come out forced or just plain bad, so I really hope that wasn't the case. It was nice writing this, I have to admit, because I had quite some ideas of how I wanted things to be from his perspective and I even built in a couple of things in the first chapter that would allow for another POV to explain what was happening exactly. Not as long as the first chapter, like I'd hoped, but still a satisfying lenght – any longer and it probably would have been forced, I suppose.
Hope you enjoyed it, sorry for my rambling. Hugs,
MoonlightKitten22