Chapter Three: The Dark Queen
The room was cast into shadows, the throne room of the Dark Kingdom's underground palace; it had been there for countless years, its inhabitants sealed there until a single young woman freed them from their prison. She had been the perfect vessel that could free them of those who had enslaved them, those of the White Moon. She had been furious and jealous, the perfect qualities in an evil vessel, it had been a mere matter of seconds to convince her that the Dark Kingdom was her new home and that they would help her extract her revenge from those who had harmed her.
The dais was the only source of light, all else was shrouded in shadows, the light coming from the Black Crystal on her staff. If only she had turned that crystal to look at the young champion of love and justice, she would have seen the rage and loathing on the young girl's face and probably would have run with her tail between her legs like a scared puppy. As it was that was not what she saw, instead in the bowels of the Dark Kingdom, Queen Beryl's black crystal was giving bursts of bright white light.
"What is this?" Beryl demanded of her generals, astounded at the energy her crystal gave off that threw the throne room into sharp relief, the different beastly monsters and people gathered there in various colors and shapes could only be described as grotesque. Everyone stood transfixed by the energy, and looked at their neighbors for a clue as to what was going on.
The four generals who stood before the throne on the dais looked to one another for an answer but none could give a reply as to why their Queen's crystal would react as such.
Beryl, however, was entranced by the light display and seemed in no hurry to receive a reply to her previous question. What kind of energy could make her crystal react in such a vehement way?
But one person did have an answer; "The Silver Crystal is reacting to strong emotions given off by the Moon Princess." stated the dark shadow behind the throne, the former ruler of the dark kingdom, the evil entity known as Metallia. She who had been born of Chaos to destroy Order and its children, to throw the world and the Universe into Chaos. She had needed Beryl's help one thousand years ago to free her and to destroy those of the White Moon they had succeeded in the first and nearly completed the second, when Queen Serenity had sealed them in Negative Space, a twin reflection of the Universe.
"The Moon Brat?" Beryl questioned while eyeing her suddenly nervous generals whom all gulped at the same time at the look of unadulterated anger on her face, "I thought neither she nor the Crystal had been discovered."
"That may be so but the Crystal will always react to any strong emotion given off by the Princess." Metallia replied while the generals sighed in relief, if their Queen had so much as doubted the validity of their replies that the Moon Princess had not been found then they would have to prepare for the worst punishments that her twisted mind could give.
"Or have you forgotten that the Crystal is tied to the Lunar Royal Family in a bond that surpasses time and space and all that lies in between?" Metallia questioned the young Queen that she had placed on her throne. Her own presence seemed to pulsate in tune with Beryl's crystal. She needed that energy to be free and to devour all in her path. "Beryl," she hissed, "get me the power of the Silver Crystal now!"
"Yes, Master." Beryl said a thoughtful look on her face as she stared past the disfigured and grotesque features of her inhuman court. If this was the power of the Silver Crystal then perhaps she could rid herself of Metallia and free herself from the Dark Kingdom and find the ones who had escaped her all those years ago.
She stood and stepped away from her throne, her court bowed before her, and Metallia shifted as the generals stepped back from her.
"Where are you going Beryl?" the dark entity asked her young Queen.
"To my quarters to think and devise a plan, master." Beryl replied smoothly to the evil presence that was tied to her.
"Very well," was Metallia's response as she floated to some room deeper underground and left Beryl.
Beryl stepped from the dais and walked to her quarters barely registering the servants who scuttled to the side and bowed deeply before her; she just rolled her eyes and continued her stroll through the underground palace.
She opened the doors to her quarters and looked around her, the large bed, the dark fabrics the blood red color of the walls mixed with the black gave the room a dark aspect, above her bed hung a portrait of a man. A man with ebony hair and the bluest eyes of the darkest hues. She remembered him well, he was the only man she had ever loved and he was the only man who had ever rejected her.
"What was it in me that disgusted you Endymion?" she asked the portrait. "All I wanted was you, yet you wanted nothing to do with me, why?" she cried slamming her fists on the soft feathery bed.
...
"You are nothing but a twisted snake Beryl, leave me before I have the guards throw you out of my room!" the young man declared regally, his armor polished, his hair tousled from his recent bout at swordplay, and there she stood completely in the buff like Aphrodite as she rose from the sea and still he rejected her as if she did nothing for him.
"Why do you reject me Endymion? Surely you must want me here and now?" she had asked as she came closer to him.
"You have the audacity to ask why?" he snorted, contempt obvious in his voice. "Look at you, what are you but every nobleman's whore?" he said derisively her, "You do nothing to me, you are disgusting..."
"But I love you Endymion..." she protested.
He laughed at her, "Earth's biggest whore? You do not know what love is, no you do not love me, you love my kingdom, my power and what it would mean to be Earth's High Queen, even if I have to marry a planetary princess, I will but you Beryl will never sit upon the throne of the Golden Kingdom!"
She gasped, "Endymion, it is forbidden to even so much as speak of those intruders. They invaded our system and took over the other planets and their satellites not to mention they took the moon from us."
"What is forbidden is better than marrying someone as disgusting as you!"
"Gaea and Demetrius would never allow you.."
"My father and mother would never accept you!"
"It would tear the earth apart!"
"The people would see a Planetary Princess as a blessing when compared with you!" hate laced his voice with a hard edge as his eyes narrowed coldly at her showing her all the contempt and disgust he felt for her.
...
"Why Endymion? Why?" she screamed her fingers digging into her flesh until blood flowed from her palms.
How long had she spent searching for this man, he had consumed her entire life, it had been centered on him and trying to make him hers'. They had been so close, the betrothal had been in place and they would have been married but Endymion defied the will of his father, and loved one who was forbidden to him, one of the Moon Kingdom. "What the hell did she have that I didn't, Endymion?" Beryl screamed at the portrait of the handsome prince. "What did you find attractive in that little girl that you did not find in me who was betrothed to you?" her rage had been insatiable, her jealousy she tried to justify but could not find a good enough reason.
She hadn't known why Endymion was so cold to her until that night she discovered him in the Royal Gardens with the little Moon twit. "Wasn't I beautiful enough for you? What is there about her that attracts every man within a five mile radius?" She had been angry they were having a ball to celebrate their royal engagement and there he was spouting 'I love you' and giving kisses to the Lunar Princess.
She had run away as not to be caught and had stumbled upon the ruins, and then she had released Metallia from her prison. Metallia promised her a kingdom and Prince Endymion but first Beryl had to get rid of those from the White Moon, and take from them the Silver Moon Crystal. It hadn't taken that long for Beryl to convince the nobles and the people that the Lunarians were up to no good. The hardest were Endymion's generals, she had to put them in stasis in crystal coffins, and they had not wanted to betray their Prince or their loves, the Planetary Princesses so she had to make copies who would serve her every whim. Poor Endymion, he had truly believed that the Generals had turned against him and the planetary princesses the looks of horror and regret as they thought they destroyed their loves...
The battle raged around her, the Earthlings outflanked the Lunarians and were cutting them down left and right, when a blast of blue power shot into the night sky while an agonized scream rent the air quickly followed in succession by three more screams and flares of red, green and golden power, she came across the four bodies of the generals as she passed. So they had been killed it did not matter, there were more where they came from. What were those lights? But now she had no time for questions, she had spotted Endymion on a flight of stairs holding his own against several men, with that pitiful princess behind him. Beryl doubted she could even pick up a weapon to defend herself. Endymion's graceful movements were marred by the fact that these were his people he was killing.
"We fight for Earth, Prince!" Beryl cried out to him from her position at the bottom of the stairs.
He looked up and grimaced when he saw Beryl and regally nodded, the time had come for these two to battle; he managed to pull Serenity a little away from him and took his stance as Beryl took hers.
She thrust and feinted trying to find an opening in Endymion's defense, but as always she watched his eyes and not his body, he was too great of a fighter to let his body betray him but his eyes could, she gave another thrust and he parried her blow. "Why her, Endymion?" Beryl asked as she attacked once more.
"It's simple really, Beryl, I thought even you would've understood. I love her." he replied parrying another blow from her.
"So you would risk your throne, your crown, all for a little twit?" she asked infuriated, and Endymion's eyes widened as her thrusts became all the more wild. It was always like her to let her emotions drive her especially when it came to anger, this was beginning to look like their first spar but this would be a duel to the death not first blood.
"I would give my life for her." he said seriously while turning aside her blows.
"You are pathetic, what can she offer you that I cannot? She is but a child, are you ready to wait the necessary time before she can satisfy your urges, when I can do it anytime you need?"
"I would wait eons until she was ready!" he said as he thrust into her defenses taking the offensive for once.
"You are a fool! What would you do once I rid our system of these intruders, once I conquer the moon once more and take their power source, then where would you be?"
"You would kill her?" he questioned angrily his eyes going colder than she had ever seen them before.
Ha. "Kill her? Why would I do that? So that she can be a martyr to you and visit you in the middle of the night, so that you could waste away for her? No, I would use her and turn her against you! Surely you know that I cannot use the power of the Silver Crystal as it is connected to her and so she must live!"
"You would let her live?"
"Not by choice but she would be a puppet Endymion, with no memory of you and an instilled hatred for you."
"You conniving little..."
"Bitch? Did you barely notice?" she asked the sarcasm heavy on her tongue. "Dear Endymion the world knew that already. I am what I am but I loved you!"
"You don't know what love is!"
"Actually I do, and now the time has come to destroy the lunar kingdom!"
Endymion faltered, his blood loss and many wounds were catching up to him, he could not parry Beryl's next blow in time and it pierced through a weak spot in his armor, the wound that proved to be fatal and would end his life and Beryl looked upon him with contempt, "If I could not have you then no one can, and now to see to your twit of a princess."
Young Serenity had rushed to Endymion's side the tears in her eyes glittered; she would be strong to the end just like her brave mama who was in this mess somewhere. "I love you, my Prince." she whispered and gave Endymion one last tender kiss upon the lips and then looked up at his murderer.
Beryl expected to see hatred or anger, but she saw neither, all she saw was a profound pity and sadness in the younger girl's eyes. "You may have destroyed my kingdom and my love but you have yet to win, you doubt the strength of love because you have yet to feel it, you doubt the strength that comes from the heart and soul and so I pity you Beryl, you do not know anything..."
"You pity me! You won't feel anything of the sort when I'm through with you!"
Serenity shook her head and her silver hair bounced, "I doubt that very much Beryl, I cannot live without my love and so I shall follow him whether to heaven or to another place and time it does not matter. Our love is timeless and here you and I shall part ways once more." she said softly as she took Endymion's sword and positioned it before and thrust her petite body through the blade.
Beryl was astounded she did not know the twit even knew the suicidal ritual and she landed upon her love their blood mingling on the marble walkway and turned the white roses a rich blood red.
...
That pity had infuriated Beryl more than anything else, how dare the child pity her and how dare Endymion prefer Serenity over her? Shortly after that Queen Serenity had sealed them in negative space and allowed her daughter to be reborn on Earth, and a thousand years would pass before Beryl could free herself from Serenity's spell as the young girl's voice and words replayed in her mind. She had started preparing for taking over Earth as the Moon was no longer a factor; she had another four copies of Endymion's generals made. This time her plans would not be foiled but then Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask showed up and then the other four pesky Scouts. And now Metallia wanted the Moon Crystal, how was she to get something that had yet to be found.
She looked around her room, the doors that led to her other quarters and the privy, her wardrobe room, the chair upholstered in red and black designs and then once more to the portrait above her spacious bed.
"Damn you Endymion! Why do you do this to me? Are you reborn? Are you with her?" she screamed her face livid with rage and jealousy. "It matters not, I'll make you mine by force, and that much I can promise!" she said. All that is left is when? She thought as she continued to stare at the man in the picture.