Chapter Two

Darkest Blue and Brightest Silver

The sun glinted off the lattice windowpanes, scattering its beams everywhere to catch the dust of the morning air… Had the King noticed he might have admired the sight though most likely not with the same wan pride in his eyes he had while gazing at his wife in their bed. She'd fallen asleep at last of exhaustion and he'd tucked her in, promising that they'd name the precious visitor in their room together later, when she'd recovered her energy. He hadn't dared to look at the child his wife had called her "surprise", chuckling under his breath but still feeling nervously keen. King Apollo ran his hands through his hair and began to pace.

A groan of bed springs, the creak of floorboards, and the rustle of blankets alerted him and he turned to see his wife, looking every bit as tired as he felt and more but still smiling. She put a small white hand on his shoulder and beckoned him to a small bassinet. The King stood, hesitant before it, uncertain all of a sudden. But he leaned over and the Queen pulled away the curtain.

Inside, nestled in blankets and fast asleep, was a baby girl. Her hands were curled into tiny pink fists and she lay on her side, pulling her knees to her tiny chest in the same fashion she'd slept in for the past half-year. She had a comical frown on her small face like she'd just tasted sour milk. The Queen smiled at her daughter, stifling a laugh for fear of waking her. It struck her as amazing that how generously mixed the family trait were expressed in her face, like the girl had stirred them up herself and threw in several new features in the mix. The King gently brushed a wispy white gold curl that clung to her small forehead. The color so echoed his own but while his locks were clearly golden, her were indecisively tip-toeing between silver and gold. The King and Queen watched with rapt attention as her eyebrows crinkled and long brown lashes fluttered. She woke and yawned, her soft tiny lips opening wide and her small fingers trying to reach her face, an echo of the manners she would possess later on. Her eyes opened and the parents were taken aback. The infant's eyes were blue and ringed with silver, bright and shining. She stared baldly at the two figures above her, as curious about them as they were about her. The Queen squeezed her husband's hand, looking at him with a mixture of bewilderment and pleasure. "Apollo," she asked. "What should we name her?" Her husband looked at her with a reciprocated expression of surprise and delight but at a loss for words. He replied finally, attempting not to convey how little confidence in himself to give his firstborn daughter a name to suit her unknown character and potential. "Selene, I believe you should name her." His wife looked thoughtful and began to rack her brains for the right name. She looked at the child in her mother and father. Queen Selene paced in small circles. The baby girl was of royal blood, a noble and a princess in her own right. Would it not be fitting for her to be named as a reminder of the quality and bred with? The Queen stopped in her tracks and spoke aloud and deliberately as the idea came to her. "Serenity." The King looked back at the babe in her blankets. She'd turned onto her other side and fallen asleep, oblivious to their conversation. King Apollo chuckled. Not wanting his wife to think he was ignoring her, he considered how the name sounded out loud. "Serenity. Princess Serenity of Illuseon." He liked it. "Her name is Serenity."

The aura of tender happiness was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Sire!" The voice called. "I have news of Lady Setsuna!" The king strolled towards the door, perturbed but composed. A young envoy stood there, shaking in his shoes that he was standing before his sovereign. He tried to compose himself but then remembered his message. "Sire, she's arrived. She asks to see the next in line for the throne." King Gabriel put a hand on his wife's arm. "Rest, my Queen. I shall take Serenity to see Setsuna." Her husband picked the dozing infant up, wrapped her lovingly in blankets and held her securely in his arms, close to his chest.

Although the walk was at least a half-mile to the Lady's Temple, King Apollo chose to walk the distance. While Serenity slept, he was lost in his own thoughts. The King was a thoughtful man. He liked to think things through carefully, and was prone to brood on his memories from time to time. Right now was one of those times and had the Queen been there she would have seen the distance in his eyes reflecting how far into reminiscing he had traveled. He was remembering the Princess's birth, how the screams of his wife both scared and hurt him. He'd been there, held Selene's hand and winced as she transferred her pain into his unsuspecting hand. The morning's events were a blur of confusion and seemed almost unreal. In King Apollo's eyes, the moment he became a father was the moment his wife pulled the gossamer curtains of the bassinet's canopy open and he saw his daughter for the first time.

He came to a halt just past an orderly herb garden and in front of a burnished gold building that was rather curious. It had rosy gold stone columns surrounding and supporting the dome, with blossoming morning glories clinging to the security of those tall and splendid limbs. The dome roof shone and dazzled one's eyes into blindness because it gleamed day and night. In the daytime, its mirror-like exterior let the sunlight bounce off it and separate in infinite directions. At night the doom shone spectacularly and sparkled in the moonlight like a shining diamond in the incalculably endless ebony twilight. This was the famed Temple of Chronos and where Lady Setsuna of Unalone was usually found when she wasn't traveling. King Apollo strode to the door and rapped twice on the heavy wooden door. It opened and a tiny maid near squeaked in awe. "K-King A-Apollo! The L-Lady will be so glad. Follow me, p-please." King Apollo tried to smile reassuringly at the poor maiden but she didn't take notice, flitting ahead like a nervous songbird. He followed her through the temple along the familiar route he'd taken so often. The maid tapped her knuckles timidly against the door. 'King Apollo to see the Lady, madam." The door opened and another maid appeared and curtsied. A voice called from within the chamber. "Patricia, there's no need for the formality." From behind Patricia a statuesque woman strode into view. She was tall with sturdy shoulders and a powerful presence that made one feel awestruck and frightened at the same time. Her dark eyes, though friendly, overlooked nothing. Her long shadowed moss locks hung loose and straight as if she simply had better things to do than pin it up properly. It had a pleasing, carefree effect on her appearance however, and was shown to its greatest advantage as she smiled and ushered the King in. "Oh, I will simply never get used to all this stiffness-what with the curtsies and the servants and all-it over-complicates everything!" The King laughed. "You've had thousands of years to get used to it." The Lady shrugged it off." It's just an irritation of mine. Oh, where are my manners? Please sit," The King sank down into a chair, being careful not to jostle the infant still asleep in his arms. Seeing the baby, she smiled. "This is her?" The King nodded and handed the bundle to her. Lady Setsuna looked at the sleeping child and gently rocked her in her arms. "What's her name?"

"Serenity."

"That's a good name and an excellent influence on her future, sire. Now let me see…yes. A new moon at forty degrees, a morning star at eighty-five, oh that's interesting…and in the seventh moon, am I correct?" The King raised his eyebrows. "Well, if you're not, then I'm not much help, myself." The Lady rolled her eyes but then went on more seriously. "Princess Serenity is likely to be very stubborn about her passions. She will be inclined to jealousy later on and hmm…" She did not continue, she merely sat down, looking oddly bemused. King Gabriel looked perplexed at her reaction and saw her stiffen. "Is something wrong?" He asked concerned. He wasn't sure what was going on but he was certain it wasn't anything normal. "No, nothing is." She said half dazed. "She's just so…different. But not in a bad way," She added as she glanced at the stricken expression on his face. She was about to explain when she was interrupted by the loud wailing of Serenity, who had awakened, clearly hungry. King Apollo apologized and promised to visit again as he hastily left the room, the screams of his offspring echoing from the halls.

The Lady looked out her window and caught a glimpse of the King frantically rocking the princess and singing lullabies off-key. His daughter did not calm down though as she was shrieking still louder. The two disappeared from view and Lady Setsuna shut the window. She'd forgotten completely about what she was going to say to the King until Nightfall, when she gazed upon the Reflection. Within it, she saw the same vision she'd had that startled her so much. Only now that she expected it did the shock reveal the truth of her feelings. Lady Setsuna was silent and still for a long time while she mulled over how this could change the course of events. Even after deep meditation over the matter, she still could not be sure if it was innocuous or malignant in an unexpected way. She sighed, closed her eyes and shook her head. There was no way for her to interfere regardless. A slow upward curve rose on her lips as she dismissed the problem from her mind. "Serenity, you are a strange little girl. What makes you think such a tiny Princess can play mind games with Fate?"