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All standard disclaimers apply.
I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for their religion—
I have shudder'd at it.
I shudder no more.
I could be martyr'd for my religion
Love is my religion
And I could die for that.
I could die for you.
– John Keats –
"I have to go," Serena said regretfully as she brushed back a strand of hair from his face. "I will see you at supper tonight, however."
"Looking forward to it," he mumbled, watching her as she slipped into her gown and tied back her wealthy tresses. His fingers ached to slide through that wealth again, like they had so many times during the long hours of the night, but he held himself back. His wife had other things to worry about…
"Sweetheart?" she questioned softly, noting his uncharacteristic silence and the gloomy expression on his face. "Is anything wrong?"
He smiled faintly at her and sat up, offering her his arms. "I'll miss you, Love."
She sank into his embrace and rubbed her cheek against his bare chest. I'll miss you too.
There was a long moment of silence as they simply held each other. Then he drew away and smiled at her again, trying to cheer her up. See you at supper, my Love.
She looked at the strong line of his nose and his dark-blue eyes and felt her heart melt. See you soon, Sweetheart. She pressed a last kiss to him and turned to leave the room.
"And Serena? What about her?"
"She's breaking her fast at the moment and will be with the Queen until supper," Endymion said softly.
Sam looked agitated. "I'm worried about her… Never did I imagine that she would have to shoulder the weight of the universe…"
"I had hoped that she wouldn't have to," Endymion shook his head. "She's meant for great things, Sam. Things not even she herself can imagine…but the price is too costly. I knew that the moment I saw her. It was in the way she carries herself…the way she understands nature and its power."
"What will you do?" Irene questioned, as the rain fell gently outside.
"Make a stand and hope for the best." His smile was tired. "The enemy is very strong, and we don't have enough information yet. Right now, all we can do is hope."
They took this in silence as they all shared in the thought of what was to come. Then, Ken Roberts took his son-in-law's hand and squeezed it with a sad, old man's smile. "Be careful, my son. Take care. If anything should happen to you, she won't hesitate to drop everything she's doing to heal you."
Endymion smiled wearily. "I know. And that's what I'm afraid of."
"Advances?"
"Already invaded Milky Way," Artemis was saying. He pressed a worried glance toward the dark man at the head of the table again. Endymion was not saying much, and he knew that his master was carefully calculating his moves, making sure that his wife would not cross paths with harm.
"Our armies are ready for battle. The other kingdoms have united under our flag," Chad reported, hoping that at least the forces of an entire planet would somehow ward off the oncoming evil, yet knowing that that hope was nothing but hope. "Falcon of Norn has sent troops out to test the strength of our enemy and his messengers are on their way here as we speak. In fact, he himself shall arrive in two days, if not less."
Endymion tapped the table, as he always did when he was thinking. His campaign must not fail…because if it did, his wife would have to…
No.
He directed himself away from that thought and explored other possibilities. He did have the power…but he had never really practiced it, never honed it…and above all, he did not have his father here to teach him what Queen Serenity was doing at this very moment with his wife.
This meant that he must practice on his own. He must find his father's belongings, hope that his father had left something—anything—that would help him in any way, shape, or form. His wife's life was at stake, Gods above! His father must have left him something…perhaps it was in the sword, perhaps the sword held the key to unlocking that power within himself.
But there is no way of knowing… If Father had left anything, it would be so secretive that no one would ever suspect. That is the extent of that power… No, Father would not have left me nothing. It must be somewhere in this palace…
"We cannot attack outright," Ken said quickly. "Speaking in terms of numbers, our failure is guaranteed if we are to attack directly. We must do something else…create a diversion, create a false impression of when and where we are to attack…"
"Prepare the ships."
The men looked at Endymion in surprise.
"The ships, my lord?" Artemis questioned.
"Yes, the ships. I want them ready in three days." He pushed himself away from the table and went to the wide windows, looking out over the land he'd known and loved his entire life. He couldn't imagine such beautiful land and people gone in the blink of an eye…
"Why the ships, Endymion?" Ken's voice drifted to him.
"I want Queen Serenity and Serena out of here as soon as possible. Call Serenity's guards. I need them to understand."
The men in the room exchanged a confused glance. Since they themselves did not understand Endymion's thinking, they doubted that the Sailor Scouts would have any better luck. However, they hesitated to question Endymion further…they have all sensed the changes in him during the years he'd been gone from the palace.
He turned back to his generals and saw their confusion. Calling up a map, he marked Andromeda and the Milky Way, specifically the Solar System.
"Here we are. And here's the enemy."
The bright circles served as a rude awakening. Although Andromeda was the nearest galactic neighbor, it had seemed far away…but now, on the map of the universe, Andromeda was practically on top of the Milky Way…
"The enemy will take the other planets first," Endymion continued. "And then it'll be us. The enemy will be looking for Serena, because they know she's here…unless we send her, along with the Queen, back to the Moon. Saving the best for the last, the enemy will strike us first, and we'll stall and give the Queen and Serena the time they desperately need."
The men shared a glance again as Endymion turned back to his musings. The king's plan was logical, precise, designed to defeat the enemy.
There was just one problem.
They won't stand a chance against the enemy.
"Endymion…"
"We'll stall for time," he repeated. "We'll take the risk and slow down the enemy." Turning back to the table, he looked at them with a deadly seriousness that his men knew better than to question. "We have to."
"We have to," Andrew echoed and thought of Mina. "We have to," his voice gained strength. "If we outmaneuver the enemy, we'll have a chance." Calling up another map, he outlined a battle plan but quickly rejected it when he realized that it required speed faster than that of the enemy's…and that was impossible. The reason that the enemy could take so many galaxies in such a short amount of time is that it was lightning-fast and attacked in unexpected places.
"I'll request the Sailor Scouts," Ken stood up from his chair. "They've studied the battle plans and formations of countless wars in the galaxy…two heads are better than one." With that, he turned toward the door.
Endymion nodded. "Artemis, go to Andromeda and see what you can find out about the enemy. Take Luna with you."
"My lord?"
He smiled, regarding his friend with a glint in his eyes. "Take Luna."
Joy flooded Artemis's eyes and he jumped to his feet. "Of course, Sire."
Artemis was about to ask his master the time restraint on this scouting trip, but he was cut off when Endymion screamed and fell to the floor.
Good morning, Mother.
The Queen turned to look at her smiling daughter, but this time, she did not feel the answering smile on her own face. Turning away, she led her silently down the corridors, toward a wing of the palace that she knew her daughter had never chanced upon.
Mother? Yes? Where are we going? I know.
Startled, Serena stopped momentarily as she stared at her mother's retreating back. The Queen was not happy…and she knew it had something to do with her. Swallowing hard, she hurried to catch up with the Queen, trying to calm herself, reminding herself that her mother would never hurt her.
The Queen stopped in front of a door made of iron and waved her hand. The door opened, squeaking, and Serena was tempted to cover her ears…but she knew better than to anger her mother more. So, she obediently followed her mother inside to an obviously unkempt practice hall. As she had never been in a practice hall alone without the company of her husband, Endymion's face suddenly rushed to the forefront of her attention. Her premonition and the warning it carried jabbed at her heart, and she felt the all-too-familiar dread and panic for what was to come.
All of a sudden, the ground beneath her feet disappeared. She gasped and fell, struggling to catch her breath. Her mother was looking at her coldly, and she could feel bile at the back of her throat. Swallowing hard, she pushed herself up to her knees and tried to stand, only to find that the ground had disappeared again.
Choking, Serena pushed herself up. She was uncertain of the game her mother was playing…but she had to play along. Otherwise, the consequences would be dire. Though her mother had always been gentle and patient (until now, at least), Serena had always known the extent of her power, had always feared that one day, they may come into conflict. It seemed that the day she feared had already come.
Stand up!
The command had been so loud that she felt the precariously balanced scale in her mind tip perilously toward one end. Choking to breathe again, she tried to push herself up, but her muscles failed her, and she ended up in a heap at her mother's feet.
An odd image passed over her eyes, and, having caught the agony in his eyes in that image, she chased it, knowing that it would bring her more pain, more dread…but she had to know…she had to know so she could protect him.
The full image returned to her, and her heart stopped beating.
No. No! It's not possible… Mother! She reached for the Queen, but her mother did not comfort her. No! It can't be! It can't be… No…
Sweetheart? Came the softly questioning word from her husband.
Endy! She grasped him tightly. Endy, don't leave me. Don't ever leave me.
Sweetheart, you know I would never. She felt his arms around her and the ghost kiss on her lips. What's wrong? Did you see another of those premonitions?
Yes. Yes! She sobbed and hugged him tighter to her. And I know they're true. I know it's the future. Sweetheart…please don't leave me. I love you. I love you!
She felt his lips on hers again and the steady flow of comfort from him. Shuddering, she forced herself to calm down. There was no use to worry him, as there was no use to shed tears over what was already written… She must find a way to protect him, must find the future within herself—to prevent the future, to protect—
And screamed.
"Endymion? Endymion?"
He opened his eyes and groaned at the pain that came. He tried to lift his hands and rub his eyes into focus, but found that he could not feel his muscles.
"My lord?"
Groaning again at the pain, his eyes eventually focused. His generals and Artemis were kneeling around him with concern in their eyes…and was that fear? Groaning again, because he could not think without causing himself more pain, Endymion realized that he was lying on the marble floor.
"Endymion, don't move," Greg was saying. "Just don't move. I'll go get Amy." Before Endymion could say anything else, the man had rushed off in search of the Princess of Mercury.
As the initial agony eased into a steady ache, Endymion felt something missing inside of himself…but how could that be possible? He had not been in battle, had not used his power in years!
No, no… He felt inside himself. No, it's still there… What is this emptiness? What is this—Gods above!
He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the agony that simple movement caused. Sweetheart? Bunny? Where are you?
"Endymion!" Andrew called after the retreating back of his friend. "Endymion!"
STAND UP! Endy…
Serena felt the pain and darkness closing around herself. No… No… She tried to search for him, madly tried to push herself up, but it was all in vain. Moaning, curling into a ball, she tried to nurse the wound, wherever it was.
Endy, help me… Endy… STAND UP!
She ignored her mother's commands…and anyway, she couldn't obey them; she wasn't in control of her own body. How did her mother expect her to stand up when she couldn't even feel her legs?
Bunny? Sweetheart? Endy! Never,
The whining iron door to the practice hall squeaked and in came her husband. Serena saw the same pain etched into his face and went for him, but her husband had already caught her first in his arms. Nestling closer, feeling his warmth surrounding her, she found that the pain had eased a little…
Sweetheart? I'm here, I love you! I love you…
Eventually, the pain eased into a dull ache, and then nothing more than a throb. When she could finally feel her body again, she raised her head and looked into his eyes, the eyes that bore the same scar.
I love you, he murmured and, brushing her golden tresses back, kissed her again, as though couldn't help himself. He drank from her, felt her small, delicate form pressing closer, and the world slowly began to disappear, like it always did when they kissed like this…
And in that frozen moment in time, Queen Serenity realized that the universe was already lost.
~Crystal Selena