Title: Kingdom of Treason
Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Sailor Moon
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Endymion took a long drink of the thick dark liquid in his crystal glass and felt it burn pleasantly down his throat. The strength of the drink hit him within seconds, and he slumped in his chair as he let it take over. He almost never drank, but today seemed like the right day to start. He had decided to betray his brother the King, and he knew that in some ways it was the end of his life.
Today had been hard. After talking to Kunzite, he had sent a message to Jedeite to inform him what their meeting would be about. Jedeite would know what that meant, and their meeting would therefore be held in some secrecy and only those most loyal would be allowed to guard. On the outside it would seem normal.
He hated that he was getting his friends into this with him, but he had little choice in that matter. If this was going to work, Jedeite would have to be involved. He was the head of the army, and he knew better then anyone how to lead them.
After that he had approached Nephrite who he was a little weary of. He had skirted around the subject for some time, trying to get information from the man about his loyalty. Nephrite turned out to be a very intelligent man, and when he realized what the prince was asking him, he hurried them out of the way to agree to his terms. Nephrite knew all the goings on of the palace, and his knowledge was endless. Endymion knew that the connection would prove extremely helpful. He'd have to keep him on the outside as much as possible, for he wasn't completely sure if he was to be trusted, but at least it was a start.
And then there had been Raye.
Endymion took another drink as he thought of her. She had known something was happening, but she hadn't said anything. He wanted to tell her more than anyone else in the world, but even though he was sure he could trust her, he could never put her in that sort of position. She had sat across from him pleasantly, teasing him about Serenity, while both of them knew something else was going on.
But she had been pleased with his choice in Serenity, and he had been surprised to find himself smiling at the memory of her. Her delicately soft skin and her silk golden blond hair. In all this chaos he found himself in, he still got distracted by the thought of her. And yet he had been with her only one night.
Raye had only teased him until he had to give in. He liked her.
The stress had risen in him when he had been called again by Diamond to update him once again on the state of the army. He had assured the King that after his meetings with the general Jedeite, they would start forming again and be ready in the shortest amount of time possible. Diamond had been pleased.
And now here he sat, feeling the soft buzz of alcohol moved sloth like into his mind, and he allowed it to help numb him, hoping that his emotion might die along with the pain he felt in his tense shoulders.
It was already dark, and he could hear the sounds of the palace beginning to settle in for the night. The King would have chosen one of his ladies to come to him, as he did every night, and Raye would ready herself for bed alone. Diamond was a fool.
The door opened softly and Serenity walked in without announcement. It made him smile. How she had gotten past the servant, he didn't know, but her abilities to surprise him were somehow a delight even through this haze of his life.
"You look tired," she said walking up to him and kneeling in front of him so that he could easily look down at her. Her beautiful blue eyes held pure and innocent worry. Worry for what? Worry for him?
"Today has been harder than yesterday," he said softly.
He could see her evaluating the situation. She breathed out and her brow furrowed in slight concentration and he wondered what she thought her options were. She placed a soft hand on his thigh and rubbed ever so slightly in slow deliberate movements. It was not a sexual movement; it was more of a comforting one. What was this woman capable of?
"Would you like me to help you relax?" She asked softly.
Endymion smiled almost sadly. "Is such a thing possible?"
"Only if you want it to be," she answered.
He knew she was serious, and her soft spoken words seemed to sooth him. He realized that he liked her voice. It was smooth and delicate, and held as much warmth as he remembered his mothers voice holding. He just wanted her to speak to him.
"What did you do today?" He asked.
She looked confused, but smiled anyways. "Her majesty the Queen was kind enough to take me to my new home. I was able to meet most of the ladies there and managed to separate those that want nothing to do with me. I saw the resident doctor at the Queens request, and then one of the ladies took me to the library where I met the lady Amy. She showed me around and I was allowed to take a few books to read during my time alone."
"Which books?"
"They are histories of different aspects of royal life. Amy suggested one outlining the creating of the palace and it's so far an interesting read. I found it difficult to put down tonight."
He watched her talk, letting her smooth words wash over him. When she described something she liked, her eyes danced and smiled at him and it made him want to smile in response. She was animated without being loud, and he could see every emotion pass through her whenever it changed. She wore every feeling out in front of her for the world to see. Her freedom almost caused jealousy to rise within him.
"I wrote a letter today as well. Amy said that it wasn't unusual for the ladies of the palace to write to their distant relatives, so I thought it wouldn't be unsuitable for me to do so."
"You wrote to Mina," he said softly.
He could tell she was surprised by the way she looked at him fully. Her eyes went wide and she stopped speaking for a moment.
"Yes," she finally said. "I wrote to Mina."
"And what did you tell her?" He asked.
"I told her about you," she said honestly. "We saw you, when you were arriving back in the city a few days ago. Our lady allowed us to stand on the balcony to watch the procession. I was so absorbed with the colors and music I could hardly breath. Never have I seen such celebration. It took my breath away to see the streams of beautiful red rose petals falling gently through the sky, and the smell was everywhere. It was exciting. But Mina seemed to focus in on you and look over all the other wonders I had discovered. We spoke afterwards of our future, and the idea of dreaming of one day serving a prince."
"And it seems that dream came true."
"It wasn't my dream," she corrected softly. "It was hers."
He couldn't help but smile at that. The first time she had seen him, she had looked him over. Every other woman would have had eyes only for him and yet he had found that one woman who had turned away to be part of everything else.
"So you will tell her that you're living her dream?"
"No, I told her that her dream is possible. We all hoped one day we would find ourselves in a situation where we could be happy and safe, and in this moment it seems that I am living that dream. The fact that you are who you are means nothing more to me."
"You don't care that I'm the prince?"
"No," she said softly.
He couldn't explain why, but hearing that from her was more relief than he had felt in a long time. Suddenly in this moment he didn't have to be something other than who he was underneath his title.
He waited for a moment, feeling his desire for her grown within him again. He had not been able to look past his stress, but just as it had happened last night, this small woman in front of him had found a way through so that he was suddenly only think of her. He wanted her. In this moment, nothing else seemed to matter.
"I am glad that you came tonight," he said gently.
Her slow smile sent warmth through him and he put his glass down on the small table beside him.
She sat up taller, running her hands up his thighs as she reached up to kiss him.
As soon as her soft lips touched his everything else in his mind seemed to completely fade away, and he could only focus on her taste.
But this time she did not crawl on top of him and press her body against his. Instead she undid his shirt and kissed down his neck and across his chest. He felt her hands touch him, arousing him. She knelt down in front of him, undoing his pants.
He sucked in a surprised and pleased breath when he felt her hot mouth suck slowly and sensually along his length. He groaned at the feeling of her slick tongue licking him, tasting him. She moved up and down, stimulating him more and more with each new movement of her mouth. She used her hand to grip him harder, moving it in time with her mouth. Firm and slow.
The heat within him rose until it seemed his whole body was throbbing with raw energy just bursting to be released. And still she continued, toying with him and playing with him, tormenting him.
When his climax hit him he let out a loud groan of pleasure, gripping her hair as every muscle in his body seemed to tense and pull in complete ecstasy.
And even though he had hardly moved at all, he was left breathing hard.
She didn't say anything as he came slowly down from his dizzying high. He could feel her hands slowly rubbing his thighs, continuing to comfort him please him even though what might have been expected of a woman in her position was already finished.
And he was relaxed.
He looked down at her. Her pure and innocent eyes stared at him without wavering and he felt calm and sage. He felt like he could trust her.
"Will you stay with me tonight?" He asked.
Her smile was easy and genuine. "Of course."
Serenity found that she had started a little bit of a routine in her new life in the palace. She stayed with the Prince every night, and then waited for him to leave before dressing and making her way back to her little home at the end of the castle. She hardly ever used her own room for anything other than reading and writing her letters to Mina. But she was happy.
She visited with Amy in the library nearly every day, finding a quiet companion in her that was enjoyable. They spoke about whatever it was Serenity had learned in her latest book and Amy described in detail how the palace worked and where everyone was on the hierarchy. And sometimes, when they least expected it, Raye would join them.
Serenity was still not comfortable with greeting her by her first name, but Raye insisted that it be so until Serenity did not know how to argue anymore. So she did, even though she felt disrespectful in doing it.
"Has he called you every night?" Raye asked unabashed with the subject matter.
Serenity shook her head. "He has not called me once."
Both girls across from her look startled.
"But you leave your rooms every night," Raye said.
How she would know that was not so great a mystery. She was sure the guards were instructed to monitor their comings and goings and report them to somebody. It would surely be difficult to go about the castle in secret.
"I go to him," she said.
They looked at her confused.
"You go to him ever if he doesn't call you?" Amy asked.
"He is free to send me away."
"Well isn't that something," Raye said.
"Why does that surprise you?" Serenity asked. "Does he seem to you like that type of person who orders women around?"
Amy looked surprised at her boldness, but Raye just laughed.
"Of course he isn't, but that doesn't change the way of things. Endymion's problem is that he is a kind man living in a world of snakes. He wants to treat everyone fair and equal, but it's impossible to move in society that way when you're living in a hierarchy."
Serenity couldn't help but smile at the description. It was true that he seemed to stand outside the rest, but mostly people seemed to allow it. Perhaps because he was the Kings brother, or perhaps people were just used to his method of life.
"I wish you would tell us more detail about how he is with you," Raye said.
"I could not betray his confidence," she said for perhaps the fifth time.
"You are unlike any other woman who has come into this place Serenity," Amy said softly. "I am not sure how you managed to stay so gentle while growing up the way you did, but it his refreshing that you are not scarred with your past."
Just then a servant came scurrying into the library and bowed quickly to Raye.
"Your majesty, the King has requested you come and see him in his study."
Serenity watched the look of frustrated disgust pass across her face as she thanked the servant and stood up.
"I will see you ladies at another time," she said while leaving.
"She doesn't seem pleased," Serenity said.
"The King is not an easy man to please," Amy said offhandedly. She seemed to catch herself and looked away in embarrassment. "Don't worry about Raye, she's strong enough to be happy through almost anything."
Serenity left Amy shortly after, and found herself at a loss. She wasn't sure what she should do. It was nearly an hour before she would usually go to his room and it seemed every lady of the castle was out and giggling in the courtyard, so she could not find a quiet place to read except her room. But even there she could hear their laughter and it was distracting.
She looked around the small, nicely decorated room and sighed. All she wanted to do was see him. All day every day she wasted the time until she would be with him again. Would it be awful for her to be early? He liked that she took control, but how much control was she allowed to have? How much before he started to resent her constant nearness to him. He seemed to enjoy having her around, but that meant almost nothing when a man changed his mind. The lady had taught them that just because a man showed her some sort of affection one day, he might hardly look at you the next. Such was the common actions of that gender.
The sun was setting and the warm rays would soon be lost completely for the night, but the view now would be spectacular. Of course she could hardly see if from within the courtyard of her home.
Endymions room had a much better view. He could see clear over the wall of the palace and across the city.
Would he be angry if he caught her there, looking out the window?
She stood up and quickly readied herself before picking up her book and swiftly made her way through the courtyard and out towards the rest of the palace. She thanked the guards for allowing her through, as she always did, and then made her way towards his room.
Servants were closing the palace for the night, and all around her people bustled and hurried to beat the coming darkness. Candles were lit to light the hallways, and easily accessed open windows were shut so prevent intruders. Serenity tried to stay out of the way of those still working and she hurried over the smooth, glass like marble with light feet.
When she neared his room, she felt that she was nervous. Was it worth the consequences? What if he was angry with her? The idea that she might fail to please him scared her. She had never been afraid of him before. What was so different this time?
She took a deep breath and walked quickly past the servant and into his room, not allowing the short man any time to announce her.
The room was empty.
Serenity looked around quickly, searching for any sort of movement. There was none. She looked into the bedroom and the joining study where she had found him the day before, but he was not there. Part of her was relieved, and part of her was disappointed.
She went back to the sitting room and over to the large windows that stood wide open, letting the beautiful smell of roses waft through his room. The rose garden was directly under the windows, and she smiled at the memory of the rose petals falling from the sky. She leaned out, looking over the huge expanse of city in front of her, dyed golden and red by the setting sun.
She couldn't help but smile at the beauty, feeling lucky to be able to see it. The noise all combined into one pleasant hum and it seemed to drift around her pleasantly. It was like at this moment the whole city was slowly, getting ready for the relaxing cool of night after the immense heat of the day.
"Hello."
Serenity nearly yelped at the sound of the mans voice behind her, and she had to brace herself from falling.
A tall man stood in the room, with beautiful long light hair and green eyes. His clothes were rich and beautiful, fitting him perfectly as if they had been made for only him. He looked more than a little amused to have caught her, and his carefree smile confirmed it.
"Am I right to assume that you are Serenity?"
She quickly stepped towards him and curtsied. It was obvious that he was a noble and she didn't want to offend him.
"Yes my lord."
"I haven't seen you since the party held more than a week ago. I see you have made yourself quite at home."
"Everyone has been very kind to me," she answered.
He walked towards her, making her feel suddenly nervous and uncomfortable. What was he doing in the Prince's room?
"My name is Kunzite."
She visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
He laughed. "You seem relieved."
"I have heard of you," she said easily, feeling comfortable once again. "The Prince has told me that you are a friend."
"Glad to know I come up while you two are being intimate."
She was a little taken back by his comment and didn't know how to respond, but her confusion seemed to amuse him even more. His eyes danced with laughter.
"What were you looking at?" He asked.
"The sun," she answered honestly. "It's setting over the city, and you cannot see it from the ladies courtyard."
"That's unfortunate. So you thought to come here?"
"I……" Was she in trouble? "I thought that………."
"I am not hear to get your in trouble," he said softly.
She smiled. "Yes, I came here to see the view. I do not usually come so early, but I couldn't stay in the courtyard. I was having a hard time concentrating and thought this might be a quieter place to either read or be with him."
She didn't miss the look he sent her at her comment. "Be with him?"
Serenity tensed. "I mean, be here to please him," she tried to correct.
Kunzite walked up close to her, his features suddenly serious. He studied her intensely, obviously trying to make up his mind about something. She wasn't sure whether or not to be intimidated by him. He was a tall man, nearly as tall as the Prince, but from what she had heard about him he had never harmed anyone.
"You are beautiful," he said after a moment. "I can see why he likes you."
She blushed at the comment, but was also confused by it. "I hope that I please him," she said.
Kunzite seemed to soften and stepped away again. "He is due here any minute. He and I usually visit one day a week so that we might stay in touch."
"I'm sorry, I did not realize he would be detained tonight. If you will excuse me I will go back to my room and wait for him to call for me." She started towards the door, but Kunzite stepped in front of her.
"I was not trying to send you away."
"I would not want to be a burden."
Why was he acting so strangely all of a sudden? When he had first come in he had seemed so easy and amused, and now it was almost if he were testing her. She didn't like it.
"I have to admit that his interest in you interests me."
Serenity knew that most people would back down at this point, and just allow someone like Kunzite to finish whatever thought he had and then try and leave. She was supposed to stay quite and out of sight.
"I am not affected by your interest," she said strongly.
His eyes bore into her. "You have no interest in his motives?"
"The only thing that concerns me in regards to him is his current happiness. Whatever his motives may be, they are nothing to me if for even a moment I can make him smile."
"And if he loses interest in you?"
Serenity clenched her teeth at the thought. "Then I hope he will find comfort in another way."
"I don't believe you," he said.
Serenity squared her shoulders. "I have already told you that your interest does not affect me. I do not need to prove myself to you and I am certainly not going to waste effort in trying. I understand that you are one of his best friends and for that I will do my best to stay out of your way, but don't think it means that I have to please you as well."
At that he smiled.
Serenity was a little taken back by his sudden change in mood.
"You are loyal, aren't you."
It wasn't a question.
"I will never betray him," she said. And then she had a thought. "Unless he asks me to."
"You would do anything he asks?"
"Kunzite?"
Both of them looked at Endymion as he walked through the door. His black hair was a little messy and his stormy blue eyes held an enormous depth of mystery that said he had so much he needed to hide. Kunzite was forgotten to her almost immediately as she walked up to him. His gaze followed her until she was right in front of him, silent and penetrating. He didn't look angry, but he did look tired.
"Are you alright?" She asked softly.
He smiled at her worry softly and reached up to stroke her hair. "You should not worry about me so much, there is almost nothing I can't handle."
"You will think that until you find the thing that is too much for you," she said.
He leaned down to kiss her gently. It was a soft kiss, and yet it made her feel almost weak. She had completely forgotten about Kunzite when she heard him shift. She broke away softly.
"I did not realize that you had plans tonight," she said. "If you want me to come back….."
"No," he said. "I will not send you away. If you close the door to the bedroom you will not hear us and you'll be able to do whatever you want in peace. If you fall asleep, I will wake you."
"I have brought my book," she said. "It will keep me interested until you're done."
"What are you reading about this time?"
"The Sun War," she answered.
Endymion looked impressed. "That was a very detailed and gruesome war. Why would you want to read about it?"
"Because without it slaves would still be common place in the kingdom and women would be cast aside as knowledge-less damsels used only for the procreation of children. It is one thing for people like me to exist, but for all women to be treated like that is abominable."
Endymion just smiled at her sudden passion on the subject. His blue eyes never wavered and for a moment she felt her stomach tighten and her cheeks redden into a blush.
"I will wait for you in your room," she said softly and turned to walk towards it.
Endymion watched her go. Her hair seemed to float lightly around her and the rosy color of her cheeks made her skin even more luminous. His eyes continued to follow her until she had completely left the room. Only then did he turn to Kunzite.
"You seem very much captivated by her," Kunzite said without emotion.
Endymion moved to sit easily in the oversized chair a few feet away. He didn't answer immediately. Instead he let Kunzite make up his own mind about the situation, knowing that whatever the man came up with was probably false.
"You're not going to say anything about her?"
"What would you like me to say Kunzite. I like her."
Kunzite sat across from him, looking serious. Any other time Endymion knew his friend would tease him for having a girl in his life, finally. But it seemed that wasn't the case today.
"Are you sure you can trust her?"
Endymion furrowed his brow. "What?"
"With what's happening?" Kunzite explained.
He leaned forward in his chair, realizing what they were talking about. "Kunzite I haven't told her anything about what's going on. She's completely separated from all of that. I only see her at night and we mainly talk about trivial stuff."
"Like books," Kunzite said, seeming to relax a little.
"Well yes, I suppose we talk sometimes of books. It's curious to me what she finds interesting. She has never had a library at her disposal before, and most women find the romance section particularly delightful. But she's decided to learn everything of our history and doesn't seem jolted at the idea of death and war. That to me is very curious."
Kunzite nodded and went to speak, but Endymion had continued.
"And besides, she spends most of her time in the ladies courtyard. There's nobody in there she could talk to and discover what we're doing. She said that there are three ladies who are extraordinarily mean to all the others, and they think they're akin to royalty because the King beds them regularly," Endymion smiled. "Diamond thinks he hides his indiscretions so well and yet it's gossiped about freely within those walls."
As Endymion continued, Kunzite couldn't help but smiled.
"What amuses you so much?" Endymion asked.
"You really do like her, don't you?"
"I've already told her that I do," he answered.
Kunzite nodded. "Just make sure she isn't a distraction. We can't afford to slip up."
He didn't answer that. It seemed an obvious statement to him, but the idea that Kunzite felt the need to share it with him was a little startling. He realized that even now, when he should be focusing on his friend, he was thinking of her. She was so close, sitting only one room away, awaiting him. He looked towards the bedroom door briefly, wondering where she had chosen to sit.
"What news do you have?" He asked.
Kunzite settled in for a serious conversation. "Zoicite has information that he thinks might interest you, but thinks it's best if it is exchanged as few times as possible. He doesn't want it overheard."
"He's on board?" Endymion asked.
"He has agreed that as many times as possible, he will write an account of the Kings actions and give them to me. I will in tern give them to you, and after we will destroy them."
"That is quite the risk for you," Endymion said.
"I am already in the position to do so. It will not be strange to see me first visiting with him and then with you. The only risk will arise if the King becomes suspicious."
"Nephrite is to be informed whenever we need to do something within the palace and he will place around us his most trusted guards, sworn to secrecy. He himself will be involved if possible, but we can't bring attention to ourselves by always employing the head of the guard."
"And Jedeite?"
"Our army is as we speak getting ready for war, but he himself has gone to the city of our new enemy to speak with them. We cannot chance a letter being intercepted and its contents brought back to the King. I will have to go personally at some point, but when the war has started there will be plenty of time for that."
"The war is to be started still?"
"My hope is that everything will be started except that actual battles. Both armies will form and set up camp, and from there we will halt and have negotiations. If the King becomes suspicious, we will set up a battle where there will be no victor, and as few casualties as possible. We'll have to fool him to keep him satisfied."
"I have managed to visit almost every noble in the city and the consensus is clear. Nobody is pleased with what the King is doing. There is talk of taking their families to other cities in order to escape the downfall of the Kingdom. There are some who believe he will not last another year without going to far."
"How many appose the idea?"
"Only four families so far think of him as their sovereign. It is a small number in the grand scheme."
Endymion nodded. "Get me reports on them. I'll ask Nephrite to assist you. If this goes down we'll have to know their weaknesses so we can get around them. Even one noble family against us could prove devastating."
"What about the Queen?" Kunzite asked.
Endymion hesitated. "There is no way I might tell her about this without alerting the King. I have no doubt that she would keep our secret and I'm afraid of injuring her in all of this, but it seems we will have to lie to her until it's to late."
Kunzite nodded. "I agree that she would be a powerful informant. She sees more sides of the King than anyone, and she pretty much runs the palace. It would be a shame if we couldn't find a way to involve her."
Endymion nodded. He was afraid for her.
There was a silence between them for a moment.
"What about Serenity?"
Endymion looked up at him surprised. "What do you mean?"
"Raye spends a lot of time with the ladies in the courtyard. Serenity might be our way of communicating with her."
"I thought you were angry at me for involving her."
"You said you hadn't involved her."
"I haven't, and I don't intend to."
"I thought you trusted her."
"I said I liked her, that's not the same."
"So you don't trust her? She seems pretty loyal to you."
"I won't put her into the kind of danger."
Kunzite leaned forward again. "She's a means to an end Endymion."
Anger filled him at that remark, and he stood up suddenly. "If you think that I would use her in so selfish a manor, then you obviously don't know me as I thought you did."
"Do you honestly think protecting her is more important than our mission?"
Endymion glared, not able to answer.
"Unless you're in love with her she's expendable. I know that sounds harsh. She seems like a very nice girl, and she's certainly beautiful, but thousands of people are probably going to die and you can't be distracted into protecting just one. She can give a message to Raye and right now we need a way to get to her. She's the Queen Endymion, and she's on our side."
Endymion turned away.
"If this were any other time you know I'd be the first to be happy for you for finding a companion who can in some way make you happy. But this is so much more important than finding happiness."
He felt his shoulders sag as he had to admit to himself that what Kunzite was saying was true.
"If this works, we'll be able to start again. You'll find someone else."
Endymion nodded, still not answering.
There was a silence between them.
"Do you love her?" Kunzite asked.
"I hardly know her," Endymion said. "I said I like her, but it's not the same thing. She's only been here a week."
"Then don't get attached. Use her whichever way you want and continue liking her, but make sure it doesn't turn into anything. I know you and I know you hardly ever let people in so letting people go is hard, but you have to realize that she's nothing more than a slave."
"I'll send her with a message for Raye," he finally said slowly.
Kunzite nodded. "Good."
"We'll meet again next week. I'll try to set something up for Zoicite. We'll need to meet with him secretly, and we'll probably have to leave the palace to do it. Jedeite will be back in four days, so perhaps we will come together as one."
There was nothing more to be said.
"You may go now," Endymion said.
By the look on Kunzites face he could tell that he was completely surprised at the abrupt dismissal. Endymion had never dismissed him before. They had always been friends, equals, and now he had given him an order. A direct order.
Kunzite nodded. "Goodnight Endymion."
And he walked away.
Endymion felt the tension grip his shoulders tightly and he rubbed his eyes to try and clear his seemingly foggy mind. All he could think about was Serenity, and what he would now have to ask of her. Since she arrived here, he had not once given her an order. The idea that he might have to give her one now was unsettling to him. He loathed to think that their relationship might change and she might no longer wish to see him as she obviously seemed to now.
He thought back to the conversation she had overheard with her and Kunzite. She had been so fiercely loyal to him that he had felt pride and admiration in her. He knew Kunzite had just been testing her, to make sure she wasn't some sort of spy sent by the King, and as far as he was concerned she had passed. She was who she was, and there was nothing else hidden within her. Now she would be turned into a messenger of treason, and if she were caught she would be killed.
He sat down and quickly wrote a letter to Raye, making sure he was clear and to the point. Raye would be expecting something, he knew her well enough to know that, but she would still be surprised. He only hoped she was smart enough to read the letter in private.
When he was finished he went to his room where Serenity was sitting comfortably in a large chair by the wall of books his mother had given him. She smiled when he came in, and it warmed him.
Before she could get up and he walked over to her and crouched in front of her.
She looked automatically concerned.
"Is something wrong?"
Endymion hesitated. Here in front of him was a woman who seemed to fit with him perfectly. She was kind and gentle and knew how to make him forget everything about his life around him. She was his only escape. She was beautiful.
"Serenity, I need you to do something for me."
She nodded and he could see confusion in her eyes.
"This letter is for the Queen. I need you to give it to her."
She seemed to relax. "Is that all?"
He nodded.
She smiled again, her eyes lightening as the confusion and worry faded away. "Of course I shall deliver the message for you."
"It is important that nobody but her should see it."
"I will guard it with me life," she said softly.
He handed her the letter and she slipped it easily between the pages of her book, and then closed it and placed it on the small table beside her. Then she turned back to him.
"You were so serious, asking me to do such a small favor."
He reached to her, brushing her hair softly away from her face. "I am a selfish man," he said softly. "I had hoped that I might keep you exactly as you are, and separate you from the life around us."
She smiled. "In this room we are hidden."
Looking at her, he felt pain at the idea that he was using her. He wondered if telling her the extent of the situation, she might be afraid of him. So far, other then their history, she knew nothing of what evil lurked around them at this moment. The way she was raised would allow her to believe it, but she would not see it without being shown.
She saw the pain in his eyes and easily slipped off the chair to kneel before him on the floor, pulling herself close to him and wrapping her arms around him. The feeling of her so close to him seemed to ease him, as it always did, and he wrapped his arms securely around her, embracing her tightly.
He sighed at the feeling of her delicate hands caressing his back and her warm soft lips kisses on his neck lightly. He could smell her soft feminine scent and it sent a wave of heat through him.
Even at a time like this she could distract him.
End of Chapter Four! Review please! Thank you so much for everyone for reviewing, and make sure to check out my website!