"For goodness sakes Endymion! Is that all you can do? Those are just parlor tricks! You can't be serious about this! How can it be that after six months this is all you have managed to do with the power of golden crystal?" Fumed king Titus. Disbelief was clearly displayed on his face, as well as frustration. For how could it be that the second most powerful crystal in the universe could only manage such small feats? The legend stated that the crystal's power was enough to protect the whole planet, and much more if used to its maximum potential.

By now his son should have been able to power up cities with magical light, or transport large items from one corner of the castle grounds to the other with so much as a flick of his wrists! Yet, here he was showing him how he could see visions of any place on earth, just by touching trees or plants. That he could heal himself and others by just simply concentrating his power over the injured site. "At least that was useful", the king thought to himself sarcastically. His son had also mastered the art of teleporting himself from one corner of a large room to another and lifting objects up into the air, but that's as far as it went. It's as if he had a cap on his powers, like something was blocking his ability to use the crystal to its full potential.

Frustrated with the turn of events the king decided he would go home and think about the situation. His wife had informed him that Queen Serenity had made contact with her and was hoping that in one years' time, negotiations with the Silver Alliance would be open for discussion again. This time he wanted to bring something to the table, so to speak. What better asset than a fully functioning golden crystal, to sway the hearts of the alliance, but most importantly the queen. Finally he would be able to stand on solid equal ground! The earth would not be overlooked any longer, as if it was a child deemed unable to play with adults! With a determined look in his sapphire eyes, King Titus decided to teleport out of Elysion and return home. Just as he had stepped off the training ground, he felt his son's hand on his shoulder.

"Father, stay. I promise I'll do better. Just watch me." Pleaded the prince, knowing he was losing his father again.

"Call me when there is something interesting to see. As far as I'm concerned, I'm done with watching you practice. There isn't much to see. I'm beginning to feel inclined towards other methods of advancing this planet."

With that, he left, leaving a dejected looking Endymion in his wake. Helios soon came to the prince's aid and gave him words of encouragement.

"My prince, do not concern yourself with what shows of power the crystal can perform. As long as it understands your wishes and you can feel its wishes in return, it will unleash whatever power necessary to do your bidding. It is simply not the time for such displays. Remember, it takes a pure heart with unselfish desires to command the golden crystal. When the time is right, you will see its power. For now just focus on keeping calm when controlling it. The crystal will respond to your heart. If you are disheartened it will be as well."

Endymion smiled weakly at his words, but knew them to be true. It seemed whenever he was by himself he could perform greater tasks, but as soon as his father showed up, he lost concentration and performed measly. He would not give up, he would learn to control his heart and have the crystal do his bidding. In the meantime he would relax in Elysion.

Taking a short stroll to the rose gardens, he sat on his favorite bench and inhaled the scent. It always did relax him. Sitting there, listening to the water fountain as the birds chirped around it truly soothed his soul. He began meditating on the beauty around him. This special place, hidden within the earth in a different realm, was indeed a paradise. It was meant to be a reflection of how the earth should be in all its glory and also reflected the Earths state. Lush gardens surrounded him, filled with the most exotic looking flowers. Animals roamed free among nature in unity. The skies appeared as crystal blue as clear spring water. The lake that sat to one side, appeared to be a mirror reflecting the sky. No place on earth could rival its beauty.

He remembered the first time he arrived in Elysion via the forest chapel, he had never known that place had a double purpose. Helios had lead him to a secret room below the chapel that held a secret teleport chamber, only available for use by the royal family. No one else would gain access. When they had stood on the platform, they had found themselves within a mirror image chapel. Only this one was in Elysion. Walking out to the main area of the chapel, the same gold laden alter stood in the center of the circular room, only this one had something laying on the alter. It was the crystal. Glowing with a soft golden light, Endymion remembered being attracted to the light instantly, as if it were calling him. Slowly stepping towards it, he was surprised when the light floated up towards him, catching a quick glimpse of the crystal before it was absorbed in his body. After that he remembered he got light headed and passed out. When he awoke, he found himself laying in the gardens, the smell of roses in the air. Helios gladly gave him a tour and explained the purpose of Elysion.

It was explained to him that if nature and humans where in unity, the gardens would flourish, but if darkness were to creep in, the gardens would start to dry up, thus reflecting the soul of the earth. As the earth's protectors, the Kings needed this information to provide unity and peace on earth. This was how the kings new if conflicts had started on earth. Thus explaining how his father knew where to send his armies to settle conflicts on other parts of the world when needed.

Now he would be in charge of inspecting Elysion and asking Helios for guidance in directing his armies. He remembered being shocked to hear that Helios, the priest of Elysion was nearly 900yrs old and had perpetually kept the body of a 14 year old, as that was the age at which he had started. He was tasked to protect Elysion by the first king, until a new king who could wield the crystal and protect it.

Now here he was, merged with the crystal, commander of the armies, next in line to the throne of the earth, and still disappointing his father. Something's would never change, he thought with a sigh. Exhausted with the day's events, Endymion closed his eyes and decided to take a small nap before returning back up to the surface.

"Let me get this straight. The king is allowing the practice of magic of any kind? What is he thinking! His father, king Cornelius, banned all forms of magic because its unnatural!" Fumed Kunzite, as he walked back and forth across the command room. He had called a meeting to discuss the matter of the kings new verdict, allowing for the use of magic among the common people.

"Sources say he has brought a young woman from the country who practices those arts. They say he has appointed her as the court magician. The king says its white magic, and won't cause no problems. I seriously doubt that." Sneered Nephrite. Although he read the stars, he never did any unnatural rituals to do so, it was something he just knew. The practice of casting spells and calling forth powers was not something he was very keen on.

"Lets wait to see what she teaches and how she uses her knowledge before we make judgments" stated Zoisite.

"I'm just interested if she is as beautiful as they say! Country women always have this wild beauty about them. Plus I hear she is a red head, that's pretty uncommon. She must be quite the looker!" Said jadeite dreamily.

"Jadeite! If you keep chasing tails, they will end up being the death of you! Sober up for once and think clearly, this is an urgent matter!" Scolded Kunzite. He swore sometimes even he didn't understand why the king chose him as a general. The man had skill with the sword, but his head needed some serious work!

"What's an urgent matter? Questioned the prince, as he made his way to seat at the head of the table. The command room grew silent.

"Is it regarding the young woman father has asked to stay at the palace? If so, I'm as angered about it as you. It seems he has decided to put the pressure on and use this woman to challenge me. He wishes to taunt me with her so that I may 'hurry up' and improve my use of the crystal. Father doesn't realize that he shouldn't play with fire. The magical arts in the hands of dark hearts are deadly. That's why grandfather banned them. You can't trust those that practice to not let there hearts get corrupted. You can rest assured I will keep my eye on her."

"Just be careful, she could use her arts to entrap you" warned Kunzite.

"Thanks to the crystal I am immune to spells and can read right thru them, I can also get a feel for peoples auras. I will be safe, but I fear father is not. It is him I will have to guard. He seems obsessed with having power thru any means." said Endymion with a solemn face.

"We will all be on guard as well my prince. We will make sure to keep our distance until you determine her intentions." Zoicite calmly stated.

"Do you want me to ask the stars?" Offered Nephrite.

"That you may, keep me informed if you find anything out." Commanded the prince.

With that they continued talking of other matters ranging from the army drill exercises, to improving the current transporters that where currently being built. It appeared that with the aid of the Golden Crystal, transporters had been made that allowed for people to move from the castle to outside locations. Plans where in place to experiment on larger distances, with the goal being that they may use them to travel to the four territories and smaller divisions from the castle. Zoisite led those plans and was making quick progress. Only time would tell how far they would be able to travel. It was those projects that helped distract the prince from the pain of losing his father once more.

A couple of days had passed since the meeting with his generals, when his father left him a note requesting his presence in the throne room. So it was with great dread that Endymion stopped before the large doors to the throne room. Opening them and making his presence known he asked "You called father?" His voice feigning ignorance to the matter he was sure his father had requested his presence for.

"Yes, there is someone I'd like you to meet." Answered his father in a commanding voice.

Making his way to the throne, Endymion stopped before his father, watching as he made a signal to a footman, who opened a side door adjacent to the throne.

A small figure appeared. Slowly making its way towards the throne, the figure removed the hood that had held its identity secret. With that a beautiful young women with hair like fire that fell in waves, and bewitching green eyes appeared before him. Her skin, while slightly sun kissed was decidedly fair, her stature was tall, and her form was a delight to the eyes. The woman did not need magic to captivate. She was dressed in country clothing consisting of a worn brown skirt and white peasant blouse. She had stone like jewelry that hung from her ears and throat. She was dressed simple indeed, but that added charm to her appearance. Endymion cought himself staring, which seemed to make the young woman blush. "Great" thought the prince, "now she will think I've developed a fancy for her!" With that, the prince nonchalantly stepped up to the maiden took her hand and laid a chaste kiss to it.

"A pleasure to meet you my lady. I hope your stay with us will be to your pleasure" added Endymion, in a calm manner. From the touch alone he could tell she hid no ill will. Her aura, while not the brightest, did not raise any concern from the prince. He would have to continue checking her periodically to see if any changes occurred. For now she was deemed safe. His attention was brought back to his father by his following words.

"It will be to her pleasure, she is a permanent guest and will serve as court magician. Maybe she can teach you a few things Endymion."

The prince tried to hide his pain at the jab his father made by feigning shock at the news of her position.

"Well, we will see about that. I have never fancied magic as a way to get things done, but so be it. We will see how useful you prove to be to father. I on the other hand, have no need of magic." With that he looked to his father, giving him a look that said "I hope you know what you're doing", before looking at the lady again.

"It was a pleasure to meet you. May I have your name? It seems it was not mentioned."

"Beryl, my name is Beryl".

With that the prince rolled the name on his tongue and excused himself. He had plans to put in place.

"My prince, I have come to say goodbye. For tomorrow I leave to Mercury. I have never been to another planet and am so excited! I will meet new people, places and see new sights! I have heard it is an extreme planet that varies in temperatures. We will be staying in the poles of the planet, which means it will be immensely cold! They have a bio dome, like we do here, but due to the extreme cold outside, it is still cold on the inside. I have heard wonderful things about Mariner castle! But most importantly I will meet king Hermes and Queen Isis, my dear Ami's parents! The one thing that excites me the most though, is the possibility of meeting you! I do hope to find you on that planet, but if i don't, rest assured my heart tells me we shall meet, my sweet prince!"

With a sigh, the princess signaled the computers in the communication room to remove image 3795 from the screen, and return it to her secret files.

Usually late at night, while everyone was asleep. The princess had these secret meetings with the image of the handsome gentlemen on the screen. She would tell him her musings and talk to him like he was her confidant. He had become like a journal to the young princess. An image that would listen to her and not judge her. She new it was childish, and somewhat obsessive. But something in his countenance provided her with comfort. His intelligence shown thru his eyes and his stance spoke of valor and strength. He was her perfect man, and had dubbed him her prince. She did not know if he was one, but his clothing spoke of someone of high rank. That lead her to believe that due to his station, she would meet him. One day. For now she would content herself with his picture. Making sure everything looked as it did before her arrival, she exited the room and made her way to her bedroom, hoping to salvage some sleep.

The lavender eyes looking at the princess's retreating form, sparked merrily at her discovery. "Gaia will be pleased to hear that my girl has all but fallen for him! After this year of touring is over, I shall be glad to meet again and hopefully carry out our original plans" Queen Serenity thought to herself as she made her way to her bedroom. She still had much to pack.

Serenity awoke to the sound of a slamming door. Gathering her sheets about herself she was not prepared to see a teary eyed Luna. Quickly getting to her feet she ran toward Luna enveloping her in a hug. Leading her to the bed, she gently grabbed her hands and asked the obvious question. "What happened Luna? Is it mother? Is it the girls? Artemis? With that last name it seemed she cried even harder. Smiling in understanding she hugged her again tightly then looked her in the eye pleading with her to say what was on her mind.

"Oh Serenity! I can't! ...I just can't look him in the eye and say goodbye! I feel myself fall apart! This morning at breakfast, I had set my mind to say farewell, but I just couldn't look across the table at him. I could feel his gaze on me, but I just didn't want to look at him for fear of coming apart. I didn't want to cause a scene in front of everyone!"

Blowing her nose on her handkerchief, she looked at Serenity and stated, "Oh and don't worry about missing breakfast, the queen excused you in front of everyone, stating you needed your sleep for travel this evening."

Serenity blanched, she hadn't realized she had overslept. Thankfully her mother had excused her. She was about to embark on a journey to present herself to all her future subjects, she couldn't afford to do that again. She needed to present herself as a responsible young lady. Looking at Luna she decided to bring the conversation to the more important matter at hand.

"Luna, don't you and Artemis have an understanding of sorts? Has he not been secretly courting you these last six months?"

Luna's face turned red and acknowledged her words. She slowly lifted a onyx, cat shaped stone, that hung from a platinum necklace to her lips. It had been a gift from Artemis. He had given it to her at the ball. She remembered how surprised she had been when he took her straight to the balcony after their dance. He had nervously held her hand, but steadily looked in her eyes, as he told her he had admired her for some time, and would like to be able to spend some time with her, after work hours of course. She had slowly nodded feeling it all a dream. What he did next surprised her. He smiled at her, and asked her to turn around and close her eyes. Doing as she was told, she suddenly felt something cool on her neck, followed by his warm breath, as he stood closely behind her, fastening the object. He then told her to open her eyes. Looking down, she noticed the beautiful necklace. He spun her around once more and asked her to dance with him again. She silently followed after him, smiling and blushing the rest of the evening. She was brought back from her memory by Serenity's next question.

"Has Artemis professed his feelings for you?"

"Well he hasn't said it with words, but his actions and way he treats me tell me it is so!" Exclaimed Luna.

" I am sure he will wait for you Luna. Even though he may think he hides his feelings well, we all know how much he loves you. His eyes light up, and he actually smiles! The year will be over before you know it !"

"I know that, but it hurts to know that the one I love will be so far away. I never wish this anguish on you my dear!"

"Oh Luna, I don't wish to burden you so! If you wish, you may stay." Offered Serenity.

"Your heart has always been so kind, but I cannot put my duties aside for my own benefit. My pride will not allow me to go back on my word. I am High Queen Serenity's first assistant, and tutor to the Princess of the Moon kingdom, I will not forgo my duties. While this is not pleasant, I believe it will make me stronger."

"Spoken like a true Mauan! I have read that your people are fiercely loyal. You are no exception. I know fortune will bless your decision!"

With that the princess said "Now come Luna, you must have brunch with me! I'm sure you didn't have much to eat at breakfast."

Nodding Luna followed her liege.

The transport chamber was alive and buzzing as everyone made sure everything was up to par. After all, it had not been used in sixteen years! The Queen and Princess would be travelling with only Luna, as the other princesses had left right after the princess's party in order to spend some much needed time back home. They had kept in contact via the communications chamber, but between practicing with her crystal in the prayer room and her planetary lessons, the communication had become sparse. That is why she was also glad to go, she looked forward to catching up with each and every one of them. Her usage of the crystal was now at an intermediate level, so she was able to provide her own protection if need be. Within another year, and she would be able to wield the crystal almost at full potential. She was glad of her accomplishments, and knew her mother was too.

After having receiving the ok from the engineers, the engines to the transporter where started. All that was needed was for the party to step on the platform, that the queen may use her crystal to give the last bit of energy needed to go.

The Queen stepped on to the platform with Luna and motioned for her daughter to join. Just as the princess stepped on the platform, the door was flung open and in came a winded Artemis, looking unnaturally disheveled. When he saw that he was not too late, a look of relief passed over his face. Walking quickly and with a determined stride, Artemis made his way to the platform. Serenity turned toward Luna with a smirk on her face, only to see that Luna looked as pale as could be. Her face was mix of shock and joy.

Taking Luna by the hand he lead her off the platform and to the side. Whispering in her ear, Serenity saw how Luna went from pale to red in an instant. What had the room gasping came next.

Getting down on one knee Artemis held Luna's hand and announced: "Luna, you know that as a military man I am one of few words. Let me now express to you how very much in love I am with this, a promise of a lifetime of happiness, if you accept to honor me by becoming my wife"

Artemis then proceeded to pull out a platinum ring with small onyx stones surrounding a princess cut diamond.

With that, Luna could only nod as her hand went to her mouth in an attempt to hold back the sobs of joy that were threatening to come out. Placing the ring on her hand, Artemis stood and gently placed his hands on her cheeks, rubbing his nose to hers, and placing his forehead on hers he stated "My love, go fulfill your duty. I have waited sixteen years to confess my feelings for you, what's another year to it? I will make the arrangements. When you come back, we can marry."

"Artemis, you have made me the happiest woman in the universe, now I can go with my heart at ease. I will miss you terribly."

Caught up in their own world, they paid no heed to the audience beforehand. Separating his forehead from hers, he quickly laid claim to the lips that had tortured him for years. Starting out as a chaste kiss, he deepened it slightly before pulling away, after being made conscious of the audience that had heartily applauded their display of affection. Turning beet red, Luna quickly hugged him, wishing she could stay in his arms forever, before stepping back up to the platform. Waving farewell, the group slowly became invisible as they disappeared of the platform in a whirl of fog. Once everything was complete the fog cleared, leaving nothing behind, save a few teardrops on the floor.

Authors note:

I want to thank everyone who has kept up reading my story. I hope I am not boring you dragging out the story. I just want to make sure I'm as detailed as possible, and fleshing out the side characters. What's a dish without good side's right? But do not fret, we are getting to the good stuff. Serenity and Endymion will finally meet! There I have provided a spoiler for you. Shout out to all who reviewed, you know who you are! I really do appreciate those reviews, they give me a reason to keep writing, knowing people are enjoying this story. I'm new to and haven't really gotten around to using the setup, so be patient with me. Until next chapter!

Love,

Tsukilight