Title: PEACE AND WAR
Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Sailor Moon.
Authors Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews, they're extremely helpful. I've already started the next chapter so I should be able to update it tomorrow. Reminder that Tiko 8 has nominated this story at otakuonlineshop (dot) com. I'm sorry about minor mistakes in spelling and grammar. I'm re-reading and trying to get them all, but sometimes they seem to slip by. If you let me know specifically where they are, I'll try to go back and change them. Thanks! Enjoy!
Darien watched as Serenity walked gracefully into the room, immediately catching the attention of everyone. She simply smiled and sat down with her ladies around her.
He couldn't help but be completely aware of her presence.
He frowned at her. Part of him had just assumed that their talk in the hall would have scared her away
Then he looked around and realized that he wasn't the only man in the room looking at her. In fact, almost all of them were looking at her. Some with lust, some with hatred and some with awe.
This meeting was supposed to be about the war, and now he could see that all the attention had shifted towards her. This would not do. He could see by the way she wasn't looking at him that she was trying to prove him wrong. Childish girl.
As the night wore on Darien found himself more and more angry with the small princess. She smiled and talked like it was the most natural thing in the world. She told amusing stories and joked with all around her. She made the room seem lighter, and Darien felt like squinting. She simply didn't see how things worked. It was frustrating.
He thought that she might leave with her ladies after the dinner was over, but to his surprise she stayed with Raye after they left. She delicately sipped her drink and made her way throughout the room.
He couldn't take it anymore. The way everyone was trying to be nice around her, smiling and bowing politely. This was not usually a polite place. This was where the talked about war pointedly and rudely. Nobody talked to her about war. She was a distraction.
He excused himself and walked towards her just as she was about to pass the door. He grabbed her arm.
"Can I have a word with you?" He snarled at her before forcefully pulling her through the door.
"Ouch!" She said trying to dig his fingers out of her arm. "You're hurting me."
"What are you doing?" He whispered fiercely.
Serenity honestly didn't know what was wrong.
"This gathering is about war, not you."
He looked down at her and realized how afraid she was of in him that moment. Her eyes were wide and he could see right through her. She was afraid that he was going to hurt her. Fear was a good thing. Perhaps she would learn to trust in her fear. It would keep her alive. But he couldn't help but feel guilty.
"I'm sorry, I didn't……"
"Of course you didn't," he rubbed his eyes. "You don't have even a clue about the emotions needed to purposely go against me."
Darien took a step away from her and sighed.
"You told me I could do whatever I wanted," she said after a moment. "How can I learn about war if you won't let me participate?"
"You're not talking about war in there," he said.
"I didn't realize we were already supposed to be talking about it."
"This whole gathering is meant to talk about the war."
"There's no room for being polite?" She asked confused.
"Just, go to bed with your ladies," he said tiredly. "I'm going to turn this gathering into a discussion of war. Unless you think you have the knowledge to add something, I suggest you not be there."
Serenity watched him walk away.
"I thought you didn't want anything to do with me? Why then are you concerning yourself with where I am and why I might be here."
He looked at her with frustration.
"You are so full of questions," he said with venom. And then he walked quickly back into the room.
Serenity was taken back. Was being full of questions such a bad thing?
She hesitated, and then snuck slowly back towards the room where she could hear the King call everyone to order. She stood at the door, listening as quietly as she could. If he wouldn't tell her about war, she would have to find a way to learn about it herself.
Everyone looked at Darien when he called them to order, and then they all found comfortable spots to stand or sit. This was what the gathering was all about and they were all prepared for it.
"We will forget for the moment our current situation and think to the future," he said to the room. "My father saw only war, but I see differently. Our country will never really know the meaning of peace, but we might come to know the meaning of calm. We do not have to fight war after war. If we can simply win this one, then we can start living every day only to make it better."
"Your majesty," Lady Lita's husband bowed deeply. "I to in my own way dream of peace, but our future simply does not hold it. You have lead us into a time where we are only fighting one or two wars at a time and that has given us all room to breath."
"Why can't we have more room?" Kunzite asked.
"Even the war we are fighting right now does not seem to be agreed upon, so why are we fighting it?" Darien said. "I place it to a vote right now. Who agrees with the war we are fighting right now?"
Half the room raised their hands.
"Only half," Darien said.
"I have another question, if I may?" Jedeite said stepping forward. Darien nodded at him. "Who in this room knows what the current war is about?"
Only maybe half a dozen people raised their hands.
"We cannot give up!" A shout came from the back.
"I am not asking us to give up," Darien said calming the stir in the room. "Every time we go to war we use only half our resources and save the others for the next war to start. It is the way we have always done things. Why not put all of our resources into this final battle, win, and stop looking for a fight."
"And if we are attacked? How then will we defend ourselves?" Someone asked.
"When was the last time we were attacked?" Darien asked
Everyone looked at one another.
"As far back as I can remember, every war we've fought has been with us as the offense. Not once has anyone attacked us. Why? Because we have a great army and nobody wants to appose us."
"If they know we could not take it it would mean the end!"
"How would anyone find out what we're doing?" Darien asked.
The man with the long hair who had first taken notice of Serenity stepped slightly forward. "You're asking us to go against what we've been brought up to believe and stop fighting. What style of life will we have without our wars?"
The was a murmur of agreement around the room.
"Can you not think of a life without fighting?" Zoicite asked.
"We have with us someone who know that life?" The man answered back. His eyes danced with a hidden meaning. "Perhaps she can explain to us what it is to live in peace."
Darien suddenly looked menacing.
"You refer to the princess Serenity," he stated.
"Yes I do. We have all see her eat her meal with us. She is innocent and happy. It would be so easy to take advantage of someone living with her beliefs. That is what you're asking us all to turn into. You're asking us to let our guard down and be open for attack. Our kingdom would not last a few years under that notion."
Darien lowered his eyes in thought as the room nodded their agreement.
"There must be a way to stop the war and continue to keep our guard up. At least for a while," Kunzite said.
"Perhaps we will simply keep our armies mobilized, but not give them orders. That way they will be ready in a moment," Nephrite said.
"They will grow fat and lazy with boredom," someone yelled.
"Are you forgetting the current situation of Serenity's own land?" The long haired man continued the opposition. "The one country who achieved peace in its entirety is at this moment being completely destroyed."
"You don't know that," Zoicite said. "No reports have come from that area yet. They could still be on the defense."
"They are being slaughtered," he said. "Their weak and innocent princess is the only one left, and what good will she do to help her country? All she knows is peace. The only way they're going to come out of this war is for that girl to marry and ally herself with a country with enough resources to come to her aid."
"Why has our talk of war suddenly shifted to the marriage of that girl," Darien said angrily. "Is that what this is all about Sir? You've seen her beauty and have become infatuated with her."
The man took a step back.
"If it is her hand you wants, then take it, but do not bring your personal affairs into this meeting again." Darien turned back to the room. "I am not asking any of us to work towards peace. I understand as much as you that it is not worth dreaming about. But that does not mean we must always be at war. If we cannot agree not to go to war ever again, then lets agree not to attack anyone else when this war is over. We will build our resources and prepare, and if we are attacked we will have an army big enough to defend anything. It will make us strong."
There was a brief hesitation, and then the room began to murmur in agreement.
"A break from this war would allow us to build a stronger army," someone said.
"And we will be safe from falling into the ways of peace," another voice called out.
"Are we in agreement?" Jedeite asked suddenly.
Slowly, and one by one, the people in the room raised their hands. Darien kept his gaze on the one man who would appose them, and slowly he simply nodded. Darien was content.
"Then it is settled. Now we must talk about what we will do to win our current war."
The talk lasted well into the night, and it became more graphic as who was to be killed was tossed about the room. The voiced got louder and the opinions strong until Darien had to calm everyone down.
When it was all over, Darien sat by himself by the fire flickering at the end of the long room.
"You can come in now," he said loudly.
Serenity had seen him look at her during the discussion and he had not told her to leave, so she hadn't. Now she stepped in timidly, waiting to be reprimanded. But he didn't seem angry anymore, only tired.
"What did you think?" He asked after a moment.
Serenity sat a little ways away from him so the heat of the fire only barely touched her.
"I had no idea you wanted peace so badly," she said finally.
"I don't want peace, only rest," he said.
"A world without war sounds like peace to me," she said.
"You really are clueless when it comes to the world, aren't you," he said. "A world without war still has famine, disease and disasters plaguing it. Just because you mother didn't let you see them doesn't mean they weren't there."
"Our whole country was happy," she protested.
"Do you really know your whole country?" He asked, still not looking at her.
Serenity went to answer, but stopped. Not everyone exactly.
"If you are curious about the way we do things here then you may sit in, but you are not allowed to interfere."
She nodded gently.
"If you get upset over anything, simply leave," he continued.
"I'm not going to faint just because someone mentions of fight."
"You will not react at all," he said.
She just sighed.
There was a silence between them for awhile.
"Can I ask you something your majesty?" She asked. He just waved his hand. "The man who brought me up in your argument close to the beginning. Who is he?"
"Why?"
"You told him to ask for my hand in marriage. If he is to do that, then I would like to know his name."
Darien finally looked at her.
"You would except a man you barely know?" Darien couldn't really understand why that thought bothered him so much, but he just assumed he thought she was being foolish.
"I did not say I wanted to accept him. But as to marrying a man I barely know, my future holds that anyway. I am to marry someone from a foreign country. My mother has already told me that I will. I will have to be content with a man I do not know and hope I may get to know him."
"And you're not upset?" Darien asked.
"What cause is there to be upset? There is nothing I can do about it. My husband may not know me on our wedding day, but we may come to be close during our marriage."
"Is there no evil in any situation to you?"
Darien was started to get annoyed with her. She was just so…..optimistic.
"Would you rather I be angry?"
"I would rather you be elsewhere," he said getting up. "I have never hid my feelings and I won't hide them from you. I find your way of looking at things completely ridiculous. You think that in every situation there is some good. But some things are just simply bad and you can't find a good side to them."
Serenity stood up.
"There is no need to be cruel your majesty. I understand you don't like me, but I will not be treated like this."
"That anger you feel right now. That anger at my actions. what light to you see there?"
Serenity focused on the angry feeling welling up inside her. She felt panicked suddenly.
"I will not become part of you world," she said angrily. "You say my ways are foolish and in saying so you're implying that your ways are right. But I see the way you do things and I cannot abide by them. You may see me as a child, but I see you as a tyrant."
She turned around to leave not catching his surprised look.
"Goodnight," she said as she exited the room.
Darien watched as she walked swiftly out of the room. In that moment he had seen a strength in her that he had assumed wasn't there. She had stood up for herself and in doing proved her point while also hitting him where it hurt. Her innocence had washed away for a second and she had conformed to his way of thinking. That thought scared him. Suddenly he didn't want her to have to change.
He sighed in confusion and sat back down. Now if only he could stop thinking about her and focus on winning this war.
He sat by himself, thinking what actions needed to be taken.
Kunzite came into the room a few moments later, breathing hard as if he had run the whole way there.
"We have been hit hard in the west. I fear you're needed on the front."
Darien nodded, but anyone could see the disappointment in his features. They had accomplished a lot tonight and after this war there was to be no more unless necessary. But that still seemed a long ways away.
"We will leave at noon tomorrow," he answered.
Serenity walked gently around the garden, breathing in the perfumed air around her. But her heart simply wasn't in it's beauty today. Her mind was filled with images of the King. The night before he hadn't scared her. He had seemed so tired. For the first time she thought she might have seen a true part of him. He was completely closed off from the world, hurt so much that he had trouble breathing. But part of him still wanted to feel.
She wandered out of the garden and along a path leading to the expansive woods surrounding the castle. She lost herself in her thoughts. She walked slowly, not really knowing where she might end up. Her she was in another country, confined to a stone castle when all she wanted to do was explore. She had always dreamed of traveling.
She heard the horse galloping towards her and looked up at it.
"You highness, you should return to the castle. The King is going to war."
Serenity looked at him.
"Why should I be there?" She asked.
The man just looked at her confused. "Because he is leaving."
"And I am to say goodbye?" She asked. "He does not like me so why would it matter."
The man continued to look at her dumbfounded before galloping away.
Serenity just continued walking towards the forest.
Darien walked into the front hall where his men were gathered. All the guest were also there to wish him well. Most of the men were coming with him, but the ladies were all there to say goodbye.
He looked around to see his sister standing close to the middle. He went up to her and hugged her tightly.
"I will be back before you know it," he said kissing her forehead.
"Promise?" She asked tearfully.
"I promise," he answered.
He pulled away and looked around. Why he was looking for her didn't understand, but part of him was disappointed when he didn't see her. He didn't understand why. But he found himself getting angry.
"Where is the princess Serenity?" He asked her two ladies.
"Sir, she set off this morning for a walk. I am sure she is on her way back."
He just turned away. He didn't care that much. Did he?
"We can wait if you want your majesty," Jedeite said cautiously.
"There is no need," he answered curtly. "Let's go."
Lita hugged her husband tightly, trying not to let the tears fall down her face. He kissed her, and then joined with the rest of the men.
Everyone watched the group of men follow their King out into the world. By the next few days they would be fighting in the war and some of them would be killed. Hopefully the King did not die before he produced an heir.
Darien and his men mounted their horses and started riding away from the castle. His mind seemed fixated on the idea that Serenity had not been there. Why it bothered him so much he simply couldn't understand.
Then he saw her.
She stood on the hill by the trees watching them. The sky had darkened and the wind had picked up. Her hair blew in the wind around her making her look almost surreal. She shone bright and white in the darkening light.
She simply didn't belong here.
Darien realized that perhaps that's why he was so angry with her. She had everything he wanted and he couldn't even perceive how she had achieved it. He was jealous. She represented everything he had dreamed of as a child but now couldn't have.
Their eyes met and he could not bring himself to look away. It was if time had stopped.
"You majesty?"
Darien pulled himself away from her and looked at his guards. His four guards who had been with him all this time. If he had friends, they were the closest to him. But he had never really opened up to them the way Serenity had opened up so obviously to her ladies. Another side affect of living the life of war was knowing that as soon as you opened up to someone, they would probably die. Then you would have to grieve.
"Are you alright?" Kunzite asked.
"I'm fine," he said solemnly. "This is the way of war."
Darien didn't see his guards looked at him. They looked worried, concerned, hesitant and afraid. If he knew anything of peace, he would know that getting help from those he trusted would ease his tension. But it was so far away from his mind that it had become an unachievable goal.
Serenity stood for everything he couldn't have, and that was why he hated her.
End of chapter Four
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