This Sailor Moon story is set in an alternate universe with some of my own original characters. Sailor Moon and the cast belong to the magnificent Naoko Takeuchi.


Darien Rothschild:

I walked out to the third floor balcony to take in the evening air and thoughts of my last few nights with Miss Whelan. Smiling to myself, I considered retiring to the library for a drink and a reading when I looked out and saw her. Serenity was on the balcony of a nearby house dressed in a loose-fitting white nightgown; the beaming light from the house behind her illuminated through the white fabric, showcasing her silhouette.

Exhaling, I walked closer to the edge of my stone balcony and rested my elbows on the railing. I watched her closely, silently hoping that I would see her without so many layers of fabric.

To my surprise, she pulled on the strings of the gown and it fell to her feet. My body tightened at the sight and I stood up straight. "Serenity…" I whispered to myself.

I looked closer to see her reaching for something on her railing and then water started to rain down on her. Serenity was showering on her balcony and for the entire world to see.

I wished to be near her, to see her closer with the water glistening on her skin. And then suddenly I was. Her skin was evenly tanned over her curves. I watched in amazement as Serenity patted her shoulders with a soft sponge. Her eyes slowly worked up from my base to head and they grew wide.

Light enveloped me and I woke with a jolt, finding that I was only in my bed.

Serenity Whelan:

Gasping for air, I sat up quickly to take in my surroundings. The small bedroom was enclosed and I looked down to see myself clothed.

"What the hell was that?" I said breathlessly. Why do I keep dreaming like that?

My body still trembled from the dream as I tried to piece together what I had seen. I was washing myself in full view of my gorgeous professor and he was… watching me. I smiled to myself, now thinking of the dream as what it was; a dream… just another sensual dream about my unattainable professor.

Just a few days ago now I found out that my roommate was a witch sent here as my guardian, for a reason neither of us knew. She has been trying to stay by my side constantly, not that Lita minded having more friends to hang out with. Her warnings were fresh in my mind, especially with the reveal of Shiloh.

He had tried to ask me out a lunch date, even tried to get Lita to set us up, but I still told him no. As for Lita, I told her that I just wasn't interested in dating at the moment, which she seemed to understand. For the time being, I couldn't take the chance that he was after me or something that I could have or, well, I have no idea.

Besides, it wasn't exactly so simple… because it wasn't that I did not want to date at the moment; I just had someone else on my mind.

Mina, Lita and I met up after Castell's class to make plans for the weekend. Lita heard about a food festival that was happening and I could hardly pass up on the opportunity to snack. After the plans were settled, Lita followed me to our class with Professor Rothschild and she noticed something about me. "There seems to be an extra skip in your step, Serena. Something you want to tell me?" she nudged my arm.

"Not really," I tried to hide my smirk as we walked into the classroom and Darien's eyes fell on me. Beneath his gaze I could sense a smile as he watched me find a seat. I had spent months excited about this opportunity and now I was looking forward to the end, when Darien would no longer be my instructor.

"Good morning, class," he spoke aloud.

"Good morning, Serenity," I heard a voice said. I turned to my left and then to my right when Lita caught me looking around.

"What is it?"

"Did you hear someone say my name?" Lita shook her head no but went ahead and looked with me. When my eyes fixed on Darien again he seemed perplexed.

"Is something the matter, ladies?" he said coolly. We both shook our heads and went back to our notes as he pulled up today's slides.

Instinctively from hearing his voice, the images from my dream resurfaced in my mind. I tried to focus on the information he was giving us but it was of no use; I wanted him.

I resorted to my daydreams and strained to pick it back up where it left off this morning, trying to piece together what could have happened next.

I was on a balcony and there was a shower, for some reason. Darien was watching as I openly bathed myself and maybe he would have walked up to me… I would have turned to him and teased him a little more, putting on a small show. He definitely would have been anxious then.

I then could turn off the water spout and while I am turned from him he comes up behind me to whisper in my ear while reaching his hands around me to—

"Uh, just one moment class," my professor scowled. I looked up to see him leaning over the desk catching his breath. He ran a hand ruggedly through his hair before straightening up. "Hydration," he said simply, reaching for a pink plastic cup by the water tank to pour himself a drink, "is very important." Darien's eyes rose up and fixated on mine. Something seemed different about him. He's never looked at me like that before. "Miss Whelan, please stay after class."

Busted.

Not long after that my classmates were starting to pack up their bags for the next class. Lita forced a smile as she parted ways with me. There wasn't much I could do. I guess I had gotten caught sleeping in class and would have to face a rant from my professor; it's not like he could just let me off the hook because he liked me, at least I think he liked me. I wanted him to like me.

"Serena, please come up here." I gulped as I propped myself up from my small desk and walked forward.

"Professor Rothschild, I am so sorry for my behavior—," I began to say.

"Tell me what color I am thinking of."

"What?" I replied before getting a weird feeling. "Teal?"

He furrowed his brow, "And number?"

"Thirty-seven."

"And place?"

I thought for a moment, "Venice." He looked at me in disbelief. "Why? Where those things correct?"

"Indeed, they were."

I shrugged, "That's odd. I'm sorry but did you not need to speak with me about falling asleep in class today?"

"Serena, I need you to be frank with me. Were you dreaming about something?"

I blushed, "Uh, I—I was." But I can't tell you what….

"And what was it?"

My heart began to race. Surely I couldn't tell my professor I was having a sex dream about him during his class. "I don't remember."

"Oh, no?" He grinned. "Was it something like this?" Darien concentrated for a moment and I saw the image of me bathing with him watching me.

"What the—," I stepped backwards. "What—what are you?"

"What am I? What are you?"

I looked down at my hands, the backside and then palms. Mina said there was definitely something weird about me. "I apologize, sir. I do not know."

"I do."

My eyes shot up. "You do?" He nodded and reached for my hand.

"Come with me."

My professor led us behind the wall with the slideshow screen and pulled my face close to his.

"I need you to trust me. Serenity, I have a secret to share with you."

I struggled to breathe with our close proximity. He had never been so close to me before and although something inside me was telling me to step away, part of me wanted to close the last bit of distance.

"What is it?" Can he not wait until the quarter is over with? I don't want to get in trouble with the school.

"I know that there are people after you."

"How can you—wait, what people?"

"I think they're called the lycanthrope, sort of wolf people."

"Yeah, I know of the lycans."

He looked shocked, "What do you know of them?"

"Not much. I just did some reading on them before. What makes you think that they're after me?"

Darien stood up straight and thought for a moment. "I have something else to tell you but it won't be easy to understand. I need to know that you will try to keep an open mind before I tell you."

I nodded slightly, wondering if I could keep such an open-ended promise. He looked nervous, like he was a little boy admitting a crush.

"There's something special about you and there's something special about me."

"You mean you're like… like me?"

"Not exactly. But I will treasure your secret with as much guard as I hope you can assure me."

I furrowed my brow, "Please just tell me."

Darien Rothschild:

I exhaled the breath I had been holding, "I'm obviously trying to tell you that I am not exactly human, Serena." She didn't seem to falter after that reveal, her eyes begging me to continue. "I've, well, I have been around for five-hundred years now; five-hundred twenty-seven next month."

"What are you then? A vampire?"

I paused, unable to simply say it. Her eyes widened with my silence, "Wait, like for real?"

Finally I found my voice, "Yes."

"For real, for real?"

"Yes…? Serena, I am telling you the truth. Do you not believe me?" I began to search my mind for a way to prove it to her. Why isn't she scared of me?

"I believe you, I think… I mean, I guess it would be easy for me to believe it if I had some sort of proof but honestly I could see you being a 'creature of the night'," she barred her teeth in a mimicking pose.

I'm sure the look I gave her showed how puzzled I was, "Creature of the night?"

"Yeah, it explains why I'm so attracted to you. Vampires are supposed to have that allure, right?" she grinned. She thinks I'm attractive?

"Well, only when we try. It's not a given."

We stood there in silence. I suppose she was thinking of what to say next but I could no longer connect my thoughts with her. I watched as her long, white hair moved over the curves of her body. She was wearing a loose, earthy-green tunic with leather leggings.

"You haven't been having," she paused, "you haven't been dreaming about me, have you?"

Our kind did not possess the ability to blush, with our features being mostly frozen, but if I were human I knew it would be happening. "Depends. What kind of dreams?" I wasn't entirely sure that our thoughts were actually connected but I wasn't about to reveal that side of me not knowing if she had also shared those dreams.

"Well, they're always different, sort of. Um, last night," she stopped breathing. "Is this weird? I mean, you're my professor and all."

"Pay no mind to that; this ranks in importance." What am I saying?

"Oh, okay," Serena tucked a loose section of hair behind her ear. "Last night's dream, and then again during class, there was a balcony. I'll just give a few details about it all because trying to find the right way to say this is making me faint." She gulped, "Balcony, night gown, shower; ring a bell?"

I felt my hunger growing deep inside, "Yes."

She took a step towards me, "What does it mean?"

I shrugged, "I am not yet sure." Liar. It has to be connected to the prophecy.

"Am I—?"

"A vampire?" I chuckled, "No, I'm afraid not."

"Have you always been one?"

I looked around the other side of the small wall, "Do you have time to go somewhere more private? I would feel more comfortable not discussing this in public."

She almost looked cautious, "I do suppose that you would like to keep from others finding this out; lest they come after you with pitchforks and torches."

Fond memories. "My car is outside, may I?"

Serenity Whelan:

He reached for the books I was carrying and led me from the classroom. The walk was silent and the only sound I made was a gasp as I saw his beautiful white sports car.

"Aston Martin Vanquish, 2016," he said without questioning.

"It's quite lovely."

He opened the door for me and I almost fell into the deep seats. The ride, to his home as I found out, was silent again. I tried to figure out what was going on. How can I know what to expect when I reach his home? I mean, he is a vampire.

"You can be open with me," he said suddenly. I almost flinched out of the car from the disruption.

"O—open? About what?"

"Your feelings. I know that you are probably starting to get scared of me. I want you to know that I am fully willing to disclose anything you would like to know about myself or my culture. I also plan to tell you all that I know about those after you."

"Oh."

"So you don't have any questions yet?"

I took a deep breath and asked the second most important question, "What do you eat? Or drink?"

He didn't answer right away but it's not like his answer surprised me, "Blood. Typically human. Animal blood if we're in a pinch." I stayed still thinking of my other question before he started answering on his own, "To get through the basic stuff, no I will not be drinking from you and I won't let anyone else either."

I wondered who else he might be talking about but figured that I would find that out soon enough. "Do you sleep? I mean, you must sleep otherwise you wouldn't have had dreams."

He chuckled, "Yes, we sleep. Not in coffins or anything like that. I have a California King myself."

"And sunlight doesn't affect you?"

"Nope. We're cancer free."

I became serious, "That's not funny." How can he make a joke like that? Doesn't he know anyone who—well, I guess he might not.

"I do apologize; I didn't mean to belittle human concerns." He waited a moment before continuing, perhaps sensing my anguish, "Did you know anyone who—."

"No," I cut him off. "I mean, I don't want to talk about it."

He bobbed his head, "Understood."

We neared a large gate surrounded by those large bushy fences that were shaped like gigantic blocks. Topiaries or something, I thought.

"You like them?"

"Huh?" I realized that whatever kind of psychic connection we have must be working again, "They're fine." My gaze returned to the front window to see a large mansion coming into the view. The gravel driveway twisted and turned to make the drive up the hill easier, which gave me plenty of time to take it all in.

Most of the land that was visible to me was covered in beautiful green grass. Some trees formed at the property line and I was beginning to feel like I was attending a grand ball. The mansion was definitely gothic on the outside, with gargoyles positioned on the top. Darien parked and opened my door but I kept gazing up at them.

Darien nudged me, "Don't try to run or they'll be forced to come after you." My eyes widened and he started to laugh harder than I had ever seen him do so before, "I'm just joking. They're stone and will remain stone."

I nodded uneasily as Darien led me into his home. The inside also had a gothic feel to it, though not overly decorated as I pictured from movies and television shows. He did have Persian rugs lining the floors.

"Can I interest you in a drink? Ginger ale, perhaps? Or just water?" I smiled at him and he led me into another room which I suspected to be the library. Bookcases taller than any house I had ever seen were filled to the rim with books. Most of them were old and ornate, like in a collector's library.

"How do you reach the top ones?" I turned to see him preparing our drinks. Darien finished pouring my water and handed it to me before he crouched down and leapt up into the air gracefully. When he landed again he suavely continued into a bow.

"Oh, you know, practice."

I downed the drink forgetting it was only water, "Have anything stronger?"

"Well, of course, but I don't wish to leave you inebriated in the home of vampires."

My ear caught the sound of the pluralization, "Vampires? How many are you?"

He gestured for me to join him on the couch, his drink in hand, "I don't think we have a census but I venture thousands, possibly tens of thousands by now; in this building—err—three, I mean two, regularly."

"Are you sure you don't plan to kill me?"

Darien laughed again, this time more maniacal, "You're quite distrusting, aren't you?"

I brought the glass to my lips again, out of habit, and muttered, "Well, you are a monster." My eyes floated to his and I could have sworn they glowed.

"What else would you like to know about this monster?"

I rested the glass in my hands as I pulled a leg up on the couch to face him better, "Why am I here?"

"I thought we were trying for privacy?"

"No, like, you said you knew something about me. I have been having these weird feelings ever since I left for this university and I—and I don't understand what's going on. People are following me, things are attacking me—."

"You mean the wolf?" he sipped his drink.

"You know?"

"I was there. I'm sorry that I couldn't intervene."

"What did you see?"

Darien exhaled deeply, "Oh, just a three-hundred pound wolf pouncing on you and your date."

Was it really that big? "Well, what do you know of them?"

Darien sighed again, "Not too awful much. Not much is known about the lycanthrope, though I suppose they prefer to keep it that way." That's what Shiloh told me… "So as far as exact weaknesses, I'm at a loss though I do know a dismantling always works."

My fingers were squeezing around the glass so tight that it was creating small squeaks, "Do you know what they want with me?"

"Would you like to know more about yourself, Miss Whelan? You are indeed someone special, someone from a lineage of powerful creatures."

My gaze had fallen but at the sound of my lineage they shot back up, "What am I?" I asked shyly.

"You, dear Serenity, are also a lycanthrope."

I'm a what? "I'm a what?"

"A wolf, so to speak."

A wolf? "A w—wolf?"

"Come," he stood up and reached out for my hand. I left the glass on the end table and followed him to one of the large ornate books resting on a podium. "Do you see this?" I followed his finger to a page that seemed to be like the original bibles scribed by monks.

The page had my family's name written on it with a crest. The shield featured a black wolf in the bottom left corner and a white one in the top right. The other two parts were decorated with a small rose and a crescent moon. Behind the shield was a single silver sword with thorns wrapped around it.

"It's—it's my name," my fingers traced the raised ink.

Darien seemed to become very sincere and calm, though I had not known him to be anything more than calm, "I've had this book for centuries but I never thought I'd come into contact with someone like you."

I turned to face him, our faces now mere inches apart. My mind began racing as I saw how he looked at me. Does he want to drink from me? No, he said he wouldn't. But, he is a vampire, Serena.

"I promised I wouldn't."

"Hmm?" I replied lazily, realizing that I had gotten lost in his eyes.

"I won't bite you, Serena. Do you want me to continue telling you what I know?" I smiled wearily, "As I was saying, you are a part of the lycanthrope, but you are more special than that. You see, there was a battle long ago, many battles in fact, a war. Your family ruled over the lycans as the royal family."

"Royalty?"

"Yes, but something happened. Some of your kind started disagreeing with your family's handling of the situation and there was an uprising." My heart ached at the sound of hurt against a family I never knew, could never have known. "Honestly, from the little we know about the lycans, we thought the royal line was wiped out after that. There have been rumors, because the surname does still exist today, but I felt it when we met that day at the airport."

"You could sense me?"

He chuckled slightly before straightening up, "Uh, there's a smell." I began to feel self-conscious. "No, just a way for one creature to recognize another. You did the same when we first met, did you not realize?" I shook my head and grabbed my left arm with my right hand, "It's probably because you haven't been awakened but I know that you sensed something different about me."

"Why is it that we—well, how come we have this weird connection all of a sudden?"

He gestured for me to follow him to another text, "We have been spending more time together, Serena. Couples that have been married for decades tend to develop a new sense when they get close to one another." Couple? "Oh, I'm sure that only raised more questions and I do apologize for that. This book might be of use then," he opened it to a seemingly random page and placed it in my hands, "This book is older than that of the one I showed you a moment ago. It depicts the history of my kind, the wars we have been involved in and the progress we have made as our own race. It also tells of a prophecy, a symbol of peace to come."

I leaned over the text, intrigued, "What is it?"

"Who; it's a woman," his voice sounded rough. I gazed up at him and took in his features. I knew Darien to be tall, muscular, handsome and charming, but something seemed to falter in that suddenly small voice of his. "She's supposed to be a great beauty, one like our kind has never experienced before; The Silver Diadem."

"Diadem? Like a crown?"

He looked like he might join me back on the couch but continued to hesitate from such an action, "Fit for a Queen. My Queen."

"Yo—your Queen?" my voice was shaking by that point. Is he trying to say that I'm

"Serena, I believe the woman in our prophecy is you," my head started to reel and he finally joined me on the seat, "I wanted to be honest and upfront with you. There is a war brewing between the lycans and the vampires again. Things have been calm for the last three-hundred years but this is inevitable."

"How can I be with you if I am not a vampire? I mean, I'm from whole 'nother world, apparently. Surely I must marry another wolf or something?"

His expression looked crushed, "Do you not realize this Serena? There are lycans trying to find you. They know the royal family somehow survived and they mean to kill you."

"Why would they kill me now? They don't know anything about me!"

"Serena—."

"And wouldn't I just be an asset in this supposed war you think is being cooked up?"

"You are a member of a line they wanted to end. They didn't trust your ancestor's decisions then so why should they now? Having you around would only jeopardize whoever has evaded your kind's hierarchy, not to mention that a princess such as yourself could be kidnapped in such a war for ransom. Eliminating you could only help them at this point."

My heart stilled, he won't drink from me because he needs me to establish a war treaty.

"I most certainly am not."

I was taken aback, "Stop reading my thoughts."

"Stop being so easy to read."

My blood began to boil, "You think you can just pull me in telling this grandeur stories and I'll fall for it, don't you? Gosh, men are so stupid."

"Excuse me? You are speaking to vampire, an elder vampire at that. I am no mere man."

"Fluff the ego all you want, but you just brought me here to win a war."

"Yes, Serena, but not in the way that you—."

I stood up and slapped him across the face, hard, "Do not talk to me again, Professor Rothschild." I managed to get to the door of the library before he appeared in front of me, "Let me go!" I shouted as he grabbed a hold of my arms.

"No."

"I said—let me—," my body began to feel heated and my heart pained. I felt so angry at myself for trusting this man, or vampire, for even a second. How could you let it get to this, I wondered to myself. His grip on my arm tightened for a second before it seemed to loosen though his eyes still showed quite the struggle.

"Serena—," he managed to say during the scuffle. A white light enveloped me before it all went dark.

Darien Rothschild:

I backed up against the door as the bright light began to fade away and as I looked to where she was standing before now a massive silver wolf appeared before me. Her eyes gleamed as she positioned herself to pounce. I lunged backwards to burst through the library doors as Serena leaped over the new distance to bring herself over me, her towering form covering my height as she snarled.