Title: Legends of Love

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Sailor Moon

Authors Notes: Just one comment I'd wish to address. 'What is the Kings name?'. I chose not to give him a name because he really doesn't seem to fit anyone in the Sailor Moon world. I don't usually like making poeple up if they're not already in that world, and this character was just to cruel to be one of the Sailor Moon enemies. So I didn't give him a name specifically so that he can embody what everyone things of evil/bad. He is the man you know you hate. He doesn't need more than a one sided idenity to portray the harsh almost unreachable lengths of a man who has no soul. So with that in mind, I simply called him 'The King'. I didn't feel we needed to sympathize with him enough to call him by name.

That's all! Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy this one as well. If anyone else wants something clarified just let me know! I'm happy to explain my thought process.

Oh, and I'm really sorry this took so long to come out. I've been on vacation for the past two weeks. Hope the new chapter makes up for it!


Two weeks went by; Serenity spent every day in the kingdom, looking for children and trying to help. Raye had found wonderful large buildings perfect for what they needed and Serenity had hired five women and two men for each building. The amount of money she had received to make it happen was staggering. She had personally traveled to every person who had contributed to thank them. It had taken days, but she was determined to do it.

And now, with the four buildings already filling up, she was looking for lost or abandoned children that needed the most help.

News of her had obviously spread throughout the kingdom. Every time she journeyed down a new street, the children had come right to her without thinking. They had smiled their dirty and hopeful smiles, and looked up at her with sunken eyes and she nearly wept every time she saw them.

"How many more?" Serenity asked as she helped another little girl into the beautiful bleached white building that had been cleaned and fixed specifically for this.

"She is number thirty seven," Amy said smiling.

"That leaves fourteen more here and another fifty in the last building."

"Lita just came back from visiting the others. She says that already the children are looking healthier. Flushed cheeks and energetic smiles. Some of them however were much sicker then we originally thought. We're going to have to put some more money into medicine."

"We have more than enough money to go around," Serenity said. "Get whatever you think we need. This first stretch is going to be the most expensive and then after that will just be the maintenance and wages. We'll give each one a budget a year and they will be able to do with it as they think best."

Amy nodded. "The treasury has already been signed off to pay half of what we will need. The rest will have to be through donation."

"Good. We'll save the extra we have left to pay for next year, so we don't have to ask for more. Then, after two years, we'll ask the people to help their poor. They seemed willing and eager to do it this time."

"I think they were more willing and eager to help you than anything."

Serenity looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Amy said shrugging. "Raye is waiting for us in the market courtyard. She says there's another stretch of bad road to the west and was told a family of children have made it their home."

They started walking together through the clean and bright streets of the market. It wasn't far, but Serenity took her time. She had thrown herself into this project during the past few weeks. Every moment spent away from her husband was a moment spent away from fear.

The nights were harder. After he had caught her trying to get to her room, she realized that she couldn't move through the palace anymore. She found ways of getting where she needed to be without crossing his path. One of the palace guards had approached her, nervously telling her he wished to help. She was thankful for him. He knew more about the palace than even the King did. He had taken her through the walls as if he had been brought up in them.

She snuck out every morning and snuck in every night. He had stopped trying to break down the door almost a week ago, but she was still afraid he would jump out at any moment when she thought she was safe.

The rumors were everywhere. The Queen was defying her King and the King was angry. She shuddered at the thought. Most people seemed to be without judgment when she talked to them, so she wasn't worried about being in the open. But she was sure that some would be loyal to their king. She was from a foreign country after all.

"Have you seen him?" Amy asked quietly as they approached Raye.

Serenity shook her head.

"You know if you wanted to get a message to him….." Raye started.

"I don't," she said seriously.

Both of them looked at her with the same worry mirrored in their faces.

"I don't understand why….." Amy started.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said almost angrily.

Raye put her hands on her hips. "Now don't take this the wrong way Serenity, but would you give it a rest. If I had to have the stubborn angry Serenity we have now, I would take it over the depressed and numb Serenity any day, but this is ridiculous. You spent two weeks seeing this guy every night and now you won't even talk about him."

"I said, I don't want to talk about it."

"It doesn't make any sense. What unspeakable thing did he do to make you angry? Did he try to rape you? Did it turn out he was only interested in getting money or power? What?"

"Raye, let it go," Amy whispered, but Raye didn't listen.

"He is the only reason you're lucid again. I am positive that, had you never met him, you would still be that mopey sick little girl who didn't have an emotion left in her body. He healed you. I thought you liked him."

"Is that what you think?!" Serenity nearly yelled at her friend. "Well let me tell you how twisted my mind really is Raye and let's see if you still want to be around me. It turns out I'm so attracted to him that when I heard he was with a woman, it hurt so bad that I cried."

Both girls looked at her in complete silence.

"Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Raye opened her mouth to answer, but she had nothing to say.

"He was with a woman?" Amy asked in a whisper.

Serenity sighed, letting her anger suddenly die. "It doesn't matter. He told me what he was like from the start. I have no reason to be angry with him."

"But you thought that maybe he would….."

"No," Serenity said immediately. "I didn't think anything. He was helping me, that's all. It was my own fault for becoming attached. I just….." she lost steam in her speech. "He treated me like……he liked me. I used to believe that love existed and I was caught up in the idea that it might still be out there. But I was wrong and I was disappointed."

"But….."

"No buts Raye. I'm not going to put myself in that position. I couldn't stand it."

"So you're in love with him?" Amy asked.

"No, I didn't say that. I said I liked him and it hurt when……" Serenity had no idea how to explain herself. "I just don't think I can handle getting hurt right now. I'm trying my hardest to get through this and dealing with the King is hard enough. I don't think I could handle it if something went wrong with Darien."

Raye didn't look convinced, but Amy nodded in understanding.

"Let's go," Serenity said softly. "Our work is far from over."


Serenity lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was late, she knew that, but she couldn't find a way to fall asleep. She hadn't seen the King at all today. He had been called away to meetings with some foreign kingdom and hadn't said a word to anyone about coming back. She felt oddly safe, knowing he wasn't in the palace.

To think that she would have one day lived in fear of her own husband. The thought was almost comical.

A noise startled her.

Serenity sat up immediately staring towards the open doors leading to the balcony. She had left them open because the night was warm and she had wanted to feel the fresh light air coming from the garden.

But now she regretted that decision and the decision to send Molly away for the night.

Her heart beat madly in her chest as she peered outside.

Nothing seemed to move.

Ever so slowly, with shaking hands, Serenity crawled out of bed and towards the open doors. Her bare feet padded on the cold marble of the floor until she reached them.

The balcony looked deserted.

She sighed. It had probably just been a bird or something, landing on the ivy and rustling around. There was no reason to assume that someone knew about the secret stairs leading up from the garden. The King obviously didn't know and Raye had only found out through one of the guards she knew since childhood.

Serenity moved to the edge of the balcony, leaning out to look over the garden bathed in moonlight. She smiled, feeling peaceful again.

"I have this awful feeling I'm going to startle you again."

Serenity screeched as she tripped backwards, landing hard on the ground.

Darien stepped out of the shadows of one of the pillars.

"How dare you," Serenity clutched at her chest, trying to slow the frantic beating. "I nearly had a heart attack."

"There really wasn't any way I could approach you without startling you."

"Maybe you should try not approaching at all."

He grinned. "And just watch you from the shadows. That's a little creepy, don't you think?" He offered her a hand to help her up, but she refused it, standing up on her own and immediately stepping away from him.

She felt instantly nervous in his presence.

Darien took his hand back, hurt flashing across his features.

Guilt washed over her.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"What?" She asked confused.

"You haven't come to see me in two weeks. I was worried you were……." He obviously didn't want to say that she was hurt. It could only mean that her husband had done it. "I heard about everything you've been doing in the Kingdom, but I have a hard time getting away from the horses during the day. I couldn't come see you."

"I'm fine," she said stiffly.

He peered at her. "Then why have you stayed away?"

"I……" What was she supposed to say? She was jealous he was with a woman? She decided that she was getting to close to him? None of it sounded right. She was being selfish and scared, and it had nothing to do with him at all. "I thought it would be better for both of us to spend some time apart."

"Why?"

"You could get hurt you know, helping me, especially now."

He grinned again. "You mean now that you're refusing to let you husband touch you?"

Her eyes went wide.

"Everyone knows Serenity. The whole Kingdom."

"Oh," she whispered. "It doesn't always work. He gets through sometimes."

His grin faded.

"I'm alright Darien. You've found that out, perhaps you should go."

He let out a frustrated breath. "What exactly have I done to make you decide that you didn't want to talk to me anymore? I've asked Mina a hundred times and I still can't figure it out. One minute you were happy, talking to me like I was your friend and then the next you don't want to see me."

She shook with nerves. She couldn't tell him the truth.

"Serenity, what did I do?"

"I went to the stables," she blurted out, "the night after I saw you last."

He looked confused. "You did?"

"I gave the rose to Edward and asked him to find you."

Darien shook his head. "He never did."

"Yes he did," she whispered. "You were……busy. He said he wasn't supposed to bother you when you had…….when you are busy."

For a moment he didn't understand and then Serenity saw it dawn on him. She saw enlightenment filter into his gaze. "Oh," he said almost stupidly. "And Edward told you that….."

Serenity nodded.

"But…….you already know that about me." He looked confused.

Serenity nodded, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

"I don't understand why you would have….."

"It wasn't supposed to hurt," she whispered as a tear finally escaped down her face.

Her words completely silenced him. He stood there, looking at her. His blue eyes troubled and confused. There was no response to that and she knew he knew it. She had just told him her secret and it was his turn to do something with it.

She was terrified.

The silence dragged on for what seemed like minutes.

His blue eyes held her own firmly and she could see a storm brewing somewhere behind them. In that moment, he looked almost lost and unsure. She had never seen him unsure of himself before.

"I should go," he finally said in a whisper.

Serenity felt her heart break into a million pieces.

It was crazy. She had really only known him for those two weeks. It wasn't long enough to form any sort of real attachment. And yet his rejection hurt more than anything else ever had. It hurt more than anything her husband had ever done to her.

She nodded, forcing herself to stay appearing calm. "Maybe you should."

He hesitated for a long moment, still looking at her.

"Just go," she whispered.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. The moment seemed to stretch on forever.

And then he turned and walked back into the shadows, disappearing.

She listened to his decent of the secret stairs. His boots hit the gravel below as lightly as possible, but there was still a crunch. She listened until he was completely gone before she allowed herself to cry.

She hardly made any sound as the tears raced down her face. This was the second time she had cried for him.


End of chapter Six! Reviews please! I promise, if enough people review, the next chapter will be out in a couple of days!