Story: A Past Not Forgotten
Chapter: Nine
Anime: Sailor Moon
Pairing: Serenity/Endymion
Rated: Teen
Author's Notes: Hello! Welcome to Chapter Nine! I want to remind everyone that this is the next to last chapter. The epilogue will follow.
Serena's hand froze in midair. Her eyes went back and forth between the necklace and Endymion's face. His eyes were focused intently on hers, making her panic on the inside.
"Why do you keep saying such ludicrous nonsense? How many times do I have to tell you people that I am not Serenity?" Serena glared at the king. "She's dead. She has been for five years. Accept it. Stop trying to say that I'm some dead woman. You and that stupid woman keeping trying to pound the same lies into my head over and over again when I am telling you that I'm not the woman you are accusing me of being. I would know if I was her and I know I'm not. What won't you believe me?"
"What 'stupid woman'?" Amy asked, looking at Serena in confusion. "Are you talking about me?"
"No, not you, Doctor, but you should be included. No, this woman, uh, Queen Serenity. She claims to be your mother-in-law," Serena said, looking at Endymion this time. The king's midnight blue eyes widened in surprise at the mention of the former moon queen.
"My mother-in-law?" He repeated, astonished. He looked over at the others, his eyebrows knit together. "We haven't heard from her since Serenity…"
"What did she say?" It was Raye this time.
"Oh, um, she was basically saying the same… t-things you guys are," Serena said, stuttering.
"She believes that you're her daughter, then?" Lita asked.
Serena shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me what any of you believe, considering I know who I am."
"Who are you, then? Since you seem to be the only one here with all the answers because the rest of us are just clueless," Endymion snapped. Serena looked back at him, noticing that his eyes had gone darker. She glanced down at his left hand where he was clenching her necklace in a tight fist.
"Um, can I have that back now?" she asked, reaching for it again.
Endymion stood, shoving the necklace into his pocket. "No. Why should I give you this necklace when it rightfully belongs to my wife, the person I believe you are, but you keep denying?" Endymion looked at his generals, ignoring Serena now. "I want you four to contact the Moon Palace for me. I would like to speak to the queen. Go."
The generals had been standing behind the respective wives when the king gave them the orders. They nodded shortly, and proceeded to exit the throne room.
Endymion turned to the Scouts, addressing the leader under Serenity. "Mina, I want you and the Scouts to escort Serena back to the servant's quarters to collect her things. She'll be moving into the room next to mine until she has the baby. Also, I want a guard around her at all times, and tell Mother Robin to keep a close eye on her. Amy, her health is top priority in this palace now. She'll need a weekly check up. Raye, stay in constant contact with the fire to make sure everything will run smoothly, and Lita, I know you'll speak with Amy about the proper food for a pregnant woman. Got it?'
"Yes, your highness," the girls said in unison, beginning to follow the path of the generals. Mina bent down next to Serena, lifting her up by her elbow gently. The blonde Scout and the silver-haired maid followed the others quickly, leaving Endymion alone.
Once they were out of the room, Endymion sat back on his golden throne. He sighed, rubbing his temples. The king pulled out the silver necklace and held it in front of his face. "I don't understand why she won't listen to me. Why can't she see what I do?" He shook his head, shoving the necklace back into place.
--
Holly entered her dormitory, seeing her roommate packing her things into large trash bags. She sighed quietly, and moved next to Serena to help.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey."
"So… uh, you're leaving, huh?"
"Yeah. The king wants me to move into the room next to his until the baby comes."
Holly gathered some of Serena's knickknacks. "The rumors are true, then? It's his baby."
"That's what I've been told, but I think it's a bunch of bull."
"You did sleep with him, though."
Serena sighed. "Only once, but I was pregnant then, remember?"
"I know."
Holly folded Serena's maid uniform and placed it into the bag. "What about being a maid? Are you still doing that?"
Serena shrugged. "I don't know. I think. He never said anything 'bout that."
The girls went silent after that. Holly folded up some more of Serena's clothes while she gathered her toiletries. The pregnant young lady came back out of the bathroom, and threw her things into the bag.
"Um, Serena, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"There's been talk that there's more things going on with you then just this pregnancy, like that involve you with the king and the late queen. Is that true?"
Serena groaned. "It's impossible to keep anything quiet in such a huge place."
"Are you keeping something from me? I thought we were friends," Holly said, whispering.
"No, no, Holly, that's not it," Serena said, sitting on her bed. "Look, I'm not trying to keep anything from you because we're friends. Besides, the things that are going on, I don't agree with."
"What is it, then? What don't you agree with?"
"Endymion, the Scouts, and his mother-in-law are all trying to say that I'm the late queen's reincarnation, but I'm not. I know I'm not. She died, didn't she, and I'm not dead."
"Uh, Serena, that's kind'a what a reincarnation is. You get reborn."
"Yes, I know, but that doesn't matter. I know I'm not the late queen. How could I be?"
Holly coughed lightly. "Well, you do look a lot like her. The only difference is the hair length, but didn't you tell me once that you cut it?"
"Yeah, it was too long and it was in the way. What's your point?"
"My point is that I can see where they're coming from. Heck, Rena, I'm sure the whole palace has thought that, but they were all too scared to admit it. You look exactly like Neo-Queen Serenity, you sound like her, and you have her childhood name."
"Serena's not my name. I only took a liking to it." That one made Holly twist to look at her more closely.
"What?"
Serena shrugged. "I don't know what my real name is. It's no big deal."
"'It's no big deal?'" Holly drawled out. "Serena, how is not knowing what your real name is not a big deal, especially when it could be Serenity."
"Because it's not, Holly. I just don't remember anything before a year ago. It could be everyday amnesia not because I was reborn."
Holly walked over to the other side of the room, placing her hands on her hips. She raised her hand slowly to her face, rubbing her eyes. She sighed loudly after letting her hand drop back to her side, and turned to look at Serena again.
"You don't remember who you are," Holly stated simply. "Yet you continue to tell everyone you do because you don't believe you are who they are comparing you with."
"Because I know I'm not her."
"Oh, Serena, are you listening to yourself?" Holly groaned loudly, throwing her arms up in the air. "How can you be so dense? It's completely obvious that you are Serenity. Everyone – even the king – knows that, but you don't want to at least look at the facts closely enough to see that the pieces are fitting together. The physical comparisons are your looks and your voice and your movements. Have you ever noticed how graceful and elegant you walk and hold yourself? I mean, what maid can do that? Then, there are the other things, like not knowing your name or what happened a year ago. Do you remember your first day of training here?"
"Yeah."
"Did you ever notice how I never had to tell you where anything was? You knew your way around here like you lived here before. How else could you explain that?"
"Lucky guess?" Holly rolled her eyes.
"Honestly, Serena, stop being stubborn, and truly look at everything, especially the most obvious fact: you are pregnant with his child even though you only slept with him after you got pregnant. How could it be his?"
Serena sighed. "Holly, I… I don't know what to say. Being accused of being someone so… so important is a big thing. Do you really think it's that easy for me to just absorb all this in and accept it? This whole year I've been trying to find who I really am. Up till now, I thought I was finally – gosh, finally – solving the mysteries, but then this happens and it literally puts me back to square one in my head. Who am I, Holly: Serenity or Serena?"
Holly sighed, and moved back over to Serena to sit down next to her. She placed her hand on Serena's shoulder. "What does your heart tell you, Serena? Who do you truly, truly believe you are? I know somewhere inside you there's the answer to all your questions, and I think everyone could be patient enough for you to find it."
A smile curved the corners of Serena's lips slightly. "I guess you're right, Holly. Maybe I am being too stubborn about all of this. I haven't really given the idea much thought."
"Yeah. Maybe when you do accept who you believe you are, it'll open up the memories for you."
Serena laughed. It sounded merrier than before. "Maybe." She rose from the bed, taking her things to the door. Opening it up, she saw the Scouts waiting for her. They took her bags, and waited silently for Serena to say goodbye to her friend. She turned to Holly, quickly engulfing her into a hug. "Thank you… for everything."
"You're welcome, Rena. Don't forget to visit," Holly said, small tears forming in her eyes.
"I won't," Serena whispered in her ear. "And I'll give this Serenity thing some more thought."
Holly pulled back, smiling. "Good. See you around."
"Round and huge most likely." They laughed together once more before the Scouts started leading Serena away.
--
Two months passed by slowly for Serena. She was in her fourth month of pregnancy, and she was supporting a growing baby bump. Being in the room next to Endymion's quarters wasn't as horrifying as Serena had once thought when she stayed there the first night. He was tending to her with loving care, like a husband would to his pregnant wife.
Almost every thought Serena had had been either about her child or her identity. She was still unsure of whom she could possibly be, but the idea of her being Serenity was starting to nestle itself nicely in her mind. After she had settled in comfortably in her new room, she had time to really consider the idea of being the reincarnation of the late queen. She knew all the pieces fit together perfectly, but now she was struggling on a new thought. How could she be queen now if she was?
Endymion never brought up the argument anymore, but Serena was told it was only because of her pregnancy. He was trying to leave her stress free, but not arguing about it was making it worse. Serena wanted to tell him that her thoughts had changed even though she hadn't completely accepted that she was in fact Serenity, but every time she tried her words would get caught in her throat, preventing her from speaking.
Serena took Holly's words into consideration. She believed that if she kept an open mind about her identity that her memories would eventually reveal themselves and give her the answers. That was where her current state of mind was, but Serena wanted to enjoy the pregnancy with a carefree attitude. Her memories would come back in time, but she had a feeling that she might already know what they contained, making Endymion's face flash around in her head on a daily basis.
Well, that's that. I hope you enjoyed where I took it, and I'll see everyone in the epilogue.
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MoonlightMaiden14
