Ok y'all, I'm being nice to you. Here's the next chapter to Ties that Bind. I must say, Alicia blade isn't that nice of a person, she's got 30 chapters written of Grimm and she's withholding from us! She's even giving us chapter monthly, I at least give them somewhat weekly, when I remember to update... Oh well, as always, please update and review while I go off and pout at the lag time in one of my favorite stories.

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Serenity woke up and she wasn't alone in the bed anymore. Serenity prodded the lump next to her and the sheets were pushed away to reveal one of her guards, Rei. "What are you doing here?"

"Sleepin'" Rei mumbled and buried herself deeper into the bed.

"Right, by why are you in my bed?" Serenity asked nudging Rei's shoulder.

"'cause." Rei pushed away Serenity's hand and Serenity rolled her eyes. She looked out of the window and saw that it was still dark.

"When did you get here?"

"'Bout ten minutes ago."

Serenity sighed, they were doing it again, they were making sure one of them stayed the night with her, especially now that she was in a different room, to keep her safe, regardless of the sentry outside the corridor.

"Then you don't mind if I sleep in your bed?" Serenity teased and Rei woke up a bit more.

"Look, I had a bad dream, and I didn't want to be in that big room all alone, ok? That's why I'm here." Serenity frowned in thought, where was Luna?

"All right." Serenity gave up and hugged her friend before slipping back under the covers. "But if Lita or Ami come here tomorrow night and fall asleep on my bed there's going to be hell to pay." Serenity warned in a mock serious tone.

"I really did have a bad dream." Rei mumbled. "It was about Jadeite, and he was killed, by my hand."

"Oh Rei." Serenity wrapped her arms around her friend. "I'm sorry." Rei occasionally had bad dreams and they didn't lead to anything but there were times, most of the time, that the bad dreams came true. Rei was also used to having a room where at least three other sisters slept in it, here Rei was all alone in her room. With Serenity's head on Rei's shoulder both fell asleep again. Rei always felt better when she was in the presence of her princess and it wasn't hard to fall back asleep near Serenity.

When Serenity awoke again it was to see Rei getting ready to pounce on her as the sun broke through her window. "Get up Sere!"

Serenity grabbed her pillow from under her head and swung at Rei and hit her before Rei hit her with hers. "Ugph." Rei groaned as the pillow hit her in the stomach. "That's it, I'm going to get you!" Rei slammed her pillow down onto Serenity. Serenity shrieked and rolled away, when she stood up in search of a defensive weapon her hair was mused and out in every direction. When she reached a pillow and sent it hurtling towards Rei, Rei wasn't fairing much better in the kempt department.

They both collapsed on the bed giggling and Serenity laid there for a moment getting her breath back. "Hey- I remembered last night but I forgot until now, where was Luna last night?"

"She slept with Queen Selene."

"My mother? Why?"

"They were discussing something and instead of Luna coming over here, she just stayed there."

"You seem to know a lot for just having a bad dream." Serenity teased.

"Ok, so maybe it was two sided." Rei admitted then grinned. "I was suppose to come and stay here with you but I ignored them and fell asleep in my bed, and then I had a bad dream. So I came."

Rei regained her breath and rolled off the bed. "I have to go and get ready for the day, some of us still work around here."

"Hey, I am working, I'm trying to get the annoying prince away from here and go home. Did you know he called me brassy yesterday?"

"I guess that's the male way of saying you're a pest." Serenity stuck her tongue out in a very un-lady like manner.

"If I'm a pest, what does that make you?"

Rei shook her head and didn't loose the large smile on her face. "I have to go." Rei hugged her best friend and left. She was giggling still as she walked down the hallway when she ran into the Prince.

"Ah, Rei, we really haven't spoken much during my visit so far." Endymion started.

"I realize this too, Prince Endymion." Rei had lost her smile, he may be attractive but he was still on her territory and she may be in love with one of his generals but he was after her princess, the wrong one but he didn't know that.

"I apologize if you took it the wrong way when last you were on Earth. I needed Jadeite for a special mission, I was not trying to separate the two of you."

"It is all right Prince Endymion." All of the senshi kept formalities with the prince no matter how many times he told them to drop the formalities at least while they weren't in any diplomatic meetings. Only Mina had dropped them in pretence of being Serenity but Mina and Endymion had never met, so she could get away with it.

Rei loved how Mina didn't even change her appearance for this role. She shook her head in amusement. "Look, Prince Endymion, I've got to run, there's a lot I need to do today."

"Does that include brushing your hair?"

Rei put a hand up to her hair and felt the static. She laughed nervously. "Yeah, I was speaking to Serenity earlier, and we got into a pillow fight. She's probably all tidy now but I need to go to my room and get ready."

"Now I'd believe you but…" Endymion took a step and cut off her path. "but her room is behind me and you are coming from a totally different direction. What's up Rei? I've been noticing all these inconsistencies around here, something's not right. As one of my most trusted friend's girlfriends, I need you to be honest with me, I expect nothing less."

"Look Prince Endymion, I don't know what you are talking about and I really need to go about my business." Rei pushed past him and went to her room. Endymion shrugged and went to go find the crown princess Serenity.

Mina was humming to herself when Endymion found her and spun her around. "Hello beautiful." He smiled down at her.

"Hello Endymion." She smiled back up at him. "I was just going into town to find more decorations, would you like to join me?"

"Sure, I'd love to see the locals and see what your towns look like, if the palace is anything to go by."

"I'm having a maid to come with us, if you don't mind." Mina bit her bottom lip.

"That's fine by me."

"Good, because here she comes." Mina waited until Serenity stopped next to them. "This is Usagi."

"Pleasure to meet you, your Highness." She semi-curtsied.

"Nice to meet you too, Usagi." He was staring at her multi-colored hair that reminded him of a clown but it was a lot longer and reached the center of her back. Then he locked eyes with her and two different colors looked back at him. "Are you sure name isn't Rainbow?"

"I'm sure." Usagi couldn't help the smile that blossomed on her features. The action caught his attention.

He tore his eyes away from the unique girl who wasn't even very beautiful and turned back to Mina, who in comparison was gorgeous. "What decorations are we looking for?"

"Oh a few things here and there." Mina stated non-committal.

They walked into town and Endymion and Mina talked the entire time and gave opinions on things they found.

Usagi held up a cardboard turkey, which didn't look very turkey like because it was vague images of their thanksgiving time. They both laughed and had a definite no to her joke of a choice. Usagi shrugged and put it back. When Mina disappeared for a few minutes Endymion was stuck with the semi-dorky looking girl. He made awkward conversation. "So, this city is gorgeous, what are the buildings made out of?"

"Moon Rock, it's a little more durable than concrete and not as heavy to move around."

"Oh." Endymion fell into silence.

"Hey, look, it's ok, I understand, you don't need to make small talk with me. I get it, I'm a servant and you're royalty and you like the princess."

"It's not that." Endymion objected. Usagi raised an eyebrow, even that was multi-colored. "I am friends with all the servants back home. I just don't know you too well yet and everybody here by image alone always puts me through a loop. Only the royalty seem to represent anything remotely related to the people back home."

"Oh." Usagi accidentally knocked something off the table and bent to pick it up. "Oops, clumsy me. She'd been the farthest thing from graceful all day today.

"It's all right." Endymion thought for a moment. "What's your favorite pastime?"

"It's a toughie, the gardens and the horses kind of tie." Usagi shrugged and figured why not. "What is yours?"

"I love the gardens and my horses back home but I guess my favorite pastime is playing soccer."

"What is soccer?" Usagi asked with a small frown.

"You don't know what soccer is?" Endymion was amazed; he was also amazed because Serenity and he never spoke about favorite things that he didn't know she didn't know what sports were either. Or maybe it was just because Usagi was a servant. "It's a sports game we play back home, there's two teams and they have a ball and they try to shoot it into the other player's goal."

"Oh." Usagi tried to visualize it but she just saw two people standing in the middle of an area about five feet long and walking a ball into the other side's goal, whatever that was.

"I see you're not getting it." Endymion sighed in frustration. "Maybe someday you'll play with us."

"That would be lovely." Usagi elbowed a glass vase, this time purely on accident and Endymion caught it before it hit the ground. "Wow, fast reflexes." She was amazed by them.

"Thanks." He mumbled and he didn't understand why this girl's praise of him unsettled him.

"No, I mean it, I've seen some pretty fast reflexes." She was sure though that she could beat him in that department.

"I've always been this fast." He didn't boast his own skills and Serenity mentally frowned but Usagi smiled broadly.

"That's so cool!" She took the vase from him and set it back on the table, she moved towards the exit. "Maybe we should go find the Princess?" She suggested.

Endymion followed her out of the market place to where Mina had headed. Serenity turned around and talked to Endymion as she walked backwards.

"So what's your favorite color?"

"Gold." Endymion didn't expand on his preference but turned it back towards Usagi. "What is yours?"

"I don't have one, as you can tell by my hair, and on that same token I don't have a most hated, that would be horrible, having at least one section of my hair that I absolutely hated and having to live with it." Serenity giggled, and she totally missed the block that was lying forgotten in the middle of the street. She tripped on it and Endymion and his fast reflexes caught her. His hands on her arms to try and steady her but their feet were near each other.

Their breaths caught at the contact. Endymion's hands remained on her arms a little longer than was necessary and his thumbs started brushing up and down on her smooth skin. They got lost in the moment.

"Hello!" A cheery voice rang out and Endymion pulled away completely from Serenity and turned to Mina.

What the heck? Endymion thought as he regained his boundaries. "Ah Serenity." He smiled broadly and brought her hand up to his lips to kiss. "I did not believe I could have missed your presence as much as I did."

Serenity rolled her eyes as Mina beamed and on the outside Usagi looked on innocently, Prince Endymion was such a pretentious flirt. Endymion guided the girl he believed to be Serenity through the rest of the crowd with his hand on the small of her back. Mina sent a glance back at Serenity when she started to lag behind. Serenity put a little more hustle into her step as she carried many of the packages. Endymion was carrying the bulk of them, not letting even a servant girl carry so many things and Mina carried a few herself, not wanting to hear about the whole, just because I' m in disguise thing, and she felt weird not carrying anything.

Endymion managed to maneuver the packages so he could offer Mina his arm and together they walked down the market square and back to the palace. Serenity was inwardly laughing hysterically at the picture and the notion that Endymion really was falling for her cousin but in the end if they were in love then Mina might have her heart broken.

Serenity would pull Mina aside tonight before they both went to bed, and have a conversation with her. But until then, Serenity had to be a mix of thoroughly grossed out and thinking it sweet the notions that Endymion did for Mina.

Later that evening Serenity and Mina were alone in the room where they were starting to set up decorations. They were doing the least seen rooms first then moving to higher traffic areas. The servants cleared out to go to bed a few of the night servants were around and Serenity was talking to them until Mina convinced Endymion to go to bed, she d be retiring soon herself. Endymion aware that he had witnesses kissed Mina on the cheek and bid her a goodnight then said goodnight to whomever else was in the room. After he left most of the remaining servants cleared out as well.

Serenity turned to Xoe, who was on the outskirts trying to be unobtrusive and was dusting random items. Serenity walked over to the servant girl and hugged her. "Hey, Xoe, what's up?"

"I' m just waiting until you are finished your majesty." Xoe replied.

Serenity hugged the girl and shook her head. "Do me a huge favor huh? Go enjoy yourself for an hour or so, please? You do not need to wait around here, we are done putting up decorations for a while at least and nothing will happen if you aren't in the room."

"I guess…" Xoe returned the hug and disappeared into the palace's night.

"What?" Mina asked annoyed with Serenity turned back to her with dedication in her eyes.

"Are you in love with Endymion?"

Mina laughed hysterically. "Good heavens no, he's just good for companionship and I'm only doing this for you." Mina was holding something back but Serenity would have to believe her for now.

"There's something I found out about the prince that I haven't told you yet." Serenity sat down on a settee near the door and patted it so Mina would sit down as well.

Mina plopped down on the sofa with absolutely no grace that would fit a princess but Mina didn't care right now, only Serenity was there. "What?"

"I found a letter the first day he came here. It was from a noble girl that lives either near or on the palace grounds."

"Sere, please get to the point." Mina was trying to stifle a yawn and she was taking her annoyance out on the wrong person, Serenity didn't desire any ill temperament although it was her that got her in this position to start with.

"Anyways, the letter quoted that she was so in love with him and would miss him direly while he was gone and only their secret engagement could contend her while he was away."

"A secret engagement? In hopes that we don't find out it and it ruin any of his plans? Hmm… Sere, I think you were thinking correctly when you developed this scheme, now the question is, how do we get Endymion to fess up?"

"I leave that to your capable hands, dear cousin, I just didn't want to see you hurt."

"Ah, I love you, you know that?"

"No more than I love you." Serenity hugged Mina and stood up. "Now I have a bed that isn't being occupied by any well intended senshi, and I hope it stays that way."

"You won't be seeing me tonight. I'm too tired, I just want to sleep and be dead to the world. However, if you scream bloody murder, I might hear you, I might not."

"Thanks." Serenity stated dryly and with another hug, left her friend and continued her way out.

Lita was at the door when Serenity managed to make it to her room. "Uh-uh, no way, you are going back to your room."

"Never dreamed of not doing so." Lita rolled her eyes. "I just had a quick question for you, do you think Nephrite likes my eye?" Lita's eye changed from it s usual very pretty green color to a muddy brown.

Serenity laughed. "Ok, I get it, now stop making fun of me!"

Lita's eye changed back to its natural color. "I was just having fun. She pouted. "But seriously, why didn't he bring his generals with him?"

"I guess he trusts the moon not to attack him." Serenity smiled mischievously. "Which is true, I guess. Also only you and Rei even know the generals on your many diplomatic meetings to Earth, it doesn't make since to have many generals here, they even might be on their own meetings your planets. I think they'll be here for the party though."

"I was surprised by this party when Mina mentioned it."

"It was Mina's idea, she wanted to use her feminine charm to reel him in then dump him, she's not in love and he'll get over it."

"Just like all the men that had to get over you?"

"Ooh, you're mean." Serenity sulked. "I didn't like them and they had no right to believe they had a chance to be with me."

"Doesn't mean that you didn't let them down hard."

Serenity paused and bowed her head. "I guess you're right." When she looked up again, Lita saw her eye twitching and knew that Serenity was going through a bit of an overload.

"Hey, no, you're right, that was the only way to shake most of them. I'll help you sort out who deserved it and who didn't." Lita tried to sooth Serenity, because otherwise Serenity would be guilt ridden and who knew what Serenity would get into her head, she might even decide to write a personal letter to all of the men and send it to them with more than just apologies. Then a whole new flock of men would come running to meet this sweet princess, no longer dismayed by stories.

"Sure, I'd like that, maybe after Endymion leaves?" Serenity's eyes looked up to her and Lita tried to keep a straight face but the face looking at her was so absurd and she broke out laughing. Serenity crossed her arms with a huff and went inside.

"Be that way!" She slammed the door and the lock was thrown before Lita could stop laughing.

"Oh come on Sere!" Lita banged on the door, but there was no reply. "I wasn't laughing at you, but at your eyebrows and eye colors!"

Serenity cracked open the door and one brown eye narrowed at her in annoyance. "Fine." Then a huge smile lit up her face. "Goodnight Lita." She hugged her friend and then closed the door again.

Later that night, a small object bounded up onto her bed and she felt tiny feet pushing into her leg before the comforting feeling of a black object that blended into the night laid down to sleep. Serenity smiled in her sleep and went back to into a deeper mode.