Title: Beautifully Terrifying

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Sailor Moon

Authors Notes: I am so sorry this is late! First I was on Vacation, then I got food poisoning (oh god that sucked) and then work because crazy. It's been one hell of a month. The next chapter will be out next week, so don't worry. I won't keep you waiting that long again.

Thank you so much to everyone who is reviewing. It means a lot to me. Whenever I lose steam, I go back and read all the things you guys have to say and it always spurs me on. Anyway, enjoy!

And a little bit of surprising news for you out there who now my earlier work. I've starting writing the ending to Dark Deceiver! Once this story is finished, I'm going to finish that one before my next one. That's a promise!

Andrew looked down at her from where he sat on the back of her great black horse. Serenity couldn't help but let a tear fall softly down her cheek as he smiled affectionately at her. Kunzite sat on top of his horse calmly and stoically, ready to go with no fear in his eyes.

"Don't worry," Andrew said softly. "Unless for some reason they're after me, we'll be fine as long as we get to the village before dark."

Serenity nodded. "And you'll be back tomorrow night?"

"If all goes well, we might be. But don't worry if we're not. We might have to stay there to figure this all out."

She reached up and took his hands, not willing to let him go.

"I'm glad he let you out, to see me off," Andrew said softly.

"We should go," Kunzite said interrupting.

Andrew nodded, and reached down to kiss her hand before moving his horse towards the gate.

Serenity looked at Kunzite evenly.

Kunzite gave her a soft smile. "I will protect him for you, you have my word."

She nodded.

The whole village stood nervously, watching Andrew ride quickly into the forest with Kunzite following closely behind him.

There was silence when the hoof beats disappeared.

"What now?" Luna asked.

Serenity turned to look at Artemis who stood a few feet away.

"Unfortunately, all we can do is try and stay alive until we find out what this is all about. I'm hoping that what Endymion did last night will keep those beasts away for at least a couple of nights, but I'm not sure it will."

Serenity looked at the yard in front of the manor where Endymion had saved her. It looked like someone had dug up all the earth and thrown it against the manor. Waves of debris littered the ground, and there was a crater large enough to fit a lake in the middle. She shivered at the idea of one person doing that.

"We can't go back inside until tonight," Luna said. "But there is food left out. We should make sure we keep our strength up in case there is another battle tonight."

Serenity caught a movement in one of the upstairs windows.

She immediately though of his kiss the night before.

Her lips tingled slightly at the memory, and she touched them lightly.

"Serenity?"

She looked at Luna who was watching her with concern.

"I'm alright."

"Come on," Luna said holding out her hand. "We'll get something to eat and then we can talk."

Serenity nodded and took her hand, following her to where the food had been laid out. Already people were eating and Serenity couldn't help but take in everyone's appearance. They had turned into a ragged bunch. Dirt coated them all, and their clothes were ripped and mussed. Most people were quite a bit thinner than they had been, and a couple were starting to look very sick. Most men had blood on their clothes, and held on to their weapons tightly.

They would never be the same after this.

"Luna?" Serenity asked after a moment. "Do you think you could be happy with Artemis, knowing that you might never fully know his past?"

Luna smiled softly. "Your past makes you who you are Serenity, but it shouldn't change someone's opinion of you. Artemis is a good man, and we trust him because he's honest and true. If it turned out that he had committed this crime in the past, it wouldn't be for us to judge him."

They looked at Artemis, who was standing still by the bent remainder of the front gate.

"We already knew he was a warrior of some kind, and it doesn't really surprise me to know he was in fact a leader. I am curious of course, but it would not alter how I feel about him."

Serenity nodded.

"Who are you really asked about?"

Serenity looked at her worriedly. "It's just…….what if you're not sure how to feel about someone, and you think learning about their past might clear things up."

"So you're talking of Endymion then," Luna said nodding. "Did something happen between you?"

"Not exactly."

"What does that mean Serenity?"

She sighed. "He…..I mean we…….kissed."

Luna nodded. "I thought as much."

"You did?" She asked surprised.

Luna smiled. "You keep glancing up at the window nervously, like you're afraid someone else might look up and immediately know your secret. I knew something must have happened. I can't say that I'm happy about it."

"It wasn't……he didn't force me."

Luna nodded. "And now you're confused."

"It's just……growing up, everyone thought that Andrew and I would be together. Sometimes, that thought made me happy, but mostly, I found it strange. He's my best friend, and I love him more than anyone, but I've never really been sure about the whole situation. Still, I assumed everyone was right, and when I grew up a little more, life would make sense."

"And now?"

"I don't know how I feel about Endymion at all. He's cold, and I think in some ways he's cruel. But sometimes, it's like I'm standing in front of nothing more than a man, and he looks like he's so…….lost. And then he kissed me, and I………"

"I know," Luna said softly. "When Artemis first……when I first thought that I might……perhaps have a future with him, I was terrified. What happened last time, I……"

Serenity nodded. "I know."

"To let someone back into our lives like that, I'd have to be sure."

"Luna, Artemis isn't like him."

"I know," she said looking down. "And I'm filled with guilt at the idea that I'm even comparing Artemis to that man. But, I had honestly thought before I married him that he was a good man as well. I thought…….but it doesn't matter. I have no doubts in Artemis."

"It's alright to be afraid," Serenity said. "Artemis will wait as long as you need him to, I'm sure he will."

"I don't know what to tell you about Endymion," Luna said after a moment. "If I were to act as your mother, I would do everything in my power to get you to stay away from him. I think he's unstable, and Artemis says his very nature is cruel. I don't want you around him."

"But then you see glimpses of his other side," Serenity said.

Luna nodded. "He didn't have to help us."

"I still don't know why he did."

"Artemis said he's half human. His father was apparently very well known for taking women as…..hostages. He was born of one of them, and that gives him a human heart."

Serenity nodded in understanding. "But then why is he afraid of the day? And why does he lose control? And what is he fighting against? I don't understand why he can't just decide to not be evil and live normally. There has to be something else happening to him."

"Serenity, you should ask him these questions. As confused as he might be, he obviously cares for you."

Serenity sighed. "I'll have to go back in there tonight."

"You just make sure he keeps his hands to himself."

"I will."

When the darkness fell, Serenity helped everyone move back into the manor. She could see the fear in everyone's eyes as they watched the gate for any movement. It was all too much. The stress of waiting. The stress of wondering. The exhaustion of not sleeping and fighting with no energy. It was all too much.

The three remaining guards had brought down blankets and warmer clothes for everyone, so at least it was comfortable. Artemis stood at the open doors, looking out. They had to be ready if anything showed up.

But nothing outside seemed to move.

"Endymion has set up a ward that should persuade them to stay away for at least a little while," Zoicite said quietly to Artemis as Serenity approached them.

Artemis looked at her and smiled softly. "Is everyone settled?"

She nodded quietly.

"With any luck, we'll be in for a quiet night," Jadeite said. "Food will be out in the morning again as it was today, and you know that at first light…."

"We'll be outside," Artemis said. "I understand the dangers."

"If I may ask you something Artemis?" Nephrite said softly.

Artemis nodded.

"Kunzite……we've been here a long time, and Kunzite has always been a bit of a mystery to us. We're open with each other, and we know where he's from and why he left. But he doesn't usually talk about his people. I just wondered if you know why?"

Artemis glanced at Serenity. "It is most likely because we used to be something, a great society of noble warriors."

"And now you're not?" Jadeite asked.

"I have not been home in a long while," Artemis said almost sadly. "I don't know what we've become."

The three guards nodded together.

"If he was a leader, he would have taken the fall very hard."

"How did he come to be with you?" Serenity asked.

Nephrite smiled at her. "Honestly, we have no idea. Kunzite was here before us, living in this big house with Endymion. As far as we could tell, they were friends. Kunzite has always been the only one to stand up to him when he's angry. Out of all of us, you'd think he would be more cautious, but he's not. It put us at ease until we knew Endymion ourselves."

"He's a strange guy," Jadeite said laughing.

"That's an understatement," Nephrite said rolling his eyes. "I've never met anyone with more demons in my entire life."

"And broody as hell. That guy can mope for a straight week."

The two men laughed.

Serenity couldn't help but smile. "And why do you owe him a debt?"

"We were arguing awhile back," Zoicite said. "Endymion wasn't really involved, but we were angry because he wouldn't take a side. The four of us just needed him to step up and make a decision and we couldn't get past it. We were angry and stupid enough to go into the nearest city, a ten day journey away. There we were attacked by the locals who believed we were enemies."

"All of us are good warriors," Jadeite said, "but we were caught off guard and unable to fight off so many people at once. We would have all been killed."

"It's the first, and really only time I've ever seen Endymion anywhere but in the manor," Nephrite said. "He appeared from the night itself, and saved us."

"Scared the very souls out of that whole city," Jadeite said. "All he really had to do was be himself and they all went running as if the devil himself was behind them. It's the only time we've ever seen him take on his darkest form, until last night when he came to save you Serenity."

Serenity felt her heart flutter in her chest and her cheeks grow warm.

"We would have been killed for sure," Zoicite said. "He never asked for a payment, but we agreed to stay here and protect him until he was strong enough to re-enter the world. We finally had a common goal, to be here for him."

Serenity nodded. "And you're all from somewhere different?"

"Nephrite comes from the north. His people live in the woods and worship horses. He was banished for reasons he's never admitted to anyone, but he tried to go back for years before giving up and ending up here," Jadeite said.

"Jadeite and I are from another place entirely, and we were part of a group that was sentences to death for the deaths of……well, we got away," Zoicite said. "And we also ended up here. Endymion took us all in. Why, we could never guess as he has never opened those gates to anyone else, until you."

A soft howling drifted up to them from the forest.

Everyone froze.

Serenity grabbed Artemis's hand tightly. Her breath came out unsteady.

"It was far away," Artemis said softly.

The words did little to ease them.

"Serenity, I will take you upstairs," Nephrite said. "Endymion doesn't like to wait."

Artemis brushed her hair gently from her face.

"I know, if I feel him changing, run," she said for him.

He smiled kindly at her and she felt like she was looking at the Artemis she had known growing up for a moment. It helped ease her fear a little and she smiled back at him.

She turned to follow Nephrite up the stairs and away from the village, giving Luna a smile as she passed. She could see the lines of worry and exhaustion on her face and it pained her that Luna was once again in a situation where so much was at stake, but she couldn't let her know that she was afraid. She walked confidently, trying to let the whole village know that she didn't think she was going into danger.

The baby Ryan started crying softly, and she forced herself not to go to him and his injured father.

Nephrite lead her back to a room she had been before, where Endymion was standing by the fire, gazing into it with steady blue eyes.

"Have a good night," Nephrite said closing the door behind her.

The room was warm and Serenity knew it meant that in this moment, Endymion was calm. But he didn't move to acknowledge her. He stood there, staring into the fire as if in some sort of trance.

She thought she should say something, but she wasn't sure.

She felt nervous. Last night he had kissed her, threatened her, and then left her alone in that room. She didn't know what to say to him, or how to act around him. She didn't know what he might be thinking, or feeling about her. He might be in another frame of mind all together.

"You've had little to no sleep in days," he said softly.

Serenity stayed silent. She had no idea how to respond.

"If you wish to sleep tonight, you may return to your people."

He kept his eyes away from her, hidden from her questioning gaze.

"You're saying that you don't want me here?" She asked softly.

"I'm almost positive that's not what I said," Endymion said finally looking at her. "I said, if you're tired, I will not take offense to you sleeping with your people tonight. I have put up precautions, so I know for the moment it's safe."

She didn't know how to respond. She just looked at him.

"Do…..do you not sleep?" She finally stuttered.

For a moment he didn't react.

And then he grinned, that amused grin he had shown her before. "During the day."

Serenity nodded.

"Any other questions?"

"You kissed me," she said.

He nodded. "That wasn't really a question," he said taking a few steps towards her until he was standing in front of her.

"Are you going to again?" She whispered. Her heart started speeding up in her chest at his close proximity. She could feel him all around her.

"Would you like me to?" He said brushing the hair away from her face and caressing her cheek slightly.

Her heart sped up in her chest as his presence wrapped around her.

"I don't know," she whispered raggedly.

He leaned down so he was inches away from her. She could feel his breath on her lips and the tingling sensation it created sent her mind spiraling away from reality. She could only focus on the clouded darkness of his eyes, and the closeness of his lips. His hand moved up her back softly, but he didn't kiss her.

He was waiting.

Serenity realized that he wouldn't force her.

She put her hands on his chest, running them up until she could grab his collar, and pull him gently down to her.

She felt him smile into the kiss as their lips touched. His arms wound tightly around her as she tangled her hand in his hair. Heat radiated off of him as he deepened the kiss, completely taking over her senses.

Before she knew it she was completely absorbed in kissing him. She let him take control, kissing her passionately and tasting her as he touched her. Desire started to swirl within her, and she pressed herself against him, desperately trying to get closer to him.

He moaned, stepping forward to push her against the door she had entered through and kissing her roughly.

Serenity felt his desire coarse about her in waves of heat.

She wanted to touch him, to feel his skin.

She waned to get closer to him.

"Endymion," she moaned breathlessly.

He pulled away, ever so slightly, still pressing her against the door and holding her to him intimately. His breathing was ragged and his eyes were clouded with lust as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered raggedly. "I'm not good at controlling myself."

She shook her head, still unable to clear the haze from her mind. She clung to him as he pulled away a little father, not allowing him to leave.

"I shouldn't put you in this position," he said softly. "It's not fair."

"That's my decision," she said.

He held her in his arms tightly, and she could see the pain in his eyes again as the world slowly seeped back into reality.

"Endymion," she pleaded breathlessly.

He rested his forehead against hers softly, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. "Nobody says my names like you do," he whispered. "Like I'm the only thing you're thinking of in this moment. Like you want me."

She couldn't answer him as his brow furrowed and he breathed out raggedly.

"When I saw you at the gate, that first night, you seemed so perfectly innocent. So pure and bright, like the sun trapped in a cloud of night. I couldn't help but try to see you closer, to see if you were a figment of my imagination. And when you spoke to me, you voice was smooth, like slow running water. I couldn't deny you whatever you asked."

She caressed his cheek lightly, making him look at her again.

"I don't know what to do," he said brokenly.

Serenity nodded her understanding. "Everyone tells me to fear you," she said softly. "Everyone says you're dangerous and that you might hurt us if we get to close to you. But then I stand in front of you, and I get these little glimpses of who you are under all this darkness, and I'm not afraid of it."

He breathed slowly. For a moment she could see him struggling with himself.

Slowly, he spoke. "When I was born, my father took me to live with our people. I was his only son, and despite my mother, I was raised like him, like I was pure. I did horrible things. The whole race did horrible things. I didn't know any better at first. My father convinced me that I was this…..monster. He said that I was meant to be the greatest one of them all because my emotions were stronger. I could delight in what we did."

"But you didn't," she said softly.

He shook his head slightly. "The older I got, the more my mother came out in me. I started to get sick at the memory of the things I did. I started to look into the eyes of the people I killed, and feel their life leave them. It haunted me, but I tried to hide it. I didn't want to disappoint him.

But it became to much for me," he shook slightly with the effort, and held her tightly to him as his emotions raced around them. She could feel his hurt and anger. "I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't kill like that. When I told him, he was so angry. He banished me, calling me a disgrace."

Serenity watched his struggle, wishing she could do something to help him.

"He ridiculed me in front of our people, proving to them that the human race weakened us all, using me as his example. He said I was too weak, too dangerous to let loose. He was going to kill me. But then he thought it would be better to let me stay alive, to live with my guilt and suffer for as much time as possible. He had the priest curse me. I don't have control over my powers. They're ruled by my emotions. If I get angry, or frustrated, or ever depressed, they take me over. The daylight weakens me even more. If the sunlight touches me, I truly become this monster that I can't………." He shook with the effort of controlling his emotions. "It's true that I am dangerous, and you should be afraid of me. I've spent years just trying to be calm enough to control myself at night. It could take my whole life to learn to control the darkness again."

Serenity listened to him tell his story slowly, struggling to hold his emotions in while he was doing it. She wondered what might happen if he were to let himself be upset, let himself cry. Would his powers overtake him?

"What about when you're happy?" She asked softly.

He looked at her, a furrow in his brow and his eyes confused. "I don't understand?"

"When you're happy, can you control the darkness?"

"I……..It's not……" He looked at a loss, considering the question over and over in his mind without really knowing the answer. Finally, looking away from her again, he whispered. "I've never been happy. I don't know."

She felt her heart break for him in that moment.

"With you here, I feel calmer," he said after a moment. "I know it sound strange, especially because you infuriate me so much. But when the day comes, and I think of you, I'm calmer. I don't know why."

Serenity nodded. "You want me to stay, but you also hope I'll leave."

"I'm not good with confusion," he admitted. "I don't like not knowing the answers."

"Me neither," she smiled softly. "Luna said that she could love Artemis even if he didn't tell her his past. I'm not sure I could. There are some details that don't matter, but there are some that do."

"Kunzite was there when Artemis was banished. When I first met him, he was almost broken. I could feel the ache within him, and it matched my own. We had both been miss-treated by those we had given our lives too. Kunzite said that Artemis was their hero. He was a legend that they all looked up to, perfect and loyal. Every warrior would have given anything just to fight beside him. There was a great scandal within the palace and someone was killed. Their Queen had only two choices. Let the details of the scandal out into the open, or put the blame on the only other man who knew the truth."

"Artemis," Serenity whispered.

"When he was banished, Kunzite said the spirit of his people broke. Their hero, the man they all looked up to, had been betrayed. The fact that he simply walked away without fighting proved his loyalty even more, and they rallied to save him. He tried to stop the uprising, getting injured in the process, and Kunzite said the people stopped simply because he asked them to. And then he was gone."

Serenity couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes at the story. The man she had looked up to as a father. He had been hurt deeper than most could be hurt. She could hardly believe how he could keep a semblance of himself amidst such a betrayal. How had he simply moved on?

"Kunzite lost faith and left."

"He suffered like you," Serenity said.

Endymion nodded.

"And the others."

"They all have stories that are similar. Banishment and betrayal. I could relate to them, like I couldn't relate to the rest of the world. They could understand why I kept myself to myself, and they helped me find a hold on reality. I wouldn't have made it this far without them."

"I understand why you can't help us now," she said. "But if you could, would you?"

She could see in his eyes that he wasn't sure how to answer her. She gently brushed his black hair off his face, letting the silky strands slide through her fingers.

"Artemis I respect," he said honestly, "and you I……I…have……I care for," he finally said. "But the others, I don't care about."

She nodded.

"But if you asked me to, I would," he said.

She couldn't help but smile softly. "What do we do now?"

"Wait," he said seriously. "I know it is not much of an answer, but you have to wait for Kunzite to return with…..your friend."

"His name is Andrew," she said pointedly. "He's my best friend. I grew up with him."

"And you care for him?"

"Yes, I do," she saw the hurt in his eyes. "He's like my brother."

"I don't like him."

Serenity laughed. "You don't know him."

"He's close to you."

"Not right now. You've sent him away."

"He's safe with Kunzite."

"He better be," Serenity said looking at him evenly.

He matched her gaze, and then smirked. "Or else what?" He said.

Serenity pushed way from him slightly. "Or else I'll take away something you so obviously desire."

"So obviously?" He said amused.

Serenity crossed her arms. "Yes, obviously."

"Are you denying my advances?"

"Are you advancing?"

He laughed. "Alright, I understand and I accept your terms?"

"What?" Serenity asked confused.

"If I am wrong, and Kunzite isn't strong enough to protect him, then I will watch you walk away from me. But if he returns, safe and alive, you'll stay only his friend, and come back here to see me."

"Come back?"

"When this is over, and you're living in your village again. You have to come back and see me."

Despite herself, she smiled, trying to glare at him. "Fine."

His whole face seemed suddenly calmer and his eyes were clear and blue.

"So what now?" She asked, still held tightly in his embrace.

"Now you get some sleep."

She looked at him confused. "Yesterday you said you'd keep me here against my will if I fought you, and now you're telling me to go back."

"I told you I'd keep you safe against your will," he corrected her, "and I hold to that. Tonight it is safe. I can feel the shaitan, and they are holding far enough a way to be obviously affected by my precautions. You will be safe with your people."

She nodded, but didn't move to leave him.

"Do you not wish to see them?"

"When this is over, I will see them every day, like I did before."

He nodded.

"But you I won't."

He smiled slowly, and nodded again.

Serenity wanted to wipe the grin off his face. "Now don't go thinking you've won me over or something," she said. "I'm not so easily persuaded."

The look he gave her was smoldering. "Is that right."

She felt her heart flutter. "Yes, that's right," she whispered. She felt him wrap his presence around her, and immediately she felt light headed and flustered at the same time. She could see by the grin in his eyes that he was doing it on purpose. By the time he leaned down to kiss her, she could hardly remember why she had wanted to resist in the first place.

End of chapter TEN!!!!!!

More of an information chapter I know, but some of you will be thrilled to have couple questions answered. Next chapter coming soon!

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