A/N: This might sound weird but I totally forgot yesterday (yes, because it is 12.36 am right now, ups!) was friday and if it wasn't for princesa de la luna I would have keep thinking that today was friday and not saturday...my mind has been elsewhere lately, sucks, but oh well, a day isn't much a difference so here it goes a very juicy chapter...and when I say juicy I really mean it because it is a little longer than usual. I hope you like it. Enjoy.

Divinity: A question of Honor

Chapter twenty six

The warmth of the sun started to feel with more intensity, summer was close to arrive on earth which meant another year was passing by very quickly. If there was something that didn't stop was time and for some it was something that it was just supposed to happen, a new beginning while to others it was only a way to heal deep wounds.

The Golden Kingdom was finally at peace; the terran queen's past finally seemed to be guarded and forgotten, as she would say "Everyday is a new beginning for some and a new opportunity for others" and in some way she was right, but she didn't know something greater was about to happen very soon.

In a large room near one of the gardens known as the pebbled room, was Leonidas teaching the prince some of his basic lessons in sword fighting.

"You need to be aware of your opponent, now lower your weapon and turn to the other side" the general said out loud.

Endymion turned and fell, his hand unwillingly let go of the wooden sword he was holding "Uhg!" crouching, he sighed in frustration.

Leonidas chuckled and walked closer to him "Are you alright?"

Endymion raised his head and frowned "Yes…it's just that I cannot do what you are asking me to do"

"You need to be well aware of your surroundings, listen and concentrate…Obelix's lessons should be of help" Leonidas extended his hand to help the prince stand up. The prince always showed a special interest in sword fighting and asked his father to teach him a few maneuvers constantly but unfortunately because of his lack of time he couldn't teach him as much as he would like to, so he asked Leonidas if he could train with him.

Since Leonidas started teaching him the basics he knew Endymion wasn't an ordinary boy just starting to learn how to fight, there was something in him that even when he fell and had flaws in his movements, he could become more than just a prince with a sword. He knew he could become an ultimate fighter, it was something that was in his blood, the same passion his mother had when she fought the Lord of war many years ago; wiping the sweat off his forehead with his forearm the general smiled at the prince.

"You are very skilled, you just need to practice a little more" Leonidas positioned again "You have excellent aiming"

The prince nodded not trying to lose his focus; the sweat made his bangs stick to his face and a few droplets of it could be seen falling all the way through his cheeks, gasping for air he positioned again and ready to make the first move he took hold his weapon again and looked at the general with a serious face "Beware of my…wooden weapon" he said with sarcasm, pointing at Leonidas.

Leonidas laughed "The sword is not what is going to give you the power"

Endymion arched a brow "Excuse me? The weapon is what hurts you"

Leonidas chuckled "Are you positive about that?"

"Yes…" Endymion ran to the general and tried to attack him but Leonidas moved faster blocking his blow with his own wooden sword.

"You are too desperate Endymion. You need to be calmer" the man spoke again, this time with a tone of warning.

Endymion turned and tried to attack him but again his blow was blocked "How do you do that!" he asked in frustration.

Leonidas chuckled "I had to study and practice…just like you are doing it right now"

Endymion walked around the general "Papa is incredibly fast as well…" he sighed and turned again to attack the general. The two wooden swords crashed together making a hollow sound.

"You need to be aware of your surroundings and study your opponent's technique so you can attack your enemy right where his flaws are" a feminine voice distracted the prince.

Endymion turned when he heard the sound of heels clicking against the pebbled floor; Leonidas smiled and bowed his head "Your Majesty…"

Queen Gaia smiled at the general "Good afternoon Leonidas"

"H-How do you know that?" Endymion asked still amazed, lowering his sword he looked at his mother walk closer to him.

Queen Gaia walked over her son and took his hand positioning in a the better way for defense and attack "This is how you hold a sword" she said softly.

"Mama…do you know how to fight?" Endymion asked, a mix of curiosity and surprise in his voice.

Leonidas turned to see Gaia and smiled, Gaia returned the smile and turned to look at her son "Your father taught me a few things"

"This is too hard…" Endymion sighed, lowering his arm.

"Dear, you need to master every movement when it comes to sword fighting" Gaia said, resting her arm on his shoulders.

Leonidas chuckled "Your mother is right Endymion; let's call it a day, shall we?"

Endymion sighed "Fine…"

"We will train early tomorrow again" Leonidas said taking the prince's training sword away from his hand.

"Don't look disappointed dear" Queen Gaia placed a hand on her son's face.

"It's just that…I want to become a good fighter" Endymion's young voice said with a hint of sadness.

Gaia smiled "I like that spirit in you and that is why Leonidas is training you. You have learned so much…but sword fighting isn't just taking a sword and attack an enemy; you need to make a strategy and think what is best for you to do" the terran queen held his hand "Mind to walk with me?"

Endymion smiled at his mother "No mama, let's go"

"We will see you later Leonidas" Gaia said to the general, the man nodded and bowed his head again in respect.

They walked out of the training room towards the main court and to their usual spot under the cherry tree "Mama, you know too much about being a warrior"

Gaia smiled and sat on the marble bench under the tree's shade with care of not hurting herself, her health had become incredibly delicate, the once strong mighty Titan, Goddess of Earth was now a paper leaf that needed to take care even from the air.

"Well…I have been married with your father for quite a while now…and well, you are only fifteen years old, you still need to grow older to know more things"

Endymion sat next to her and lowered his head "I wonder if I'm good at this…"

Gaia raised a brow "What do you mean?"

The young prince raised his head and sighed "I don't know…I want to be a good prince…I want to be able to protect you…"

Gaia placed a hand on her son's shoulders "You are a wonderful prince and you take good care of me. Your love is what keeps me well"

Endymion smiled sadly "I just don't like to see you ill…"

Ill. That was something she couldn't help, Gaia was responsible for the kind of life she was now living because of her decisions. From being a strong goddess she was now a woman with a weak heart but very much in love; she couldn't tell him the whole truth. Truth, if he only knew that becoming a fighter was in his veins; Gaia looked at her son and admired his pure heart and beauty and knew he wasn't destined to be like her brother, her father or even her but something greater.

Gaia raised her head and looked up to the sky "When you grow older…well, things certainly change. But that doesn't mean you are less good than you are now"

The young prince turned to see his mother, a kind smile was formed on his face "I will be a good warrior one day I promise, I will always going to protect you"

"And I will always going to protect…you" Gaia touched the tip of his nose with her index finger and in a quick move she placed a hand to her mouth and started coughing.

"Mama? Are you feeling alright?" Endymion asked worried placing his arm around her shoulder protectively.

Queen Gaia nodded "Yes dear, you know how this is…"

"Let's go inside. You need to take your medicine" Endymion stood up and extended his hand out to his mother, Gaia took it and walked slowly back inside the palace.

Aurea walked to the queen's side in a hurry through the long open hall "There you are! I was looking all over for you!"

Gaia's eyes widened "I needed to take a walk"

Aurea frowned "What you need is to take your medicines"

Endymion chuckled "It's my fault Aurea, I was training and when I saw her I couldn't let pass the opportunity to walk with her"

Aurea's expression softened "Who wouldn't like to have a walk by your side?"

Endymion blushed "Aurea…" he hushed.

"What?" Aurea asked.

"Remember I'm a tough warrior..." his boyish voice echoed in the hall.

"My, is this were we all reunite from now on?"

Gaia chuckled "We just happened to coincide"

Eros walked and kissed his wife on the cheek. His features just like Gaia's have matured, soft wrinkles started to frame his blue eyes and his once dark chocolate brown hair was now tainted with some grays. But that didn't seem to bother him much; age and genes had made a marvelous work on him, his age was just an accessory to his handsome face.

"What were you doing?" he asked with a mischievous smile.

Gaia chuckled when she saw his face "I just needed to take a walk…and I found this gorgeous boy that happens to be my son and couldn't resist the urge to go and talk with him"

Gaia features changed into a more sophisticated way. Her once dark hair was now more a chocolate tone; her once golden green eyes were now a soft hazel color. Even though she didn't have wrinkles, she did look older; her beauty only accentuated instead of doing the contrary.

"Dear, you know you have to rest" Eros said.

"It's my fault papa, I know I should have taken her back to your chambers but I couldn't say no to her…" Endymion said making his father smile, placing one hand on his son's shoulder he chuckled.

"I understand son, your mother is enchanting. When I met her…" the king turned to look at his adorable wife "…I knew she was the one and since then I couldn't let her leave my side"

Gaia blushed and held her husband's hand "And I couldn't leave yours…"

"Well too much for a mushy moment, you need to take your medicines anyway. So, off we go" Aurea interrupted the romantic moment and hurried the queen to walk with her back to her chambers.

Gaia laughed softly "What is it with you today?" she asked while walking with Aurea through the long hall.

Eros blushed and coughed a little "How was your training today son?"

Endymion sighed and looked down "Hard"

Eros smiled and placed a hand around his son's shoulder "It was hard for me as well when I started training…"

"Did grandfather train you?" Endymion asked curious looking back at his father.

Eros smiled and sighed "Yes a little, then I was sent to the army"

Endymion's eyes widened in interest "The army?" he turned to look at his father. The word army caught his full attention.

"Yes, I met Leonidas there" Eros said smiling "Don't worry son, you will learn eventually; sword fighting is about strategy, skills and intelligence and you have all the above, besides, Leonidas is very good he will train you well"

"That's what mama said!" Endymion said excitedly.

Eros smiled at his son "You will learn everything you need to learn"

Endymion nodded and smiled "I think I'll go practice some more…" he turned to leave to the training room again.

Eros nodded and patted his son on the shoulder "Do not exceed to much in your movements…" the terran king sighed while he watched his son walk away; he was impressed by Endymion's consistency, there was no doubt that he was their son. Chuckling to himself Eros returned to his duties at the study.

The double doors of the royal chambers opened and the terran queen walked inside followed by her personal maid and friend.

"Aurea, I told you I felt fine today…" Gaia sighed, Aurea turned to closed the door but she only pushed it, leaving it half closed without her noticing.

The brunette woman sighed and placed a hand on her forehead, this happened very often now, she would discuss with her over her health and her stubbornness "Gaia…you know your health is not to be taken for granted. You need to take care…"

Gaia sat on a deep red couch in the small living room and looked at Aurea while she walked around the room looking for her pills "I know I'm sick most of the time, but that doesn't mean I have to stay here all day, everyday"

Aurea sat next to her and placed the pills on Gaia's hand while she held a glass of water "We want you to live long enough. We want you to be safe"

"Hmm…" Gaia muttered and put the pills inside her mouth, taking the small crystal glass of water she took a sip to swallow the medicines with more ease.

Aurea arched a brow "Let me see"

Gaia frowned "What?" she gave back the glass of water to Aurea.

"Let me see if you swallowed them…" Aurea tried to open Gaia's mouth with her index finger.

The terran queen moved Aurea's hand away "What? No!..."

"I need to make sure you are taking them!" the brunette said with more insistence "It's for your own good…the other day I found the pills I gave you in the morning rolled on a tissue"

Gaia pursed her lips and rolled her eyes "Those pills make me feel tired…"

"Open it" Aurea said not really listening to the queen's complaining.

Gaia sighed and had no other choice but to open her mouth slightly "Don't treat me like a child" she said pretending annoyance.

"Don't act like one" Aurea responded.

After a while practicing his new lessons, Endymion decided to go to his chambers to take a bath and have some rest but he remembered his mother needed to take her medicines and now with more reasons because he saw her coughing constantly when they were on the garden, on his way there he took a red flower from one of the vases in the hallway, when he was about to enter he noticed the door was half open and overheard his mother talking to Aurea in a very serious tone.

"That doesn't depend on me or us Aurea…you know that…" the terran queen sighed.

Endymion frowned, he knew that overhearing other people's conversations was rude but hearing his mother speak with so much worry in her voice worried him, standing next to the door he remained quiet to hear what the two women were saying.

"But we can do as much as we can…think about your husband, think about your son" Aurea said with worry.

Endymion frowned while he listened Aurea speak.

"I knew this perfectly before having Endymion, we were very aware of what could happen to me if I had a child. To them is an opportunity to have me controlled"

Endymion's blue eyes widened "What could happen if she had…me?"

"Yes, giving birth to Endymion brought you to this state, but that is why you need to be careful…that is why we are all so worried about you. You cannot fight them, we cannot fight them…that is why you need to be healthy and we need to look after you" Aurea's voice was determinant.

"Aurea…I don't care, I love my son with all my heart…but I prefer being hurt myself rather than him. I made a promise to him when he was in my arms the day he was born, I will protect him…no matter what" Gaia said softly.

Endymion couldn't believe what he just heard. He was the reason his mother was the way she was, he brought her illness and that made him feel guilty and angry to himself, shaking his head softly he walked away from the door, his eyes were starting to tear and didn't know how to react, he was hurt, if something ever happened to his mother he couldn't stand it; leaning on a pillar he took a few long breaths to try to calm himself before taking a decision. Once he regained his composure he towards the study where he knew his father was working with Leonidas.

Stopping a few meters away from the door he rested his back on a pillar nearby, again, tears formed in his eyes and this time he couldn't fought the urge to cry "It's because of me…you are sick because of me…" he whispered, his fisted hands pounded the pillar behind him.

Raising his head he dried the tears off his face abruptly with his hand, he decided this would be the last time he would cry and stop being just a prince, he wanted to be something more in order to protect his mother.

"I am the one who will protect you mother…I don't know who are they but they will not come close this place or you" his voice was determinant.

Walking to the study he knocked on the door and opening it slowly "Can I come in?" Endymion asked.

"Sure, come on in Endymion" Eros answered from his desk.

Endymion closed the door behind him and walked to his father's desk in silence, sighing he gave his father a serious glare "I need to talk with you…"

Eros noticed it was something serious and turned to Leonidas "Could you give me a moment to talk to my son?"

Leonidas nodded and was about to leave the study when Endymion held the general's arm "I want you to be here as well Leonidas. I want you to hear as well"

Leonidas brown eyes widened in surprise and turned to look at the king who had the same expression, Endymion wasn't known to be this serious, he was known to be kind and a very gentle prince. They were well aware he had a strong character underneath his soft demeanor but it was rarely shown.

Eros put his papers aside and stood up "What do you want to talk about with both of us?"

"I want to join the army" Endymion said with determinacy.

Leonidas' eyes widened once again "The army?" and turned to look at Eros.

Endymion nodded not breaking eye contact with his father, Eros looked at his son with concern "Why would you do that? You are learning everything you need here with Leonidas. Obelix is training you as well…why do you want to join the army?"

"The army is not a place you join just for fun Your Highness…and it's not easy either…you won't have the facilities you have here" Leonidas said, trying to reason with the young prince.

"I know and I don't care. If father could do it, then I can do it too…why am I going to have facilities when the real warriors don't have them?" Endymion asked both men.

Eros looked at his son with a serious face "Endymion…being in the army it is not easy at all. You won't be able to have contact with us while you are in training and that could take up to ten years depending on the situation you could be in..."

"I don't care, I'm willing to take the risk" Endymion said again.

Eros sighed and sat on his chair, he knew his son was competitive, smart and strong and that fighting was in his veins, but he wasn't expecting to hear him to take a decision like this with so much seriousness. If Gaia knew of this, she would probably break into tears because this what she was hoping for him not to do. This was what she didn't want him to do, running a hand through his brown hair he lowered his gaze in worry "I need to talk to your mother about this"

"No" Endymion said "No matter what Mother says…I am going"

"What is wrong Endymion? Why this sudden change? Why are you requesting this?" the terran king asked confused a frown marking his handsome face "You cannot take this kind of decisions out of nothing. Does this have something to do with what I mentioned earlier?"

"No father, I want to become a true warrior and the only way to become one is acting like one. I do not want to be a spoiled boy who had everything easy…there are thousands of people fighting out there to keep us safe and I want to be one of them, that is a prince's duty!" Endymion turned to look at Leonidas and then back at his father "That is all I needed to say, I am not asking you to let me go, I'm saying I will go. Good night" the young prince turned and left the study without saying another word, leaving the king and his general surprised by his decision.

"What was that?" Leonidas asked to the king.

Eros sighed and lowered his gaze "What we feared it could happen…this will break Gaia's heart but the truth is... we cannot fight against the inevitable, Endymion is destined to be a warrior"

More than three thousand words deserves a review ;) (just kidding, if you want to leave a review awesome if not...well maybe next time although, I would really like to read from you)

I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.