I am back! I am working on the next chapter in my brain already trying to figure out a few details that I have had planned out for a long time. I am going to try to get more regular updates done now that I am done with my MBA. You would think with COVID and being stuck home more I have more time, but alas, that doesn't seem to be the case with a 6 and 2-year-old at home. Anyhow, I hope you like this next chapter! Please let me know what you think!
Chapter 12
Serenity and Legolas follow their guide to the meeting that had been requested by the Lord and Lady. As the two walked in silent Serenity started to think deeply about the gathering, they were about to go too. She wanted to be prepared as she had been trained for her eventual duties as queen so long ago. She knew that the Lord and Lady did not request such meetings lightly and that there must be something important they wish to be discussed. The question was what it could be? The night they arrived they had discussed their journey with them both and how Gandalf had fallen so there was no need to discuss that any further she thought. However, Lady Galadriel was aware of Serenity's past and had been close with Queen of the Moon. She knew full well that those back on Middle Earth that knew about the Moon Kingdom existence did not know what had become of the people of the Moon after the attack, which met they wished to finally know the truth about the destruction of her home from long ago. This revelation caused the princess to sigh heavily at the thought of talking about her past before informing her brother about it. Hearing the deep sigh come from the blonde beauty next to him Legolas wondered what could be troubling her now.
"What is the matter, Serenity" Legolas asked her quietly in Elvish. He was well aware of the elf in front but didn't want those who were not nearly as close to hear their conversation on the matters that had Serenity upset. Hearing the voice beside her speak caused the young blonde to turn to look at him.
"I know the matter Lady Galadriel and Lord Celebron wish to speak about." She said as they continued walking. Legolas was silent for a moment as he quickly put the pieces together just as Serenity had done.
"They wish to speak to you and Amarie about the Moon." He replied simply looking at Serenity. She nodded her head as she gazed at him with worry in her eyes that was very visible. Knowing Serenity's fear of how Aragorn may perceive Serenity's past life he took her hand in his once more in comfort.
"I am here for you no matter what." He told her as he gave her hand a light squeeze. Serenity could not help but smile a little knowing he would be on her side no matter what.
"Thank you." She said to him. The two walked the rest of the way in silent until they reached a pair of stairs familiar to the ones, they had walked up on their first night. As they approached, they could see the backs of the rest of their company ascending the stairs. The guide stopped walking a few feet to the side of the stairs. He turned nodding at both Legolas and Serenity as they continued their walk. The two royal pair nodded respectfully back at the elf in gratitude. As Serenity reached the first step, she reluctantly let go of Legolas hand, so it was free to grab her dress so as not to fall as she made her way up. As she made her way up, she could see the back of Boromir not too far away as the last of the group to go up the stairs before her. She easily made her way up quickly and gracefully without anyone notice so there would not be a gap when Boromir arrived at the top of the stairs as the last one to emerge from the group. She knew full well that Legolas was having no problem keeping up with her she moved onward. When the young blonde reached the top of the stairs, she was greeted with seeing the backs of the rest of fellowship only feet from her. In front of them was a long table to accommodate the group comfortably with the, Lord and Lady, both in white, at the very end of the table standing before it. As Serenity continue to take in her surrounds, she noticed on the table there look to be a lot of greens, fruits, vegetables and bread, but no ale or meat. She was aware of a certain dwarf friend that would be upset with the meal that had been prepared for them.
"Please join us." Lord Celeborn said with a warm smile indicating for everyone to take a seat as he said those words. The hobbits not needed to be told twice to sit for a meal quickly made their way to find a seat. This created small smiles on the group to watch the antics of the hobbits.
"Thank you, for this is to kind of you." Aragorn said respectfully as he made his way to the table. Lord Celeborn nodded his head in acknowledgement of the words Aragorn had spoken. As Serenity made her way to the table, she swiftly moved in to be to the left of the dwarf at the table so she could whisper to the dwarf, before he said something to offend the Lord and Lady.
"I have ale and meat to cook later for you." She whispered to him. Gimli nodded his head at hearing the princess speak softly before responding with a bright smile on his face.
"Thank you, Serenity, you are to kind to me." He said back to her quietly. Serenity just smiled at him with a wink to him as she made her way to her seat to sit. As she pulled out her chair, she looked across the table to realize she is right in front of her brother with Amarie to his right and Frodo on his left, with Sam next followed by Boromir. Across the table from Amarie was Legolas with Serenity sitting to his right, followed by Gimli, Merry and Pippin. At the head of the table was the Lord and Lady sitting comfortably next to one another. Lord Celeborn smiled at everyone as he raised his one hand.
"You may begin." He said to all sitting at the table. The hobbits smiles grew big and they begin digging into the food right away. Serenity shook her head at how happy Pippin was acting as he grabbed random foods to put on his plate. Serenity not wishing to be rude began to serve herself the items of food onto her plate gracefully. As she did this, she noticed Celeborn and Legolas speaking to one another. Amarie speaking to Aragorn, while Boromir helped Sam reach a few items on the table. She enjoyed the chattering and clinking of items against the plates and glasses although still leery of the main topic that had yet to come up.
It would be half hour since the start of the meal when the group had either stopped eating or slowed down their pace. The chatter had quieted down with those not sure what else was going to be discussed. Serenity reaches out to grab a hold of her glass to begin sipping her drink. Lord Celeborn took this moment to start to speak to the group once more.
"We have learned about the fellowship's journey, yet there is another that has been a mystery for many centuries with few answers." He finished saying as he looked at Serenity at the last part of his sentence. Serenity put her cup down gracefully seemingly unfazed by his gaze. But Serenity's heart was starting to beat a bit faster, worrying how Aragorn would take the truth of her past. However, she refused to let any see this fear as they looked to her for the answers. She noticed now all eyes including Lady Galadriel were on her curious as to what they could be speaking about.
"You speak of the attack on the moon." Serenity elegantly replied simply to him.
"Yes, and your return to Middle Earth too." Lady Galadriel added softly with a small warm smile on her lips.
"You mean that story is true and not just a legend?" Pippin asked loudly for all to hear.
"Yes Pippin, you are right. Where Serenity and I had been before returning to Middle Earth it is considered a legend, but there are even those here on Middle Earth who do not believe it." Amarie answered the young hobbit.
"You have told them?" Lord Celeborn asked her out of surprise that it had been discussed.
"Pip asked for a story one night, so I obliged with the retelling of that fateful night, but it was shortened." Serenity explained with ease for all to hear.
"If the story is true, then how does it have any relation to Serenity and Amarie?" Boromir queried curiously.
"That is a good question, Boromir." Aragorn said quietly looking at his sister. Hearing the comment come from her brother, she turned her head to see confusion and curiosity in his eyes. She broke her gaze with his, knowing everyone was looking to hear the full story of what happened the night of the attack on the moon.
"To fully explain everything, I must start back on the Moon." Serenity started feeling nervous now that the matter of topic had begun. Legolas noticed Serenity's making subtle movements under the table with her hands by having them rub against one another as a way to ease her nerves without anyone noticing it. Wishing to give the young princess next to him the support she desperately needed without others knowing, he delicately took hold of her left hand to lace his fingers with her. Serenity squeezed her hand lightly with his as a quiet thanks before continuing her story.
"A thousand years ago on the Moon Kingdom was alive and peaceful. The people of the planet were part of an alliance known as the Silver Millennium. This alliance comprised of all the planets in our solar system. Amarie's home planet, Saturn was also part of the alliance and she went by a different name. She was Hotaru, Princess of Saturn and Sailor Saturn, guardian of the Moon Princess and the alliance. Hotaru along with seven other respected Princesses of their respected Kingdoms held this title. Each had special powers as I." Serenity brough up her free hand from under the table with the palm facing up and flat before she continued. As she said she of the planets respected names a glow of each power came to her hand briefly.
"Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto." As the last power vanished from her hand, she lowered it to be under the table once more before continuing her story. "Then there was I, Princess Serenity, daughter of Queen Serenity, and heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom. Throughout the years that we lived during this time, we all worked hard to hone our powers and trained to one day rule over our kingdoms. Queen Serenity worked to get Earth to join our alliance, but things were not going the greatest, even with the assistance of the Lord Celebron and Lady Galadriel."
"You met them when you lived on the Moon!" Pippin exclaimed with a shocked look on his face. This caused everyone to chuckle lightly at the young hobbit.
"While the Moon people and Earth people were not on friendly terms, Queen Serenity was remarkably close with Lord Celebron and Lady Galadriel and many other elves throughout Middle Earth. Then one day I travelled to Earth alone and met Prince Endymion of Earth. We fell in love, which was forbidden, and eventually told our parents. The news of our engagement eventually came out to our respected kingdoms. Many were joyous by this while others were upset. Then on my eighteenth birthday there was a party that evening in celebration of my birthday. The celebration was going well. People were dancing, laughing, and happy." Serena stopped for a moment looking at Amarie to ensure she was ready for the next part of the story. She knew this would be hard on her too. Amarie nodded her head in a silent indication to continue with the story. All eyes were on her to hear more of the tale she was telling. "When suddenly the castle was shaking violently and there were screams all around us. This was a complete surprise by everyone. My respected princesses went out to fight the enemy along side Queen Serenity. While I tried to help those, who could not fight that were still in the castle." Serenity stop for a moment to take a sip of her drink to clear the dryness in the back of her throat from talking so much.
"This explains the destruction, but who would dare attack the Moon?" Lord Celebron questioned in utter shock of what he had heard so far.
"Beryl, is the one who attacked." Serenity simple stated. Celebron's and Galadriels nodded their heads solemnly in understanding.
"She had help." Galadriel simply stated as if it was the obvious answer.
"Of course, she did, between the evil power she acquired and the traitor she joined with, it was the only way she could attempt such destruction." Amarie sneered bitterly for the first time since the start of the story. All eyes turned to the elf as her sudden abrupt answer to the statement that had been made.
"This betrayal was hurtful and unexpected to have you speak so bitterly. Who was the traitor?" Galadriel replied softly. Amarie nodded her head in agreement choosing to watch what she says in fear her anger would say something more unpleasant.
"Endymion." Was the simple answer spoken causing the two head elves to turn to look at the blonde princess with their eyes wide in shock.
"You know this betrayal was acted by the Prince of Earth?" Galadriel replied surprised by the answered. Serenity nodded her head holding a grime look upon her feature at the same time. "All of the Sailor Scouts, my friends, perished defending the kingdom from the evil that attacked us that night. As I made it outside to try to help those in dire need, I came across Endymion and Beryl. He told me of his betrayal to the Moon. I fought them both as best as I could, but at the time I did not have my full powers, and I was weak from healing those who had been injured too. In the end Endymion struck me down with his own sword. Then at some point during the battle, Queen Serenity, used the Silver Crystal to stop the attack."
"How did she stop the attack?" Boromir questioned curiously. Serenity turned her attention to him.
"The Silver Crystal is a royal heirloom past down to the next heir to the throne. It has immense power that it can be wielded and follows the heart of the person who controls it. She used it to seal our enemy and all of those who perished in it. She then had it send us all to be reborn in a new life with no memories of our past, to enjoy a new life with peace. However, if our enemy would remember and awaken, we would then be awoken to protect and defend against them once more."
"Why did the Queen not destroy the enemy?" Frodo asked Serenity. Serenity gave a sad smile.
"The Queen had only two choices with the Silver Crystal. She could destroy the enemy and be left alone for the rest of her life. Her daughter gone forever, or she could sacrifice her life and give all of those including our enemy a second chance to live again. In giving those second chance, the Silver Crystal had Amaire and I come to live with our new families on Middle Earth, along with other's from both the Moon and Earth. While the rest of my guardians and most of the enemy would travel to a different land and time to live their life." Serenity took a deep breath knowing next where the story would turn towards. She turned her attention back to the Lord and Lady as she continued her story.
"I was reborn as the younger sister to Aragorn, named Serenity, ironically an heir to the Gondor Throne. We lived together happily for many years until my tenth birthday. It was late in the afternoon and I felt tired, so I went to my room to lay down for a bit to rest. When I awoke, I was no longer in my room or at Middle Earth anymore. I was in a whole new world, called Tokyo, that had a different way of life compared to Middle Earth, and language. Sailor Pluto, guardian of time, advised that I would not ever return to Middle Earth because of my past life. I would spend the next few years of my life preparing my role as the leader and protector of this new world in secret with Sailor Pluto. On my fourteenth birthday, Queen Beryl appeared once again that had to be stopped. This time I was a bit more prepared with my powers and found some of my guardians who aided us in our battles against Queen Beryl. We eventually destroyed Queen Beryl and peace reigned for some time. However, it never lasted long then we were called upon again to protect those who could not fight. As our battle continued against dark forces, we would find more of my guardians, including Amaire and together for several years of long hard battles. Amaire and I eventually gained our full memories of our past, but we never forgot our lives and family here on Middle Earth. We could feel the dark forces were getting stronger and knew we had to come back to help and so we did." Serenity finished looking at Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel with a serious but grim look on her features of having retold her life to all at the table.
"To learn such a dark truth of betrayal that ended the Moon Kingdom's reign." Lord Celeborn said solemnly while his eyes held grief of the news of the Moon Kingdom's demise so long ago.
"Your paths were laid out long ago and they will become clearer as you continue your journey." Lady Galadriel stated mysteriously with a soft smile on her lips, her eyes shinning brightly at Serenity. Serenity nodded her head in understanding. "We should end this sad discussion and not dwell any further on the past. What is done is done. We must move forward with the knowledge we have from it." Lady Galadriel replied softly with a smile still gracing her lips, her eyes shining bright with light and hope in them. Lord Celeborn stood up graciously holding out his arm for Lady Galdariel to take as she stood up gracefully from the table.
"If you are in need of anything please do not hesitate to ask during your stay with us." He said nodding at the group. Lady Galadriel just stood with the smile still before turning with Lord Celeborn to leave. Each member of the fellowship either nodded their head in respect or replied with a thank you.
After the Lord and Lady took their leave from the eating area the rest of the group got up from the table to make their way down the stairs, they had come up not long ago. It only took a few minutes for the group to reach back to their sleeping area. As they neared the sleeping area Serenity quickly pulled out a piece of meat with her left hand, already cooked, and a glass of ale in her right hand, from her sub space pocket. Using her left hand, she warmed the meat up using the power of Mars, while chilling the ale in her right hand using the power or Mercury. The princess made her way over to her dwarf friend who had returned to his pavilion to sit on his bed. When he saw the young blonde coming towards him, he lite up happily as bearing the food she had promised not long ago for him to eat.
"As I promised my friend." Serenity said happily bringing the food and ale to his level to take out of her hands.
"Bless you, Serenity. I have been looking forward to his meal! And the meat is warm and the ale cold!" He stated excitedly causing the young blonde to laugh as he felt the plate and glass he held.
"I wanted to ensure you had a good meal just as the rest of us did." She answered merely. Delighted to be able to make Gimli happy. As Serenity straighten up, she noticed Aragorn walked past the pavilion he was sharing with Boromir and Gimli from the corner of her eye. As Amaire came over to the two, she noticed the frown on Serenity's lips frown as she looked to the distance to see Aragorn continue walking.
"Gimli the hobbits have built a fire near the tree they are at. Why don't you bring that delicious meal over to the fire to enjoy? You'll make the hobbits envy over what you have." She said with a twinkle in her purple eyes causing Gimli to turn his attention on her. This caused Gimli to smile mischievously as Amaire put her hand on his back to steer him towards the fire.
"Not a bad idea." He said while chuckling. Serenity shook her head as the two walked away but saw Amaire give a slight nod with her head towards Aragorn. It was obvious Amaire was trying to give Serenity time to go after Aragorn so the two siblings could have time alone to discuss what had happened in the past. Serenity turned in the direction her brother is going knowing she did not have to worry about the safety of the others. She could still see his back facing her, so she made her way quickly after him. It was not long before she was within ear shot.
"Aragorn, please stop." Serenity pleaded out loud to him. Aragorn stopped his footsteps to turn around to see a worried Serenity before him. She noticed he seemed calm, but confusion swirling in his brown eyes, most likely at the new information he had learned about her. "I'm sorry you had to find out about my past that way. I was afraid you would be angry with me." She continued tears welling in her blue eyes before she looked down in shame. Aragorn eyes widen in surprise that his little sister had thought he would be angry with her. He took the last few steps to close the distance between them, then with his right index finger put it under her chin to gently push her head up until blue eyes clashed with brown eyes.
"Why would you think I would be angry with you." He asked her softly.
"That I abandoned you and mother because of my past life." She replied quietly back to him as tears slide down her eyes. "I never met to hurt you." She finished as the tears came down faster. He used his finger from both his hands to wipe the tears gently away from her cheeks. His brown eyes holding nothing but understanding and love in them for her.
"Ren, I know you would never abandon us. You are to kind and giving of a person that those are not qualities that live inside you." He stated with a small smile.
"Thank you for always being such an understanding big brother." She simply said before hugging him tightly. He returned the hugged while kissing her at the top of her head. He would always be there to protect and love his little sister. Her past life did not matter to him at all. After a few minutes of holding her the two siblings pulled apart.
"I now understand how you received your healing abilities when we were children." He joked a bit before continuing more serious. "But promise me, no more secrets between us." He finished. Serenity took a deep breath before answering her brother.
"I agree. We can't do that to one another." she said firmly more to herself than to him as she took a deep breath to keep herself calm at the same time. She then closed her eyes as she continued to take a few deep breaths. This sudden change in behavior alerted Aragorn that something happened to her that had severely affected her in a negative way.
"Ren…?" He called out to her cautiously. She opened her blue eyes revealing swirling emotions with unshed tears in them once more her lip trembling at the same time. Seeing his sister distressed and upset all of sudden made him wonder what more she has to tell him. He held her in his arms in a tight protective hug. As soon as she was in his warm embrace. Serenity was doing her best to keep her composure together, but once her brother was holding it, it was her undoing and she started to cry. This time much harder in his arms. Aragorn wanted to know what had Serenity so upset, but he knew she tell with time, and right now she just needed love and comfort. He stood there rocking her gently with his body just holding her, while whispering soothing words to her.
After some time, Serenity crying subsided, but Aragorn just continued his gentle rocking. His arm rubbing her back up and down in a comforting manner. Serenity took a few deep breaths to get herself calm and composed again. She pulled her head away from his chest just enough to look up at her brother.
"Thank you." She said simply gratitude reflecting in her eyes at him.
"If you are not ready to tell him. I can wait." He replied plainly. Serenity shook her head the frown on her face once more before laying her head back on his chest again.
"No, no more secrets between us." She repeats in a firmer tone than she expected to come out. She took one deeper breath but made no move to get out of her brother's arms. "As I said earlier everyone from that tragic night had been reborn this included Endymion too."
"The Prince of Earth." Aragorn stated simply to confirm his remembrance of the person was correct.
"Yes, he was reborn, with no memories of his betrayal. As we battled our enemy, we eventually learned small bits and pieces of our past, our feelings for each other and Beryl was the reason the Moon fell to its demise. We started courting once more as if nothing had happened. We were both happy and in love. Then on my 18th birthday, I received my full memories from my past life as Princess Serenity including that tragic night." Serenity stopped for a moment taking a deep breath to keep her composure while she spoke. "I tried to continue the courtship with him and give him his second chance since I was unaware that he had his memories back, but…" she trailed off again taking another deep breath.
"You could not forget the betrayal and lost the trust with him." Aragorn finished for her. Serenity nodded her head before continuing.
"Yes, because of this I went to his dwelling to end our courtship. When I spoke of our courtship ending, he was not pleased. He wanted to know if it had something to do with him. I had said there were some things I needed to handle personally and that it would not be fair to have him wait for me. I gave this as my answer in hopes to give him a second chance at this new life, for all of us since he may have no memories of his actions, but that would not be the case." Serenity pulled away from her brother's embrace, trying to keep her composure together and figure out how to best tell him what happened to her. She walked away from Aragorn with her head looking down to the ground shielding him from seeing her eyes. She had her back to him and stood there quietly what he thought she was taking deep breaths. But he realized that her back was going up and down to quickly for her to be breathing deeply and that she was silently sobbing again. He rushed over alarm to see to his younger sister in such a state as he was pulling her into his arms to comfort her. The two stood like this for an exceptionally long time together. Aragorn rocking and whispering comforting words to her as she cried in his arms.
Eventually, the sobbing calmed down and Serenity just stood in her brother's arms being held by him. As she stood there quietly trying to remain calm as the emotions from that day came back up and overwhelming her, she realized she had not really cried or spoken of this, since she was back in Tokyo. She did not want to talk about it due to the fact it was bringing up the horrible memories, but she knew she had too, to be honest with her brother as she said she would. Meanwhile Aragorn just stood holding his sister as she calmed down having narrowed down what could possibly have gotten her in a weeping state but wanted her to voice it out loud instead of making assumptions.
"Serenity…what did he do?" Aragorn asked quietly he had his head on top of hers still holding her tightly in his arms. Serenity heard the question softly come out and tense at first knowing she had to answer it. She felt the tears and memories wanting to come back and replay in her mind. She pushed them aside as best as she could to continue to tell her story.
"He did the unspeakable…. He raped me…." Was all she could say before she started crying again. Aragorn was angry at hearing this. How could someone ever hurt his sister in such a manner stunned him. While he wanted to go after this wretched man that was supposed to be a prince, he knew his place, was with his sister and the fellowship. He stood there just holding her as she let those emotions come out. The crying though did not last as long, and it was much sooner when she stopped. The two stood quiet for a few minutes. Serenity was the first to speak finally.
"I am sorry." She softly said. This surprised Aragorn to hear her apologize. He was even more confused as to why she would in the first place. She did nothing wrong. He pulled away enough to look down at the blonde head that was buried in his chest. He unwrapped his right arm from around her waist putting his finger under her chin to make him look up at him. She followed the movement her finger was making her go with no resistant. She was worried about what he would think of her. When her head was up blue eyes clashed with brown once more. Emotions swirling heavily in both of their eyes over the dark topic that was being discussed.
"Ren why are you apologizing to me?" he asked softly his eyes softening as he watched her closely to ensure she did not break down crying.
"Because I couldn't stop him…" she trailed off the strong emotion of guilt churning in her blue eyes as she explained herself to him. Aragorn shock his head a serious look to his face while his brown eyes remain the soft tone that they were.
"But you tried…it is all you could do. It is not your fault." He said firmly to her as he rubbed his finger on her check. Serenity nodded her head in understanding with unshed tears in her eyes. Seeing this reaction, he pulled her back to him to hold.
"We speak no more of this dark topic unless you need too." He finished as he held her in comfort.