blueeyeddevil06 thanks for being my beta!

Diamond stood there smirking. Every picture of Serenity in the castle was now located in his room, the one he was occupying for now, at least. He knew he would need to head back to his kingdom soon to ensure no one made a move to take his throne while he was away. It was, after all, how he took his father's throne and then promptly had him killed. Well, it was ruled an accident while he was out riding, but Diamond knew the truth. And since dead men tell no tales, he made sure to murder the man who carried out his orders himself.

The only reason he lingered was because he was expecting Serenity to appear and beg him for her kingdom back. He would ensure she was locked up and at his mercy quickly. He was assured by castle historians that the room he picked for her had no secret entrances in or out. He would not let that happen again. That, and he would double the amount of chains he put on her. He liked the idea of putting one around her neck this time. It excited him.

He ran his hand over her cheek on the closest painting. "Dear Serenity, you will be mine. And this time when I get my hands on you, you will beg me for mercy." He gave her a tender look and exited the room.

He strode down the halls that were patrolled by his men. Men that were well paid to ensure their loyalty. He knew anyone loyal to Serenity would slit his throat the moment they had a chance. That was why Lopt was such a necessity to him right now. He smirked. It was such an unexpected boon to get a god on his side. When Lopt came to him to offer his support and subservience, he was thrilled. He knew it showed that he was a force to be reckoned with when even a god was offering his service to him.

He walked into the throne room and smiled when Lopt bowed to him. He knew that his obedience kept others in line too.

Once he sat on the throne, Lopt spoke up and said. "King Diamond, the borders are being watched, and we are ready for any attacks from neighboring kingdoms. So far, nothing has been reported."

"Very good. What else do you have to report?" He desired good news.

"We haven't been able to locate Princess Serenity. Our spies haven't found anyone willing to say where she has gone."

Diamond grew angry, "Find her! She is mine! Why can't anyone locate her?! She can't have disappeared into thin air!" He stomped off of his throne and out of the main doors. He wanted to kill something, now. He was barely reigning in his temper. However, he had learned killing his people wasn't good for loyalty, so he marched into Serenity's room and destroyed some of her things. He wanted to make her suffer. It was his only outlet for now.

Lopt watched Diamond leave with well concealed disgust. He couldn't wait until Diamond was no longer necessary, and he could just kill him. He wanted to display his head on a spike. He had been very clear when they made their alliance. The Queen was not to die at any cost. Diamond killed her without hesitation anyway. Now, he just waited for his revenge.

He walked to the abandoned section in the West Tower and waited for Edda. They always met in secret.

Edda arrived and bowed low to him. "Word is that they found each other in the cavern of death. The news came through the souls of the lost up through the oracles."

"Diamond doesn't know the suffering that I will ensure that he goes through! She was supposed to be mine!" Lopt took a deep breath. "I have loved her since she was sixteen, and then my brother comes along and entrances her. He always got everything I wanted!"

"Your sister was always on his side. She hid him from Zeubis, and therefore, you."

"She will pay too." Lopt's temper boiled. "Diamond was supposed to capture Serenity, and I would rescue her in exchange for her mother willingly sharing my bed." He fumed. "Now, I will just wait until he captures her, and I will take the daughter. She will take her mother's place. I can't have Hathus suspecting my plan. I need to make Serenity beg me to take her. A god is a better offer than a man that wants to cut her up while he beds her."

Edda bowed low, "She should be honored to share your bed."

Lopt smirked, "Hathus won't be able to do anything about it either. She will have chosen me. I'm the better choice after all. My sister will be powerless to stop it." He swept out of the room to go and further his plans.

Endymion mounted his horse and rode over to join Serenity. She smiled at him, and he nodded at her. He loved the joy he saw in her eyes whenever she looked at him.

Jadeite rode next to Endymion and said, "It's strange to think that we were disappointed to see someone was visiting the castle when we came back from training. If we had known back then what was coming, we would have had a much different reaction."

"I would have ended the training earlier if I had known back then." Endymion smirked at him.

Jadeite laughed and said, "You wouldn't have made that comment about dresses either."

"No, I wouldn't have. Although, at least I didn't insult her as badly as you insulted Raye."

"Don't be ridiculous. I would do that again in a heartbeat! That was so hot." He dropped his voice to a whisper, "I still think about that comment about me being comfortable on my back. It gives me… ideas."

Endymion just shook his head. "You might need to be a bit more... aggressive. She seems to want you to take the lead a bit more. She hinted as much when she was mad you hadn't kissed her. She is more than capable of fending off unwanted advances. You should see if there are any she does want."

Jadeite gave him a measured look. "You are actually telling me to touch her more? You?"

"I am telling you to be the man she wants you to be."

"Noted." He smirked, "And, are you being the man Serenity wants you to be?"

Endymion looked him in the eyes and said, "Always."

"Your father would probably be angry at you for that." Jadeite laughed.

"Who says that-"

"Serenity isn't like most royals. Plus, I see the way she looks at you." Jadeite paused before he turned his horse away. "And, you look way too happy in the mornings." He then rode off before Endymion could say anything.

He sighed. He would have to have an awkward conversation with Jadeite later. While he held her all night long, he hadn't had intercorse with her. He wanted to make sure he knew that he hadn't gone that far. For some reason, it bothered him that it was assumed they did more. He had his horse take another step and then brought it to a halt again. He chuckled. He realized it bothered him because it wasn't true. He didn't want someone else thinking he had done something yet that he hadn't gotten to. He desired her immensely. He thought back to the night when she rubbed up against him until they orgasmed on the couch, and then he brought her to orgasm again in her bed. Now he had a much better idea of what prompted all of that. At the time, he hadn't realized what a big deal it was when he resisted Hathus. That was no longer the case.

He had his horse resume its walk to join Serenity. The whole camp was getting ready to move out. It would be a long, slow trip. With the slow carts and all of the troops that would be walking, it would go at a snail's pace. He was used to this. All of the tents would bring up the rear. There would be plenty of time to pack them before the line advanced very far.

He joined Serenity and she said, "It was brilliant that they set up camp within Diamonds kingdom he won't be looking at his borders."

"I'm very impressed with those you have that serve you. Lord Elwes is particularly brilliant."

"What makes you single him out?"

"He told me it was his idea to send you to my kingdom when your mother insisted on sending you away."

Serenity laughed and said, "Well, I always had a special place for him in my heart." She paused and really looked at him. "There is something else."

"Yes, there is, and it's something we should talk about in private later. I'm not hiding anything. I just want to ensure it's something that is between us first." He saw the concern in her eyes and said. "I promise you it's good news and is about our marriage."

She looked him in the eye and nodded. "About that. When will we marry?"

"As soon as possible." He gave her a heated look. "I would marry you this second."

She laughed loudly, "It would be fitting for the daughter of Heliollo to be a war bride."

He reigned his horse over closer to hers and whispered in her ear. "I was thinking it had more to do with how tempting you are."

"I'm tempting?"

"As if you don't know that."

"Well," she looked down shyly, "you hold me, and don't get me wrong, that's wonderful. But, I'm the one who initiated anything else we have done."

He was left speechless. He stared at her and thought about how crazy that was. Of course that wasn't true! Right? He really thought about how he first touched her breast. No, he paused, and she leaned into it. She then straddled him, asked him to stay, and took off her nightgown. She initiated what they did in bed that night too. And last night, he climbed in bed and just held her. His advice to Jadeite popped into his head. He realized that the "always" was inaccurate.

He gave her a heated look and whispered into her ear, "You have no idea what you've just unleashed. I promise you'll enjoy it." He had let his warm breath brush against her neck.

They were all allerted that it was time to head out and make their way to the next location. He knew he had a day on the road to plan his move tonight.