'Someday Out of the Blue'
By: Lelu
leluh40@aol.com
PG-13 (Oooh…scared now, aren't 'cha?)
(Fake Disclaimer: Yeah, SM and this song belong to
me, didn't you know that? I'm as rich as Bill Gates!
Woohoo! So why won't this money let me out of this
place? I must admit, though…Padded walls are nice.)
Disclaimer: SM does not belong to me. 'Someday
Out of the Blue' (written by Sir Elton John) can be
found on the 'Road to El Dorado' soundtrack, and
also does not belong to me. ::pouts:: Are you all
happy now?
This story is, of course, dedicated to Antigone- she
(and the rest of my ML) knows why
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
*Some day out of the blue,
In a crowded street or a deserted square,
I'll turn and I'll see you, as if our love were new,
Some day we can start again, some day soon…*
Neo-Queen Serenity looked down upon Crystal
Tokyo. The great sleep was over, and now she, Chiba
Usagi, age 22, was Neo-Queen Serenity, ruler of the
planet of earth. Sighing, she sat down on the grass,
tucking her legs under her dress. Wryly, she thought
to herself, 'Well, Usagi, you've made it. You're
Queen, you're special, and you're beautiful.' And
indeed she was. She now stood near six feet tall, blue
eyes demanding respect, her posture suggesting that
she was royalty. The strange thing was that although
she was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the
world, Neo-King Endymion, her Mamo-chan, had
been ignoring her.
Although she had unfrozen earth and been reunited
with her friends just yesterday, Endymion was
ignoring her completely. She had unfrozen him first,
of course, and when he had gently kissed her on the
forehead, that had been it. He hadn't spoken to her all
day, and every time she had made a motion to go
near him, he had quickly walked away, leaving her
stranded in the hallways, lost in the Crystal Palace.
Now Chiba Mamoru had loved Tsukino Usagi, she
was sure of that; but what she didn't understand was
why Neo-King Endymion did not love her. At first,
she had brushed it off, thinking that he was truly
busy- after all, it wasn't everyday you woke up to
find out that you were King of such a big planet! And
she could understand that, no problem. But what she
couldn't understand was why…why he didn't love
her anymore. Her large blue eyes- unchanged from a
thousand years ago- began to tear up at the thought of
Endymion…just not loving her anymore. But still,
she thought as she wiped her tears away, what would
have made him change his mind? She was still the
same- she had proven that by nearly tripping as she
ran to meet her friends- the Senshi- with outstretched
arms. What a happy reunion that had been, she
thought, smiling. The girls, her best friends- she had
seen the looks in their eyes when she had unfrozen
them. Not only were they surprised at how much
Usagi had grown during the sleep, but how much she
had still stayed the same. And truly, she had. There
was nothing different about her that would have
made Endymion stop loving her.
"Usagi! Usagi-chan!"
A mature voice called to her, tinged still with youth.
Turning her head to the side, she saw Minako flying
towards her over the grassy knoll. Smiling, she
thought to herself, 'Same old Minako.' But then her
thoughts froze. If Minako was still the same, as were
the other girls, then she was, too. So then…maybe
the Mamoru of the past hadn't loved the Usagi of the
past as much as she thought he had. 'Rubbish,' her
heart told her. 'Of course he loves you.' 'But then,'
her mind argued, 'why would he be ignoring you…?'
"Usagi-chan, there you are!" Minako sat down on the
ground next to Serenity, smoothing out her short
fuku. "You know, Usag-" She paused, looking
uncertain.
Serenity noticed this, and quickly asked, "Minako-
chan, daijabou? What is it?"
Minako looked at Usagi, confusion in her light blue
eyes. "I just can't figure out," she said, mumbling
under her breath, "what to call you! I mean, the rest
of us still keep our 20th century names, but yours is
different now! It's 'Neo-Queen Serenity!' Not Usagi-
chan anymore…" her voice trailed off, sadness
visibly noticeable.
"Hey, Minako," Serenity said, smiling reassuringly at
her friend. "It's just Usagi, remember? The silly old
school girl who couldn't pass a class!"
"You got that right," a voice said from behind them.
Both blondes jumped, slowly looking over their
shoulders to see who had interrupted their
conversation. Rei, Makoto, and Ami stood there,
towering over them.
"I'm glad to see that all my teasing hasn't been in
vain," Rei continued, a smirk on her face.
"Oh, hush, Rei," Serenity said crossly, winking at her
to show that she didn't really mind.
"Kon'wa, Usagi-chan," Ami said, delicately sitting
down. "We were looking all over for you." She
chuckled gently. "I don't know how I'm going to get
used to this palace…this place…It's all so new, and I
feel as though I won't be able to find my way around
here!"
"You mean," Makoto said, sarcasm tinged with her
deep voice, "besides the fact that we're due to be here
one-thousand more years or so?"
Gentle laughter erupted from the five of them, each
glad to be with the rest again. It had been so long
since they had been together, the five of them, and
Serenity was truly happy- well, not entirely happy.
She still had her thoughts of Endymion…
"Well, Odango," Rei snidely commented while
giving a tug on one of Usagi's ponytails, "it's good to
know that some things never change." However, as
jokingly as Rei had meant that comment to be, all
five of them knew just how deep it went. "But like
Minako-chan said- what are we supposed to address
you as, your royal odango-ness?"
Letting out a gale of laughter, Serenity replied,
"Well, what has changed? I'm still Usagi, and you
are to address me as so! Except for you, Rei-chan,"
she added. "Just because you're my favorite," she
said in a voice that was sweetly sickening, "you may
call me 'Your Royal Highness.'"
Rei looked blankly at her, while Makoto burst out
laughing. "Usagi-chan," Makoto said, trying to gulp
in breaths of air, "that was a good one!"
Serenity looked at Makoto, who was rolling on the
grass in here fuku. "What," she said, arching an
eyebrow while trying to hold back a smile, "made
you think I was joking?"
"Hey!" Rei protested indignantly, leaving the other 3
girls to join Makoto on the grass, rolling around
laughing until their stomachs hurt.
Up in their bedroom, Endymion watched as
Serenity's face lit up with laughter. His heart swelled
with love for his Queen, a small smile tugging at his
lips. 'Aishiteru, Usa-ko,' he thought, before turning
away from the window.
Later that day, as Serenity walked towards the
balcony where the crowd below was waiting for she
and Endymion to give a speech, she thought back to
her last night…her first night at the Crystal Palace.
*Here comes the night, here come the memories…
Lost in your arms, down in the foreign fields…
Not so long ago…(Seems like eternity)
Those sweet afternoons…still capture me…*
(Flashback)
Serenity walked into their bedroom, looking for
Endymion. "Endymion?" she softly called, stepping
into the room. "Kami-sama!" was the first thing she
had said upon taking her first view of the room.
Truly, it was the biggest room she had ever seen; It
was fit for royalty, which was exactly what they
were, but simple in design. The room was bigger than
the whole upstairs of her old house- the one she had
been brought up in. Two balconies, each with French
doors, were on either sides of the room, the glass of
the doors decorated by a sheer-white covering. The
fireplace at the farthest end of the room, surrounded
by a marble mantle, was truly breathtaking. Three
very wide couches, one directly in front of the
fireplace, and the other two by the balconies, were
also the color of white. 'I'm guessing,' Serenity
thought, 'that I must've had white in my mind when I
decorated this palace.' A chandelier hung from the
middle of the room, crystals dangling from the end,
the colors of the rainbow reflect off the cream-
colored walls. But as beautiful as this room was, she
still had one question:
'Where the hell is Endymion?'
True he had still been ignoring her all day, saying
little more than a 'hello' to her, when she had finally
cornered him in a hallway. However, he had gotten
himself out of that fix as quickly as he had gotten into
it: He had stated that he 'had a prior engagement that
he had to attend to', and left her, standing somewhat
dazed in the middle of the hallway.
Shaking her head quickly, using a hand to brush back
her now silver hair, she quietly walked into the
bathroom, finding a silk nightgown on the back of the
door. She took a relaxing shower, dressed herself,
and then brushed her teeth, worried as to where
Endymion was. 'Surely,' she thought, while rinsing
her mouth, 'he's not cheating on me! He wouldn't do
that to me, would he?'
But then again, his attitude towards her had been
strange and secretive- Serenity wasn't stupid. She
had had friends whose husbands had cheated on
them, and the signs that Endymion was- 'Matte,' she
fiercely told herself. 'Endymion loves you…He
would never…' Sighing, she walked out of the
bathroom, and to the bed. Blushing fiercely, she
looked at the bed again. It was a huge four poster
bed, complete with four beige-colored posts that led
to a canopy. It could easily fit over 5 people, and
yet…there she was, alone. Serenity had truly wanted
to celebrate with Endymion- in more ways than one-
that they were alive again- together again. Sighing,
she walked over to the bed, only to be stopped by a
small, nearly inaudible snore that was coming
from…Cautiously, she walked towards the couch- the
one that was facing the fireplace- and peeked over the
edge of it.
Endymion.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Tilting her head, she
looked at him again. 'He is truly beautiful,' she
thought. 'How much I love him…' How she ached
for him to hold her again, just like he had used to.
Swallowing, she bent over and gently kissed him on
the lips, her heart rejoicing at the small but intimate
touch. Walking over to the bed again, she pulled the
top cover off and dragged it back to the couch.
'Well,' she thought sarcastically, 'I never thought
that my first night as Queen would be spent sleeping
on a couch.' Laughing silently to herself, she laid
down beside Endymion, her face facing his, and
carefully took his arm and put it over her back,
snuggling as close to him as was possible. 'Who
knows,' she thought pessimistically. 'This could be
the last time that he will hold you- in sleep.' Again,
she scolded herself for such nasty thoughts. 'He does
love you,' she scolded herself. 'He does.' With her
free hand, she pulled the covers over the both of
them, and soon she drifted off to sleep.
~ "Endymion?" Serenity's voice bounced off the
crystal maze. "Endymion, this isn't funny anymore!
Where are you?" Her voice broke, and she slowly
sagged against the crystal wall. She had been in this
crystal 'prison', wandering around for hours, calling
Endymion's name- hoping that he would come and
save her from this intricate labyrinth. She called out
his name one last time, but when he didn't respond,
or come to her rescue, she drew her knees up to her
chest, and began to sob into her hands. "How could
you have deserted me?" she cried in anguish. "How
could you…?!" ~
"Serenity? Serenity!" Gentle hands shook her awake,
as her blue eyes flew open to see concern etched into
Endymion's face. He was sitting next to her, legs off
the side of the couch, jet-black hair- now with a
purple tinge- disheveled.
"Oh…Endymion…" her body shook from fear. "I…"
And then, forgetting for a moment that Endymion
just might not be hers anymore, she flung herself into
his arms, sobbing into his chest, fingers gripping onto
his white shirt. "It was horrible, Endymion," she
cried. "I was…I…I was…" And then she looked up
at him- really looked at him. He seemed to be staring
above her head, eyes black in pain. 'Pain,' she
thought, 'because…' Slowly, she let go of him- her
comfort- and backed away slowly, moving to the
other end of the couch. 'He probably thinks that I
haven't changed…that I'm still the child that I used
to be.' She choked on her sobs when her thoughts
finished with, 'That I'll never grow up…he'll have a
child for a wife.' Closing her eyes, ignoring his voice
when he called her name, she slowly stood up,
rubbing her temples. She heard him stand up, too,
taking a few steps towards her.
"Serenity…? What happened? I was sleeping, but
then you woke me up with your sobbing." He
furrowed his brow, indigo eyes full of bewilderment.
"I thought you were awake, so I called your name,
but when you didn't respond, I realized that you were
having a nightmare…that was when I shook you
awake." Endymion completely walked over to her
now, his arms engulfing her in his embrace.
"Serenity," he said, "what happened?"
She inhaled his scent. 'Roses,' she thought. 'Will it
always be roses? I thought that it would always
be…but then, I thought that our love would last
forever, too.' Slowly, she extricated herself from his
grasp and said, not meeting his eyes, "I don't
remember." She felt his gaze on her, full of disbelief.
"Serenity, I know you're lying," he said calmly. "So
why don't you tell me the truth?"
"I already told you, Mamoru," she said, reverting
back to his 20th century name. "I forgot." It hurt her
to say that- but what could she do? She was afraid to
confront him out of fear that he truly did not love her
anymore. Daring to look at him under her lashes, she
was shocked to see that his face had become a stone
mask. Sighing, she turned around, heading towards
the direction of bed.
"Serenity," he said, voice following after her.
"What's wrong?"
'He doesn't love you anymore…so why is he putting
you through this?' She blurted out the first thing that
came to mind: "Doushite?"
He looked at her from across the room, stepping
towards her. "'Why' what?" he repeated, tilting his
head to the side.
"Why," she said slowly, looking into his eyes "were
you being so…so…" She trailed off, and decided to
change the subject, feeling panicked. "I-"
"Serenity," Endymion said, "Why won't you tell me
what your dream was about?"
'Because it hit a little too close to home..?' she
thought. 'Because you ignored my cries for help, just
as you were ignoring me today.' "I told you,
Endymion," she snapped, "I forgot about it! Must
you keep bothering me with your questions? I'm
tired, and I want to go to bed." She walked over to
the bed and lay down. Not even five minutes later,
she was fast asleep.
Endymion looked adoringly at her. 'Gomen nasai,
Usa-ko,' he thought. 'I just can't let you find out…'
Serenity had then waken up this morning, silver hair
pooled around her. Reaching over to the spot next to
her, she felt nothing. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she
turned to her side, to be faced with an empty bed.
'Endymion…' she sadly thought, wiping away tears.
'What have I done to make you hate me so?' Sighing,
she sat up, remembering that today was the day that
she and Endymion had to make their public
appearance to the people of the earth. 'Will they see
through our façade?' she wondered. 'Will they
realize that I'm not fit to be the queen?' A knock at
the door startled her. "Hai?" she ventured timidly.
The door opened, and in came Endymion.
"Good morning," he said to her, taking off his shoes.
"Did you sleep well?"
'Did you sleep well?' she repeated in her mind. That
dream…It had all come rushing back to her in an
instant, making her experience vertigo. She wanted to
think about this dream- go into it further, but she
couldn't- not here, not in front of him. So instead, she
nodded her head yes, unable to speak. She watched as
he crossed the room, opening a large dresser.
"Don't forget, Serenity," he said, "we have to make
that public appearance today."
Fire ran through her blood at his inferior-like tone
towards her. "I know that," she replied acidly, blue
eyes flashing. "What do you think I am, a child?" But
deep in her heart, she knew that what she had said
was right. He did think that she was just a child.
"Iie, I don't," he said smoothly, turning to look at
her, "but you're acting like one. Now hurry up- go
take a shower and get ready."
Defiance was plainly written across her face. "Why
should I listen to you? After all, you don't lo-" she
halted, catching her words before they had spilled.
Defeated, she said, "Yes, Endymion," and trailed off
to the bathroom, her heart heavy.
(End Flashback)
*Some day out of the blue, in a crowded street or a
deserted square…
I'll turn and I'll see you, As if our love were new,
Some day we can start again, some day soon…*
'Wave wave, smile smile,' she thought, her face
hurting from smiling for so long. She and Endymion,
flanked by the senshi on either side of their bodies,
were out on the balcony, waving down the multitude
of people down below.
"Speech, speech, speech!" they chanted, until
Endymion, motioning to Rei to bring over the
microphone, began to talk.
"People of Crystal Tokyo," he said, voice as smooth
as silk, "my wife and I come to you today for your
approval. We promise to do our best to keep the
peace in the world, and to stop evil and hatred from
spreading. However, we are humans- hard as it may
seem to believe- and humans do tend to make
mistakes, whether they are insignificant or
monumental. I cannot promise that Serenity and I
shall be perfect in every way, but we shall try to do
our best. The people of the world will always be in
our hearts." He then handed over the microphone to
Serenity. A look of shock was on her face, for he
knew that she didn't like to make formal speeches.
When she tried to discreetly shake her head no, he
glared at her and practically shoved the microphone
into her hand. Her eyes grew large at the callous
action, and tears began to fill her eyes.
Clearing her throat, she began her speech. "Watashi
(I) …Watashi…" And ended it right there. "Gomen
nasai," she said into the microphone, "demo…I just
can't do this right now." And then she fled the
balcony, leaving the crowd- and her friends- in a
stunned silence.
She ran and ran in any which way through the palace,
until she came upon the door that would lead her into
the outside gardens. Tossing a look over her shoulder
to make sure that she hadn't been followed, she
opened the door and stepped outside, into the fresh
air. The breeze gently caressed her face, reminding
her of Endymion's gentle hands when they used to
touch her- when he used to love her. Walking into the
garden, she stopped near the red roses, plucking one
off of the bush. Bringing the flower up to her nose,
she sniffed it, smiling. She took a pin from her hair,
and gently intertwined the single rose into her hair.
She continued to walk deeper into the garden, feeling
completely at ease, and completely happy. She came
upon a grassy part of the garden, where it was a
simple field, filled with daisies. She laid down on the
ground, folding her hand over her stomach. It was
then she realized just how much she missed
Endymion- the real one. She delved into her
thoughts, trying to make some sense of the situation.
So Endymion had basically been cold to her. He had
brushed her aside like she was a nobody. She could
tell that nobody else had noticed, for Endymion had
been very cautious around the others. But what she
still couldn't understand was what had changed. She
was still the same person she had been a thousand
years ago- nothing had changed, except for that she
was older...Suddenly, it hit her. What if he had
realized, during the great sleep, that he had only
loved her because of their past? Because she *had* to
have been the one he married. His emotions could
have been false, she knew that he could pretend very
well. And yet…some part of her was trying to deny
this, after all, when the Dark Moon Family had been
around, she had seen the great love in the King's eyes
for his sleeping wife. But they are different, she
thought. Things change, and so do feelings. Sighing,
she closed her eyes from the seemingly glaring sun,
falling asleep.
~ Serenity ran and ran, running into walls and doors
that never seemed to give way. She was trapped, she
thought, panicking, and something was out to get her.
Running, she took a left- into the unknown. This
place was well lit, light bouncing off the crystals that
made up this maze, and she could easily see where
she was heading. However, that foreboding sense of
doom lurked, and she was scared. "Endymion!" she
cried while running. "Endymion, where are you?
Why aren't you here to save me? Why aren't you
ever here for me anymore?!" She continued to run
until she became exhausted, sitting down onto the
cold hard ground, losing any hope for being saved. ~
"Serenity, wake up!" Endymion shook her violently,
trying to wake her up. After the event at the balcony,
he had stayed to apologize to the people, explaining
that his wife hadn't been feeling very well- which
was true, partially. He was very worried about her-
last night had scared him half to death, leaving him as
to wondering exactly what sort of nightmares she was
having. He had woken up to her cries of 'Endymion!'
Panic had gripped his heart, as he desperately tried to
wake her up, to soothe her, but she had pushed him
away, not wanting his comfort. At that time, he had
fervently wished that he could tell his Usa-ko the
truth, but he couldn't; He had already promised *her*
that he wouldn't… "Serenity," he said again,
shaking her harder, "wake up!"
Her eyes flew open, meeting Endymion's eyes above
hers, for the second time in two days. Slowly, she sat
up, swallowing her fear. Shock invaded her senses:
"How did you find me?" she whispered. "I thought
that nobody had followed me."
Smiling gently at her, he held out a hand to help her
up. "Don't you know that I'll always find you? No
matter where you are?"
* I still believe, I still put faith in us,
We had it all and watched it slip away,
Where are we now? Not where we want to be
Those hot afternoons still follow me…*
Hesitantly, she placed her hand in his, allowing him
to pull her up. He pulled a little too hard, and she
found herself- again- in his embrace. 'How different
you can be, Endymion. One minute, you're as cold as
ice- hard as stone. And the next, you're so warm…so
loving. How many sides of you don't I know?' She
felt his hand stroke her head in a reassuring motion.
'No…if you do this, I'll never be able to ask…' She
pushed him away. "Endymion," she blurted out, not
wanting to feel this pain anymore, "are you having an
affair?"
Endymion blanched. 'Cheat…on Usa-ko? I would
never…' "Serenity," he said, face as hard as stone, "I
refuse to answer that question." And then he turned
on his heel, walking on the path that would lead him
out of the garden…just as Serenity fell to her knees
in despair.
'I knew it,' she thought, sobbing into her hands, tears
spilling from her eyes, 'I knew it…Endymion, after
one thousand years of love, what made you stop
loving me?' She wiped her tears away, blue eyes
determined. 'Who is she? Who is this woman,
Endymion?' Standing, she brushed her dress off and
ran after him. "Endymion! Endymion, wait!" When
she saw him hurry his pace, she cried aloud,
"Endymion, if you ever truly loved me,
please…please wait!" She saw him abruptly halt,
turning around to watch her come stumbling towards
him.
Endymion had, at first, not wanted to speak to
Serenity after she had called out to him. After all,
what man would want to confront his wife after she
had accused him of cheating? Endymion had taken
his wedding vows seriously, and he never intended
on breaking them. But after he heard the despair in
her voice when she had said 'if you ever truly loved
me', he had immediately stopped walking- for two
reasons. One, what had made her think that he had
stopped loving her, and two…he just had to. He
turned around, waiting for her to reach where he was
standing. 'God,' he thought. 'She looks so damn
beautiful…' Silver hair was flying about her, white
dress flowing provocatively about her, clinging to her
waist. Blue eyes were hazy, as though she had been
crying…
She finally caught up to him, her chest heaving, but
ready and determined for the answer he would give to
her question. Taking a deep breath, she said,
"Endymion…I just want to known two things. My
first question- did you ever truly love me?" When she
saw that he made no move to answer her, eye nor
face betraying nothing, she felt her heart break.
Gasping, a hand flew to her mouth. She was in shock,
but something had already told her that…that this
would be his answer. Bravely, she continued,
"And…and I just want to know one more thing. Who
is she, Endymion? Who have you left me for…?"
When she saw him turn his back on her, she ran to
him, clutching his arm. "Endymion," she pleaded,
tears falling freely, "tell me. Who is she? Who is the
woman that deserves your love so much more than I
do? Tell me, please!" she added, when he said
nothing. "Endymion…please don't do this…"
"Serenity," he said, removing her grasp on his arm.
"Do you have such little faith in me? Do you actually
think," he continued, indigo eyes blazing brightly,
"that I would have an affair? That I would betray
your trust?"
"I don't know," she sobbed. "I don't know,
Endymion…I don't know anything, anymore. All I
know is that after the great sleep, you've been
avoiding and ignoring me as though I was a
plague…" Clenching her fists, she continued, still
sobbing. "And the only times you've showed any
affection towards me…was today, out on the
balcony- and even then, I could tell that it wasn't
real." Breaking down, she ran in front of him, making
him face her. "Just…tell me who she is, Endymion,
please. I promise, I won't make a fit. We can…we
can even…" 'Oh god,' she thought. 'Do I really want
to say this?' But his happiness was so important to
her… Bracing herself, she finished her sentence. "We
can even get divorced, if you want…so you can be
with her."
He stood, stunned, as though she had slapped him-
which she had, mentally and emotionally, although
she didn't realized it. Anger surged through his
body. "Fine, *Usa-ko*," he said, his voice sarcastic.
"You want to meet the lady that I'm having an affair
with?" He grabbed her wrist and dragged her back
into the palace, ignoring her pleas for him to let go of
her hands. Soon, they came upon a door, and he
stopped walking.
Serenity swallowed nervously. 'So this is it,' she
thought. 'I'm about to meet my husband's mistress.'
"Well, Serenity," he said bitterly, "what are you
waiting for? Aren't you just *dying* to know who
she is?" Opening the door, he shoved her into the
dark room.
"Endymion, wha-?"
"SURPRISE!" A group of people exclaimed, while
one turned on the light. Serenity gasped as she looked
around the room. 'Ami, Makoto, Rei, Minako…'
And there, in that corner…'Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru,
and Setsuna!' Only her close friends- the nine senshi
-were here, but what caught her eye the most was the
large cake and banner in the middle of the room that
read: 'Congratulations, Serenity!'
'Oh no,' she thought in horror. 'This can't be…' But
suddenly, his attitude made perfect sense to her. The
secrecy, the little bouts of him ignoring her, trying to
stay away from her... 'He was planning a party for
me?' Inhaling sharply, she turned around, wanting to
apologize- to beg his forgiveness…but he was gone.
She pivoted on her foot again, turning to face the
small group of friends. "I don't deserve this," she
whispered to them, watching as eight faces-
Setsuna's the only one taking on a look of
understanding- looked at her in shock. "Who planned
this…?"
*Some day out of the blue, maybe years from now,
Or tomorrow night, I'll turn and I'll see you…
As if we always knew, some day we would live
again, some day soon*
"Endymion planned all of it, Serenity," Michiru said
gently, leaning back into Haruka. "In fact, after you
unfroze us, he came to all of us and said that he
wanted to throw a surprise party for you, just because
he was so proud of you…"
"But," Makoto continued, "we made him promise
that he couldn't just wimp out on us and tell you…So
we kinda made him stay away from you…"
"Because we knew that if you had the slightest clue
as to what was happening, you would beg Endymion
to tell you, and he- because he loves you so much-
would easily give in to your questions," Ami
finished. "But why?"
Serenity stood there, pale. 'He…he did this all for
me? Because he…he does love me…! Oh god! I've
got to find him!' She fled from the room, ignoring the
senshi's pleas for her to come back. All those left in
the room slowly turned to Setsuna, walking towards
her.
The emerald-haired senshi backed away, dreading the
questions that were going to follow.
'Gosh darnit,' Setsuna thought, 'being the Time
Senshi really sucks sometimes.'
Two hours later, Serenity walked into her bedroom.
She had searched nearly the whole palace, which was
a feat itself, especially since she didn't even know the
place well. After the surprise, the first place she had
thought of was the garden. Searching the large garden
had took nearly twenty minutes, and after realizing
that he was not there, she had moved on to the
library, the dining room…All places had led to
failure of finding him, and now she was nearly
hysterical- 'Where has he gone?!'
There.
Her gaze had swept the room, and suddenly found
Endymion sleeping in their bed. Slowly, quietly, she
walked towards him, not wanting to wake him up.
She wanted to cherish this moment, for it could be
the last time that she might ever… She knelt on her
knees and gently kissed his lips, the lips that she had
so badly wanted to taste since what seemed like
forever to her. Sitting back, she stayed in her
kneeling position, gently stroking his silky hair. But
when she closely look at his face, she noticed the
dried tears on his face. 'Oh Mamo-chan,' she thought
miserably. 'I'm so sorry…' She got up and went to
the bathroom, slightly wetting a cloth. Coming back
to the bed, she knelt down again, sitting on her knees,
and gently wiped away the tears. Dropping the cloth
onto the ground next to her, she took Endymion's
hand and intertwined it with her own, dropping her
head to the bed. She sat there, thinking, drawing
some comfort from Endymion's warm hand.
Suddenly, the hand that she held tightened around her
own, and her head jolted upwards to meet
Endymion's eyes.
"Endymion…" she whispered, lowering her eyes.
"I…I hardly know what to say…" She tried to
remove her hand from his, but found that he only
tightened his grasp.
"Usa-ko," he whispered, sitting up slightly, leaning
on one elbow, "you're forgiven."
She was taken aback, and her facial expressions
mirrored her reaction. "Nani?" she said, her throat
hoarse. "Demo…"
Chuckling, he sat up completely, leaning on the
headboard. He tugged on her hand once, and she
stood up. Gently, he pulled her down to sit in his lap.
"Usa-ko," he said, touching his forehead to hers, "I
had time to think things over- with a level head. I
guess I can understand why you might have thought
that I was…'cheating on you.'" He watched as she
blushed. "But you know," he said, "you're going to
have to learn to trust me better."
Serenity's eyes widened at this statement. "Hai," she
said softly. "I know." Suddenly, she threw her arms
around his neck, pressing her body to his. "Mamo-
chan," she sobbed into his shirt. "You don't know
how afraid I was…that I had lost you…and that you
had never loved me, not even as Tsukino Usagi, one
thousand years ago." She continued to sob, even as
he linked his arms around her waist. "I was so scared,
Mamo-chan…I…I couldn't live without you being
by my side…I just love you so much."
Smiling, he lifted her chin with his finger and planted
a soft kiss on her lips. "Usa-ko," he said, blue eyes
filled with honestly, "I love you. I've always loved
you. I would even love you if you hadn't been
Princess Serenity so many years ago. I love you for
you. Our love has survived death, or have you
already forgotten that?" he said teasingly, watching
her squirm. "Oh, Usa-ko," he said, holding her close.
" 'For better or for worse,' remember?"
She looked up at him, eyes sparkling with delight and
pleasure. "Yes," she said softly. "I'll always
remember the moment we were officially joined as
husband and wife…when we fufilled what we had
wanted to do back on the moon…" Her eyes took on
a distant hazy look, but cleared when he kissed her
firmly on the mouth.
"Usa-ko," Endymion murmured, "I don't know how I
can prove this to you, but I want to erase all of your
doubts." He removed his arms from her waist, and
brought them to his neck, taking hold of her arms and
bringing them down so he could hold her hands. "I
will *never* betray you. *Never.* I love you too
much to do that."
Smiling, tears filling her eyes again, she confided, "I
know that now, Mamo-chan…I'll never doubt you
again. And…I'm sorry, Mamo-chan. For doubting
you…for accusing you of-"
He pressed a finger to her lips. "Iie, Usa-ko, don't
apologize anymore. What's important is that we love
each other…that we should live for today…for
tomorrow…for our future." His voice trailed off and
his eyes darkened. "By the way, Usa-ko," he added,
"you're twenty-two now, ne?"
"Hai," she admitted to him. "Why?"
Laughing, he made a sudden move so that she found
herself pinned underneath him. "Well…" he said,
while nuzzling her neck, "you're supposed to give
birth to Chibi-Usa at age 22, ne?"
She thought back to when she had been only 14, and
the then Neo-King Endymion had told them exactly
when Chibi-Usa would be born. "H…hai," she said
again, breath taken away as his lips descended to low
neckline of her dress. [HM- you know who you are- I
added this *juuust* for you!] "Doushite?"
He stopped kissing her and looked directly into her
eyes. "Don't you think we should start?"
"Start on what, Mamo-chan?"
Eyes twinkling, he replied, "Start on trying to have
Chibi-Usa." And then he kissed her gently on the lips
again, and began to unzip her dress.
* I still believe…
I still put faith in us…*
A few hours later, thoroughly exhausted, Serenity
dreamed again.
~ She was in the crystal maze again, running and
running- lost. "Endymion?" she called aloud, scared
again. "Endymion? Endymion, where are you?" She
ran and ran, until she came upon a dead end.
Sobbing, she fell to the ground. 'Endymion', she
thought. 'I thought-'
A warm hand touched her shoulder; immediately, she
stopped crying and turned around..
It was Endymion.
"Serenity," he said, kneeling down, blues eyes
sparkling, "I told you that I'd always find you, no
matter where you are. My love binds me to you…I
love you…I'll always love you, remember?"
Tears in her eyes, she nodded and embraced him. ~
And in their sleep, arms wrapped around each other,
Endymion and Serenity both smiled.
*I still believe…
I still put faith in us…*
[What's this you're asking me? What happened to the
senshi? *sighs Oh, all right…]
(Approximately two hours after Serenity had left…)
The senshi sat in various positions in the room- some
on chairs, some on the floor, some using *others* as
chairs…
"Hey," Minako complained. "Whatever happened to
Usagi-chan and Mamoru-kun?"
"Baka," Rei snapped, tossing her violet hair over her
shoulder. "What do you *think* happened?"
Minako stood there a while, hand to chin.
"Hmm…well, I mean-" Suddenly she stopped, a sly
grin appearing on her face. "You don't think that
they're…"
"Hai, Minako!" the rest of the senshi exclaimed.
"Oooh…Well, what about this cake that Makoto
baked?"
All grinned as 8 forks popped out from no where,
appearing in mid-air. Each senshi grabbed one,
knowing darn well that Usagi had remembered them
and teleported the forks to them. 'Thank you, Usagi-
chan,' each one of them thought as they dug into the
cake.
"You don't think," Hotaru said, while shoving cake
into her mouth, "that Usagi-chan will be too angry at
us for eating her cake, do you?"
Silence.
And then, "Hotaru, believe me. I don't think she'll
mind at all- after all, instead of cake, she gets lai-"
Michiru covered Haruka's mouth with her hand.
"Just eat, Hotaru. She won't mind- and at least you'll
have a new friend to play with soon."
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Lelu
(Who needs e-mail)
Into the Illusion: www.geocities.com/lelu_h/
By: Lelu
leluh40@aol.com
PG-13 (Oooh…scared now, aren't 'cha?)
(Fake Disclaimer: Yeah, SM and this song belong to
me, didn't you know that? I'm as rich as Bill Gates!
Woohoo! So why won't this money let me out of this
place? I must admit, though…Padded walls are nice.)
Disclaimer: SM does not belong to me. 'Someday
Out of the Blue' (written by Sir Elton John) can be
found on the 'Road to El Dorado' soundtrack, and
also does not belong to me. ::pouts:: Are you all
happy now?
This story is, of course, dedicated to Antigone- she
(and the rest of my ML) knows why
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
*Some day out of the blue,
In a crowded street or a deserted square,
I'll turn and I'll see you, as if our love were new,
Some day we can start again, some day soon…*
Neo-Queen Serenity looked down upon Crystal
Tokyo. The great sleep was over, and now she, Chiba
Usagi, age 22, was Neo-Queen Serenity, ruler of the
planet of earth. Sighing, she sat down on the grass,
tucking her legs under her dress. Wryly, she thought
to herself, 'Well, Usagi, you've made it. You're
Queen, you're special, and you're beautiful.' And
indeed she was. She now stood near six feet tall, blue
eyes demanding respect, her posture suggesting that
she was royalty. The strange thing was that although
she was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the
world, Neo-King Endymion, her Mamo-chan, had
been ignoring her.
Although she had unfrozen earth and been reunited
with her friends just yesterday, Endymion was
ignoring her completely. She had unfrozen him first,
of course, and when he had gently kissed her on the
forehead, that had been it. He hadn't spoken to her all
day, and every time she had made a motion to go
near him, he had quickly walked away, leaving her
stranded in the hallways, lost in the Crystal Palace.
Now Chiba Mamoru had loved Tsukino Usagi, she
was sure of that; but what she didn't understand was
why Neo-King Endymion did not love her. At first,
she had brushed it off, thinking that he was truly
busy- after all, it wasn't everyday you woke up to
find out that you were King of such a big planet! And
she could understand that, no problem. But what she
couldn't understand was why…why he didn't love
her anymore. Her large blue eyes- unchanged from a
thousand years ago- began to tear up at the thought of
Endymion…just not loving her anymore. But still,
she thought as she wiped her tears away, what would
have made him change his mind? She was still the
same- she had proven that by nearly tripping as she
ran to meet her friends- the Senshi- with outstretched
arms. What a happy reunion that had been, she
thought, smiling. The girls, her best friends- she had
seen the looks in their eyes when she had unfrozen
them. Not only were they surprised at how much
Usagi had grown during the sleep, but how much she
had still stayed the same. And truly, she had. There
was nothing different about her that would have
made Endymion stop loving her.
"Usagi! Usagi-chan!"
A mature voice called to her, tinged still with youth.
Turning her head to the side, she saw Minako flying
towards her over the grassy knoll. Smiling, she
thought to herself, 'Same old Minako.' But then her
thoughts froze. If Minako was still the same, as were
the other girls, then she was, too. So then…maybe
the Mamoru of the past hadn't loved the Usagi of the
past as much as she thought he had. 'Rubbish,' her
heart told her. 'Of course he loves you.' 'But then,'
her mind argued, 'why would he be ignoring you…?'
"Usagi-chan, there you are!" Minako sat down on the
ground next to Serenity, smoothing out her short
fuku. "You know, Usag-" She paused, looking
uncertain.
Serenity noticed this, and quickly asked, "Minako-
chan, daijabou? What is it?"
Minako looked at Usagi, confusion in her light blue
eyes. "I just can't figure out," she said, mumbling
under her breath, "what to call you! I mean, the rest
of us still keep our 20th century names, but yours is
different now! It's 'Neo-Queen Serenity!' Not Usagi-
chan anymore…" her voice trailed off, sadness
visibly noticeable.
"Hey, Minako," Serenity said, smiling reassuringly at
her friend. "It's just Usagi, remember? The silly old
school girl who couldn't pass a class!"
"You got that right," a voice said from behind them.
Both blondes jumped, slowly looking over their
shoulders to see who had interrupted their
conversation. Rei, Makoto, and Ami stood there,
towering over them.
"I'm glad to see that all my teasing hasn't been in
vain," Rei continued, a smirk on her face.
"Oh, hush, Rei," Serenity said crossly, winking at her
to show that she didn't really mind.
"Kon'wa, Usagi-chan," Ami said, delicately sitting
down. "We were looking all over for you." She
chuckled gently. "I don't know how I'm going to get
used to this palace…this place…It's all so new, and I
feel as though I won't be able to find my way around
here!"
"You mean," Makoto said, sarcasm tinged with her
deep voice, "besides the fact that we're due to be here
one-thousand more years or so?"
Gentle laughter erupted from the five of them, each
glad to be with the rest again. It had been so long
since they had been together, the five of them, and
Serenity was truly happy- well, not entirely happy.
She still had her thoughts of Endymion…
"Well, Odango," Rei snidely commented while
giving a tug on one of Usagi's ponytails, "it's good to
know that some things never change." However, as
jokingly as Rei had meant that comment to be, all
five of them knew just how deep it went. "But like
Minako-chan said- what are we supposed to address
you as, your royal odango-ness?"
Letting out a gale of laughter, Serenity replied,
"Well, what has changed? I'm still Usagi, and you
are to address me as so! Except for you, Rei-chan,"
she added. "Just because you're my favorite," she
said in a voice that was sweetly sickening, "you may
call me 'Your Royal Highness.'"
Rei looked blankly at her, while Makoto burst out
laughing. "Usagi-chan," Makoto said, trying to gulp
in breaths of air, "that was a good one!"
Serenity looked at Makoto, who was rolling on the
grass in here fuku. "What," she said, arching an
eyebrow while trying to hold back a smile, "made
you think I was joking?"
"Hey!" Rei protested indignantly, leaving the other 3
girls to join Makoto on the grass, rolling around
laughing until their stomachs hurt.
Up in their bedroom, Endymion watched as
Serenity's face lit up with laughter. His heart swelled
with love for his Queen, a small smile tugging at his
lips. 'Aishiteru, Usa-ko,' he thought, before turning
away from the window.
Later that day, as Serenity walked towards the
balcony where the crowd below was waiting for she
and Endymion to give a speech, she thought back to
her last night…her first night at the Crystal Palace.
*Here comes the night, here come the memories…
Lost in your arms, down in the foreign fields…
Not so long ago…(Seems like eternity)
Those sweet afternoons…still capture me…*
(Flashback)
Serenity walked into their bedroom, looking for
Endymion. "Endymion?" she softly called, stepping
into the room. "Kami-sama!" was the first thing she
had said upon taking her first view of the room.
Truly, it was the biggest room she had ever seen; It
was fit for royalty, which was exactly what they
were, but simple in design. The room was bigger than
the whole upstairs of her old house- the one she had
been brought up in. Two balconies, each with French
doors, were on either sides of the room, the glass of
the doors decorated by a sheer-white covering. The
fireplace at the farthest end of the room, surrounded
by a marble mantle, was truly breathtaking. Three
very wide couches, one directly in front of the
fireplace, and the other two by the balconies, were
also the color of white. 'I'm guessing,' Serenity
thought, 'that I must've had white in my mind when I
decorated this palace.' A chandelier hung from the
middle of the room, crystals dangling from the end,
the colors of the rainbow reflect off the cream-
colored walls. But as beautiful as this room was, she
still had one question:
'Where the hell is Endymion?'
True he had still been ignoring her all day, saying
little more than a 'hello' to her, when she had finally
cornered him in a hallway. However, he had gotten
himself out of that fix as quickly as he had gotten into
it: He had stated that he 'had a prior engagement that
he had to attend to', and left her, standing somewhat
dazed in the middle of the hallway.
Shaking her head quickly, using a hand to brush back
her now silver hair, she quietly walked into the
bathroom, finding a silk nightgown on the back of the
door. She took a relaxing shower, dressed herself,
and then brushed her teeth, worried as to where
Endymion was. 'Surely,' she thought, while rinsing
her mouth, 'he's not cheating on me! He wouldn't do
that to me, would he?'
But then again, his attitude towards her had been
strange and secretive- Serenity wasn't stupid. She
had had friends whose husbands had cheated on
them, and the signs that Endymion was- 'Matte,' she
fiercely told herself. 'Endymion loves you…He
would never…' Sighing, she walked out of the
bathroom, and to the bed. Blushing fiercely, she
looked at the bed again. It was a huge four poster
bed, complete with four beige-colored posts that led
to a canopy. It could easily fit over 5 people, and
yet…there she was, alone. Serenity had truly wanted
to celebrate with Endymion- in more ways than one-
that they were alive again- together again. Sighing,
she walked over to the bed, only to be stopped by a
small, nearly inaudible snore that was coming
from…Cautiously, she walked towards the couch- the
one that was facing the fireplace- and peeked over the
edge of it.
Endymion.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Tilting her head, she
looked at him again. 'He is truly beautiful,' she
thought. 'How much I love him…' How she ached
for him to hold her again, just like he had used to.
Swallowing, she bent over and gently kissed him on
the lips, her heart rejoicing at the small but intimate
touch. Walking over to the bed again, she pulled the
top cover off and dragged it back to the couch.
'Well,' she thought sarcastically, 'I never thought
that my first night as Queen would be spent sleeping
on a couch.' Laughing silently to herself, she laid
down beside Endymion, her face facing his, and
carefully took his arm and put it over her back,
snuggling as close to him as was possible. 'Who
knows,' she thought pessimistically. 'This could be
the last time that he will hold you- in sleep.' Again,
she scolded herself for such nasty thoughts. 'He does
love you,' she scolded herself. 'He does.' With her
free hand, she pulled the covers over the both of
them, and soon she drifted off to sleep.
~ "Endymion?" Serenity's voice bounced off the
crystal maze. "Endymion, this isn't funny anymore!
Where are you?" Her voice broke, and she slowly
sagged against the crystal wall. She had been in this
crystal 'prison', wandering around for hours, calling
Endymion's name- hoping that he would come and
save her from this intricate labyrinth. She called out
his name one last time, but when he didn't respond,
or come to her rescue, she drew her knees up to her
chest, and began to sob into her hands. "How could
you have deserted me?" she cried in anguish. "How
could you…?!" ~
"Serenity? Serenity!" Gentle hands shook her awake,
as her blue eyes flew open to see concern etched into
Endymion's face. He was sitting next to her, legs off
the side of the couch, jet-black hair- now with a
purple tinge- disheveled.
"Oh…Endymion…" her body shook from fear. "I…"
And then, forgetting for a moment that Endymion
just might not be hers anymore, she flung herself into
his arms, sobbing into his chest, fingers gripping onto
his white shirt. "It was horrible, Endymion," she
cried. "I was…I…I was…" And then she looked up
at him- really looked at him. He seemed to be staring
above her head, eyes black in pain. 'Pain,' she
thought, 'because…' Slowly, she let go of him- her
comfort- and backed away slowly, moving to the
other end of the couch. 'He probably thinks that I
haven't changed…that I'm still the child that I used
to be.' She choked on her sobs when her thoughts
finished with, 'That I'll never grow up…he'll have a
child for a wife.' Closing her eyes, ignoring his voice
when he called her name, she slowly stood up,
rubbing her temples. She heard him stand up, too,
taking a few steps towards her.
"Serenity…? What happened? I was sleeping, but
then you woke me up with your sobbing." He
furrowed his brow, indigo eyes full of bewilderment.
"I thought you were awake, so I called your name,
but when you didn't respond, I realized that you were
having a nightmare…that was when I shook you
awake." Endymion completely walked over to her
now, his arms engulfing her in his embrace.
"Serenity," he said, "what happened?"
She inhaled his scent. 'Roses,' she thought. 'Will it
always be roses? I thought that it would always
be…but then, I thought that our love would last
forever, too.' Slowly, she extricated herself from his
grasp and said, not meeting his eyes, "I don't
remember." She felt his gaze on her, full of disbelief.
"Serenity, I know you're lying," he said calmly. "So
why don't you tell me the truth?"
"I already told you, Mamoru," she said, reverting
back to his 20th century name. "I forgot." It hurt her
to say that- but what could she do? She was afraid to
confront him out of fear that he truly did not love her
anymore. Daring to look at him under her lashes, she
was shocked to see that his face had become a stone
mask. Sighing, she turned around, heading towards
the direction of bed.
"Serenity," he said, voice following after her.
"What's wrong?"
'He doesn't love you anymore…so why is he putting
you through this?' She blurted out the first thing that
came to mind: "Doushite?"
He looked at her from across the room, stepping
towards her. "'Why' what?" he repeated, tilting his
head to the side.
"Why," she said slowly, looking into his eyes "were
you being so…so…" She trailed off, and decided to
change the subject, feeling panicked. "I-"
"Serenity," Endymion said, "Why won't you tell me
what your dream was about?"
'Because it hit a little too close to home..?' she
thought. 'Because you ignored my cries for help, just
as you were ignoring me today.' "I told you,
Endymion," she snapped, "I forgot about it! Must
you keep bothering me with your questions? I'm
tired, and I want to go to bed." She walked over to
the bed and lay down. Not even five minutes later,
she was fast asleep.
Endymion looked adoringly at her. 'Gomen nasai,
Usa-ko,' he thought. 'I just can't let you find out…'
Serenity had then waken up this morning, silver hair
pooled around her. Reaching over to the spot next to
her, she felt nothing. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she
turned to her side, to be faced with an empty bed.
'Endymion…' she sadly thought, wiping away tears.
'What have I done to make you hate me so?' Sighing,
she sat up, remembering that today was the day that
she and Endymion had to make their public
appearance to the people of the earth. 'Will they see
through our façade?' she wondered. 'Will they
realize that I'm not fit to be the queen?' A knock at
the door startled her. "Hai?" she ventured timidly.
The door opened, and in came Endymion.
"Good morning," he said to her, taking off his shoes.
"Did you sleep well?"
'Did you sleep well?' she repeated in her mind. That
dream…It had all come rushing back to her in an
instant, making her experience vertigo. She wanted to
think about this dream- go into it further, but she
couldn't- not here, not in front of him. So instead, she
nodded her head yes, unable to speak. She watched as
he crossed the room, opening a large dresser.
"Don't forget, Serenity," he said, "we have to make
that public appearance today."
Fire ran through her blood at his inferior-like tone
towards her. "I know that," she replied acidly, blue
eyes flashing. "What do you think I am, a child?" But
deep in her heart, she knew that what she had said
was right. He did think that she was just a child.
"Iie, I don't," he said smoothly, turning to look at
her, "but you're acting like one. Now hurry up- go
take a shower and get ready."
Defiance was plainly written across her face. "Why
should I listen to you? After all, you don't lo-" she
halted, catching her words before they had spilled.
Defeated, she said, "Yes, Endymion," and trailed off
to the bathroom, her heart heavy.
(End Flashback)
*Some day out of the blue, in a crowded street or a
deserted square…
I'll turn and I'll see you, As if our love were new,
Some day we can start again, some day soon…*
'Wave wave, smile smile,' she thought, her face
hurting from smiling for so long. She and Endymion,
flanked by the senshi on either side of their bodies,
were out on the balcony, waving down the multitude
of people down below.
"Speech, speech, speech!" they chanted, until
Endymion, motioning to Rei to bring over the
microphone, began to talk.
"People of Crystal Tokyo," he said, voice as smooth
as silk, "my wife and I come to you today for your
approval. We promise to do our best to keep the
peace in the world, and to stop evil and hatred from
spreading. However, we are humans- hard as it may
seem to believe- and humans do tend to make
mistakes, whether they are insignificant or
monumental. I cannot promise that Serenity and I
shall be perfect in every way, but we shall try to do
our best. The people of the world will always be in
our hearts." He then handed over the microphone to
Serenity. A look of shock was on her face, for he
knew that she didn't like to make formal speeches.
When she tried to discreetly shake her head no, he
glared at her and practically shoved the microphone
into her hand. Her eyes grew large at the callous
action, and tears began to fill her eyes.
Clearing her throat, she began her speech. "Watashi
(I) …Watashi…" And ended it right there. "Gomen
nasai," she said into the microphone, "demo…I just
can't do this right now." And then she fled the
balcony, leaving the crowd- and her friends- in a
stunned silence.
She ran and ran in any which way through the palace,
until she came upon the door that would lead her into
the outside gardens. Tossing a look over her shoulder
to make sure that she hadn't been followed, she
opened the door and stepped outside, into the fresh
air. The breeze gently caressed her face, reminding
her of Endymion's gentle hands when they used to
touch her- when he used to love her. Walking into the
garden, she stopped near the red roses, plucking one
off of the bush. Bringing the flower up to her nose,
she sniffed it, smiling. She took a pin from her hair,
and gently intertwined the single rose into her hair.
She continued to walk deeper into the garden, feeling
completely at ease, and completely happy. She came
upon a grassy part of the garden, where it was a
simple field, filled with daisies. She laid down on the
ground, folding her hand over her stomach. It was
then she realized just how much she missed
Endymion- the real one. She delved into her
thoughts, trying to make some sense of the situation.
So Endymion had basically been cold to her. He had
brushed her aside like she was a nobody. She could
tell that nobody else had noticed, for Endymion had
been very cautious around the others. But what she
still couldn't understand was what had changed. She
was still the same person she had been a thousand
years ago- nothing had changed, except for that she
was older...Suddenly, it hit her. What if he had
realized, during the great sleep, that he had only
loved her because of their past? Because she *had* to
have been the one he married. His emotions could
have been false, she knew that he could pretend very
well. And yet…some part of her was trying to deny
this, after all, when the Dark Moon Family had been
around, she had seen the great love in the King's eyes
for his sleeping wife. But they are different, she
thought. Things change, and so do feelings. Sighing,
she closed her eyes from the seemingly glaring sun,
falling asleep.
~ Serenity ran and ran, running into walls and doors
that never seemed to give way. She was trapped, she
thought, panicking, and something was out to get her.
Running, she took a left- into the unknown. This
place was well lit, light bouncing off the crystals that
made up this maze, and she could easily see where
she was heading. However, that foreboding sense of
doom lurked, and she was scared. "Endymion!" she
cried while running. "Endymion, where are you?
Why aren't you here to save me? Why aren't you
ever here for me anymore?!" She continued to run
until she became exhausted, sitting down onto the
cold hard ground, losing any hope for being saved. ~
"Serenity, wake up!" Endymion shook her violently,
trying to wake her up. After the event at the balcony,
he had stayed to apologize to the people, explaining
that his wife hadn't been feeling very well- which
was true, partially. He was very worried about her-
last night had scared him half to death, leaving him as
to wondering exactly what sort of nightmares she was
having. He had woken up to her cries of 'Endymion!'
Panic had gripped his heart, as he desperately tried to
wake her up, to soothe her, but she had pushed him
away, not wanting his comfort. At that time, he had
fervently wished that he could tell his Usa-ko the
truth, but he couldn't; He had already promised *her*
that he wouldn't… "Serenity," he said again,
shaking her harder, "wake up!"
Her eyes flew open, meeting Endymion's eyes above
hers, for the second time in two days. Slowly, she sat
up, swallowing her fear. Shock invaded her senses:
"How did you find me?" she whispered. "I thought
that nobody had followed me."
Smiling gently at her, he held out a hand to help her
up. "Don't you know that I'll always find you? No
matter where you are?"
* I still believe, I still put faith in us,
We had it all and watched it slip away,
Where are we now? Not where we want to be
Those hot afternoons still follow me…*
Hesitantly, she placed her hand in his, allowing him
to pull her up. He pulled a little too hard, and she
found herself- again- in his embrace. 'How different
you can be, Endymion. One minute, you're as cold as
ice- hard as stone. And the next, you're so warm…so
loving. How many sides of you don't I know?' She
felt his hand stroke her head in a reassuring motion.
'No…if you do this, I'll never be able to ask…' She
pushed him away. "Endymion," she blurted out, not
wanting to feel this pain anymore, "are you having an
affair?"
Endymion blanched. 'Cheat…on Usa-ko? I would
never…' "Serenity," he said, face as hard as stone, "I
refuse to answer that question." And then he turned
on his heel, walking on the path that would lead him
out of the garden…just as Serenity fell to her knees
in despair.
'I knew it,' she thought, sobbing into her hands, tears
spilling from her eyes, 'I knew it…Endymion, after
one thousand years of love, what made you stop
loving me?' She wiped her tears away, blue eyes
determined. 'Who is she? Who is this woman,
Endymion?' Standing, she brushed her dress off and
ran after him. "Endymion! Endymion, wait!" When
she saw him hurry his pace, she cried aloud,
"Endymion, if you ever truly loved me,
please…please wait!" She saw him abruptly halt,
turning around to watch her come stumbling towards
him.
Endymion had, at first, not wanted to speak to
Serenity after she had called out to him. After all,
what man would want to confront his wife after she
had accused him of cheating? Endymion had taken
his wedding vows seriously, and he never intended
on breaking them. But after he heard the despair in
her voice when she had said 'if you ever truly loved
me', he had immediately stopped walking- for two
reasons. One, what had made her think that he had
stopped loving her, and two…he just had to. He
turned around, waiting for her to reach where he was
standing. 'God,' he thought. 'She looks so damn
beautiful…' Silver hair was flying about her, white
dress flowing provocatively about her, clinging to her
waist. Blue eyes were hazy, as though she had been
crying…
She finally caught up to him, her chest heaving, but
ready and determined for the answer he would give to
her question. Taking a deep breath, she said,
"Endymion…I just want to known two things. My
first question- did you ever truly love me?" When she
saw that he made no move to answer her, eye nor
face betraying nothing, she felt her heart break.
Gasping, a hand flew to her mouth. She was in shock,
but something had already told her that…that this
would be his answer. Bravely, she continued,
"And…and I just want to know one more thing. Who
is she, Endymion? Who have you left me for…?"
When she saw him turn his back on her, she ran to
him, clutching his arm. "Endymion," she pleaded,
tears falling freely, "tell me. Who is she? Who is the
woman that deserves your love so much more than I
do? Tell me, please!" she added, when he said
nothing. "Endymion…please don't do this…"
"Serenity," he said, removing her grasp on his arm.
"Do you have such little faith in me? Do you actually
think," he continued, indigo eyes blazing brightly,
"that I would have an affair? That I would betray
your trust?"
"I don't know," she sobbed. "I don't know,
Endymion…I don't know anything, anymore. All I
know is that after the great sleep, you've been
avoiding and ignoring me as though I was a
plague…" Clenching her fists, she continued, still
sobbing. "And the only times you've showed any
affection towards me…was today, out on the
balcony- and even then, I could tell that it wasn't
real." Breaking down, she ran in front of him, making
him face her. "Just…tell me who she is, Endymion,
please. I promise, I won't make a fit. We can…we
can even…" 'Oh god,' she thought. 'Do I really want
to say this?' But his happiness was so important to
her… Bracing herself, she finished her sentence. "We
can even get divorced, if you want…so you can be
with her."
He stood, stunned, as though she had slapped him-
which she had, mentally and emotionally, although
she didn't realized it. Anger surged through his
body. "Fine, *Usa-ko*," he said, his voice sarcastic.
"You want to meet the lady that I'm having an affair
with?" He grabbed her wrist and dragged her back
into the palace, ignoring her pleas for him to let go of
her hands. Soon, they came upon a door, and he
stopped walking.
Serenity swallowed nervously. 'So this is it,' she
thought. 'I'm about to meet my husband's mistress.'
"Well, Serenity," he said bitterly, "what are you
waiting for? Aren't you just *dying* to know who
she is?" Opening the door, he shoved her into the
dark room.
"Endymion, wha-?"
"SURPRISE!" A group of people exclaimed, while
one turned on the light. Serenity gasped as she looked
around the room. 'Ami, Makoto, Rei, Minako…'
And there, in that corner…'Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru,
and Setsuna!' Only her close friends- the nine senshi
-were here, but what caught her eye the most was the
large cake and banner in the middle of the room that
read: 'Congratulations, Serenity!'
'Oh no,' she thought in horror. 'This can't be…' But
suddenly, his attitude made perfect sense to her. The
secrecy, the little bouts of him ignoring her, trying to
stay away from her... 'He was planning a party for
me?' Inhaling sharply, she turned around, wanting to
apologize- to beg his forgiveness…but he was gone.
She pivoted on her foot again, turning to face the
small group of friends. "I don't deserve this," she
whispered to them, watching as eight faces-
Setsuna's the only one taking on a look of
understanding- looked at her in shock. "Who planned
this…?"
*Some day out of the blue, maybe years from now,
Or tomorrow night, I'll turn and I'll see you…
As if we always knew, some day we would live
again, some day soon*
"Endymion planned all of it, Serenity," Michiru said
gently, leaning back into Haruka. "In fact, after you
unfroze us, he came to all of us and said that he
wanted to throw a surprise party for you, just because
he was so proud of you…"
"But," Makoto continued, "we made him promise
that he couldn't just wimp out on us and tell you…So
we kinda made him stay away from you…"
"Because we knew that if you had the slightest clue
as to what was happening, you would beg Endymion
to tell you, and he- because he loves you so much-
would easily give in to your questions," Ami
finished. "But why?"
Serenity stood there, pale. 'He…he did this all for
me? Because he…he does love me…! Oh god! I've
got to find him!' She fled from the room, ignoring the
senshi's pleas for her to come back. All those left in
the room slowly turned to Setsuna, walking towards
her.
The emerald-haired senshi backed away, dreading the
questions that were going to follow.
'Gosh darnit,' Setsuna thought, 'being the Time
Senshi really sucks sometimes.'
Two hours later, Serenity walked into her bedroom.
She had searched nearly the whole palace, which was
a feat itself, especially since she didn't even know the
place well. After the surprise, the first place she had
thought of was the garden. Searching the large garden
had took nearly twenty minutes, and after realizing
that he was not there, she had moved on to the
library, the dining room…All places had led to
failure of finding him, and now she was nearly
hysterical- 'Where has he gone?!'
There.
Her gaze had swept the room, and suddenly found
Endymion sleeping in their bed. Slowly, quietly, she
walked towards him, not wanting to wake him up.
She wanted to cherish this moment, for it could be
the last time that she might ever… She knelt on her
knees and gently kissed his lips, the lips that she had
so badly wanted to taste since what seemed like
forever to her. Sitting back, she stayed in her
kneeling position, gently stroking his silky hair. But
when she closely look at his face, she noticed the
dried tears on his face. 'Oh Mamo-chan,' she thought
miserably. 'I'm so sorry…' She got up and went to
the bathroom, slightly wetting a cloth. Coming back
to the bed, she knelt down again, sitting on her knees,
and gently wiped away the tears. Dropping the cloth
onto the ground next to her, she took Endymion's
hand and intertwined it with her own, dropping her
head to the bed. She sat there, thinking, drawing
some comfort from Endymion's warm hand.
Suddenly, the hand that she held tightened around her
own, and her head jolted upwards to meet
Endymion's eyes.
"Endymion…" she whispered, lowering her eyes.
"I…I hardly know what to say…" She tried to
remove her hand from his, but found that he only
tightened his grasp.
"Usa-ko," he whispered, sitting up slightly, leaning
on one elbow, "you're forgiven."
She was taken aback, and her facial expressions
mirrored her reaction. "Nani?" she said, her throat
hoarse. "Demo…"
Chuckling, he sat up completely, leaning on the
headboard. He tugged on her hand once, and she
stood up. Gently, he pulled her down to sit in his lap.
"Usa-ko," he said, touching his forehead to hers, "I
had time to think things over- with a level head. I
guess I can understand why you might have thought
that I was…'cheating on you.'" He watched as she
blushed. "But you know," he said, "you're going to
have to learn to trust me better."
Serenity's eyes widened at this statement. "Hai," she
said softly. "I know." Suddenly, she threw her arms
around his neck, pressing her body to his. "Mamo-
chan," she sobbed into his shirt. "You don't know
how afraid I was…that I had lost you…and that you
had never loved me, not even as Tsukino Usagi, one
thousand years ago." She continued to sob, even as
he linked his arms around her waist. "I was so scared,
Mamo-chan…I…I couldn't live without you being
by my side…I just love you so much."
Smiling, he lifted her chin with his finger and planted
a soft kiss on her lips. "Usa-ko," he said, blue eyes
filled with honestly, "I love you. I've always loved
you. I would even love you if you hadn't been
Princess Serenity so many years ago. I love you for
you. Our love has survived death, or have you
already forgotten that?" he said teasingly, watching
her squirm. "Oh, Usa-ko," he said, holding her close.
" 'For better or for worse,' remember?"
She looked up at him, eyes sparkling with delight and
pleasure. "Yes," she said softly. "I'll always
remember the moment we were officially joined as
husband and wife…when we fufilled what we had
wanted to do back on the moon…" Her eyes took on
a distant hazy look, but cleared when he kissed her
firmly on the mouth.
"Usa-ko," Endymion murmured, "I don't know how I
can prove this to you, but I want to erase all of your
doubts." He removed his arms from her waist, and
brought them to his neck, taking hold of her arms and
bringing them down so he could hold her hands. "I
will *never* betray you. *Never.* I love you too
much to do that."
Smiling, tears filling her eyes again, she confided, "I
know that now, Mamo-chan…I'll never doubt you
again. And…I'm sorry, Mamo-chan. For doubting
you…for accusing you of-"
He pressed a finger to her lips. "Iie, Usa-ko, don't
apologize anymore. What's important is that we love
each other…that we should live for today…for
tomorrow…for our future." His voice trailed off and
his eyes darkened. "By the way, Usa-ko," he added,
"you're twenty-two now, ne?"
"Hai," she admitted to him. "Why?"
Laughing, he made a sudden move so that she found
herself pinned underneath him. "Well…" he said,
while nuzzling her neck, "you're supposed to give
birth to Chibi-Usa at age 22, ne?"
She thought back to when she had been only 14, and
the then Neo-King Endymion had told them exactly
when Chibi-Usa would be born. "H…hai," she said
again, breath taken away as his lips descended to low
neckline of her dress. [HM- you know who you are- I
added this *juuust* for you!] "Doushite?"
He stopped kissing her and looked directly into her
eyes. "Don't you think we should start?"
"Start on what, Mamo-chan?"
Eyes twinkling, he replied, "Start on trying to have
Chibi-Usa." And then he kissed her gently on the lips
again, and began to unzip her dress.
* I still believe…
I still put faith in us…*
A few hours later, thoroughly exhausted, Serenity
dreamed again.
~ She was in the crystal maze again, running and
running- lost. "Endymion?" she called aloud, scared
again. "Endymion? Endymion, where are you?" She
ran and ran, until she came upon a dead end.
Sobbing, she fell to the ground. 'Endymion', she
thought. 'I thought-'
A warm hand touched her shoulder; immediately, she
stopped crying and turned around..
It was Endymion.
"Serenity," he said, kneeling down, blues eyes
sparkling, "I told you that I'd always find you, no
matter where you are. My love binds me to you…I
love you…I'll always love you, remember?"
Tears in her eyes, she nodded and embraced him. ~
And in their sleep, arms wrapped around each other,
Endymion and Serenity both smiled.
*I still believe…
I still put faith in us…*
[What's this you're asking me? What happened to the
senshi? *sighs Oh, all right…]
(Approximately two hours after Serenity had left…)
The senshi sat in various positions in the room- some
on chairs, some on the floor, some using *others* as
chairs…
"Hey," Minako complained. "Whatever happened to
Usagi-chan and Mamoru-kun?"
"Baka," Rei snapped, tossing her violet hair over her
shoulder. "What do you *think* happened?"
Minako stood there a while, hand to chin.
"Hmm…well, I mean-" Suddenly she stopped, a sly
grin appearing on her face. "You don't think that
they're…"
"Hai, Minako!" the rest of the senshi exclaimed.
"Oooh…Well, what about this cake that Makoto
baked?"
All grinned as 8 forks popped out from no where,
appearing in mid-air. Each senshi grabbed one,
knowing darn well that Usagi had remembered them
and teleported the forks to them. 'Thank you, Usagi-
chan,' each one of them thought as they dug into the
cake.
"You don't think," Hotaru said, while shoving cake
into her mouth, "that Usagi-chan will be too angry at
us for eating her cake, do you?"
Silence.
And then, "Hotaru, believe me. I don't think she'll
mind at all- after all, instead of cake, she gets lai-"
Michiru covered Haruka's mouth with her hand.
"Just eat, Hotaru. She won't mind- and at least you'll
have a new friend to play with soon."
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Lelu
(Who needs e-mail)
Into the Illusion: www.geocities.com/lelu_h/
