*Five*

"Oh Starry Night,

Is he the one that I dream of?

Oh Starry Night,

How will I know,

Will his love show,

Is he my own true love?"

-- Oh Starry Night from the Sailor Moon Soundtrack

            The rest of the day was uneventful. Serena rode in silence, listening to Darien and Emmy's conversations. They talked about many things, physics, the weather, camping, researching, and the list went on and on. They never seemed to tire of talking to one another. Serena oftentimes found herself lost; she couldn't understand what they were talking about. Now she realized that Emmy was not only beautiful, but she was also extremely smart. She sighed, feeling a twinge of jealousy. It just wasn't fair! She had given her heart to Darien, and she had loved him so much.... and she still did. That was the problem. She still loved him so desperately yet he didn't even seem to notice her anymore. Soon, the night had begun to fall. They arrived at a small, clear stream. They decided to camp here, near a good water supply. Serena knelt carefully taking a drink. The water was fresh and cool; it quenched her dry, parched throat. She suddenly realized how thirsty she was. The stream was rather shallow at the edges, but towards the middle, it was quite deep. The water flowed rather slowly; it would be a good place to take a swim or a bath. Darien and Emmy sat further upstream. Rini was sitting by the fire, reading a book that she had brought along. Suddenly, there was a splash and then a scream behind her. Serena turned quickly. Emmy had fallen in the stream.

            "Help!" she screamed, "I can't swim." She floated towards where Serena was sitting. Without thinking, the young woman dived quickly beneath the ripples of the water. The water was cold, but somewhat refreshing. Serena floated up, breaking over the water's surface. She swam quickly towards Emmy, fighting the slow but steady current as she went. Just as her muscles were about to give in, she grabbed a hold of Emmy's shoulders. Looking towards the bank, she swam backwards, with Emmy in tow.

            "Hold on." She told the other woman. Soon, she reached the bank. She helped the other woman get up and the two of them walked onto the dry, welcoming grass.

            "That was a bad time to go for a swim." Serena commented as they both collapsed on grass.

            "Thank you, Serena." Emmy replied, gasping for air. Darien was already there.

            "Are you all right?" he asked Emmy worriedly.

            The young woman nodded, "Thanks to your quick thinking friend."

            Serena dragged herself back to the warm fire. Her muscles were extremely tired from the hard fight upstream. She let herself collapse somewhere near the fire. She was still breathing heavily. Finally, after a couple seconds, she got up into a sitting position. She tucked her legs into her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees, letting the fire warm her. She was shivering from the cold and her muscles were trembling at the same time. She felt something soft and heavy being put around her shoulders. She looked up wearily. Darien smiled down at her, wrapping the blanket tighter around her shoulders.

            "Are you all right?" he asked.

            Serena nodded tiredly.

            "Thanks," he said, "That was a really brave thing to do."

            Serena chuckled, "Brave? Darien, when was the last time you called me brave?"

            He smiled, but didn't reply. He brushed some hair out of her eyes. He seemed to just stare at her for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but then he just smiled warmly and left.

            Serena sighed. She quickly untied the bands that held her hair up into two braids. Darien used to always make fun of her for this hairstyle; he called her "meatballhead." She put the bands around her wrists and shook her heavy, wet hair quickly. When it wasn't tied up, her shimmering golden hair nearly brushed the floor. She pulled it all to one side, letting it drape over one of her shoulders. She played with a couple strands for a while. Finally, she got up tiredly. Rini was still in the tent, reading her book. She looked around for Darien and Emmy. They were sitting, leaning against a rock next to the fire. Emmy was also wrapped in a heavy blanket. She curled up next to Darien, her head rested lightly against his chest. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head lightly and squeezed her arms gently. Emmy smiled, lifting her head up and tilting it. He bent down gently and kissed her warmly on the lips. Serena looked away, she couldn't bear it. She walked away from the camp slowly, melting into darkness of the forest. After she was a safe distance from the small camp and the fire, she let herself go. She cried and sobbed. The salty wet tears dripped heavily down her cheeks, falling aimlessly to the ground. She didn't bother to wipe them away; she just let them fall. She was shaking; her sobs ran through her whole body. She felt an ache deep in her chest, down in her heart. It wrenched with pain. She had never thought she'd ever feel this way, but now she knew what it was like to be heartbroken. She looked at her hands; they were so small and pale. On one finger, was an exquisitely fine golden ring. Darien had given this to her, a long time ago. She took it off regretfully and let it fall to the ground. Her hair fell in front of her face, but she didn't brush it away. Suddenly, she felt so small, so alone, and she was scared. She couldn't stop crying; her body shook silently as she sobbed. She cried quietly, never making any noise, but the loud sound of her heart beating rang in her ears. She didn't know how long she sat there and cried, she didn't even care. Finally she had cried so much that she felt so unbelievably tired. The fire had already been put out by that time. The only light was that of the moon and the stars. She lifted her tear-streaked face towards the sky. The moon was gray tonight; it didn't glow with its usual bright, silver luminescence. Tonight, it too was sad, and unhappy. Giving out one last sob, Serena curled up into a tight ball, wrapping the blanket around her. Soon, she had fallen into a deep, sorrowful sleep.

*          *          *

            The sun was just coming up. The ground was soft and moist. Serena could feel the warm rays of the sun already hitting her face. Someone was sitting next to her, shaking her slowly awake.

            "Serena?" the voice sounded distant, "Serena, wake up."

            She opened her eyes slowly; they were puffed up from all the crying the night before.

            "Serena?" this time, the voice was closer.

            She shook her head groggily. She uncurled her body slowly. She looked up; trying to see whom it was that woke her. Finally, her eyes focused.

            "Darien?" she asked in a certain disbelief.

            He looked at her worriedly, "Serena, where did you go last night?"

            "I..." she began to answer, "I was here, last night."

            "Everyone's looking for you." He said, "Why didn't you come back to the tent?"

            "I don't know." She replied putting a small hand to her forehead, looking down at the ground.

            He gently lifted her chin up with his hand; he examined her. "You were crying." He finally concluded.

            Serena wiped her puffy eyes.

            "Serena," his tone now was extremely worried, "What's wrong."

            "Nothing." She lied quietly. She got up slowly, letting her stiff leg muscles stretch. He got up as well. As if noticing something, he bent down.

            "Maybe not." He replied just as quietly. He held out the small golden ring.

            She took it back slowly, "I must have dropped it." She said, feinting surprise. She slipped it back onto her hand.

            He looked at her, his eyes showed sorrow and regret, but she avoided his gaze.

            "I never wanted to hurt you, Serena." He finally said.

            Serena looked away, "No one ever wants to hurt anyone." She replied after a long awkward silence. Now she looked straight at him, "But they end up doing it anyway."

            He seemed stung by this answer. She turned and walked steadily back towards the camp. He caught up with her, matching her pace.

            "I'm sorry." He said as they two walked.

            "I know." Serena replied, "I know."

            Before he could say anymore, they had arrived back at the camp.

            "Serena!" Rini exclaimed upon seeing her.

            Serena forced a smile and caught the little girl in a warm hug, "Hey, Rini. Did you sleep well last night?"

            "Yep." Rini said, "Let's get going. I want to ride!"

            Serena let herself laugh a little, "All right," she said taking her hand, "Why don't you go over and talk with the horses? I have to help pack things up."

            Rini nodded. Serena watched the little girl run enthusiastically towards the horses. She sighed longingly, then turned and began to pack things up. She went into the tent and quietly began to gather her things. She rolled up her sleeping bag and began to tie it. Emmy was cleaning up the fire. Darien came into the tent and began to roll his own sleeping bag as well.

            "Maybe you want something to eat before we leave?" he asked quietly.

            "I'm not really hungry." She replied putting the sack into its bag. She got up and began to gather other things.

            "You'll need the strength, today's ride is going to be pretty long." Darien insisted.

            "I'll be fine." She replied, "Yesterday's ride was just as long."

            "Really?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

            Serena nodded, "around fourteen hours or so."

            "It didn't seem that long." He said, more to himself than to her.

            Serena sighed as she finished packing her things. She gathered it and walked outside. She secured it tightly to the packhorse. She stood thoughtfully for a moment.

            "Rini," she finally decided, "Tell the others that I'm out for a little refreshing ride. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

            Rini nodded. Serena quickly jumped onto Midnight's back. They were off like a lightning bolt, shooting through the air. She felt like she was flying, she was moving so fast. The wind blew her hair back and whipped against her face. She felt so free, so great. Midnight enjoyed the ride too, galloping at full speed. She neighed happily. The mare's hooves barely touched the ground. She raced sure-footedly on and on. Finally, Serena reined her in, slowing her to a canter and then a trot. She turned the wild black mare around. They trotted back merrily. Soon, they arrived back at the campsite. Serena hopped off quickly, giving the horse an affectionate pat on the neck. She took the bridle and led the horse to the stream letting the mare drink steadily.

*          *          *

            "This is going a lot better than I thought it would." Azure said wickedly watching her viewing screen, "Our poor little princess is feeling melancholy."

            "I'm glad I please you, my mistress." Venom stepped out, "Though I do have to give most of the credit to the lovely Emmy."

            "She has done a great job, hasn't she?" Azure asked.

            "More that we could have hoped for." Venom replied laughing viciously.

            "How are the other Scouts holding out?" Azure asked.

            "They've been riding strong, but I don't think we'll have to worry about them. We should concentrate on our little royal family here." Venom replied absently.

            Azure nodded, "I suppose you're right."

*          *          *

            The first hour of the ride that morning was quiet; everyone was silent. Darien looked cautiously over at Serena. She was riding calmly next to him; her face betrayed no emotion. This morning, however, he had seen it there. She had tried to hide it, but they knew each other so well he could tell. He had seen the pain in her eyes, her face, her posture. Her eyes had grown less swollen now, after she had them open for a while. But when she had just awakened, it was clearly evident that she had been crying hard for a long time. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember the exact moment she had left the night before. Somehow, he couldn't remember. He felt frustrated. He still cared for Serena; they shared a special bond, a connection that he could never share with anyone else. Yet, in just a couple days, that bond seemed to be stretched, almost broken. She was looking intently at her scanning device and recorded things often on a small sheet of paper. As if sensing his eyes, she looked up at him for a moment. He faltered, quickly looking back out on the road ahead. She went back to her recording.