Chapter Two

The caravan was traveling awfully slowly. Malachite watched from a safe distance, carefully noting the positions of the guards. Two guards rode on horses along side the carriage, while another young soldier drove the horses. The soldier in the driver's seat held the reins of the horses as if unused to such gentle creatures. Malachite assumed that a fourth guard, or at least a maidservant, remained inside with the moon princess. Satisfied with his reconnaissance mission, Malachite returned to Prince Endymion's camp.

He found the prince deep in conversation with a young soldier in a grey uniform. The prince dismissed the man as soon as he noticed his head general. Endymion's ice blue eyes flashed when Malachite nodded in affirmation. "They're headed south, Darien," he said anyway, using the prince's nickname.

The prince nodded thoughtfully. "Good. This should be an easy capture."

Malachite shook his head. "This won't be easy at all, Darien. If it is the moon princess, she won't be traveling without protection. I saw at least three guards with her."

The prince scoffed in derision. "Three guards against three thousand. Yes, I can see why you're worried."

"Don't underestimate the Lunarians, Darien. Those guards could easily defeat several hundred armed and trained men, and that's only if they're not senshi."

Endyimon blinked, confused. "Senshi? Even if they do exist, which I highly doubt, they couldn't possibly defeat hundreds, let alone thousands, of professional soldiers."

"I think you underestimate the senshi, my prince. From what I've heard, a single senshi could easily destroy an entire planet. We would be wise not to discount them."

Endyimon shook his head. "I need the princess if I'm to save my kingdom, Malachite. Only a marriage-alliance with the moon will be strong enough to stop Beryl from taking over everything. I must have the princess."

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"Calm yourself, Serenity. The journey will only last a few more days, and then you'll be with your beloved Diamond." *And then I can go back to Venus*, she thought. *Only when I've become queen will the planet be safe*. Mina patted Serena's arm reassuringly.

"He's not my 'beloved' Diamond. How can he be, when I've only met him a handful of times?" Serena stared disconsolately out the window.

Mina's head whipped toward the princess. "Serena," she said with compassion. "Do you not want to marry Diamond? I thought you liked him. Everybody else certainly did," she added in a tone that implied that Mina wasn't necessarily part of that 'everybody'.

"I do like him. I just don't love him." Serena finally turned and faced her friend. "I was just afraid of disappointing everyone. I mean, he's handsome, charming, intelligent. He even descends from Lunarian royal blood. What's not to like? Still, there's something not right about him. He scares me, a little."

Mina put a sympathetic arm around Serena's shoulders. "Serena, you could never disappoint any of us. We love you for who you are, not for who you might marry. We trust your judgment. If you wanted to marry a two- headed street sweeper, we won't stop you." Serena wiped her suddenly teary eyes. "Thanks, Mina, that means a lot to me. But what about Mother?"

Mina chuckled. "Your mother will come around. She just wants you to be happy. Besides, she can hardly say 'no' to you when four of the strongest warriors in the solar system, not to mention the heirs of four of the planets of the Silver Millennium, all support you."

Serena thought for a moment, scrunching up her face in concentration. "You?" she finally asked.

Mina laughed outright this time. "Of course, us, silly. We may be senshi, but we're also the future queens of four very large and very close kingdoms. We carry a lot of political clout, you know." She turned serious. "Do you want to marry Diamond, Serenity?"

"No," said Serena softly. "I don't."

Mina nodded. "Then we go home." Girls? she called with her mind, limiting her mind-voice so only the other senshi could hear. Trouble? inquired Raye in return.

No trouble. Serena doesn't want to marry Diamond. Turn us around slowly, Raye. We don't want to upset the horses.

Tell me about it. answered Raye, who for once did not question her leader's orders. She didn't like Diamond, either. I've never dealt with such flighty, fragile creatures before. Martian fire-horns are much more spirited.

The carriage slowed as Mina's laughter echoed into their minds. Just as it started to turn, though, Mina could hear shouts from outside. The carriage jolted sharply, then rolled to a stop. Mindful of Serenity's safety, Mina did not try to leave the carriage. How many? she mind-Sent to Lita.

At least a thousand. Maybe more. answered Lita, frustration coloring her thoughts. Not even we can take that many without transforming first. Orders?

Whatever you do, don't change! There might be dark moon agents out there, and we simply can't risk Serenity's safety. They'd attack her while we're fighting. Go along with them quietly, and stick to the plan. Don't use mind-speech until I contact you. Got it?

Their Sendings of agreement were accompanied by an abrupt silence outside, although several moans could be heard from the men they'd already attacked. "Remember, Serena, to follow my lead. Act like a frightened, weak female. Okay?"

Serena nodded. "I am a frightened, weak female."

Mina placed herself between Serena and the carriage door. "Never weak, Serena. You've never been that."

The door opened, and rough hands pulled them out. Mina jerked free as soon as Serena was safely out of the carriage. The two soldiers in grey uniforms who had grabbed them led them to another group of men on horseback. The uniforms of four of these men were a grey with blue trim, while the fifth man wore a complete suit or armor. Mina noted the bound forms of the other three senshi. They were surrounded by drawn weapons, but all three remained calm and unafraid. Mina didn't dare send a mind- call to tell them to at least lose some of their confidence to better hide their identities. Instead, she turned her attention to their captors.

All five men, she noticed, were exceptionally handsome. Two were tall and blond, one with leaf green eyes and the other with deep blue ones. The third man had long brown hair, with dark green eyes of his own. The fourth was a tall, silver haired man with cold, piercing silver eyes set in a surprisingly tanned face. The last, the armored man, had black hair and ice blue eyes.

"I assume you're responsible for this?" Mina asked with all of the arrogance she could muster. Hopefully, the men would think that she really was only a spoiled lord's daughter and release them. Still, she had the feeling that none of these men ever missed anything.

The armored man dismounted, saying coldly, "I'm Endyimon, high prince of Earth. I assume that you're Serenity?"

Mina paled, realizing that their cover was all but blown, and that only a few hours at the most would pass before agents of the dark moon attacked in droves. Still, maybe she could salvage something of this if she could convince them that she was Serenity. "Yes, I am Serenity. What do you want of me?"

Endyimon chuckled mirthlessly. "To put it simply, I need an alliance with the moon, and only a marriage between you and I will be enough cause to secure it."

Mina snuck a quick glance at Serena. The girl was putting on a good show of 'frightened maiden', but Mina could see the speculative interest in her eyes.

"And why, pray tell, would I want to wed a dead man?" Mina kept the haughty tone imbedded in her voice, hoping to draw Endymion's obvious interest away from Serenity.

It didn't work, of course. Endyimon couldn't seem to tear his eyes from Serena's lovely face. Mina wasn't overly surprised when the tanned, silver-haired man spoke to cover the silence stretching between the prince and Mina. "It's really quite simple, Majesty," he said in a deep, cultured voice. *He'd be gorgeous if he weren't such an iceberg, not to mention a kidnapper*, Mina mused dispassionately. "Reports of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated, probably intentionally spread by the very traitors that beset our forces. We believe that only a union with the Silver Millennium can salvage what's left of both the high king's throne and the peoples of Earth."

Mina nodded, having surmised most of this well before the handsome general finished speaking. "I know something of traitors, myself," she said softly. She said nothing more, her quick mind already devising possible escape scenarios. When she'd decided that the prince had stared at Serena for far longer than was healthy for him, she called rudely, "If you'd kindly stop ogling my maid for five minutes, I might be able to get some intelligent answers from you. Or is that asking too much from a human?"

Someone in the crowd of soldiers laughed, but several swiftly drew their swords in anger. Mina's eyes narrowed, but not in response to the sudden abundance of weapons. She knew that laugh. No, it couldn't be. . .

Suddenly, she sensed a presence behind her, and she swiftly threw herself between Serenity and the grey-clad soldier attacking her with a drawn sword. The soldier's eyes were malignant, but fear glistened in them as well. The fact that she couldn't read his thoughts unnerved her far more than the steel in his hands. *Why can't I penetrate his shields? He's just a human! *

Almost too swiftly to follow, Mina threw herself to the ground, using the strength of her arms to pivot her feet into the man's chest. Having suddenly lost all of the air in his lungs, the man collapsed. His sword flew high into the air, but Mina used the momentum from her kick to propel herself after it. She caught the sword as it careened wildly to the ground. She landed roughly, going into a roll to minimize the impact to her body. She rolled to her feet, coming to a full stop right in front of Endyimon. In the space of a heartbeat, the tip of the sword was pressed firmly to the prince's throat.