Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon nor do I wish to. Why in the world
would I want to be the one to create a whole storyline on 14-year-olds in
skimpy little skirts being saved by a moving Tuxedo? That's right. I don't.
That's the very point of fanfiction: to rearrange the story to my
satisfaction.
And I would loooooovveeee to apologize for keeping my readers waiting.but it's in my blood to procrastinate so TOO BAD. But I did try to make this chapter longer.
Ahem.
On with the story.
Home sweet imprisoning home. Endymion's rather morose thoughts accompanied the excessive fanfare that Xavier had requested. Of course, Xavier simply couldn't return home without some sort of 30 man band marching along in front of the carriage. As requested, this thirty-man band had appeared to greet the carriage a good 5 miles before the castle gates. How tired they must be.but who am I to care about anyone other than me?
The sight of tall stonewalls greeted Endymion. The thick walls were designed to keep people out.and also to keep people in. Or so it seemed to Endymion. They were topped with heavy iron spikes that Xavier had sharpened annually, claiming, "The wind may have worn them down". But anyways, Endymion was looking at the walls with a rather strange mix of the feeling of seeing an old friend.. and the feeling of being locked away. But then.he remembered the wonderful new slave he had to keep him company.
The carriage came to a jolting stop, which woke Xavier from his slumber, surprisingly undisturbed by the fanfare he himself had requested. "What in the bloody hell-" His brand new feathered hat jerked off his head and into his lap. The foot-long feather managed to just reach his nose, which set of an amazing round of sneezes. "Blasted hat." He shoved the hat off his lap and onto the floor of the carriage.but then, almost as an afterthought, he picked it up again and put it on his head.
"Home sweet home, eh Endy?" He poked Endymion in the ribs, knowing full well he hated that. Xavier straightened his clothing one more time and stepped out of the carriage. By now the sun had nearly set, leaving a light glow in the purple sky. There was just enough light for Endymion to once again see the girl's face clearly. Beautiful.
He carefully stepped out of the carriage with Serenity in his arms. Being wary of dropping her, he stretched to his full height. Six hours in a carriage is just too much. He stood for a moment, just feeling his muscles again, when one of his servants came up to him and said, "Would you like me to take her, sire?"
It was as if the servant had just proposed to him. All eyes in the courtyard were suddenly on him. Xavier, who was a few yards away, stared hard at him, as if daring him to answer. Feeling uncomfortable with all this attention, Endymion merely shook his head and replied, "No, I've got it."
Xavier turned away with a devious smile. Good. My plan is working pretty well so far. He turned back to Endymion. "Yes, dear brother. Hold on to that girl. She just might try to run again. Don't want to lose her now, do you?" He clapped his hand twice, a signal for his servants to follow him. Flashing Endymion one more not-so-nice smile, he strode through the castle doors.
Endymion dismissed his brothers' strange words. He shifted the weight in his arms and turned to the servant who was still standing near him. "Draw a bath in my chambers. Have someone bring up some food and wine." He thought back to the girl's state and added "and get some clean cloths and healing balm." The servant obediently nodded his head and scurried off to perform the tasks.
Realizing he had no more hands available to clap, he gave a sharp nod of his head to his servants and started the short journey to his chambers.
*AN: lol, journey to his chambers. Don't mind the language here. It just doesn't sound right to say, "He began walking to his room". By the way, I just can't think of anything to happen between here and going to his room- err- chambers so I'll just skip to that. *
* * * * *
By the time Endymion had arrived to his chambers, the bath had been drawn, the food and wine had been brought up, and the clean cloths and healing balm were neatly placed on the night table at the side. Oh the joys of being Prince. The fireplace was fairly roaring, which was a good thing, since the sun had set and with it the heat of the day was also gone. Now it was replaced with cool air and a slight chill breeze.
He gently laid the girl on the bed. Then he simply stood back and admired her. The breeze from the open windows ruffled her hair, which was still tangled but maintained a soft look to it. From the chill of the hallways to the warmth of Endymion's chambers, her cheeks had dramatically changed from snowy white to a soft pinky hue that spread across her face. that is, where there wasn't blood and dirt smudges. The wispy eyelashes cast spidery shadows on her face.
Endymion was awed with this beauty.
Finally done with his perusal of her face, he moved forward and gently supported her up. He drew away the sack to examine her wounds. His breath caught in his chest when he saw that the condition of her injuries had worsened since the last he had seen them. Before, they were bleeding, true, but not as heavily! Realization dawned him when he glanced at the sack. Dark splotches of red stained the interior of the sack. The rough material had abraded the cuts and made them even worse.
He threw the sack towards the door in anger. He wasn't sure what he was angry at. Not the girl, that was for sure. Not at the guards who had put her in the sack. They had no idea she would get cut. Was he mad at the sack? Good grief, this girl was making him crazy and she wasn't even conscious.
Endymion shook his head to clear these slightly disturbing thoughts and focused on the task at hand: tending to the wounds. He retrieved the cloths and a basin of warm water. Dipping the cloth in and squeezing out the excess water, he gently cleaned out the blood and dirt smudging her face, secretly reveling in the bit of skin that shone through with each sweep of the cloth.
He finished with her face and neck. Then he saw a problem: the tattered gown she was wearing was covering her arms and he was sure there were wounds on her back. The only solution would be to.
. Endymion blinked. Then mentally rolled his eyes. All I'm doing is undressing a girl. I've done that before.millions of times. There's nothing she's hiding that I haven't seen before. With that thought set in his mind, he began the process of declothing Serenity. But then, yet another problem sprang up. The mud that had covered the girl had plastered the cloth to her skin and the blood had done nothing to help. Tugging the cloth would just reopen the wounds.
Endymion reached down and unsheathed the dagger he kept strapped to his calf. Steadying his hand he drew the sharp knife down the front of the girl's chest. He swallowed thickly as more and more skin was revealed under the glint of the dagger. He had cut down to near her belly button when Endymion felt the figure he was currently undressing move. He raised his eyes and met a wide-open blueness with a dangerous sparkle.
* * * * *
Silvery hair, slowly seeping with blood
Running.leaving.
Bound. Can't breathe.
Sharp, needle-pain
Tired.warm
Damp.on my face
On my face.
Serenity swam through her thoughts. Flits of feeling and memories that didn't seem to stay put. But there was one thing that felt real enough to latch onto. With a tremendous amount of mental strength, Serenity hung onto the feeling of cool comfort sweeping across her face and neck. It was nice.the rest of her body felt warm as well.while her face was bathed in a dampness that eased the heat.
Serenity slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see her mother lovingly cleaning her face, as she had often done before-
Before what?
Calib
Remembrance snapped her back to reality. He saw that it was not her mother but a complete stranger. A man. Holding a knife. And using that knife to cut open her clothes.
With a wild cry, she pushed the man away and scrambled to get away. "Wait-" Endymion tried to say, completely surprised by the sudden movement. Too late. The knife he was holding had slashed the soft flesh of her stomach while she had twisted away. A cutting pain stopped her a few feet away. Knowing that she had to get away, but strangely fascinated by the small gash in belly, Serenity halted and gazed at the crimson beads that were slowly gathering there.
My blood.images of her mother and how her blood had flowed flew into her mind. The sight of her blood mixed with her own horrifying memories overwhelmed Serenity. She dropped to the ground.
Endymion had been just a tad dazed. By the time he reacted, Serenity was on her way to the ground. He rushed to the girl and lowered himself beside her. However, she was not unconscious, as he had feared she was. She saw his looming figure and once again renewed her struggles to get away. She rolled away from him, sprang to her feet and screamed "GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU PERVERT!!"
Endymion stared at the girl as if she were some sort of wild and frightened animal. Perhaps she was. In the course of about 30 seconds, he had gone from tending her wounds, to slashing her stomach, to being a rapist. This girl, who was standing slightly slumped and holding her freshly cut stomach, was as full of surprises as a box of chocolates. (AN: Forrest Gump, for all those who don't get that. It's a pretty good movie)
"I'm not going to hurt you" He tried in his most reassuring voice. He had little experience in comforting people but this situation called for it.
"HAH! You say you're not going to hurt me yet you were just using a KNIFE to undress me! Real reassuring!" Serenity would have laughed hysterically if she weren't so scared to the point that she might pass out.again. In one hand she held her sliced-and-diced- clothing to her chest and with one hand she pressed against the slash to her stomach.
Endymion finally realized how this situation looked to her: a strange man, capturing her as his slave and tearing away at her clothes like a fiend. No wonder she was so scared. He decided to try and tell her exactly what he was doing. "I was merely trying to clean your wounds. The blood and mud made the garment you're wearing stick to your skin and I had to resort to a knife to get it off." She stared at him is total disbelief. He added, "to clean your wounds!!"
"Like I'm supposed to believe you!" She took several more steps back, looking to all the world like she was going to make a break for it and run as fast as she could. In fact.she did. As those words left her mouth, she whirled around and darted for the door. But Endymion was trained in all fields of war. His legs were also longer and with only a few strides he had come up behind her and caught her arms, preventing her from running any farther.
As he wrestled to get her back to the bed, he gritted out, "Look, I'm NOT going to hurt you, just stop stru-" His words were cut of as a small fist shot out and socked him on his cheek. Half in reflex and half in frustration, Endymion growled and tossed Serenity unceremoniously onto the bed. He gently brought his hand up to his cheek but winced when he felt the tender skin.
Serenity once again lay dazed on the bed. The potential danger dawned her when she saw this strange man touch the bruise she had just so recently given him. Her eyes widened as he narrowed his eyes at her. He's angry, she thought. Now he's going to hurt me. Serenity found the air around her suddenly becoming hard to breathe in. Her breath quickened. Her vision hazy except for the glaring man in front of her.
Endymion observed the situation carefully. One wrong move and she'll never trust me again. She lay sprawled on the bed now, eyes huge with trepidation and taking short and quick breaths. She has to be made to understand that I have no wish to hurt her. He mentally checked himself and found that his eyes were narrowed at the girl. He relaxed his expression but he saw that that did nothing to relieve the girl.
In her mind, he had not stopped glaring. He had turned into Calib. Terror gripped her and she fought to break through the fog in her mind and focus on the creature before her. Serenity tried to slowly back away but found that her limbs were frozen. Calib was coming closer. Her breath came shallow and fast and her vision acquired black dots that blinked rapidly, causing her head to spin.
Endymion caught her before she fell backwards onto the bed again. He saw her chest rise up and down, almost as if she was fighting a war just to breathe. Serenity tried to struggle but the terror in her mind made her movements sluggish and Endymion easily pinned her down. Now she was just lying limp.
"Look, you'll feel more relaxed if you take deep breaths." Endymion wanted the girl somewhat calm. The slash on her stomach was proof enough of what could happen if she wasn't. "That's right, deep breaths." He saw that the girl was doing as he said, taking in deeper breaths to calm down. At the moment, she looked worn out. Except for her blue eyes shooting a fiery glare at him. But that was just a look. Deciding that it was safe to leave her for at least an instant, he said, "I'm going to get you something to eat. Stay put."
He got up slowly, still holding her glare and walked backwards toward the tray of food and wine. He turned for just a moment to pick up the tray and, making sure the girl couldn't see, he slipped 2 small white pills into the wine, which dissolved immediately. Sure, she was injured and tired.but the little show at the carriage proved just how determined she was to get away. These pills would render her woozy and easier to handle.
Endymion turned back to the bed, where he saw the girl once again trying to get up, but not getting far because of the fresh wound on her belly. He sighed wearily. As he got closer to the bed with the tray of food, her efforts to escape increased.but were still ineffectual. Endymion set down the tray on the bed and gently helped her up. Of course, she didn't want his help. The second she was steady on her own, she shoved Endymion away and faced the other side of the room.
"What are you doing, MASTER?" her voice sneered in contempt. "Helping a simple slave? Shouldn't you be beating me to death for touching your precious skin?" Serenity kept her face away from his, trying not to let him see just how frightened she was. To her relief, her voice didn't waver during her little speech.
Endymion bristled. Beating her?
"I am not an animal." He yanked her wrist to make her face him. Seeing her startled face, he released her but continued his retort. "I will not give needless punishments." Hoping to warm her icy expression, he offered her the tray. "You may eat what you like. Your wounds will heal faster with nourishment."
Endymion decided to leave the girl to her meal. Obviously she was not ready to let others care for her wounds and she herself was not able to do so herself, since some of the more serious injuries were on her back. What Endymion wanted to do now was let the girl eat, wait for the drugs to kick in, then deal with questioning her. Someone else could take care of her wounds. He thought about the bath that was waiting in the adjoining bathing chambers and decided to take the bath himself. After all, the girl's wounds were far too fresh to be dipped into his rose-scented water.
Of course, that was not the true reason.
The truth was that Endymion knew that this girl would be stunningly beautiful if she were to be completely undressed. That would prove too many temptations for Endymion and the girl was certainly not well enough to participate in his *ahem* activities. He had no wish to further the injuries on the girl and he himself also didn't want to grow attached to the girl, who was, at this very moment, already consuming his thoughts.
Once again sighing, he went back to the doors of his chambers and called in a maid, all the while feeling the girl's glare on his back. Clearly she had not taken a single bite of her meal yet.
"See to it that this girl finishes her food and then take care of her wounds. Make sure she does not leave the room." The maid curtsied and scurried off to the girl.
Endymion took one last look at the girl, who was still glaring venomously at him, and went off to the bathing chambers.
* * * * *
Serenity watched as the man left the room. He confused her to no end. First he captures her as his slave, then he saves her, and now he's taking care of her. He gives me food and takes care of my wounds. Maybe he's not all bad.
No.
He has to be.
Think about Calib, she thought frantically to herself, how he seemed so nice at first and then turned out horrible. Men can't be trusted.
She looked down at her food. Then again.she hadn't eaten for days. In between running and.well, running, food hadn't been so high a priority. Not the delicious smell of the roasted chicken and boiled vegetables made her stomach growl in hunger. While the maid was wrapping her wounds (AN: God, I'm so sick of saying "her wounds" but there's no other word that fits the scenario!) she slowly ate the food. Feeling slightly better than before, she considered drinking the wine. She felt no illness from eating the food.the wine was probably fine as well. Serenity was thirsty enough. She took a glass and filled it with the crimson liquid. Tilting the glass, she took a small sip. It was sweet, she thought, fruity, with just enough wine taste without being bitter. Letting her thirst take over, she tipped her head back and gulped down all the contents of her glass.
* * * * *
Endymion returned to the main chambers to see the maid frantically trying to keep the girl from twirling into the tables in the room. A vision of brown and gold flew past him with a pink face and glassy eyes. Damn, he thought, she drank too much.
He hurriedly strode to where the girl was now twirling happily. If possible, she seemed even lovelier than before. Her flushed face was upturned, looking up at the imaginary stars. Her arms were outstretched and her feet taking little steps to twirl her body around in dizzying circles. Endymion quickly pulled her to a stop before she could trip and hurt herself. She was giggling softly in his arms and said, "I can see the moon!" Endymion groaned as he carried her back to the bed and laid her in the covers. Just perfect. I can't even ask her anything now that she's drunk as a bird.
Serenity smiled as she snuggled in the sheets. The pretty lights and humming were so distracting.but she was tired. She could feel the tugging of the wonderful white void (sleep) and she was helpless to do anything but to fall into it. Her eyes drifted close, a small smile firmly in place.
Endymion sighed. (AGAIN!! He's sighing too much.but what else can he do?) The maid was now incredibly anxious and was babbling on about how "I could'un stop her, milord! She jus kept drinkin' an drinkin'! I swear I 'ad nothin' to do with it!"
Endymion merely waved his hand and wearily said, "No need to worry. She'll be fine in the morning. Now, watch over her. I have some business to attend to." The maid bobbed her head and dropped a curtsey, obviously still half- afraid of some sort of punishment.
Endymion took one more look at the sleeping beauty and headed out of the chamber. Xavier and I have some serious talking to do.
To be continued.
Review if you like, review if you don't like, I really don't care. Flames are welcomed with open arms.
And I would loooooovveeee to apologize for keeping my readers waiting.but it's in my blood to procrastinate so TOO BAD. But I did try to make this chapter longer.
Ahem.
On with the story.
Home sweet imprisoning home. Endymion's rather morose thoughts accompanied the excessive fanfare that Xavier had requested. Of course, Xavier simply couldn't return home without some sort of 30 man band marching along in front of the carriage. As requested, this thirty-man band had appeared to greet the carriage a good 5 miles before the castle gates. How tired they must be.but who am I to care about anyone other than me?
The sight of tall stonewalls greeted Endymion. The thick walls were designed to keep people out.and also to keep people in. Or so it seemed to Endymion. They were topped with heavy iron spikes that Xavier had sharpened annually, claiming, "The wind may have worn them down". But anyways, Endymion was looking at the walls with a rather strange mix of the feeling of seeing an old friend.. and the feeling of being locked away. But then.he remembered the wonderful new slave he had to keep him company.
The carriage came to a jolting stop, which woke Xavier from his slumber, surprisingly undisturbed by the fanfare he himself had requested. "What in the bloody hell-" His brand new feathered hat jerked off his head and into his lap. The foot-long feather managed to just reach his nose, which set of an amazing round of sneezes. "Blasted hat." He shoved the hat off his lap and onto the floor of the carriage.but then, almost as an afterthought, he picked it up again and put it on his head.
"Home sweet home, eh Endy?" He poked Endymion in the ribs, knowing full well he hated that. Xavier straightened his clothing one more time and stepped out of the carriage. By now the sun had nearly set, leaving a light glow in the purple sky. There was just enough light for Endymion to once again see the girl's face clearly. Beautiful.
He carefully stepped out of the carriage with Serenity in his arms. Being wary of dropping her, he stretched to his full height. Six hours in a carriage is just too much. He stood for a moment, just feeling his muscles again, when one of his servants came up to him and said, "Would you like me to take her, sire?"
It was as if the servant had just proposed to him. All eyes in the courtyard were suddenly on him. Xavier, who was a few yards away, stared hard at him, as if daring him to answer. Feeling uncomfortable with all this attention, Endymion merely shook his head and replied, "No, I've got it."
Xavier turned away with a devious smile. Good. My plan is working pretty well so far. He turned back to Endymion. "Yes, dear brother. Hold on to that girl. She just might try to run again. Don't want to lose her now, do you?" He clapped his hand twice, a signal for his servants to follow him. Flashing Endymion one more not-so-nice smile, he strode through the castle doors.
Endymion dismissed his brothers' strange words. He shifted the weight in his arms and turned to the servant who was still standing near him. "Draw a bath in my chambers. Have someone bring up some food and wine." He thought back to the girl's state and added "and get some clean cloths and healing balm." The servant obediently nodded his head and scurried off to perform the tasks.
Realizing he had no more hands available to clap, he gave a sharp nod of his head to his servants and started the short journey to his chambers.
*AN: lol, journey to his chambers. Don't mind the language here. It just doesn't sound right to say, "He began walking to his room". By the way, I just can't think of anything to happen between here and going to his room- err- chambers so I'll just skip to that. *
* * * * *
By the time Endymion had arrived to his chambers, the bath had been drawn, the food and wine had been brought up, and the clean cloths and healing balm were neatly placed on the night table at the side. Oh the joys of being Prince. The fireplace was fairly roaring, which was a good thing, since the sun had set and with it the heat of the day was also gone. Now it was replaced with cool air and a slight chill breeze.
He gently laid the girl on the bed. Then he simply stood back and admired her. The breeze from the open windows ruffled her hair, which was still tangled but maintained a soft look to it. From the chill of the hallways to the warmth of Endymion's chambers, her cheeks had dramatically changed from snowy white to a soft pinky hue that spread across her face. that is, where there wasn't blood and dirt smudges. The wispy eyelashes cast spidery shadows on her face.
Endymion was awed with this beauty.
Finally done with his perusal of her face, he moved forward and gently supported her up. He drew away the sack to examine her wounds. His breath caught in his chest when he saw that the condition of her injuries had worsened since the last he had seen them. Before, they were bleeding, true, but not as heavily! Realization dawned him when he glanced at the sack. Dark splotches of red stained the interior of the sack. The rough material had abraded the cuts and made them even worse.
He threw the sack towards the door in anger. He wasn't sure what he was angry at. Not the girl, that was for sure. Not at the guards who had put her in the sack. They had no idea she would get cut. Was he mad at the sack? Good grief, this girl was making him crazy and she wasn't even conscious.
Endymion shook his head to clear these slightly disturbing thoughts and focused on the task at hand: tending to the wounds. He retrieved the cloths and a basin of warm water. Dipping the cloth in and squeezing out the excess water, he gently cleaned out the blood and dirt smudging her face, secretly reveling in the bit of skin that shone through with each sweep of the cloth.
He finished with her face and neck. Then he saw a problem: the tattered gown she was wearing was covering her arms and he was sure there were wounds on her back. The only solution would be to.
. Endymion blinked. Then mentally rolled his eyes. All I'm doing is undressing a girl. I've done that before.millions of times. There's nothing she's hiding that I haven't seen before. With that thought set in his mind, he began the process of declothing Serenity. But then, yet another problem sprang up. The mud that had covered the girl had plastered the cloth to her skin and the blood had done nothing to help. Tugging the cloth would just reopen the wounds.
Endymion reached down and unsheathed the dagger he kept strapped to his calf. Steadying his hand he drew the sharp knife down the front of the girl's chest. He swallowed thickly as more and more skin was revealed under the glint of the dagger. He had cut down to near her belly button when Endymion felt the figure he was currently undressing move. He raised his eyes and met a wide-open blueness with a dangerous sparkle.
* * * * *
Silvery hair, slowly seeping with blood
Running.leaving.
Bound. Can't breathe.
Sharp, needle-pain
Tired.warm
Damp.on my face
On my face.
Serenity swam through her thoughts. Flits of feeling and memories that didn't seem to stay put. But there was one thing that felt real enough to latch onto. With a tremendous amount of mental strength, Serenity hung onto the feeling of cool comfort sweeping across her face and neck. It was nice.the rest of her body felt warm as well.while her face was bathed in a dampness that eased the heat.
Serenity slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see her mother lovingly cleaning her face, as she had often done before-
Before what?
Calib
Remembrance snapped her back to reality. He saw that it was not her mother but a complete stranger. A man. Holding a knife. And using that knife to cut open her clothes.
With a wild cry, she pushed the man away and scrambled to get away. "Wait-" Endymion tried to say, completely surprised by the sudden movement. Too late. The knife he was holding had slashed the soft flesh of her stomach while she had twisted away. A cutting pain stopped her a few feet away. Knowing that she had to get away, but strangely fascinated by the small gash in belly, Serenity halted and gazed at the crimson beads that were slowly gathering there.
My blood.images of her mother and how her blood had flowed flew into her mind. The sight of her blood mixed with her own horrifying memories overwhelmed Serenity. She dropped to the ground.
Endymion had been just a tad dazed. By the time he reacted, Serenity was on her way to the ground. He rushed to the girl and lowered himself beside her. However, she was not unconscious, as he had feared she was. She saw his looming figure and once again renewed her struggles to get away. She rolled away from him, sprang to her feet and screamed "GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU PERVERT!!"
Endymion stared at the girl as if she were some sort of wild and frightened animal. Perhaps she was. In the course of about 30 seconds, he had gone from tending her wounds, to slashing her stomach, to being a rapist. This girl, who was standing slightly slumped and holding her freshly cut stomach, was as full of surprises as a box of chocolates. (AN: Forrest Gump, for all those who don't get that. It's a pretty good movie)
"I'm not going to hurt you" He tried in his most reassuring voice. He had little experience in comforting people but this situation called for it.
"HAH! You say you're not going to hurt me yet you were just using a KNIFE to undress me! Real reassuring!" Serenity would have laughed hysterically if she weren't so scared to the point that she might pass out.again. In one hand she held her sliced-and-diced- clothing to her chest and with one hand she pressed against the slash to her stomach.
Endymion finally realized how this situation looked to her: a strange man, capturing her as his slave and tearing away at her clothes like a fiend. No wonder she was so scared. He decided to try and tell her exactly what he was doing. "I was merely trying to clean your wounds. The blood and mud made the garment you're wearing stick to your skin and I had to resort to a knife to get it off." She stared at him is total disbelief. He added, "to clean your wounds!!"
"Like I'm supposed to believe you!" She took several more steps back, looking to all the world like she was going to make a break for it and run as fast as she could. In fact.she did. As those words left her mouth, she whirled around and darted for the door. But Endymion was trained in all fields of war. His legs were also longer and with only a few strides he had come up behind her and caught her arms, preventing her from running any farther.
As he wrestled to get her back to the bed, he gritted out, "Look, I'm NOT going to hurt you, just stop stru-" His words were cut of as a small fist shot out and socked him on his cheek. Half in reflex and half in frustration, Endymion growled and tossed Serenity unceremoniously onto the bed. He gently brought his hand up to his cheek but winced when he felt the tender skin.
Serenity once again lay dazed on the bed. The potential danger dawned her when she saw this strange man touch the bruise she had just so recently given him. Her eyes widened as he narrowed his eyes at her. He's angry, she thought. Now he's going to hurt me. Serenity found the air around her suddenly becoming hard to breathe in. Her breath quickened. Her vision hazy except for the glaring man in front of her.
Endymion observed the situation carefully. One wrong move and she'll never trust me again. She lay sprawled on the bed now, eyes huge with trepidation and taking short and quick breaths. She has to be made to understand that I have no wish to hurt her. He mentally checked himself and found that his eyes were narrowed at the girl. He relaxed his expression but he saw that that did nothing to relieve the girl.
In her mind, he had not stopped glaring. He had turned into Calib. Terror gripped her and she fought to break through the fog in her mind and focus on the creature before her. Serenity tried to slowly back away but found that her limbs were frozen. Calib was coming closer. Her breath came shallow and fast and her vision acquired black dots that blinked rapidly, causing her head to spin.
Endymion caught her before she fell backwards onto the bed again. He saw her chest rise up and down, almost as if she was fighting a war just to breathe. Serenity tried to struggle but the terror in her mind made her movements sluggish and Endymion easily pinned her down. Now she was just lying limp.
"Look, you'll feel more relaxed if you take deep breaths." Endymion wanted the girl somewhat calm. The slash on her stomach was proof enough of what could happen if she wasn't. "That's right, deep breaths." He saw that the girl was doing as he said, taking in deeper breaths to calm down. At the moment, she looked worn out. Except for her blue eyes shooting a fiery glare at him. But that was just a look. Deciding that it was safe to leave her for at least an instant, he said, "I'm going to get you something to eat. Stay put."
He got up slowly, still holding her glare and walked backwards toward the tray of food and wine. He turned for just a moment to pick up the tray and, making sure the girl couldn't see, he slipped 2 small white pills into the wine, which dissolved immediately. Sure, she was injured and tired.but the little show at the carriage proved just how determined she was to get away. These pills would render her woozy and easier to handle.
Endymion turned back to the bed, where he saw the girl once again trying to get up, but not getting far because of the fresh wound on her belly. He sighed wearily. As he got closer to the bed with the tray of food, her efforts to escape increased.but were still ineffectual. Endymion set down the tray on the bed and gently helped her up. Of course, she didn't want his help. The second she was steady on her own, she shoved Endymion away and faced the other side of the room.
"What are you doing, MASTER?" her voice sneered in contempt. "Helping a simple slave? Shouldn't you be beating me to death for touching your precious skin?" Serenity kept her face away from his, trying not to let him see just how frightened she was. To her relief, her voice didn't waver during her little speech.
Endymion bristled. Beating her?
"I am not an animal." He yanked her wrist to make her face him. Seeing her startled face, he released her but continued his retort. "I will not give needless punishments." Hoping to warm her icy expression, he offered her the tray. "You may eat what you like. Your wounds will heal faster with nourishment."
Endymion decided to leave the girl to her meal. Obviously she was not ready to let others care for her wounds and she herself was not able to do so herself, since some of the more serious injuries were on her back. What Endymion wanted to do now was let the girl eat, wait for the drugs to kick in, then deal with questioning her. Someone else could take care of her wounds. He thought about the bath that was waiting in the adjoining bathing chambers and decided to take the bath himself. After all, the girl's wounds were far too fresh to be dipped into his rose-scented water.
Of course, that was not the true reason.
The truth was that Endymion knew that this girl would be stunningly beautiful if she were to be completely undressed. That would prove too many temptations for Endymion and the girl was certainly not well enough to participate in his *ahem* activities. He had no wish to further the injuries on the girl and he himself also didn't want to grow attached to the girl, who was, at this very moment, already consuming his thoughts.
Once again sighing, he went back to the doors of his chambers and called in a maid, all the while feeling the girl's glare on his back. Clearly she had not taken a single bite of her meal yet.
"See to it that this girl finishes her food and then take care of her wounds. Make sure she does not leave the room." The maid curtsied and scurried off to the girl.
Endymion took one last look at the girl, who was still glaring venomously at him, and went off to the bathing chambers.
* * * * *
Serenity watched as the man left the room. He confused her to no end. First he captures her as his slave, then he saves her, and now he's taking care of her. He gives me food and takes care of my wounds. Maybe he's not all bad.
No.
He has to be.
Think about Calib, she thought frantically to herself, how he seemed so nice at first and then turned out horrible. Men can't be trusted.
She looked down at her food. Then again.she hadn't eaten for days. In between running and.well, running, food hadn't been so high a priority. Not the delicious smell of the roasted chicken and boiled vegetables made her stomach growl in hunger. While the maid was wrapping her wounds (AN: God, I'm so sick of saying "her wounds" but there's no other word that fits the scenario!) she slowly ate the food. Feeling slightly better than before, she considered drinking the wine. She felt no illness from eating the food.the wine was probably fine as well. Serenity was thirsty enough. She took a glass and filled it with the crimson liquid. Tilting the glass, she took a small sip. It was sweet, she thought, fruity, with just enough wine taste without being bitter. Letting her thirst take over, she tipped her head back and gulped down all the contents of her glass.
* * * * *
Endymion returned to the main chambers to see the maid frantically trying to keep the girl from twirling into the tables in the room. A vision of brown and gold flew past him with a pink face and glassy eyes. Damn, he thought, she drank too much.
He hurriedly strode to where the girl was now twirling happily. If possible, she seemed even lovelier than before. Her flushed face was upturned, looking up at the imaginary stars. Her arms were outstretched and her feet taking little steps to twirl her body around in dizzying circles. Endymion quickly pulled her to a stop before she could trip and hurt herself. She was giggling softly in his arms and said, "I can see the moon!" Endymion groaned as he carried her back to the bed and laid her in the covers. Just perfect. I can't even ask her anything now that she's drunk as a bird.
Serenity smiled as she snuggled in the sheets. The pretty lights and humming were so distracting.but she was tired. She could feel the tugging of the wonderful white void (sleep) and she was helpless to do anything but to fall into it. Her eyes drifted close, a small smile firmly in place.
Endymion sighed. (AGAIN!! He's sighing too much.but what else can he do?) The maid was now incredibly anxious and was babbling on about how "I could'un stop her, milord! She jus kept drinkin' an drinkin'! I swear I 'ad nothin' to do with it!"
Endymion merely waved his hand and wearily said, "No need to worry. She'll be fine in the morning. Now, watch over her. I have some business to attend to." The maid bobbed her head and dropped a curtsey, obviously still half- afraid of some sort of punishment.
Endymion took one more look at the sleeping beauty and headed out of the chamber. Xavier and I have some serious talking to do.
To be continued.
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