I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner. Gomen Nasai... I've been very busy with schoolwork. This is my last year of high school, so I have to be doing well.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Sailor Moon" or "Escaflowne". They belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Kawamori Shoji.

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-- Chapter One ~ The Handsome Knight --

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Serena woke up to find herself in a forest.

"Where am I?"

She wondered around, trying to find her way out of the forest. But, unfortunately, it looked like she was getting herself more lost.

The sky was getting dark. Serena looked up at it and for the first time saw that the Earth was up there. Now she was really confused. "What is this place?"

She heard noises coming from some bushes. She turned around but saw nothing. She was starting to get scared. She started walking when she heard the noise again. This time, it seemed to surround her.

"W-who's there?" she asked nervously.

There was laughter. Then several men walked out from behind the bushes. They were all around her.

"Well, well, well," one of them said. "Look at what we have here."

Serena didn't notice one had walked up behind her. "Are you lost, sweetie?" he suddenly said, making her jump. She stepped away from them. "W-what do you want from me?" she asked. She looked around and saw that there were at least 6 men in total.

She was startled when she felt a hand on her arm. "No! Let go!! Let me go!!" She tried to pull away, but the grip was tight. "Get away from me!!"

A tall man with shoulder-length, brown hair walked up from nowhere. He must have been the leader because the others moved aside so he could pass. He walked up to Serena.

He was so tall she had to look up to see his face.

"Look what we got for you, Nicolas," said the one holding Serena.

"Hmmph." Nicolas looked at his men with an angry look. "We're here on a mission," he said, his voice husky. The men were all silent. Nicolas looked at Serena, who was crying. Then he looked at the man holding her. The man let her go.

Serena put a hand on her arm and rubbed it.

"I'm sorry..."

She looked up to Nicolas with a surprised expression. He was actually apologizing?

She looked at him though teary eyes. Then every thing went dark and she passed out. Nicolas caught her before she fell.

"Oi, are you alright?" he asked her. But apparently she was out cold.

"Nicolas!"

He turned to look at a man who seemed to be out of breath.

"What is it?"

"Someone is coming! I think he's a knight!"

Nicolas stood up. "Let's get out of here," he said.

His men started leaving, but he stopped. Nicolas looked back at Serena one more time. 'I hope you will be alright,' he said to himself. Then he disappeared into the bushes just as he heard a horse getting closer.

Allen was riding his horse when he came upon a girl on the ground. He got off his horse and ran towards her.

Pulling her into his arms, he realized that she was very young. He also saw that she was wearing strange clothing, similar to Hitomi's clothes. 'Could it be?'

He checked her pulse. Then he scooped her up into his arms and took her to his house.

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Slowly, Serena started waking up again. Everything was blurry at first, but then it got clear. She looked around. 'It looks like a bedroom.'

She sat up and saw she was right. She was in someone's bedroom.

The door opened and a girl not much older than herself walked in. She had a tray of food with her.

"You're awake," the girl said with a smile. She had shoulder-length blonde hair. "I brought you some food. You must be hungry."

The girl put the tray on Serena's lap and sat down on the bed beside her. Serena looked at her wanting to ask some questions, but didn't know if she should.

"My name is Celena," the girl spoke. "What is your name?"

"Uh... It's Serena," she answered.

"Serena, huh? Our names are similar," Celena said with a smile. Serena smiled back. Then she turned back to the tray in front of her and started eating the food. 'Wow! This food is delicious!'

Celena stood up and looked at Serena. "I'll be back in a while. I have to check on my brother."

"Your brother?" Serena asked with a full mouth.

"Hai. He is the one who brought you here. His name is Allen. Actually, this is his bedroom."

Serena almost choked on her food when she heard the last sentence. She took a drink and looked at Celena. "You mean your brother brought me to his bedroom!"

"Hai. But don't worry. Allen hardly ever uses it," Celena said with a forced smile. Serena noticed this.

"So," Serena said. "Where is your brother?"

"Oh. He went for a ride on his horse. He should be back shortly." Celena turned and walked towards the door.

Serena heard the door shut. 'Something's wrong.'

Suddenly, she didn't feel like eating anymore. She got up and put the tray on a table near the balcony. She looked outside. The sun was setting. The sky looked beautiful. Different from the one on Earth.

Serena went back to the bed and sat down on it. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"I wonder if my friends are worried about me," she said. "I wonder if... Darien misses me." She tightened her hold on her knees. Tears ran down her cheeks and she remembered what had happened. "Darien..." she said softly.

The door opened again and Serena looked up. A handsome tall man walked to her. She was in awe.

"How are you doing?" he asked as he sat down beside her. He noticed she had been crying. Serena had not yet answered him. He wiped the tears from her with his thumb. "Doushita, Serena?" he asked in a smooth voice.

'How does he know my name? Probably Celena told him...'

Without really thinking about it, Serena wrapped her arms around his waist. Allen was very surprised by her actions, yet he didn't push her away. Instead, he put his arms around her. She broke out into tears.

She knew that this was wrong. They were practically strangers. Yet... Neither of them let the other go.







~ To Be Continued ~

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner. I'm close to graduating from high school, so I've been really busy lately. I have to start preparing for college.

Sorry again...

I will most likely be busy so posting new chapters for any of my fics will be near impossible. So please be patient.

Domo Arigatou...