Author's Notes: And, over a year later, I'm finally updating the story!! *scattered
applause* Well, anyways, sorry, but I got humongous writer's block—still do actually,
but I figured I'd try to force it out! Lol, well, hope ya like!
Broom
Chapter Two
By: Krissy Muffinhead
Endymion slowly woke up, blinking his eyes. He looked blearily towards the
window, where streams of light were coming through. He then looked to the other side
of him, where a small girl was sleeping. *Serenity* he thought, suddenly remembering
everything.
He watched her sleep for a moment, smiling at her soft breathing and innocent
face. Then, he realized . . . *Oh, crap!* Everyone at the palace was probably looking for
him! He shifted on the small pile of hay that constituted as a bed, and looked over at
Serenity again. Her eyes fluttered, and she slowly woke up. Her mouth made a
smacking sound and she shut her eyes again.
"Hey! Wake up!" Endymion said incredulously.
She opened her eyes again and glared at him. "What d'you want?" she slurred,
squinting in the sunlight.
He sat up and began picking loose pieces of hay off of himself. "I need to get
back to the palace soon, they'll be wondering where I am!"
"So go ahead," she said, falling back asleep.
He froze, his hands in midair. He couldn't believe this girl. "WAKE UP!" he
shouted into her ear, shaking her roughly.
"ARGH!!" she yelled, sitting upright and, in the process, sending Endymion
flying over the side of the bed.
He sat there for a moment, glowering at Serenity. She gave him an angelic smile.
"Oops?" she said with a soft giggle.
He grinned despite himself. Maybe a little change wouldn't hurt. "So, since I
spent yesterday with you, I think you should have to spend today with me at the palace
and see how boring it is," he said with a smirk.
She was staring at him suspiciously. "Yeah, go along to the palace so your goons
can have me arrested?" she asked.
He laughed outright at this. "You sure have their number. But they can't arrest
you against my order, don't worry."
They were both silent for a moment before Endymion asked, "Why were they
trying to arrest you anyways?"
She shrugged, casting her eyes down. "My parents probably sent them after me.
I ran away from them." She stuck her chin out defiantly. "Are you still going to invite
me?"
He watched her, suddenly very aware of how her lower lip stuck out when she
was angry. He shook his head, trying to dislodge these thoughts. She's telling you
important things, and all you can do is stare at her lips! He chided himself. "Of course
you're still invited, it doesn't matter," he replied nonchalantly.
Serenity blinked, before turning around. She was breathing quickly, and leant
down, pretending to be doing something. In truth, no one had ever been this kind to her
before. Even when the Scotts, her 'parents', had wanted something from her, they had
used force rather than asking. And here he was, being nice to her for absolutely no
reason. She turned her head slightly so he could hear her. "Thank you," she whispered,
her voice slightly hoarse from the tears she was struggling to repress.
Endymion swallowed something bitter tasting. The marks on her face, the
sadness in her voice, her running away from home- it all added up to abusive parents. He
hadn't really thought about it before; it had always seemed so distant and rare.
"Don't worry about it. So, do you want to come?" he asked awkwardly. He
wasn't quite sure on how to invite someone like her to his home. Other girls he'd met
had always been stuck-up, vain, and always after his affections in order to become
princesses. Serenity didn't seem to care about any of this.
He saw the corners of her mouth lift slightly. "Yeah, that would be nice."
He was about to reply when someone pounded at the door, causing them both to
jump about 3 feet. "HEY! I SAID TO BE OUT OF HERE BY NOON! LET'S GO!"
the innkeeper shouted through the thick wooden door.
Serenity stifled a giggle as Endymion replied, "WE'LL BE RIGHT OUT!" in an
equally loud voice.
Serenity gathered her cloak around her and attempted to pick some stray pieces of
straw from her hair. Endymion grabbed his cloak as well, and they both went down to
the stables, where Endymion had boarded his horse overnight.
Serenity patted and spoke softly to the tall pure-black stallion while Endymion
tacked him up. "Are you ready to go?" he asked Serenity when he was finished.
He mounted the horse and pulled Serenity up in front of him. He could easily see
over her head, and they headed off to the palace, which was visible in the distance.
"I'm sorry your Majesty, there have been no sightings of the Prince," a messenger
informed the King.
The King, known to close friends as Takashi, replied, "Instruct the guards to
continue looking."
The messenger paused, as if unsure whether or not to deliver this final message.
"It has become known to us that the guards were arresting a runaway when the Prince
was last seen. It seems he told them to release her and get back to work," he finally said.
Takashi told the messenger to go while he absorbed this new information. His
son had also had a disliking towards the Royal Guard. Endymion said they were brutish
and unfair towards citizens.
Sighing, Takashi stood up. What he didn't understand was why Endymion had
decided to run off like this. It didn't make sense; usually, he was responsible to a fault.
"Takashi?" a soft voice called across the hall.
Looking up, he saw his wife Akemi. She looked worried about their son, but not
hysterical. "I'm sure he'll be fine, he knows how to take of himself," Akemi assured
him. He grinned wryly; she always seemed to know what he was thinking.
"I know," he sighed. "But I can't help wondering where he is."
Endymion and Serenity arrived at the palace gates about an hour after noon. The
guard on duty rushed up to Endymion, saying that his father was looking for him, and
that his parents were both extremely worried. Endymion smiled, but there was a worried
light in his eyes. He assured the guard that he would go straight to his parents, and the
guard opened the gates to let them in. He gave Serenity a slightly suspicious look, but
knew better than to question Endymion.
Endymion was leading them to the stables now. Serenity looked around, noticing
all of the activity in the yard. It was a little overwhelming; she hadn't been many places
in her lifetime. Endymion seemed to notice her anxiety, and whispered, "Don't worry,
it's fine," into her ear.
She half-smiled, feeling a little better. They entered the castle when Endymion's
stallion had been taken care of, and Endymion led her to the private hall where his
parents usually were. This was where his parents would be, the King and Queen. She
gulped nervously, wondering if they would over-rule Endymion and throw her in jail, or
worse, back to the Scotts'.
The doors to the room were open, and Endymion could see his mother and father
leaning on the large rectangular table. They both looked up when they heard him come
in, and his mother immediately rushed up to him and hugged him. When she finally
released him, there was an angry look on her face. "ENDYMION!! WHERE WERE
YOU! HOW COULD YOU HAVE WORRIED THE ENTIRE CASTLE LIKE THIS?
AND YOUR POOR MOTHER!" she began, sounding like the mother Endymion
remembered.
He smiled innocently. "Um, well, you see . . ."
Suddenly, Akemi noticed Serenity, who was cowering behind Endymion's tall
frame. "And who is this?" she asked in a much nicer (and quieter) tone.
"Mom, this is Serenity. She let me stay with her yesterday," Endymion
explained.
Akemi's eyes flashed, and Endymion could tell he had said the wrong thing.
"Stayed with her? Why did you feel the need to stay with someone instead of coming
home like you're supposed to?" she questioned ruthlessly.
"Um, well, you see . . ." Endymion said again nervously.
"Never mind," Akemi said, brushing him off. "It's a pleasure to meet you,
Serenity," she said, smiling at the small teenager.
"The pleasure is mine, your Majesty," Serenity said politely in a quiet voice.
"Please, call me Akemi," she said welcomingly. "And this is my husband,
Takashi."
The King bowed to Serenity and kissed her hand. "Nice to meet you," he said, a
smile crinkling the skin around his eyes.
Serenity smiled nervously. She wasn't quite sure what to say now.
"Serenity, please say you are staying as a guest at the palace?" Akemi asked,
saving Serenity the trouble.
Serenity remained silent, glancing uncertainly from Endymion and back to Akemi
again.
"She would love to, wouldn't you?" Endymion said smoothly.
Serenity opened her mouth to speak, but merely nodded and half-smiled. At the
moment, she looked remarkably like a nervous bunny.
Akemi looked at Serenity for a moment more, noting the cut lip and black eyes,
before saying, "Endymion, why don't you show her to a room then, and make her
comfortable?"
Endymion nodded, reaching for Serenity's hand and leading her to the East Wing
of the castle. It had many spare rooms, but more importantly, it was close to his own.
He led her into a room that was decorated in whites and blues and some soft
pinks. It reminded him of her for some reason; he wasn't sure why. "If you need
anything, just ring for a servant or come to me," he told her with a smile.
She nodded, not speaking, but looking less nervous than before. "Thank you,"
she said finally when he was almost out the door.
He turned and smiled at her. "Don't forget to come to dinner in an hour." He
closed her door and she was left alone again.
She looked out the window, noticing with surprise that the sun was already
sinking lower in the sky. She looked around the room uncertainly, finally settling on the
soft bed. She wondered briefly what the Scotts were doing now, then shoved the thought
out of her mind. She smiled gleefully. She was finally free from them! She went over to
the dressing table, where a large mirror reflected her image. She sat down in front of it,
brushing a hand gently over the cut under her eye. She winced, remembering how angry
Mr. Scott had been that night, just two nights ago. He had been drunk, and said that it
was her fault that his job was going wrong. Serenity wasn't even sure what he did; but
before she'd had time to wonder, the hitting had begun. He had smacked her into the
wall, and while struggling to get up, she had noticed Mrs. Scott watching with a sick
smile. Then he had got the knife…
Serenity shuddered, pushing herself away from the mirror. She felt sick to her
stomach. But all that's over now, she firmly told herself. I'm never going to let that
happen again.
Author's Notes (again?!)- Sorry to end on such a sad note, I'm feeling kinda sad today.
I got Endymion's parents name from: http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/jap.html ,
and they mean:
Takashi=eminence
Akemi=bright and beautiful
Remember, reviewing is the key to making me jump up and down and do my happy
dance J so please review!
Stupid Rap Quote:
"How you gon' act like my neck don't bling?" -Ludacris