Chapter Three, The Beginning of Solitude:
Although she was not quite sure what woke her up, Serenity
heard footsteps in the hall. The sounds were muffled. It sounded
like a struggle of some sort, but the more Serenity noticed the
light streaming into the room and the more her mind began to clear
from the muddle of confusion it had been in the dream world, the
more fake the struggle sounded. *Wait, no, that is not right,*
Serenity thought. *It is not that the struggle sounds fake. It is
that the struggle feels fake.* She could feel it in her bones.
Every fiber of her body told her that the struggle was nothing to
be concerned about, but she had never had her ears and her body
disagree so completely, and she wasn't used to this power coursing
through her body. So she chose to be concerned anyway.Serenity's
head shot up in confusion when she heard muffled voices which
seemed to be coming nearer. "If you," Serenity heard her father's
voice say. She could only catch parts of what he was saying, but
she could feel the tenseness in his voice. It made her entire body
tense up with his voice instinctively.
"Just be careful," she heard her father add. "She is very
powerful, and you had better not allow her to do anything rash. I
suppose you will want to help her. You were always rebellious when
you were young, but if you so much as appear to be disobeying my
strict orders you will be severely punished and banished to a
remote planet. Do you understand?" her father asked sternly, his
voice raising as he spoke to whomever it was he was speaking to.
*He must be getting closer,* Serenity reasoned. *Otherwise I would
not have been able to hear his entire speech to the poor person.*
She glanced at the glass clock on the vanity table next to her.
*Oh my gosh it is 12:00. I slept until noon. My father is going to
kill me,* she thought, upset. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts.
*Who was with her father? How close were they? How much trouble
would she be in? Could she possibly be out of bed and dressed in a
few mere seconds? If she could, would her father not chastise her
for being messy due to getting dressed so quickly?* The door
opened firmly, and her father entered with a short, enchanting
lady behind him. She had messy and frizzy, wavy violet hair, which
was up in an untidy bun. Streams of hair hung from that bun.
Despite her messy look, she still managed to be enchanting and
even almost mystical. If not for her father's voice that broke
through her amazement, Serenity would have found herself entranced
by this strange woman.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING IN BED? HAVE YOU NOT
GOTTEN UP TODAY??? WELL?? ANSWER ME YOUNG LADY!!!" her father's
voice screamed through the castle. His face was growing red with
fury.
Serenity gulped. Her father grabbed her and pulled her out
of the bed roughly. "Get dressed now," he said sharply. "We will
be back in ten minutes, and if you are not dressed by then you are
going to get the punishment of your life." Serenity nodded
fearfully. Her father left hurriedly, pulling the slightly amused
yet somehow concerned lady with him.
Serenity was shaking so hard it took her a few minutes to
get out of bed but when she did she dressed more hurriedly than she
ever had before. She briefly wondered if this seclusion meant she
did not get maids around to make sure she was on time and properly
dressed for everything. Apparently not, since no one had woken her
up. She supposed that made sense. After all, she was not going to
be actually going anywhere. In fact, it brought relief. *Finally, I
will have some privacy,* Serenity thought in relief. She looked
through her closet with detachment. She did not really care what
she wore. In fact, she would have liked to stay in her nightgown.
*Stop thinking like such a child Serenity,* she internalized the
voice of her parents, chiding herself for not fitting their
standards. She decided to wear the dark black, velvet dress that
went to her ankles. The color fit her mood. She picked out her
crystal barette and put back one side of her hair to make herself at
least appear more elegant. She did not want her parents to be upset
with her choice of attire. She carefully brushed out her long hair
which now went down to her ankles when it was in the buns. She swept
powder around her eyes and over her cheeks. *I hope this is good
enough for them,* she thought with a hint of bitterness. Serenity
sighed and sat down primly on the edge of her bed, sitting up
straight with her hands closed over her lap as she awaited the
return of her father with the strange lady she could only assume
was the witch Lune. *I must be careful not to call her a witch. I
know how offensive that word is and how much it angers father,* she
reminded herself.
The door to her room opened, and her mother and father
walked in with the lady behind them. Her mother's eyes widened in
alarm instantly, and Queen Selenity ran toward her daughter. "What
in the world..." her mother exclaimed, leaving it at that and
quickly wrenching the barette out of her daughter's hair. "What are
you thinking Serenity?" Queen Selenity asked harshly. "You cannot
possibly wear the barette like that. You put it in lopsided. Did you
even realize what you did?" her mother sighed in exasperation.
"I..I," Serenity stuttered.
Her father sighed loudly. "This is not appropriate behavior
for a princess at all. Some days I am ashamed to call you my
daughter. I apologize that your first meeting with my daughter has
been so eventful Lune," King Stephen said in a voice that sounded
more condescending than apologetic.
"I think that I can manage," Lune said, a hint of anger
mixed in with amusement laced her polite voice. Serenity looked at
her strangely. *why is she such a mixture of opposing emotions? She
confuses me.* Lune looked at Serenity and smiled. A smile that
implied more than one of simple politeness like she had seen her
parents give to people so often, though not one of true friendship
like the ones Miriam brightened her day with. The smile irked
Serenity actually. It was almost as though Lune could hear her
thoughts and was smiling at Serenity in a way to mock her.
Serenity started to glare at Lune but caught herself and smiled back
politely. Lune chuckled.
Apparently King Stephen had been in the middle of explaining
to Lune what she would be dealing with while instructing Serenity on
the control of her powers. Serenity had been much too absorbed in
watching Lune's expressions and wondering what they meant to notice
her father had even been speaking. "What is so amusing?" King Stephen
asked angrily but in a polite voice.
Lune simply smiled and said, "enough of this nonsense. I am
perfectly prepared to deal, as you put it, with your daughter and her
powers." Serenity briefly wondered if Lune had been fully listening
to King Stephen or only partially listening to her father. *How could
she delve into me so deeply and still listen to him?" Serenity asked
herself. The shock of that thought hit Serenity suddenly. *Why did I
just think delve into me? She was only looking at me and smiling.
What made me think she was delving inside of me? I feel so strange
when I am around her. It seems as though I cannot even think
straight.*
King Stephen cleared his throat as though to show his
superiority, but he made a slight, brief nod of the head at Lune and
exited the room with a show of majesty. Lune was still staring at the
door he had just exited through. Serenity looked at Lune, standing
upright so she would not be scolded for bad posture but keeping back
because she did not want to seem pushy with Lune. Lune was obviously
engrossed with the....*door?* Serenity gazed at Lune and then looked
at the floor, then the mirror, then the balcony. *I wish I could
leave.* Lune continued to stare intently at the door right where King
Stephen had exited, although she did begin to make clucking sounds in
her throat and shake her head a bit. *Well I guess that means she is
alive.* Serenity was beginning to become impatient, and despite her
best judgement, began to fidget a little. Lune began to smile but
never broke her gaze with that spot on the door for even a small
fraction of a second. Serenity was not sure if she was smiling at
something interesting she was thinking about or at Serenity's
fidgeting or something else she had noticed. This woman was beginning
to irritate Serenity. Lune's gaze still did not break from the door as
she said, "your irritation is obvious. If you stopped fidgeting and
kept a cooler temperament though you could pass off as being simply
uninterested."
"Excuse me?" Serenity asked, insulted by this woman's impolite
way of addressing her. *She did not even have the decency to look at
me, more or less show any courtesy.* Yet she was intrigued by the
woman's ambiguous statement.
"You are excused," Lune said simply, her eyes never leaving
the door.
Serenity fidgeted. She had almost yelled at Lune. This woman
was making her so angry, but she swallowed the lump of anger in her
throat and decided to give herself a couple of seconds to collect her
thoughts and give a calmer response. "I am insulted by your impolite
way of addressing me," Serenity strained to say calmly. "I will give
you a chance to explain yourself of course, but unless there is
something that I am missing on that door I must ask you to look at me
when you are speaking to me. It is common courtesy."
Lune's gaze swept away from the door, and she turned toward
the balcony but still did not even so much as glance at Serenity. "You
presume too much of yourself in addressing me as an inferior your
highness," Lune said, emphasizing the last two words with blatantly
obvious sarcasm and even a hint of maliciousness.
Serenity was momentarily stunned.
Lune smiled mockingly.
Serenity's mouth opened in shock.
Lune's smile became bigger, and Serenity even fancied she
heard a chuckle from the woman though she was not actually sure. "I
will not take this," Serenity said with exasperation. She had given
the woman plenty of time to explain herself. She stomped angrily to
the door and reached for the door handle when two thoughts came to her
simultaneously. Although some people would argue that two thoughts
cannot come at the exact same moment, but Serenity would swear that
they did. If they did not, Serenity could not even guess as to which
one came first, and in any event that is not really an important point.
As Serenity's hand reached for the door handle, she thought, *I cannot
open this door. It is locked, and I must stay with Lune until she is
able to help me keep my powers under control.* The more important
thought that occurred to her though was, *I am treating her as an
inferior. I sound just like my parents. The one thing I promised myself
is to treat all others equally. She is just as important a person as me
in my eyes. How dare I treat another Lunar being as though they were
inferior to me when I know in my heart and soul that such a thing is
not at all true.* She turned to Lune but jumped back, hitting the door
when she was greeted by Lune's face right in front of her own.
Lune smiled briefly. "Try to be more on guard next time," she
said with an air of patience.
Serenity was not sure how to respond, so she sat cautiously on
the edge of the bed and decided to just be direct with Lune, although
Lune was not being direct with her. "You confuse me," Serenity said
simply.
"Oh I know dear. I confuse most people," Lune said
matter-of-factly.
"Most?" Serenity asked.
"Oh all right, all, except for perhaps one or two," Lune
admitted.
"That one or two would be?" Serenity asked.
"I sense your friend Miriam understands me fairly well," Lune
said, "though she does have quite a bit to learn."
"And?" Serenity asked, bursting with curiosity.
"Oh, that is not important," Lune said with a wave of her hand
as if to emphasize its unimportance. Serenity did not agree at all. She
felt like she absolutely could not stand to not know who this other
person was, and despite the fact that Lune hid things well Serenity
could somehow sense this person's importance in Lune's soul. Even more
strongly, she sensed not to push the matter. In any event, she could
not push the matter. Lune had not given her a chance; she had already
begun speaking. "What is important is out there," Lune said vaguely,
pointing her head towards the window-doors that led to the balcony.
"Out there..." Serenity repeated quietly feeling as though she
were in a daze now though the reason for the daze was as mysterious to
herself as to anyone else.
Silence surrounded them, circling through the air and almost
choking Serenity.
"You are making a grave mistake," Lune finally said, breaking
the silence that had nearly entrapped them.
"I feel like all I am doing is making mistakes," Serenity
responded sadly and quietly.
"No child. Not at all," Lune said reassuringly and in a voice
resonating with honesty.
"We need not go far to look at my mistakes. For example, my
treatment of you. My confinement to this room. My need to control my
powers...." Serenity nearly choked on the next part, "and hurting
Miriam," she barely finished.
Lune's eyes nearly filled with tears, and she turned away to
prevent Serenity from noticing though it was too late for that. "You
did nothing wrong dear. You just did not realize that you had powers,
nor did you realize the full extent of your powers. If anyone did wrong,
it was your parents. They failed to realize your powers, failed to warn
you, failed to raise you with real love and care, and failed to set good
examples of how true royalty behaves," Lune said softly.
Serenity looked at her in bewilderment. "You cannot talk about
my parents like that," she finally said, still in amazement.
"Why not? Because no one else has ever dared to?" Lune asked.
"You try to be good by obeying them and showing them respect, but they
do wrong and you know so in your heart."
"How so?" Serenity asked, already knowing in her heart but
wanting to hear it out loud and still not sure it was safe to speak
against the two people she knew to never speak against.
Lune appeared to consider whether or not to answer for a moment.
Apparently she decided against answering. "You know," she simply said.
"Yes," Serenity whispered. "At least I think I do. The way they
treat others. They show no compassion. They act superior. Is that it?"
"A major part of it. But I am not here to give you instructions
in your life now am I?" Lune asked almost brusquely. Serenity was
surprised for a moment, but she decided she would have to learn to
become accustomed to surprises with Lune.
"My powers," Serenity half stated, half asked.
"Your powers," Lune responded.
It was left at that, but Serenity realized the implications
that her powers were important.
"Give me your hand Serenity," Lune said quietly but sternly.
Serenity lifted her hand up, and Lune snatched it, but the
snatch was full of the utmost respect. Serenity knew this treatment was
against protocol, but she also knew that nothing else had ever felt so
important or so right before in her entire life. This woman knew about
her powers and respected them as well as Serenity. Serenity knew she
had so much to learn from Lune, and she wanted now to spend all day
with her, learning all the nuances of her powers. Then, with the
opening of the door and the emergence of her father's figure, grim
reality came crashing back to remind her of her parents, what she had
done to Miriam, and that she knew next to nothing about her powers
except that they were powerful.
"It is time for you to leave Lune," King Stephen said, nodding
his head in the traditional sign of respect for those considered
inferior but still deserving of respect. Lune accepted it by smiling
back, though she was supposed to show a full curtsy. Serenity knew that
Lune would get by without one. She was too desperately needed by the
King and Queen. King Stephen frowned in disapproval but said nothing
about it and asked her if she would come back tomorrow and every day
hereafter for a few hours to instruct Serenity. Lune politely agreed,
and for the first time in her life Serenity sensed that someone had more
authority than either of her parents. Although Serenity was fairly sure
neither of her parents knew this, she could feel inside every fiber of
her being that it was true. *This is the first time I have ever had such
a strong conviction about something that I do not even doubt it,*
Serenity realized, sensing the importance that held but not as surprised
as she would have expected herself to be. It seemed she learned more
about herself in this one hour meeting with Lune than she had during her
entire life with its abundance of "important" people.
"Goodbye Serenity," Lune said. Serenity sensed the statement
held more meaning but failed to grasp the other meaning or meanings.
"Goodbye," she said politely, but with true meaning behind it.
Lune smiled approvingly and nodded. Serenity was not sure what
Lune approved of but felt encouraged, and for the rest of the day Lune's
parting smile and nod would remind her that she had only to make it
through the rest of the day before her mysterious presence would return.
That night however, the nightmare returned. The effect of the nightmare
was worse this time though because of the blurry and dizzy nature of
everything in the nightmare. The flowers were there, but it was hard at
first to discern that they were flowers because the colors all blurred
together. Miriam appeared. In fact, Miriam was the only thing not blurry.
Her shiny, golden hair, her clear blue eyes, her cheery smile, and her
confident glide were all there as clear as day. The monsters behind her
were blurry though, their colors did not run together like the colors of
the flowers because they were all dark grey, but they were blurry and
seemed to be moving though Serenity knew they were probably standing
motionless. She screamed again for Miriam but to no avail. She screamed
so many times her throat felt hoarse, and still she screamed. She tried
to run toward the monsters, but she could see from the beginning that it
would not work because as she started to run she became dizzy and
collapsed, all the colors swirling around her. When she got up, the dark,
blurry shape of one of the monsters was behind Miriam's clear, golden
form. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Click.
Dark Violet eyes. Dark Violet hair. Wavy. Smile. Twitch.
"Huh?" Serenity asked, still in a daze and rubbing her eyelids.
"Time for our training," Lune said, stiffening, standing up, and
walking to Serenity's vanity and mirror. She looked at Serenity when it
was obvious Serenity was not moving from the bed anytime soon. "I think
it would be better if you got up now before your father realizes how
long you have been in bed," she said sternly but with a kind smile on
her face.
"mmwahotouifanfnme," Serenity mumbled.
Lune smiled, "I know but it is time."
"All right," Serenity sighed, but smiled inwardly. This lady
represented a first for many things for Serenity. It was the first time
anyone dared address her father as that instead of the King or King
Stephen or his majesty. She liked it. It was also the first time she had
ever been woken up so pleasantly, so she wanted to bask it in and draw it
out for as long as possible. She realized, however, that it was time to
begin with Lune and slowly got out of bed. Serenity blushed. "I am still
in my nightgown..." she said apologetically. Fortunately, Lune was not
looking at her. "Is not important," she said, "but go ahead and get
dressed if you like. I will not look. Quickly though," Lune added.
Serenity nodded then realized Lune could not see her head.
"Yes...." she said, searching for a title for this woman and knowing that
Lune was too informal, friend too affectionate, and witch or woman would
be offensive."
"Lune," Lune said.
"But it is so," Serenity started.
"Informal," Lune finished. "I know."
Serenity smiled and did not argue. She was liking this woman more
and more. *I wish she was my mother. Whoa, wait a second, how could I
just think that? Bad Serenity,* she inwardly chastised herself.
Lune smiled in amusement.
"Can you hear my thoughts?" Serenity accidentally found herself
blurting out.
Lune smiled more.
Serenity waited but realized after a bit that she was not going to
be answered. Normally she would have been offended and impatient. She
was still curious but avoided pushing the subject, knowing Lune would tell
her if needed.
"What are we learning today?" Serenity asked, after quickly
putting on a gray skirt and white long sleeve shirt with shiny, clear
buttons. Lune had opened her window-doors and was standing outside on the
balcony. She did not answer, so Serenity walked quietly over to the
balcony and stood beside Lune. For awhile she looked to Lune for an
answer, but Lune was watching something ahead of the balcony so intently
that Serenity just decided to join in watching ahead. The splendor of the
trees, the pureness of the water in the stream she could barely
see winding through one part of the gardens, and the sound of the chirping
birds brought Serenity a peace inside she had not ever experienced
before. She allowed the tranquil feeling to wash over her. She was Serene.
She was her name.
And then Lune said something, "Miriam misses you."
Three words.
But the impact was large. Serenity's eyes filled with tears. "I
miss her too," she whispered in a sob.
"I know," Lune answered.
"It is better this way," Serenity said defensively.
"I never said it was not," Lune said.
Serenity fidgeted. "Felt like you did."
Lune looked at Serenity gravely. "You should listen more closely to
your feelings. You are right, I do not think it is better." Serenity nodded
and thought about the statement. It was true. She had been taught not to
listen to her own feelings by her parents. Feelings are irrational, not
logical or reliable, but Serenity felt the tug of them inside her and liked
the idea of Lune's that they could guide you the right way if you knew
yours well enough and knew how to listen to them and how to weigh them
against other things. Lune smiled and patted her hair. "You are wise. You
will learn."
"How can I put her in danger again?" Serenity asked fearfully.
"The risk is not worth losing a friendship over Serenity."
"I will take risks for myself, but at the expense of others,"
Serenity shook her head no.
"The decision is not for you to make," Lune revealed.
Serenity felt confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"The decision is Miriam's, not yours."
Serenity still did not understand.
Lune sighed. "She is your friend by her choice. You are her friend by
your choice. You may choose not to see her if you do not want to risk getting
hurt, but it is her choice whether she will see you and risk
getting hurt."
Silence reigned for the next few moments.
Serenity nodded. "Yes, you are right."
"And she has decided to be with you, child," Lune added.
"Yes," she said quietly. "Yes! She has!" she added with more emphasis.
Serenity's head swivelled to face Lune's. "How?"
Lune winked. "How did I get in here today for this meeting? I find my
way; do not concern yourself with how."
Serenity felt very curious, but she also felt a strange warmth inside
from the caring nature of Lune. Lune was not direct with her feelings, but
Serenity felt the warmth behind what she said.
"Goodbye Serenity."
"Goodbye Lune," but as she turned she saw that Lune had already
quietly left. *Almost vanished,* Serenity thought.
Serenity stood watching the sun move across the sky and its brilliant
colors and the illumination of the planets, especially Earth, the largest
one. Her eye glanced over at Venus. *When will Miriam be going back? I will
miss her so much,* Serenity felt so sad inside. Then the door to the
balcony opened, and her dad stormed in.
"Did you not hear me calling?" he asked angrily.
"Oh..oh no. I am sorry," Serenity responded in surprise.
A large sigh came from her father. "I do not know how to handle
someone like you Serenity. You really cannot be standing out here staring at
this stuff; you are wasting time and being useless. Work on curbing your
powers," he said in exhaustion.
"Sorry father," Serenity said.
"Someday you will understand that we are doing what is best for you."
"Yes, father."
Serenity's mother came through. "Oh there you all are. What are you
wearing Serenity?" she asked in shock.
"I got dressed quickly...I can change."
"You had better," the Queen said in exasperation. "I swear Serenity,
you take so much out of us. Why will you not just do things correctly?"
"I try," Serenity said. "I am sorry."
"All right, just get dressed in something more decent. You will be
meeting with Lune soon to work on your magic."
"Okay," Serenity said, brightening up. Her father's eyes narrowed.
"Do not get too attached to her Serenity. She is not the best example
to follow," King Stephen added.
"We need her only because she is more knowledgeable in this area," the
Queen added, "but her principles and behaviors are not good examples at all
Serenity. Do not learn from those. Do you understand?"
"Yes mother," Serenity answered. This time, though, she really did
understand. For once, it all became very clear to her. They were wrong.
It was so easy to think your parents knew what they were doing. She had
accepted what they said for far too long, and now she could see so clearly
how disillusioned they were. *There is no way I will ever get through to
them,* she thought sadly. *It is best that I just treat them respectfully
but not listen to their advice anymore. They do not know what they are
saying. Lune truly is a wonderful person, and I cannot wait to learn more
from her.*
Serenity went back into her bedchamber, and her parents left. *They
will be back in about half a hour with Lune, so I better get ready. It does
not feel like it has been very long since she left.* Serenity looked carefully
through her closet and picked out a swirling colors dress. It was a favorite
of hers and Miriam's. Serenity knew that Miriam was not coming until the next
secret meeting with Lune. This meeting would be strictly for the powers. Lune
would know better than to anger her parents, but this dress reminded her that
she would see Miriam again soon and they would never part. *No one can ever
part us,* Serenity thought happily. That thought gave her confidence. She knew
that they were always together in heart, just as Miriam had always said, and
the two were always connected. The separation was hard but not impossible when
they held each other in the other's heart. Deep down though Serenity wondered
how long she could last without the ray of light in her life.
The meeting with Lune was a difficult one because her parents decided
they wanted to watch Lune work with Serenity on her magic. Serenity could
feel the tension inside her body; she wanted to please her parents, to do this
just right. Lune looked a little tense herself. No, tense was not the right
word, just more disturbed. However she winked at Serenity a few times as
though to remind her they were close friends and that Serenity would see
Miriam again soon. Serenity smiled a bit to reassure her but was careful not
to draw her parents attention to her smiles. Lune said they would keep things
simple today. "You remember looking out at nature yesterday Serenity?" Lune
asked. Serenity nodded. "You remember the feeling it gave you? You need to
draw on those feelings Serenity, those tranquil feelings of harmony and peace
inside of you."
Serenity closed her eyes, but she could not feel that peaceful feeling
she had gotten when observing nature. She opened her eyes again.
"Do you feel it Serenity?" Lune asked calmly.
Serenity looked at her parents. "Yes," she lied.
Lune frowned. "All right. Good." Serenity definitely felt surprised.
She always sees through me, but maybe she does not want us to get
in trouble with my parents.
"We will start with something simple. Try to levitate the hairbrush on
your vanity table in the air."
"How?"
Lune sighed. "Feel the tranquility in your blood. Feel the peace
calming your spirit. Then with your eyes on the brush. No..actually, it
is your first time, better to keep your eyes closed because the brush is not
really the important thing. I do not want you to concentrate on it. Just
concentrate on the movement, the levitation."
"I will try," Serenity said cautiously. *This is never going to
work,* she realized. She closed her eyes, *feel the tranquility, feel the
peace, imagine the movement.* She opened her eyes. "Did it move?"
Lune shook her head. " You need to be more patient Serenity."
Serenity's father sighed. "This is stupid and a waste of my valuable
time. I am going to get ready for the dinner tonight. Darling, stay and watch
for the remainder of this fiasco," he said looking directly at his wife. Then
he left in a flourish of robes and with his usual air of superiority.
"Yes darling," his ever obedient wife answered. Her eyes immediately
returned to the witch. "Lune, could you please try to hurry this
along? We have an important dinner tonight."
"I am done," Lune answered stiffly.
"Oh good. I will show you out." The two exited the room. "Perhaps you
should not allow her to move objects anyway. I doubt she has that power. No
moon princess or queen ever has, and even if she does I do not see how it
would be beneficial to anyone but herself. We do not want her to become
selfish now do we?"
"Oh no," Lune said. "We would not want that," but there was a strange
glimmer in her eye that even Queen Selenity could not miss. A shudder went
through the Queen when she coldly said, "good day your highness."
Queen Selenity returned to her husband's chamber. "I get this shudder
when she talks to me, and she gave me such a strange look when I was escorting
her out. I do not like her, and I worry about her even being in this palace.
Perhaps this was a mistake. Who knows what could happen just letting her and
her strange mind and powers near the palace."
"I do not trust her one bit either, but what choice do we have?
Unfortunately, we cannot keep our daughter locked up forever, and she cannot
come out until she controls those powers. No one else has the ability to teach
her to control them."
"You are right," the Queen acceded, "but I still do not like this. Not
one bit."
"Neither do I, neither do I. Let us just get ready for the dinner
tonight and worry about the King and Queen of Mars; they are difficult
to appease. We will worry about that witch later."
Meanwhile, in her bedchamber, Serenity was still trying to lift the
brush when a voice behind her said, "do not worry. It is all right. You are not
ready to do that anyway." Serenity turned around to look into Lune's eyes, then
she jumped back in fear. "My apologies your highness. I never meant to frighten
you."
"Do not worry about it. Is Miriam here?"
"Patience dear, patience."
"Can I come up now Lune?" Serenity heard the sweet, long lost voice of
Miriam yell up.
Serenity ran to the balcony, "Miriam!"
"Serenity!"
"Oh all right," Lune acquiesced. "I swear, the two of you are the most
impatient people I have ever met. With the possible exception of William...."
Lune was cut off by Miriam squealing. "Oh all right, calm down. I am letting you
up. Please, could you squeal a bit more softly, or do you want to get caught?" A
purple light surrounded Miriam. Serenity was immediately aware that the color
did not suit her. *If she is going to be surrounded by light, it needs to be
gold.* Serenity shook the thought. *Sometimes I think such strange thoughts. Who
cares what light she is surrounded by? I am just glad she is here.*
"I am glad you felt that disturbance. You are right. She is meant to be
surrounded in gold, but she has no control over her own powers yet. So I must
use mine on her hence she is surrounded by my purple powers instead of her
rightful gold ones," Lune said, looking at Serenity appreciatively.
At any other time Serenity would have wanted to know more, but as soon
as Miriam's feet were upon the ground, she ran up to her and gave her a gigantic
hug. "Mmm, tahijdljcajkdjnntbijbreamkjthjkle."
"What?" Serenity asked, reluctantly breaking up the hug.
Miriam's sweet, golden laughter filled the room. "I said I could not
breath silly."Serenity's eyes filled with tears. "Oh Serenity, I am so glad you
were willing to see me again. I know how scared you are."
Serenity looked gratefully at Lune. "Thank her. She helped me realize it
is not my decision whether you put yourself at risk or not. You are aware
though, you are putting yourself through a great risk just coming here...if my
parents find out...and even if they do not...just by being with me."
Miriam smiled, "and I thought you knew me. I like risks Serenity, and
besides nothing will ever keep me from you...not without a lot of force anyway,"
she added cheerfully.
Serenity gave a little nervous laugh, but it really did not seem funny
to her at all.
"Appreciate these times Serenity," Lune advised. "Do not be cautious now
or you will regret the happy times you miss out on."
Serenity nodded, "I will try to remember that. What is this you say
about it not being time for me to move the hairbrush?" she asked
"I will explain."
Miriam and Serenity looked at each other. "We might as well sit down,"
Miriam said. "Once she gets started she never stops. All I want to know is why
you got her started?" Miriam asked, laughing.
"Oh are you not bursting with curiosity?" Serenity asked seriously.
"She is not really so great as she or others think she is," Miriam said
giggling and with that mischievous glint in her eye.
Lune smiled and winked at Miriam.
"So you two know each other fairly well then to joke like this?"
Serenity asked.
"Would you believe Lune started it?" Miriam asked.
"Not in a million years."
Laughter rang again. "Good because she did not. How could I resist? She
is a wonderful person, but she is so much fun to tease."
Lune smiled again, and Serenity knew whatever either said they both
enjoyed this. Serenity could lay back, close her eyes, and listen to them
tease each other forever. It was so filled with...with..."
"I said you are not ready because you are not. I had to start with that
because your parents were in the room. I know your parents. They will expect
immediate action. That is not the way to go about this. There is much learning
that must take place inside of you before you will ever be able to move that
brush, let alone something more large scale. However, I knew it would be futile
to explain that to the queen and king, so I simply played along with their little
game. Now that they are assured we are 'doing something' we can really do
something."
"Oh I do understand," Serenity said. "You knew then that I could not
really feel the peace inside."
"Of course I knew dear. First of all, you are not a good liar. You really
do need to work on that. Secondly, it is not possible for you to feel that peace
around your parents. You have not even learned to feel it inside of yourself when
you are alone, let alone with others, let alone with people who put constant
stress and pressure on you. Oh no, you must first learn to do these things on your
own, then learn to do them around others such as me and Miriam. Lastly, you will
learn to do them around people that stress you out, like strangers, and even
harder the queen and king."
Serenity nodded. "I do feel scared to do that in front of them. I do not
want to mess up."
"And as long as you are distracted by that fear, you will not be able to
do this. You must learn to do it alone, without the fear at first."
"What should I do first then?"
"My dear, not even I can help you with that. You have to connect with that
feeling of peace you get with nature, the feeling of connectedness you have with
Miriam. You have to be able to feel it inside of you, and you must work on growing
that feeling inside of you. That feeling is the greatest power in this world or in
any other world."
"Shall I start now?"
Lune smiled a bit. "Dear ambitious Serenity. Yes you may start now. Just be
calm and enjoy your time with Miriam though. You can draw upon it
later."
"You mean draw upon the happiness I feel around her?"
"Precisely my dear. Precisely."
Miriam tackled Serenity, and Serenity squealed. "Sorry," Miriam said only
half apologetically. "I could not resist. It has been so long."
"So very long," Serenity admitted sadly. "Do you know how lost I was without
you?"
A shudder ran through Serenity and Miriam. "Be careful girls," Lune said.
"You are drawing upon a different power now..." She was cut off by a flame that
erupted from Serenity's walk-in closet. The bright, red flames were consuming the
closet and growing quickly larger. The flames loomed over the three occupants of the
room. Serenity fell down on the floor, exhausted. Miriam kneeled quickly beside her.
"Serenity," Miriam screamed. "Serenity. Get up. Please." Her voice had a
heart-wrenching, desperate tone to it.Lune remained calm, the light from the fire
shining within her eyes. Nevertheless she shuddered before chanting a spell. The
fire became smaller but refused to go out. "Drat, she is containing it within her
coma," Lune said in exasperation. "Miriam," she ordered, "do whatever you can to
wake her up. As long as she is in that coma this fire cannot be completely put out,
not even by me."
"Is she that powerful?" Miriam asked in awe.
"This is no time for questions," Lune said sternly. "Try to wake her up.
Hurry. We have not much time."
Lune walked into the closet, and Miriam screamed. "What are you doing?"
Miriam's eyes were wide in shock. Lune's voice was in her head, *wake Serenity up
please,* it said. *Worry not about me. I will contain it better and for longer if I
am within it. It cannot harm me unless it is never put out.*
Miriam nodded though her eyes were still wide and turned to Serenity. "Oh
please Serenity," she begged, though it was obviously futile.*How can I possibly wake
her up?* Miriam wondered. "I need a new angle." She noticed there was a tint of
purple to the fire when she looked up. *Oh poor Lune. She is battling this using all
the energy she has. I cannot let her down." A fierce look of determination took over
Miriam's face. She closed her eyes and let the feeling from earlier return. The
peaceful feeling Lune exherted, the connectedness and warmth she felt with Serenity,
and she let those feelings wash over her. Time and time again. Her eyes were closed;
she was not here. She was in a meadow. It was tranquil here and she felt that feeling
deep down in her soul, going through her blood. She raised her head. A golden light
filled the air around her and woke Serenity up. As Serenity slowly woke up and raised
her head, the fire began to die down, and she saw Lune standing in the midst of the
dying fire, glowing a gorgeous purple. Even more surprising, when she looked straight
in front of her she was nearly blinded by the soft yet strong glow of magnificent
gold coming from Miriam.
"Miriam," she whispered softly.
That was enough to break the spell. Miriam's eyes opened, and the color was
gone in an instant. Lune's color slowly died down, however.
"Miram," Lune said, a tear in her eye. "You have already connected with your
power, and I have not even worked with you. You are much stronger and more in touch
with yourself than I could ever have imagined."
Miriam smiled softly. "I just knew my light would guide Serenity back to me
and out of the coma. I guess I had it in me the whole time."
"Well yes, just as Serenity and a few select others in this solar system have
it. But I never realized your power Miriam," Lune answered.
"Is it as great as Serenity's?" Miriam asked.
"You are certainly more in touch with yourself than Serenity, but she lives in
incredibly unfavorably conditions."
"Her parents," Miriam interrupted.
"Yes," Lune replied, "but no...no one has ever had or currently has as much
power as Serenity dear, not even I."
Miriam looked in appreciation at Serenity. Serenity was still in awe. "Miriam,
how did you?" she asked curiously. "Can you teach me?"
Miriam smiled. "It is like Lune said Serenity. You have to connect with it
yourself. I do not know what to say that I or Lune has not already said."
Serenity nodded. "Why do my parents affect this so much?"
Lune did not answer the question directly. Instead she said, "if only there
were a way to take you away from here for awhile, get you living in better conditions
for a few months. Then your power could truly form the way it was meant to. Ah well,
that is impossible. Neither the King nor Queen could ever be convinced. He has got
her wrapped around his finger anyway."
"Who is wrapped around who's finger?" Serenity asked.
Miriam looked at her in surprise. "Have you never noticed that your mother is
under your father's control? She follows him in everything,
never disagrees."
Serenity's eyes opened, figuratively anyway. "No...I never did, but you are
right," she said, amazed this had escaped her attention for
so long.
Lune nodded. "I best be going and leave you two alone."
"Was my mother always like this?" Serenity asked Lune, a hint of desperation
in her voice.
Lune sighed. "I thought you would ask. No Serenity she was not. She was once a
very different person."
"Like me?" Serenity asked.
Lune smiled a bit, "Dear, in all my lifetimes, I have never met anyone like
you."
"What was she like?" Serenity asked.
"Serenity, I will tell you, but you must understand she will never go back to
that way of life again." Lune hesitated. "She was more open-minded about some things
anyway. She actually enjoyed a good debate with someone, anyone. That was how she met
your father, in a debate. She beat him actually, but he refused to admit he had been
defeated. Your father was such an attractive man, though as cold and ruthless as he
is now, and your mother felt lust. Something she had never felt before, so of course
she attributed that lustful feeling to love. She gave in and said he had won. From
that day forward, she followed him everywhere, did whatever he asked, always agreed,
and eventually they got married. She sealed her fate that day though I think she was
doomed from the moment she gave in to him after that debate."
"She is...doomed?" Serenity asked, a feeling of coldness sweeping over her.
"I am sorry," Lune said. "You were not ready to know that. But yes, she is."
Serenity shook her head, "no, no, no.....We...we can save her...right? Right
Lune? Right Miriam? We can save her...we can find a way to get her to tap into that
debating side of herself. Show her the person she lost."
"She did not lose her Serenity. She obliterated her. That person is gone
forever."
"I....I ...I do not understand," Serenity said, pain in her eyes, her whole
being.
"I am sorry to hurt you with this Serenity," Lune said. "I never should have
spoken of this."
"What....what will happen to her?" Serenity asked painfully.
"Dear Serenity, even I do not know that. Please forgive me. I will go and
leave you with your friend Miriam."
"Wait!" Miriam said with her arm around Serenity in comfort. "I have a
question, please."
"Go ahead," Lune said.
"
You said earlier no one ever had or currently has the power Serenity
does...you did not say never will have. Will someone have more power than her?"
"
My dear, power is passed on from generation to generation. The Kings and
Queens of each planet wanted to always pass on the same amount of power to their
children as they had, and they have succeeded for quite some time, but they cannot
succeed forever. Power always grows stronger as time passes and people learn."
Miriam nodded. "There will be more powerful ones then. Always there will be.
I wonder if there is ever a limit."
Lune chuckled, "no one knows the answer to that question; no one knows," and
she disappeared.
"Serenity? Are you all right?" Miriam asked in concern.
"I do not know," Serenity's sobs were becoming louder. "Oh my Serenity, my
dear soul friend," and Miriam said no more. She just held her.
To Be Continued...
Although she was not quite sure what woke her up, Serenity
heard footsteps in the hall. The sounds were muffled. It sounded
like a struggle of some sort, but the more Serenity noticed the
light streaming into the room and the more her mind began to clear
from the muddle of confusion it had been in the dream world, the
more fake the struggle sounded. *Wait, no, that is not right,*
Serenity thought. *It is not that the struggle sounds fake. It is
that the struggle feels fake.* She could feel it in her bones.
Every fiber of her body told her that the struggle was nothing to
be concerned about, but she had never had her ears and her body
disagree so completely, and she wasn't used to this power coursing
through her body. So she chose to be concerned anyway.Serenity's
head shot up in confusion when she heard muffled voices which
seemed to be coming nearer. "If you," Serenity heard her father's
voice say. She could only catch parts of what he was saying, but
she could feel the tenseness in his voice. It made her entire body
tense up with his voice instinctively.
"Just be careful," she heard her father add. "She is very
powerful, and you had better not allow her to do anything rash. I
suppose you will want to help her. You were always rebellious when
you were young, but if you so much as appear to be disobeying my
strict orders you will be severely punished and banished to a
remote planet. Do you understand?" her father asked sternly, his
voice raising as he spoke to whomever it was he was speaking to.
*He must be getting closer,* Serenity reasoned. *Otherwise I would
not have been able to hear his entire speech to the poor person.*
She glanced at the glass clock on the vanity table next to her.
*Oh my gosh it is 12:00. I slept until noon. My father is going to
kill me,* she thought, upset. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts.
*Who was with her father? How close were they? How much trouble
would she be in? Could she possibly be out of bed and dressed in a
few mere seconds? If she could, would her father not chastise her
for being messy due to getting dressed so quickly?* The door
opened firmly, and her father entered with a short, enchanting
lady behind him. She had messy and frizzy, wavy violet hair, which
was up in an untidy bun. Streams of hair hung from that bun.
Despite her messy look, she still managed to be enchanting and
even almost mystical. If not for her father's voice that broke
through her amazement, Serenity would have found herself entranced
by this strange woman.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING IN BED? HAVE YOU NOT
GOTTEN UP TODAY??? WELL?? ANSWER ME YOUNG LADY!!!" her father's
voice screamed through the castle. His face was growing red with
fury.
Serenity gulped. Her father grabbed her and pulled her out
of the bed roughly. "Get dressed now," he said sharply. "We will
be back in ten minutes, and if you are not dressed by then you are
going to get the punishment of your life." Serenity nodded
fearfully. Her father left hurriedly, pulling the slightly amused
yet somehow concerned lady with him.
Serenity was shaking so hard it took her a few minutes to
get out of bed but when she did she dressed more hurriedly than she
ever had before. She briefly wondered if this seclusion meant she
did not get maids around to make sure she was on time and properly
dressed for everything. Apparently not, since no one had woken her
up. She supposed that made sense. After all, she was not going to
be actually going anywhere. In fact, it brought relief. *Finally, I
will have some privacy,* Serenity thought in relief. She looked
through her closet with detachment. She did not really care what
she wore. In fact, she would have liked to stay in her nightgown.
*Stop thinking like such a child Serenity,* she internalized the
voice of her parents, chiding herself for not fitting their
standards. She decided to wear the dark black, velvet dress that
went to her ankles. The color fit her mood. She picked out her
crystal barette and put back one side of her hair to make herself at
least appear more elegant. She did not want her parents to be upset
with her choice of attire. She carefully brushed out her long hair
which now went down to her ankles when it was in the buns. She swept
powder around her eyes and over her cheeks. *I hope this is good
enough for them,* she thought with a hint of bitterness. Serenity
sighed and sat down primly on the edge of her bed, sitting up
straight with her hands closed over her lap as she awaited the
return of her father with the strange lady she could only assume
was the witch Lune. *I must be careful not to call her a witch. I
know how offensive that word is and how much it angers father,* she
reminded herself.
The door to her room opened, and her mother and father
walked in with the lady behind them. Her mother's eyes widened in
alarm instantly, and Queen Selenity ran toward her daughter. "What
in the world..." her mother exclaimed, leaving it at that and
quickly wrenching the barette out of her daughter's hair. "What are
you thinking Serenity?" Queen Selenity asked harshly. "You cannot
possibly wear the barette like that. You put it in lopsided. Did you
even realize what you did?" her mother sighed in exasperation.
"I..I," Serenity stuttered.
Her father sighed loudly. "This is not appropriate behavior
for a princess at all. Some days I am ashamed to call you my
daughter. I apologize that your first meeting with my daughter has
been so eventful Lune," King Stephen said in a voice that sounded
more condescending than apologetic.
"I think that I can manage," Lune said, a hint of anger
mixed in with amusement laced her polite voice. Serenity looked at
her strangely. *why is she such a mixture of opposing emotions? She
confuses me.* Lune looked at Serenity and smiled. A smile that
implied more than one of simple politeness like she had seen her
parents give to people so often, though not one of true friendship
like the ones Miriam brightened her day with. The smile irked
Serenity actually. It was almost as though Lune could hear her
thoughts and was smiling at Serenity in a way to mock her.
Serenity started to glare at Lune but caught herself and smiled back
politely. Lune chuckled.
Apparently King Stephen had been in the middle of explaining
to Lune what she would be dealing with while instructing Serenity on
the control of her powers. Serenity had been much too absorbed in
watching Lune's expressions and wondering what they meant to notice
her father had even been speaking. "What is so amusing?" King Stephen
asked angrily but in a polite voice.
Lune simply smiled and said, "enough of this nonsense. I am
perfectly prepared to deal, as you put it, with your daughter and her
powers." Serenity briefly wondered if Lune had been fully listening
to King Stephen or only partially listening to her father. *How could
she delve into me so deeply and still listen to him?" Serenity asked
herself. The shock of that thought hit Serenity suddenly. *Why did I
just think delve into me? She was only looking at me and smiling.
What made me think she was delving inside of me? I feel so strange
when I am around her. It seems as though I cannot even think
straight.*
King Stephen cleared his throat as though to show his
superiority, but he made a slight, brief nod of the head at Lune and
exited the room with a show of majesty. Lune was still staring at the
door he had just exited through. Serenity looked at Lune, standing
upright so she would not be scolded for bad posture but keeping back
because she did not want to seem pushy with Lune. Lune was obviously
engrossed with the....*door?* Serenity gazed at Lune and then looked
at the floor, then the mirror, then the balcony. *I wish I could
leave.* Lune continued to stare intently at the door right where King
Stephen had exited, although she did begin to make clucking sounds in
her throat and shake her head a bit. *Well I guess that means she is
alive.* Serenity was beginning to become impatient, and despite her
best judgement, began to fidget a little. Lune began to smile but
never broke her gaze with that spot on the door for even a small
fraction of a second. Serenity was not sure if she was smiling at
something interesting she was thinking about or at Serenity's
fidgeting or something else she had noticed. This woman was beginning
to irritate Serenity. Lune's gaze still did not break from the door as
she said, "your irritation is obvious. If you stopped fidgeting and
kept a cooler temperament though you could pass off as being simply
uninterested."
"Excuse me?" Serenity asked, insulted by this woman's impolite
way of addressing her. *She did not even have the decency to look at
me, more or less show any courtesy.* Yet she was intrigued by the
woman's ambiguous statement.
"You are excused," Lune said simply, her eyes never leaving
the door.
Serenity fidgeted. She had almost yelled at Lune. This woman
was making her so angry, but she swallowed the lump of anger in her
throat and decided to give herself a couple of seconds to collect her
thoughts and give a calmer response. "I am insulted by your impolite
way of addressing me," Serenity strained to say calmly. "I will give
you a chance to explain yourself of course, but unless there is
something that I am missing on that door I must ask you to look at me
when you are speaking to me. It is common courtesy."
Lune's gaze swept away from the door, and she turned toward
the balcony but still did not even so much as glance at Serenity. "You
presume too much of yourself in addressing me as an inferior your
highness," Lune said, emphasizing the last two words with blatantly
obvious sarcasm and even a hint of maliciousness.
Serenity was momentarily stunned.
Lune smiled mockingly.
Serenity's mouth opened in shock.
Lune's smile became bigger, and Serenity even fancied she
heard a chuckle from the woman though she was not actually sure. "I
will not take this," Serenity said with exasperation. She had given
the woman plenty of time to explain herself. She stomped angrily to
the door and reached for the door handle when two thoughts came to her
simultaneously. Although some people would argue that two thoughts
cannot come at the exact same moment, but Serenity would swear that
they did. If they did not, Serenity could not even guess as to which
one came first, and in any event that is not really an important point.
As Serenity's hand reached for the door handle, she thought, *I cannot
open this door. It is locked, and I must stay with Lune until she is
able to help me keep my powers under control.* The more important
thought that occurred to her though was, *I am treating her as an
inferior. I sound just like my parents. The one thing I promised myself
is to treat all others equally. She is just as important a person as me
in my eyes. How dare I treat another Lunar being as though they were
inferior to me when I know in my heart and soul that such a thing is
not at all true.* She turned to Lune but jumped back, hitting the door
when she was greeted by Lune's face right in front of her own.
Lune smiled briefly. "Try to be more on guard next time," she
said with an air of patience.
Serenity was not sure how to respond, so she sat cautiously on
the edge of the bed and decided to just be direct with Lune, although
Lune was not being direct with her. "You confuse me," Serenity said
simply.
"Oh I know dear. I confuse most people," Lune said
matter-of-factly.
"Most?" Serenity asked.
"Oh all right, all, except for perhaps one or two," Lune
admitted.
"That one or two would be?" Serenity asked.
"I sense your friend Miriam understands me fairly well," Lune
said, "though she does have quite a bit to learn."
"And?" Serenity asked, bursting with curiosity.
"Oh, that is not important," Lune said with a wave of her hand
as if to emphasize its unimportance. Serenity did not agree at all. She
felt like she absolutely could not stand to not know who this other
person was, and despite the fact that Lune hid things well Serenity
could somehow sense this person's importance in Lune's soul. Even more
strongly, she sensed not to push the matter. In any event, she could
not push the matter. Lune had not given her a chance; she had already
begun speaking. "What is important is out there," Lune said vaguely,
pointing her head towards the window-doors that led to the balcony.
"Out there..." Serenity repeated quietly feeling as though she
were in a daze now though the reason for the daze was as mysterious to
herself as to anyone else.
Silence surrounded them, circling through the air and almost
choking Serenity.
"You are making a grave mistake," Lune finally said, breaking
the silence that had nearly entrapped them.
"I feel like all I am doing is making mistakes," Serenity
responded sadly and quietly.
"No child. Not at all," Lune said reassuringly and in a voice
resonating with honesty.
"We need not go far to look at my mistakes. For example, my
treatment of you. My confinement to this room. My need to control my
powers...." Serenity nearly choked on the next part, "and hurting
Miriam," she barely finished.
Lune's eyes nearly filled with tears, and she turned away to
prevent Serenity from noticing though it was too late for that. "You
did nothing wrong dear. You just did not realize that you had powers,
nor did you realize the full extent of your powers. If anyone did wrong,
it was your parents. They failed to realize your powers, failed to warn
you, failed to raise you with real love and care, and failed to set good
examples of how true royalty behaves," Lune said softly.
Serenity looked at her in bewilderment. "You cannot talk about
my parents like that," she finally said, still in amazement.
"Why not? Because no one else has ever dared to?" Lune asked.
"You try to be good by obeying them and showing them respect, but they
do wrong and you know so in your heart."
"How so?" Serenity asked, already knowing in her heart but
wanting to hear it out loud and still not sure it was safe to speak
against the two people she knew to never speak against.
Lune appeared to consider whether or not to answer for a moment.
Apparently she decided against answering. "You know," she simply said.
"Yes," Serenity whispered. "At least I think I do. The way they
treat others. They show no compassion. They act superior. Is that it?"
"A major part of it. But I am not here to give you instructions
in your life now am I?" Lune asked almost brusquely. Serenity was
surprised for a moment, but she decided she would have to learn to
become accustomed to surprises with Lune.
"My powers," Serenity half stated, half asked.
"Your powers," Lune responded.
It was left at that, but Serenity realized the implications
that her powers were important.
"Give me your hand Serenity," Lune said quietly but sternly.
Serenity lifted her hand up, and Lune snatched it, but the
snatch was full of the utmost respect. Serenity knew this treatment was
against protocol, but she also knew that nothing else had ever felt so
important or so right before in her entire life. This woman knew about
her powers and respected them as well as Serenity. Serenity knew she
had so much to learn from Lune, and she wanted now to spend all day
with her, learning all the nuances of her powers. Then, with the
opening of the door and the emergence of her father's figure, grim
reality came crashing back to remind her of her parents, what she had
done to Miriam, and that she knew next to nothing about her powers
except that they were powerful.
"It is time for you to leave Lune," King Stephen said, nodding
his head in the traditional sign of respect for those considered
inferior but still deserving of respect. Lune accepted it by smiling
back, though she was supposed to show a full curtsy. Serenity knew that
Lune would get by without one. She was too desperately needed by the
King and Queen. King Stephen frowned in disapproval but said nothing
about it and asked her if she would come back tomorrow and every day
hereafter for a few hours to instruct Serenity. Lune politely agreed,
and for the first time in her life Serenity sensed that someone had more
authority than either of her parents. Although Serenity was fairly sure
neither of her parents knew this, she could feel inside every fiber of
her being that it was true. *This is the first time I have ever had such
a strong conviction about something that I do not even doubt it,*
Serenity realized, sensing the importance that held but not as surprised
as she would have expected herself to be. It seemed she learned more
about herself in this one hour meeting with Lune than she had during her
entire life with its abundance of "important" people.
"Goodbye Serenity," Lune said. Serenity sensed the statement
held more meaning but failed to grasp the other meaning or meanings.
"Goodbye," she said politely, but with true meaning behind it.
Lune smiled approvingly and nodded. Serenity was not sure what
Lune approved of but felt encouraged, and for the rest of the day Lune's
parting smile and nod would remind her that she had only to make it
through the rest of the day before her mysterious presence would return.
That night however, the nightmare returned. The effect of the nightmare
was worse this time though because of the blurry and dizzy nature of
everything in the nightmare. The flowers were there, but it was hard at
first to discern that they were flowers because the colors all blurred
together. Miriam appeared. In fact, Miriam was the only thing not blurry.
Her shiny, golden hair, her clear blue eyes, her cheery smile, and her
confident glide were all there as clear as day. The monsters behind her
were blurry though, their colors did not run together like the colors of
the flowers because they were all dark grey, but they were blurry and
seemed to be moving though Serenity knew they were probably standing
motionless. She screamed again for Miriam but to no avail. She screamed
so many times her throat felt hoarse, and still she screamed. She tried
to run toward the monsters, but she could see from the beginning that it
would not work because as she started to run she became dizzy and
collapsed, all the colors swirling around her. When she got up, the dark,
blurry shape of one of the monsters was behind Miriam's clear, golden
form. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Click.
Dark Violet eyes. Dark Violet hair. Wavy. Smile. Twitch.
"Huh?" Serenity asked, still in a daze and rubbing her eyelids.
"Time for our training," Lune said, stiffening, standing up, and
walking to Serenity's vanity and mirror. She looked at Serenity when it
was obvious Serenity was not moving from the bed anytime soon. "I think
it would be better if you got up now before your father realizes how
long you have been in bed," she said sternly but with a kind smile on
her face.
"mmwahotouifanfnme," Serenity mumbled.
Lune smiled, "I know but it is time."
"All right," Serenity sighed, but smiled inwardly. This lady
represented a first for many things for Serenity. It was the first time
anyone dared address her father as that instead of the King or King
Stephen or his majesty. She liked it. It was also the first time she had
ever been woken up so pleasantly, so she wanted to bask it in and draw it
out for as long as possible. She realized, however, that it was time to
begin with Lune and slowly got out of bed. Serenity blushed. "I am still
in my nightgown..." she said apologetically. Fortunately, Lune was not
looking at her. "Is not important," she said, "but go ahead and get
dressed if you like. I will not look. Quickly though," Lune added.
Serenity nodded then realized Lune could not see her head.
"Yes...." she said, searching for a title for this woman and knowing that
Lune was too informal, friend too affectionate, and witch or woman would
be offensive."
"Lune," Lune said.
"But it is so," Serenity started.
"Informal," Lune finished. "I know."
Serenity smiled and did not argue. She was liking this woman more
and more. *I wish she was my mother. Whoa, wait a second, how could I
just think that? Bad Serenity,* she inwardly chastised herself.
Lune smiled in amusement.
"Can you hear my thoughts?" Serenity accidentally found herself
blurting out.
Lune smiled more.
Serenity waited but realized after a bit that she was not going to
be answered. Normally she would have been offended and impatient. She
was still curious but avoided pushing the subject, knowing Lune would tell
her if needed.
"What are we learning today?" Serenity asked, after quickly
putting on a gray skirt and white long sleeve shirt with shiny, clear
buttons. Lune had opened her window-doors and was standing outside on the
balcony. She did not answer, so Serenity walked quietly over to the
balcony and stood beside Lune. For awhile she looked to Lune for an
answer, but Lune was watching something ahead of the balcony so intently
that Serenity just decided to join in watching ahead. The splendor of the
trees, the pureness of the water in the stream she could barely
see winding through one part of the gardens, and the sound of the chirping
birds brought Serenity a peace inside she had not ever experienced
before. She allowed the tranquil feeling to wash over her. She was Serene.
She was her name.
And then Lune said something, "Miriam misses you."
Three words.
But the impact was large. Serenity's eyes filled with tears. "I
miss her too," she whispered in a sob.
"I know," Lune answered.
"It is better this way," Serenity said defensively.
"I never said it was not," Lune said.
Serenity fidgeted. "Felt like you did."
Lune looked at Serenity gravely. "You should listen more closely to
your feelings. You are right, I do not think it is better." Serenity nodded
and thought about the statement. It was true. She had been taught not to
listen to her own feelings by her parents. Feelings are irrational, not
logical or reliable, but Serenity felt the tug of them inside her and liked
the idea of Lune's that they could guide you the right way if you knew
yours well enough and knew how to listen to them and how to weigh them
against other things. Lune smiled and patted her hair. "You are wise. You
will learn."
"How can I put her in danger again?" Serenity asked fearfully.
"The risk is not worth losing a friendship over Serenity."
"I will take risks for myself, but at the expense of others,"
Serenity shook her head no.
"The decision is not for you to make," Lune revealed.
Serenity felt confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"The decision is Miriam's, not yours."
Serenity still did not understand.
Lune sighed. "She is your friend by her choice. You are her friend by
your choice. You may choose not to see her if you do not want to risk getting
hurt, but it is her choice whether she will see you and risk
getting hurt."
Silence reigned for the next few moments.
Serenity nodded. "Yes, you are right."
"And she has decided to be with you, child," Lune added.
"Yes," she said quietly. "Yes! She has!" she added with more emphasis.
Serenity's head swivelled to face Lune's. "How?"
Lune winked. "How did I get in here today for this meeting? I find my
way; do not concern yourself with how."
Serenity felt very curious, but she also felt a strange warmth inside
from the caring nature of Lune. Lune was not direct with her feelings, but
Serenity felt the warmth behind what she said.
"Goodbye Serenity."
"Goodbye Lune," but as she turned she saw that Lune had already
quietly left. *Almost vanished,* Serenity thought.
Serenity stood watching the sun move across the sky and its brilliant
colors and the illumination of the planets, especially Earth, the largest
one. Her eye glanced over at Venus. *When will Miriam be going back? I will
miss her so much,* Serenity felt so sad inside. Then the door to the
balcony opened, and her dad stormed in.
"Did you not hear me calling?" he asked angrily.
"Oh..oh no. I am sorry," Serenity responded in surprise.
A large sigh came from her father. "I do not know how to handle
someone like you Serenity. You really cannot be standing out here staring at
this stuff; you are wasting time and being useless. Work on curbing your
powers," he said in exhaustion.
"Sorry father," Serenity said.
"Someday you will understand that we are doing what is best for you."
"Yes, father."
Serenity's mother came through. "Oh there you all are. What are you
wearing Serenity?" she asked in shock.
"I got dressed quickly...I can change."
"You had better," the Queen said in exasperation. "I swear Serenity,
you take so much out of us. Why will you not just do things correctly?"
"I try," Serenity said. "I am sorry."
"All right, just get dressed in something more decent. You will be
meeting with Lune soon to work on your magic."
"Okay," Serenity said, brightening up. Her father's eyes narrowed.
"Do not get too attached to her Serenity. She is not the best example
to follow," King Stephen added.
"We need her only because she is more knowledgeable in this area," the
Queen added, "but her principles and behaviors are not good examples at all
Serenity. Do not learn from those. Do you understand?"
"Yes mother," Serenity answered. This time, though, she really did
understand. For once, it all became very clear to her. They were wrong.
It was so easy to think your parents knew what they were doing. She had
accepted what they said for far too long, and now she could see so clearly
how disillusioned they were. *There is no way I will ever get through to
them,* she thought sadly. *It is best that I just treat them respectfully
but not listen to their advice anymore. They do not know what they are
saying. Lune truly is a wonderful person, and I cannot wait to learn more
from her.*
Serenity went back into her bedchamber, and her parents left. *They
will be back in about half a hour with Lune, so I better get ready. It does
not feel like it has been very long since she left.* Serenity looked carefully
through her closet and picked out a swirling colors dress. It was a favorite
of hers and Miriam's. Serenity knew that Miriam was not coming until the next
secret meeting with Lune. This meeting would be strictly for the powers. Lune
would know better than to anger her parents, but this dress reminded her that
she would see Miriam again soon and they would never part. *No one can ever
part us,* Serenity thought happily. That thought gave her confidence. She knew
that they were always together in heart, just as Miriam had always said, and
the two were always connected. The separation was hard but not impossible when
they held each other in the other's heart. Deep down though Serenity wondered
how long she could last without the ray of light in her life.
The meeting with Lune was a difficult one because her parents decided
they wanted to watch Lune work with Serenity on her magic. Serenity could
feel the tension inside her body; she wanted to please her parents, to do this
just right. Lune looked a little tense herself. No, tense was not the right
word, just more disturbed. However she winked at Serenity a few times as
though to remind her they were close friends and that Serenity would see
Miriam again soon. Serenity smiled a bit to reassure her but was careful not
to draw her parents attention to her smiles. Lune said they would keep things
simple today. "You remember looking out at nature yesterday Serenity?" Lune
asked. Serenity nodded. "You remember the feeling it gave you? You need to
draw on those feelings Serenity, those tranquil feelings of harmony and peace
inside of you."
Serenity closed her eyes, but she could not feel that peaceful feeling
she had gotten when observing nature. She opened her eyes again.
"Do you feel it Serenity?" Lune asked calmly.
Serenity looked at her parents. "Yes," she lied.
Lune frowned. "All right. Good." Serenity definitely felt surprised.
She always sees through me, but maybe she does not want us to get
in trouble with my parents.
"We will start with something simple. Try to levitate the hairbrush on
your vanity table in the air."
"How?"
Lune sighed. "Feel the tranquility in your blood. Feel the peace
calming your spirit. Then with your eyes on the brush. No..actually, it
is your first time, better to keep your eyes closed because the brush is not
really the important thing. I do not want you to concentrate on it. Just
concentrate on the movement, the levitation."
"I will try," Serenity said cautiously. *This is never going to
work,* she realized. She closed her eyes, *feel the tranquility, feel the
peace, imagine the movement.* She opened her eyes. "Did it move?"
Lune shook her head. " You need to be more patient Serenity."
Serenity's father sighed. "This is stupid and a waste of my valuable
time. I am going to get ready for the dinner tonight. Darling, stay and watch
for the remainder of this fiasco," he said looking directly at his wife. Then
he left in a flourish of robes and with his usual air of superiority.
"Yes darling," his ever obedient wife answered. Her eyes immediately
returned to the witch. "Lune, could you please try to hurry this
along? We have an important dinner tonight."
"I am done," Lune answered stiffly.
"Oh good. I will show you out." The two exited the room. "Perhaps you
should not allow her to move objects anyway. I doubt she has that power. No
moon princess or queen ever has, and even if she does I do not see how it
would be beneficial to anyone but herself. We do not want her to become
selfish now do we?"
"Oh no," Lune said. "We would not want that," but there was a strange
glimmer in her eye that even Queen Selenity could not miss. A shudder went
through the Queen when she coldly said, "good day your highness."
Queen Selenity returned to her husband's chamber. "I get this shudder
when she talks to me, and she gave me such a strange look when I was escorting
her out. I do not like her, and I worry about her even being in this palace.
Perhaps this was a mistake. Who knows what could happen just letting her and
her strange mind and powers near the palace."
"I do not trust her one bit either, but what choice do we have?
Unfortunately, we cannot keep our daughter locked up forever, and she cannot
come out until she controls those powers. No one else has the ability to teach
her to control them."
"You are right," the Queen acceded, "but I still do not like this. Not
one bit."
"Neither do I, neither do I. Let us just get ready for the dinner
tonight and worry about the King and Queen of Mars; they are difficult
to appease. We will worry about that witch later."
Meanwhile, in her bedchamber, Serenity was still trying to lift the
brush when a voice behind her said, "do not worry. It is all right. You are not
ready to do that anyway." Serenity turned around to look into Lune's eyes, then
she jumped back in fear. "My apologies your highness. I never meant to frighten
you."
"Do not worry about it. Is Miriam here?"
"Patience dear, patience."
"Can I come up now Lune?" Serenity heard the sweet, long lost voice of
Miriam yell up.
Serenity ran to the balcony, "Miriam!"
"Serenity!"
"Oh all right," Lune acquiesced. "I swear, the two of you are the most
impatient people I have ever met. With the possible exception of William...."
Lune was cut off by Miriam squealing. "Oh all right, calm down. I am letting you
up. Please, could you squeal a bit more softly, or do you want to get caught?" A
purple light surrounded Miriam. Serenity was immediately aware that the color
did not suit her. *If she is going to be surrounded by light, it needs to be
gold.* Serenity shook the thought. *Sometimes I think such strange thoughts. Who
cares what light she is surrounded by? I am just glad she is here.*
"I am glad you felt that disturbance. You are right. She is meant to be
surrounded in gold, but she has no control over her own powers yet. So I must
use mine on her hence she is surrounded by my purple powers instead of her
rightful gold ones," Lune said, looking at Serenity appreciatively.
At any other time Serenity would have wanted to know more, but as soon
as Miriam's feet were upon the ground, she ran up to her and gave her a gigantic
hug. "Mmm, tahijdljcajkdjnntbijbreamkjthjkle."
"What?" Serenity asked, reluctantly breaking up the hug.
Miriam's sweet, golden laughter filled the room. "I said I could not
breath silly."Serenity's eyes filled with tears. "Oh Serenity, I am so glad you
were willing to see me again. I know how scared you are."
Serenity looked gratefully at Lune. "Thank her. She helped me realize it
is not my decision whether you put yourself at risk or not. You are aware
though, you are putting yourself through a great risk just coming here...if my
parents find out...and even if they do not...just by being with me."
Miriam smiled, "and I thought you knew me. I like risks Serenity, and
besides nothing will ever keep me from you...not without a lot of force anyway,"
she added cheerfully.
Serenity gave a little nervous laugh, but it really did not seem funny
to her at all.
"Appreciate these times Serenity," Lune advised. "Do not be cautious now
or you will regret the happy times you miss out on."
Serenity nodded, "I will try to remember that. What is this you say
about it not being time for me to move the hairbrush?" she asked
"I will explain."
Miriam and Serenity looked at each other. "We might as well sit down,"
Miriam said. "Once she gets started she never stops. All I want to know is why
you got her started?" Miriam asked, laughing.
"Oh are you not bursting with curiosity?" Serenity asked seriously.
"She is not really so great as she or others think she is," Miriam said
giggling and with that mischievous glint in her eye.
Lune smiled and winked at Miriam.
"So you two know each other fairly well then to joke like this?"
Serenity asked.
"Would you believe Lune started it?" Miriam asked.
"Not in a million years."
Laughter rang again. "Good because she did not. How could I resist? She
is a wonderful person, but she is so much fun to tease."
Lune smiled again, and Serenity knew whatever either said they both
enjoyed this. Serenity could lay back, close her eyes, and listen to them
tease each other forever. It was so filled with...with..."
"I said you are not ready because you are not. I had to start with that
because your parents were in the room. I know your parents. They will expect
immediate action. That is not the way to go about this. There is much learning
that must take place inside of you before you will ever be able to move that
brush, let alone something more large scale. However, I knew it would be futile
to explain that to the queen and king, so I simply played along with their little
game. Now that they are assured we are 'doing something' we can really do
something."
"Oh I do understand," Serenity said. "You knew then that I could not
really feel the peace inside."
"Of course I knew dear. First of all, you are not a good liar. You really
do need to work on that. Secondly, it is not possible for you to feel that peace
around your parents. You have not even learned to feel it inside of yourself when
you are alone, let alone with others, let alone with people who put constant
stress and pressure on you. Oh no, you must first learn to do these things on your
own, then learn to do them around others such as me and Miriam. Lastly, you will
learn to do them around people that stress you out, like strangers, and even
harder the queen and king."
Serenity nodded. "I do feel scared to do that in front of them. I do not
want to mess up."
"And as long as you are distracted by that fear, you will not be able to
do this. You must learn to do it alone, without the fear at first."
"What should I do first then?"
"My dear, not even I can help you with that. You have to connect with that
feeling of peace you get with nature, the feeling of connectedness you have with
Miriam. You have to be able to feel it inside of you, and you must work on growing
that feeling inside of you. That feeling is the greatest power in this world or in
any other world."
"Shall I start now?"
Lune smiled a bit. "Dear ambitious Serenity. Yes you may start now. Just be
calm and enjoy your time with Miriam though. You can draw upon it
later."
"You mean draw upon the happiness I feel around her?"
"Precisely my dear. Precisely."
Miriam tackled Serenity, and Serenity squealed. "Sorry," Miriam said only
half apologetically. "I could not resist. It has been so long."
"So very long," Serenity admitted sadly. "Do you know how lost I was without
you?"
A shudder ran through Serenity and Miriam. "Be careful girls," Lune said.
"You are drawing upon a different power now..." She was cut off by a flame that
erupted from Serenity's walk-in closet. The bright, red flames were consuming the
closet and growing quickly larger. The flames loomed over the three occupants of the
room. Serenity fell down on the floor, exhausted. Miriam kneeled quickly beside her.
"Serenity," Miriam screamed. "Serenity. Get up. Please." Her voice had a
heart-wrenching, desperate tone to it.Lune remained calm, the light from the fire
shining within her eyes. Nevertheless she shuddered before chanting a spell. The
fire became smaller but refused to go out. "Drat, she is containing it within her
coma," Lune said in exasperation. "Miriam," she ordered, "do whatever you can to
wake her up. As long as she is in that coma this fire cannot be completely put out,
not even by me."
"Is she that powerful?" Miriam asked in awe.
"This is no time for questions," Lune said sternly. "Try to wake her up.
Hurry. We have not much time."
Lune walked into the closet, and Miriam screamed. "What are you doing?"
Miriam's eyes were wide in shock. Lune's voice was in her head, *wake Serenity up
please,* it said. *Worry not about me. I will contain it better and for longer if I
am within it. It cannot harm me unless it is never put out.*
Miriam nodded though her eyes were still wide and turned to Serenity. "Oh
please Serenity," she begged, though it was obviously futile.*How can I possibly wake
her up?* Miriam wondered. "I need a new angle." She noticed there was a tint of
purple to the fire when she looked up. *Oh poor Lune. She is battling this using all
the energy she has. I cannot let her down." A fierce look of determination took over
Miriam's face. She closed her eyes and let the feeling from earlier return. The
peaceful feeling Lune exherted, the connectedness and warmth she felt with Serenity,
and she let those feelings wash over her. Time and time again. Her eyes were closed;
she was not here. She was in a meadow. It was tranquil here and she felt that feeling
deep down in her soul, going through her blood. She raised her head. A golden light
filled the air around her and woke Serenity up. As Serenity slowly woke up and raised
her head, the fire began to die down, and she saw Lune standing in the midst of the
dying fire, glowing a gorgeous purple. Even more surprising, when she looked straight
in front of her she was nearly blinded by the soft yet strong glow of magnificent
gold coming from Miriam.
"Miriam," she whispered softly.
That was enough to break the spell. Miriam's eyes opened, and the color was
gone in an instant. Lune's color slowly died down, however.
"Miram," Lune said, a tear in her eye. "You have already connected with your
power, and I have not even worked with you. You are much stronger and more in touch
with yourself than I could ever have imagined."
Miriam smiled softly. "I just knew my light would guide Serenity back to me
and out of the coma. I guess I had it in me the whole time."
"Well yes, just as Serenity and a few select others in this solar system have
it. But I never realized your power Miriam," Lune answered.
"Is it as great as Serenity's?" Miriam asked.
"You are certainly more in touch with yourself than Serenity, but she lives in
incredibly unfavorably conditions."
"Her parents," Miriam interrupted.
"Yes," Lune replied, "but no...no one has ever had or currently has as much
power as Serenity dear, not even I."
Miriam looked in appreciation at Serenity. Serenity was still in awe. "Miriam,
how did you?" she asked curiously. "Can you teach me?"
Miriam smiled. "It is like Lune said Serenity. You have to connect with it
yourself. I do not know what to say that I or Lune has not already said."
Serenity nodded. "Why do my parents affect this so much?"
Lune did not answer the question directly. Instead she said, "if only there
were a way to take you away from here for awhile, get you living in better conditions
for a few months. Then your power could truly form the way it was meant to. Ah well,
that is impossible. Neither the King nor Queen could ever be convinced. He has got
her wrapped around his finger anyway."
"Who is wrapped around who's finger?" Serenity asked.
Miriam looked at her in surprise. "Have you never noticed that your mother is
under your father's control? She follows him in everything,
never disagrees."
Serenity's eyes opened, figuratively anyway. "No...I never did, but you are
right," she said, amazed this had escaped her attention for
so long.
Lune nodded. "I best be going and leave you two alone."
"Was my mother always like this?" Serenity asked Lune, a hint of desperation
in her voice.
Lune sighed. "I thought you would ask. No Serenity she was not. She was once a
very different person."
"Like me?" Serenity asked.
Lune smiled a bit, "Dear, in all my lifetimes, I have never met anyone like
you."
"What was she like?" Serenity asked.
"Serenity, I will tell you, but you must understand she will never go back to
that way of life again." Lune hesitated. "She was more open-minded about some things
anyway. She actually enjoyed a good debate with someone, anyone. That was how she met
your father, in a debate. She beat him actually, but he refused to admit he had been
defeated. Your father was such an attractive man, though as cold and ruthless as he
is now, and your mother felt lust. Something she had never felt before, so of course
she attributed that lustful feeling to love. She gave in and said he had won. From
that day forward, she followed him everywhere, did whatever he asked, always agreed,
and eventually they got married. She sealed her fate that day though I think she was
doomed from the moment she gave in to him after that debate."
"She is...doomed?" Serenity asked, a feeling of coldness sweeping over her.
"I am sorry," Lune said. "You were not ready to know that. But yes, she is."
Serenity shook her head, "no, no, no.....We...we can save her...right? Right
Lune? Right Miriam? We can save her...we can find a way to get her to tap into that
debating side of herself. Show her the person she lost."
"She did not lose her Serenity. She obliterated her. That person is gone
forever."
"I....I ...I do not understand," Serenity said, pain in her eyes, her whole
being.
"I am sorry to hurt you with this Serenity," Lune said. "I never should have
spoken of this."
"What....what will happen to her?" Serenity asked painfully.
"Dear Serenity, even I do not know that. Please forgive me. I will go and
leave you with your friend Miriam."
"Wait!" Miriam said with her arm around Serenity in comfort. "I have a
question, please."
"Go ahead," Lune said.
"
You said earlier no one ever had or currently has the power Serenity
does...you did not say never will have. Will someone have more power than her?"
"
My dear, power is passed on from generation to generation. The Kings and
Queens of each planet wanted to always pass on the same amount of power to their
children as they had, and they have succeeded for quite some time, but they cannot
succeed forever. Power always grows stronger as time passes and people learn."
Miriam nodded. "There will be more powerful ones then. Always there will be.
I wonder if there is ever a limit."
Lune chuckled, "no one knows the answer to that question; no one knows," and
she disappeared.
"Serenity? Are you all right?" Miriam asked in concern.
"I do not know," Serenity's sobs were becoming louder. "Oh my Serenity, my
dear soul friend," and Miriam said no more. She just held her.
To Be Continued...