Feel free to e-mail me your constructive criticism and praise. I appreciate your suggestions on how to better my writing.
This story is a revised version of "Princess Serenity's Revenge" and will hopefully be much better. This is a fan fiction about Serenity/Usagi and Endymion/Mamoru.
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is copyright (c) 1992 Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation. English Language Adaptation copyright (c) 1995 DiC Entertainment.
The Beginning of Forever: Chapter 7
Charlyne
charlyne_o@hotmail.com
Chapter Rating: PG
Sobbing into her pillow, Serenity felt her grief overwhelm her. How could her parents have done this to her? How could they just give her to that man, Seiya, without her consent? Did they not feel any love for her in their hearts?
Hearing her door open and close, Serenity buried her face deeper into her pillow. "Go away," she muttered figuring that one of the Senshi had followed her to her room. She did not want or need their pity; right now she just wanted to be left alone. She felt the bed dip as someone sat beside her and turned her head to the side to see whom it was.
"Endy!" she gasped. She pushed herself up and threw herself into his arms. He enfolded her in his embrace and held her tightly.
"Serena," he said softly, hugging her tighter. "I've missed you so. I sneaked away from my guards tonight but they will not be fooled long by my distraction."
"I'm so glad you could come," Serenity whispered. She buried her face against his chest. "Did you hear what they had planned, Endy?" she asked, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "They want me to marry that man and they were going to announce it tonight...in front of everyone! I thought that they would eventually see that you and I were meant to be together. I was stupid and foolish."
"No, love, you're not stupid nor foolish. Your parents do not understand our soul bond, but they do understand alliances. An alliance with Cygni will extend the reach of the Silver Alliance Council and will bring peace to more planets."
"Are you trying to defend them?" Serenity asked, shocked. She started to push away from him but he held her tightly.
"No, love, I'm not. I'm merely trying to understand their motivation and help you understand also. You should not be so angry with them, they truly do love you, I'm sure of it," Endymion explained.
Serenity sniffled, but nodded her head. She did understand her parents' motivation, in some ways, but she did not understand why their advancement had to come at the cost of her misery. Didn't they comprehend that they were breaking her heart?
Endymion rocked the two of them gently back and forth. He whispered soft, nonsense love words that seemed to sooth her. The shattered pieces of his heart were mended loosely together but one strong blow would break him. Serenity was the glue that held him together and he knew that if he lost her, he would lose everything. His sanity, his will to live. And although she would not leave him willingly, her parents had the authority and the right to force her into marrying Prince Seiya.
"There's something else, too," Serenity said softly. She peeked up at Endymion through her pale lashes and chewed her lower lip nervously.
Curious, Endymion raised one dark brow inquiringly. "What?" he asked. He was almost afraid of what the answer would be, but knew that whatever it was they would face it together.
"There's a small problem that's come up."
Frowning, Endymion questioned, "How small?"
"Well, maybe 'small' isn't the right word. Perhaps 'enormous' or 'monumental' would be better."
Endymion was beginning to become nervous. "What is this 'enormous' and 'monumental' problem?"
Serenity sighed. "There's going to be a new person coming to the palace soon."
"Who? Seiya's not moving in, is he?" Endy growled. He pressed Serena closer to himself.
"No, not Seiya. In fact, it's no one you know. No one anyone knows. A brand new, very small, person."
"A brand new very small person?" Endymion mused aloud. "A baby?" When he saw her nod and noticed that she would not look him in the eyes, plus the telling fact that she looked incredibly nervous, understanding finally dawned.
"You're having a baby?" he exclaimed, staring down at her in shock.
"We're having a baby," Serenity told him.
Gently resting one hand on her still-flat stomach, Endymion felt a sense of wonderment fill him. Serenity was going to have their child. A part of both of them had come together to create a new being who would be born and live. He was awed.
"Who knows of this?" he asked her quietly.
"Just the Senshi. Amy was the one who told me that I was pregnant. I didn't believe her at first, but it's hard to deny the facts when you're faced with them one after the other," Serena replied softly. "Luna will find out soon, I'm sure, and she will not hesitate to tell mother and father at the first opportunity."
Endymion sighed. This had opened a whole new host of troubles that they could not deal with at the moment. Unfortunately, it was not something that could wait and so they would have to deal with it whether they wanted to or not.
"What will they do when they find out?" Endymion asked softly.
Serenity shrugged and cuddled closer to him. "I'm not sure. Hopefully nothing drastic."
Endymion grinned softly, seeing the irony in her statement. "Just as you and I did nothing drastic when our parents forbid us from seeing each other?"
That reminder brought a blush to Serena's cheeks. "Well..."
Chuckling, Endymion hugged Serenity closer. "Exactly."
With a yawn, Serena rested her head against Endy's chest. She felt so safe and warm in his embrace, she wished this moment would last forever. Unfortunately, it was not to be. As reality is usually wont to do, it intruded into their dreamy world of love and romance when there was on knock on the door.
"Serena?" Princess Mina called. "Are you in there? I think we should talk."
"Yeah, that was some show you put on down there. What was that all about?" Raye called, her chiding tone was underlined with worry.
"Oh no," Serenity groaned. "If they find you in here I know the whole palace will know in a few minutes. I love them all dearly but they tend to be a bit...loud."
Endymion grinned, then kissed Serenity lightly on the forehead. "I'll hide over there," he motioned to the bathroom, "and I won't make a peep. Quiet as a mouse."
Rolling her eyes, Serena shooed him toward the bathroom and scrubbed her hands over her eyes, which she was sure were puffy and red. Taking a deep breath, she hurried to the door and threw it open before the four girls on the other side decided to knock it down.
"What?" Serenity asked, her voice sullen. She was trying to appear vastly unhappy and knew she was succeeding when her friends' faces fell. Although she really was unhappy, it was difficult to act it when she knew her love was nearby.
"We wanted to check up on you. The Queen is really worried, you know. The King is pretty angry, though, so everyone's trying to stay out of his way," Lita replied. She gave her friend a tentative smile.
"Serves them right," Serenity muttered. "You heard that dirty trick they were going to play on me. Can you imagine, they were going to announce my engagement to Seiya right there in front of all of those guests! They knew my feelings on the issue, too."
"You knew they wanted you to marry him," Amy stated calmly. "If we form an alliance with Cygni, our reach will be further than it ever has before."
Serena glared at Amy. "We are not on the best of terms with Earth, the planet we revolve around, how can we continue to extend our reach when we still feud with our next-door neighbor? They know my feelings for Endymion, yet they ignore our soul bond."
Mina looked at the floor guiltily. A finger had not been pointing at her, yet she could feel the princess's censure. If anyone could convince the queen of the nature of the feeling between Serenity and Endymion, it would be her. Even with her limited powers she could feel the strong connection between the two lovers.
"I've been trying to get my mother to come," Mina said softly. "But she does not truly believe me when I tell her about the bond. She thinks it is only wishful thinking on my part."
Serenity smiled at her friend and wrapped her arm around the girl's waist. "It's alright, Mina. I am not blaming you, I'm merely venting my frustration. Your mother is a busy woman, she'll come when she can. I'm just not sure it will be on time."
The others chuckled softly. Time was of the essence and it was the one thing many in the Silver Millennium were not concerned about.
"Did you want anything else?" Serena asked.
The girls shook their heads and filed out of the room. Mina lagged behind the others, then turned and looked at Serenity. "I know he's here. I don't know if he can get out now without being caught."
Serenity sighed, then nodded. She understood the dangers of what she was doing, especially if herself or Endy were caught. Mina closed the door softly behind her and Serena called Endymion from his hiding spot.
"Will she tell your mother?" Endymion whispered, taking his love into his arms.
"About you?" Serena questioned. When he nodded, she answered, "No, she's loyal to me and she understands and can feel our bond. She would not betray my trust."
Endymion sighed and pulled Serena closer. His arms tightened around her small waist and he buried his face in her silver hair. He breathed deeply of her light, flowery scent and closed his eyes. They sat there, wrapped in each other's arms, for what seemed like a lifetime. They neither wanted nor needed to speak, for the silence said it all.
Footsteps approached the room and a voice floated through the door. "Serenity, I'm very disappointed in--" The door swung open and Queen Serenity stood in the threshold. Her eyes widened at the site before her and a fierce frown settled on her face. "Goddess, what is he doing here?"
Serena jerked awake, having fallen asleep minutes earlier. She blinked bleary silver-blue eyes at her mother and yawned. The strong arms around her pulled her closer and she snuggled into the comforting warmth. Her eyes drifted closed again, but snapped back open when full understanding hit her. She was sitting on her bed with Endymion's arms wrapped around her and her mother was in the room.
Jumping from her position, Serenity rushed to her mother. "I can explain, I swear! There was this really important news and I really had to tell Endy but then you were going to announce my engagement and I got mad so I went to my room and Endy followed me and he was trying to make me feel better. I know he's not supposed to be here but I really love him and I know we're Soul Mates, even Mina knows. You just don't understand," Serenity rambled at a high rate of speed.
Queen Serenity continued to scowl. "No, he is not supposed to be here and you will both be punished for it. I'm going to call the guards."
"Oh, mother, don't do that!" Serena exclaimed. Tears filled her eyes, but she held them back, refusing to let them fall. "We need him. I need him."
"We?" her mother asked, arching one pale brow. "Myself, your father, and the Senshi certainly do not need him, so who is this 'we'?"
Serena pouted and moved back to her spot in Endymion's lap. "No one. Just me."
"You'll have to tell her," Endymion whispered by her ear. His warm breath sent shivers down her spine. He nudged her when she did not respond.
"Tell me what?" Queen Serenity asked. She tapped her foot expectantly.
Serenity sniffled. She had known this moment was coming but she had dreaded it with all her being. "About the brand new small person coming to the palace soon."
The queen blinked. "What are you talking about?"
The tears she had valiantly been trying to hold back leaked free and slid down her cheeks. "A baby, mother. I'm going to have a baby."
