How Much I Hate About You
Chapter 14- The Grand Exposure of Royalty
By: Cappuchino_Princezz
February 18th, 2003
******************************
Author's Note:
Hey everyone! I'm soooooooooooooo sorry I haven't been updating this
story. I had serious writer's block on it and basically...all my
attempts at finishing chapter 14 were TERRIBLE! (much like my spelling-
but we'll save that for another author's note to come....)
******************************
Standard disclaimer applies!!! I do NOT own Sailor Moon
nor any of the characters in it. - But this story most
DEFINITELY came from me!
*****************************
Recap!:
"The question is when." Serenity completed, her
face contorting with fear. Another streak of lightning
was seen through the window and then the room went pitch
black, like the night sky that had befallen upon them.
***********
The carriage seemed as if a tiny boat in a raging
ocean storm. Serenity was constantly jostled around on
the plush cushions, making it impossible to rest. The
only relief she received, was when the horses had to rest-
and she was escorted to an inn for one night of the 3-day
journey. The bed sheets were softer than silk, her eyes
were heavy as if weighted down by lead, and her limbs were
cramped and aching. No one disturbed her slumber that
night. She would have appeared dead to anyone who entered,
but that didn't matter much to her. She felt dead inside.
Her heart was with Darien- her husband, her life, her soul.
He had sent her on her journey without his presence, and she
longed for him to be next to her, to wrap his strong arms
around her and feel the warmth and security emanating from
his body.
But on that night, though her slumber was left
undisturbed, her location and body were not. The inn was
attacked that night.
The dark clouds covered the full moon and at that,
the titanic group of men stormed the pitifully defenseless,
sleepy inn. The doors to Serenity's chambers were guarded
with two men, but those strong men were overwhelmed by the
massive numbers. Screams irrupted from other rooms, ladies
in nightgowns were dragged from rooms, their hair still in
nets. Children cried as they watched their female kin being
carried off.
Serenity stirred from her deep sleep when there was
a loud gunshot, followed by a male cry of pain. She shuddered
and suddenly noticed that she was not in the same place she had
closed her eyes in. The bed was softer and more comfortable,
but the room was much larger, and the décor was expensive.
The large canopy bed she was inhabiting, was bedecked in
silks of exotic colors and she ran her fingers across them
in wonder. Never had she seen such a splendid sight, given
her current predicament. Noting another presence outside
the door at the sound of the polite knocking, she pulled
the covers back over her body and pretended to be sleeping.
The knocker entered upon the silence he had received.
"Well, it looks like they brought back the princess
after all. At least this was one assignment they didn't
manage to screw up. Endymoin surely didn't have his hand in
this." a deep laugh caused shivers to run up and down her
spine, but she mentally weighed her body with lead.
A large hand lightly shook her, as if to awaken her
from her dream world. Slowly, she turned over, lazily
opening her eyes and managing to contain her horrification
at the hand's master.
"Robert." she changed from horrified to confused.
Never had she known that he was so wealthy. Sure, he was
blessed with a small fortune, but she had never thought he
would be THAT rich.
"Serenity, my princess." he said softly, cupping
her cheek in his hand and rubbing his thumb across her bottom
lip. The confusion and terror in her eyes made him recoil.
"Robert, what do you want?" Serenity hugged the
covers to her chest. Tears had long since been pushed
back from her eyes, but seeing him had reopened the wounds
that had managed to scab over the years.
"My Sere, don't be frightened. I want you, only
you." his pale green eyes pleaded with her.
"H-how did you manage to find me?" she was
growing bolder by the moment. Each second, the anger
she had long felt swelled within her, disintegrating the
tears and mending the wound.
"Serenity, my darling Serenity, I promised to
always watch over you." he replied, frantically grasping
onto her shoulders. Her knuckles turned white as her
dainty hands clenched onto the covers. Almost to the
point of shaking with rage, she slapped his hands away.
"You were the one in the study, weren't you?"
she accused. Her blue eyes flashed. "And at my wedding!"
her voice rose in volume and she became angrier. In truth,
he was stalking her. It was inexcusable and she longed to
make him pay for the distress he had caused her. Everything
was his fault. If he hadn't gone off to marry Beryl, then
she wouldn't have become so mean, she wouldn't have been
made to marry Darien, and she would be laying in this bed
by choice, and choice alone, not held against her will.
"Yes."
"Why?" she snapped, glaring at him with more hate
than she had used to glare at Darien.
"Didn't you read the note?" he looked like a lost
puppy, and the sight caused her melting heart to grow warm.
"The note you slipped me you mean?" she asked.
"Yes."
"No. I completely forgot about it until just now.
It was a very," she paused to think of the right word to
describe the first night at Darien's home, "eventful night."
she ended.
"Oh…" came Robert's reply. His hands remained on
her shoulders, gently rubbing them.
"How dare you touch me! I am a taken woman. Get
your hands off me!" she hissed and flailed her arms in a
weak attempt to fight him off. Gently holding her, he
lowered her back onto the soft pillows, and pulled the
sheets up, tucking her in.
"Serenity," he whispered, with a strangely happy
expression upon his face, "you need your rest." With that,
he kissed her forehead and exited the room.
********
Lightening crashed and thunder roared, but Darien
was oblivious to the weather. He was immersed in his own
thoughts, hunched over the lists of his friends and fellow
members of the Line. His head throbbed with pain, but he
was desperate to find the culprit. He needed answers, and
he needed them now.
A loud pounding echoed through the house, and
Darien contemplated it being the headache that had
consumed him, but when it came again, he rose from
his seat and hurried out of the study. Urgent knocks
on the front doors caused his heartbeat to triple, before
he threw the oak barriers open. Klyde Patronal's tall
form stood at the doorway, and Darien hurriedly helped
him inside.
"Mr. Patronal, to what do I owe this visit?" he
couldn't help but feel a terrible sense of foreboding.
A small hand felt like it was slowly squeezing his heart
when Klyde turned his dark eyes upon him.
"She's gone." came his saddened hoarse voice.
"What?" he gasped, unable to comprehend the meaning
of his father-in-law's words. "Who?"
"Serenity." Klyde ran a roughly calloused hand
through his hair and sighed, looking helpless and frustrated.
'My poor child.'
"What happened?" Darien's angry voice demanded, his
hands finding a purpose in smashing a table to pieces in his
rage.
"Calm yourself, Endymoin." Klyde sternly ordered,
his usually kind eyes no longer soft and like glass, but
cold and lifeless.
"She was taken in a raid one night, at an inn they
were residing in for one night of the three day journey."
Darien and Klyde went into the study and Darien took his seat
once again.
"Do you know by who?" he scrambled his mind
desperately trying to figure out who would have had
the resources and manpower to attack the inn, and
kidnap is beautiful wife.
"My sources have confirmed, that it was Robert."
replied Serenity's father, and allowed a hand to cover
his face.
"Robert?!"
****************
Serenity stared at the canopy top, eyes wide
and unblinking, yet not seeing what was really before
her. She didn't see the exotic colors, the lavish
décor, and didn't feel the soft sheets or the plush
mattress and pillows curve around her body.
Pale blue eyes stared into oblivion, and she
wished a thousand times to be in her home she shared
with her husband, wrapped in his strong protective
embrace and safely sleeping in her familiar bed.
"Darien…" it came out only as a soft whisper,
barely heard by even her own ears. The man beside
her stirred slightly, and a tear rolled down her
porcelain face.
"Oh Darien, please, please come save me."
came her mental plea as she closed her eyes tightly
and rolled onto her side, away from her first love,
who slept next to her, as if nothing had ever changed
between them. "Darien…" was her last thought before
she drifted off to a painful sleep.
*****************
A Champaign flute shattered against the wall,
it's occupants sliding down the wall. Serenity gazed
hatefully at the woman who had thrown the precious
crystal flute, that had no doubt been a family
heirloom. 'Not her family though…" she dryly thought.
"Pleasant to see you again, Serenity." came
the smooth seductive voice of Melissa Beryl.
"I'd say it was a pleasure to see you as
well, if I had been in hell, but fortunately, I
won't be going there." Serenity replied, her
cold eyes glaring at the woman who had ruined
her life.
"Sit down and listen up, bitch!" she
shrieked, motioning for the guard who had escorted
Serenity into the library, to roughly push her into
a chair. "You," she paused to take a drink of wine
from a glass that had just been handed to her. "and
your little organization, have been a thorn in my
side for a VERY long time."
"We always annoy the evil amongst us. But
when we can finally pinpoint the exact members of
our society that corrupt the less fortunate, kill
the innocent, and snicker in their comfortable beds
late at night, we will make sure those people will
pay for all their misdeeds." The icy tone at which
Serenity spoke caused Beryl to shiver slightly.
"Do shut up, you little brat. You were
never good at anything but talking. Everyone says
so. Even Darien admitted that you were more of a
verbal sparring partner, than a wife." Beryl smiled
evilly, as she watched Serenity's face pale.
*****************************************************
Sorry this chapter is so short. I know it's been
so long since I've updated this, but I just found the
idea sheet I had been writing about a month ago..in my
old notebook as I was cleaning it out and getting ready
to part with it..::sniffle sniffle:: don't you hate
having to change notebooks when you run out of paper..
because of all the papers that are already stuck in
there..and finally you're just like.."aww screw it!..
i'll just add more loose leaf shiz in here!" Anyways,
I hope you like this chapter...I know it should have
been atleast 20 times longer...for as long as its been
since I've updated, but I just wrote this today, in
about an hour, so please take pity on me..and give me
a good review.
Chapter 14- The Grand Exposure of Royalty
By: Cappuchino_Princezz
February 18th, 2003
******************************
Author's Note:
Hey everyone! I'm soooooooooooooo sorry I haven't been updating this
story. I had serious writer's block on it and basically...all my
attempts at finishing chapter 14 were TERRIBLE! (much like my spelling-
but we'll save that for another author's note to come....)
******************************
Standard disclaimer applies!!! I do NOT own Sailor Moon
nor any of the characters in it. - But this story most
DEFINITELY came from me!
*****************************
Recap!:
"The question is when." Serenity completed, her
face contorting with fear. Another streak of lightning
was seen through the window and then the room went pitch
black, like the night sky that had befallen upon them.
***********
The carriage seemed as if a tiny boat in a raging
ocean storm. Serenity was constantly jostled around on
the plush cushions, making it impossible to rest. The
only relief she received, was when the horses had to rest-
and she was escorted to an inn for one night of the 3-day
journey. The bed sheets were softer than silk, her eyes
were heavy as if weighted down by lead, and her limbs were
cramped and aching. No one disturbed her slumber that
night. She would have appeared dead to anyone who entered,
but that didn't matter much to her. She felt dead inside.
Her heart was with Darien- her husband, her life, her soul.
He had sent her on her journey without his presence, and she
longed for him to be next to her, to wrap his strong arms
around her and feel the warmth and security emanating from
his body.
But on that night, though her slumber was left
undisturbed, her location and body were not. The inn was
attacked that night.
The dark clouds covered the full moon and at that,
the titanic group of men stormed the pitifully defenseless,
sleepy inn. The doors to Serenity's chambers were guarded
with two men, but those strong men were overwhelmed by the
massive numbers. Screams irrupted from other rooms, ladies
in nightgowns were dragged from rooms, their hair still in
nets. Children cried as they watched their female kin being
carried off.
Serenity stirred from her deep sleep when there was
a loud gunshot, followed by a male cry of pain. She shuddered
and suddenly noticed that she was not in the same place she had
closed her eyes in. The bed was softer and more comfortable,
but the room was much larger, and the décor was expensive.
The large canopy bed she was inhabiting, was bedecked in
silks of exotic colors and she ran her fingers across them
in wonder. Never had she seen such a splendid sight, given
her current predicament. Noting another presence outside
the door at the sound of the polite knocking, she pulled
the covers back over her body and pretended to be sleeping.
The knocker entered upon the silence he had received.
"Well, it looks like they brought back the princess
after all. At least this was one assignment they didn't
manage to screw up. Endymoin surely didn't have his hand in
this." a deep laugh caused shivers to run up and down her
spine, but she mentally weighed her body with lead.
A large hand lightly shook her, as if to awaken her
from her dream world. Slowly, she turned over, lazily
opening her eyes and managing to contain her horrification
at the hand's master.
"Robert." she changed from horrified to confused.
Never had she known that he was so wealthy. Sure, he was
blessed with a small fortune, but she had never thought he
would be THAT rich.
"Serenity, my princess." he said softly, cupping
her cheek in his hand and rubbing his thumb across her bottom
lip. The confusion and terror in her eyes made him recoil.
"Robert, what do you want?" Serenity hugged the
covers to her chest. Tears had long since been pushed
back from her eyes, but seeing him had reopened the wounds
that had managed to scab over the years.
"My Sere, don't be frightened. I want you, only
you." his pale green eyes pleaded with her.
"H-how did you manage to find me?" she was
growing bolder by the moment. Each second, the anger
she had long felt swelled within her, disintegrating the
tears and mending the wound.
"Serenity, my darling Serenity, I promised to
always watch over you." he replied, frantically grasping
onto her shoulders. Her knuckles turned white as her
dainty hands clenched onto the covers. Almost to the
point of shaking with rage, she slapped his hands away.
"You were the one in the study, weren't you?"
she accused. Her blue eyes flashed. "And at my wedding!"
her voice rose in volume and she became angrier. In truth,
he was stalking her. It was inexcusable and she longed to
make him pay for the distress he had caused her. Everything
was his fault. If he hadn't gone off to marry Beryl, then
she wouldn't have become so mean, she wouldn't have been
made to marry Darien, and she would be laying in this bed
by choice, and choice alone, not held against her will.
"Yes."
"Why?" she snapped, glaring at him with more hate
than she had used to glare at Darien.
"Didn't you read the note?" he looked like a lost
puppy, and the sight caused her melting heart to grow warm.
"The note you slipped me you mean?" she asked.
"Yes."
"No. I completely forgot about it until just now.
It was a very," she paused to think of the right word to
describe the first night at Darien's home, "eventful night."
she ended.
"Oh…" came Robert's reply. His hands remained on
her shoulders, gently rubbing them.
"How dare you touch me! I am a taken woman. Get
your hands off me!" she hissed and flailed her arms in a
weak attempt to fight him off. Gently holding her, he
lowered her back onto the soft pillows, and pulled the
sheets up, tucking her in.
"Serenity," he whispered, with a strangely happy
expression upon his face, "you need your rest." With that,
he kissed her forehead and exited the room.
********
Lightening crashed and thunder roared, but Darien
was oblivious to the weather. He was immersed in his own
thoughts, hunched over the lists of his friends and fellow
members of the Line. His head throbbed with pain, but he
was desperate to find the culprit. He needed answers, and
he needed them now.
A loud pounding echoed through the house, and
Darien contemplated it being the headache that had
consumed him, but when it came again, he rose from
his seat and hurried out of the study. Urgent knocks
on the front doors caused his heartbeat to triple, before
he threw the oak barriers open. Klyde Patronal's tall
form stood at the doorway, and Darien hurriedly helped
him inside.
"Mr. Patronal, to what do I owe this visit?" he
couldn't help but feel a terrible sense of foreboding.
A small hand felt like it was slowly squeezing his heart
when Klyde turned his dark eyes upon him.
"She's gone." came his saddened hoarse voice.
"What?" he gasped, unable to comprehend the meaning
of his father-in-law's words. "Who?"
"Serenity." Klyde ran a roughly calloused hand
through his hair and sighed, looking helpless and frustrated.
'My poor child.'
"What happened?" Darien's angry voice demanded, his
hands finding a purpose in smashing a table to pieces in his
rage.
"Calm yourself, Endymoin." Klyde sternly ordered,
his usually kind eyes no longer soft and like glass, but
cold and lifeless.
"She was taken in a raid one night, at an inn they
were residing in for one night of the three day journey."
Darien and Klyde went into the study and Darien took his seat
once again.
"Do you know by who?" he scrambled his mind
desperately trying to figure out who would have had
the resources and manpower to attack the inn, and
kidnap is beautiful wife.
"My sources have confirmed, that it was Robert."
replied Serenity's father, and allowed a hand to cover
his face.
"Robert?!"
****************
Serenity stared at the canopy top, eyes wide
and unblinking, yet not seeing what was really before
her. She didn't see the exotic colors, the lavish
décor, and didn't feel the soft sheets or the plush
mattress and pillows curve around her body.
Pale blue eyes stared into oblivion, and she
wished a thousand times to be in her home she shared
with her husband, wrapped in his strong protective
embrace and safely sleeping in her familiar bed.
"Darien…" it came out only as a soft whisper,
barely heard by even her own ears. The man beside
her stirred slightly, and a tear rolled down her
porcelain face.
"Oh Darien, please, please come save me."
came her mental plea as she closed her eyes tightly
and rolled onto her side, away from her first love,
who slept next to her, as if nothing had ever changed
between them. "Darien…" was her last thought before
she drifted off to a painful sleep.
*****************
A Champaign flute shattered against the wall,
it's occupants sliding down the wall. Serenity gazed
hatefully at the woman who had thrown the precious
crystal flute, that had no doubt been a family
heirloom. 'Not her family though…" she dryly thought.
"Pleasant to see you again, Serenity." came
the smooth seductive voice of Melissa Beryl.
"I'd say it was a pleasure to see you as
well, if I had been in hell, but fortunately, I
won't be going there." Serenity replied, her
cold eyes glaring at the woman who had ruined
her life.
"Sit down and listen up, bitch!" she
shrieked, motioning for the guard who had escorted
Serenity into the library, to roughly push her into
a chair. "You," she paused to take a drink of wine
from a glass that had just been handed to her. "and
your little organization, have been a thorn in my
side for a VERY long time."
"We always annoy the evil amongst us. But
when we can finally pinpoint the exact members of
our society that corrupt the less fortunate, kill
the innocent, and snicker in their comfortable beds
late at night, we will make sure those people will
pay for all their misdeeds." The icy tone at which
Serenity spoke caused Beryl to shiver slightly.
"Do shut up, you little brat. You were
never good at anything but talking. Everyone says
so. Even Darien admitted that you were more of a
verbal sparring partner, than a wife." Beryl smiled
evilly, as she watched Serenity's face pale.
*****************************************************
Sorry this chapter is so short. I know it's been
so long since I've updated this, but I just found the
idea sheet I had been writing about a month ago..in my
old notebook as I was cleaning it out and getting ready
to part with it..::sniffle sniffle:: don't you hate
having to change notebooks when you run out of paper..
because of all the papers that are already stuck in
there..and finally you're just like.."aww screw it!..
i'll just add more loose leaf shiz in here!" Anyways,
I hope you like this chapter...I know it should have
been atleast 20 times longer...for as long as its been
since I've updated, but I just wrote this today, in
about an hour, so please take pity on me..and give me
a good review.
