Ch2.
Serena lay in her bed, her head tossing from side to side as if trying to avoid some unseen influence. Suddenly her eyes flew wide open and her stare was once again fixed on the ceiling above. The voices were once again calling out her name, begging her to save them from their own destruction. Her eyes were puffy and swollen, it was clear that she had not slept well for quit some time and her nerves were close to the breaking point. She slowly shook her mind free from her tormentors and rose from her useless bed. Having finally given up all hope of getting any sleep, she fixed a lite meal and then settled herself in front of the mirror, which was now her only reliable companion in the universe.
Serena stared into the depths of the mirror, looking past her own image into the depths that lay beyond. " Why must they continue to torment me? " she asked her reflection, which just watched her from the other side. " I was only trying to save them; I didn't mean to kill everything that I loved, it was an accident after all." Serena just sat there, lost in the vast expanse of the mirror. {They all want vengeance}, a voice echoed in her head. Suddenly Serena's eye's opened wide, had she just heard someone answer her question? " Get a grip on yourself Serena, you're starting to hear voices when you're awake!" "If I keep this up I'll loose my mind for sure!" {You're not crazy}, now Serena was getting really freaked out, she had heard the voice again! "Ok; what's going on here, who's talking to me?" Serena quickly looked around the room and having seen no one else around, her gaze returned to her mirror. Just as she looked back into the mirror, she noticed something odd, her reflection was moving just a little slower than she was. Her centuries of solitude had not slowed her reflexes, she had jumped from her chair with cat like reflexes when she saw her reflection move on it's own. Now she stood on the opposite side of the room, but her reflection was still sitting in the chair that she had just left. For an instant, Serena stood frozen with fear, then fear gave way to curiosity. Nothing like this had happened to her in the past 325 years, and she had been pretty bored with the whole situation. She once again approached the mirror and stood looking at her reflection, which just continued to sit there and smile back at her. "Well I'm not going to stand here and let you drive me crazy, I'm going for a little walk and forget about you!" With that Serena placed a finger below her eye and pulled down the lid while she stuck her tongue out at the mirror, then she stormed off to take a walk around what was left of the dome that sheltered her home.
Serena had not left the confines of her few little rooms for a few months, so it was about time that she walked the breadth of her realm and inspect the Kingdom that she had created. The building where she lived had once been a guardhouse, built for one of the captains of the imperial guard. While not nearly as big as her old room in the castle, it had enough room for Serena to live in relative comfort. After the destruction of the moon kingdom, the protective dome had begun to collapse due to the failing output of the main computer network that maintained the shield. As the dome contracted, Serena had scavenged whatever she could from the ruins, before they were cut off by the lunar vacuum. The destruction had been almost too severe, Serena had been hard pressed to find much of anything that she could drag out to her new home, yet somehow she managed to collect enough to live in relative comfort befitting the Queen.
Serena walked slowly around the perimeter of her protective dome (roughly 3 acres) outside the dome she could clearly see the ruble of the old city, which now lay in the vacuum of space. As she walked around and around, she thought about what had happened earlier in her room, had she just imagined it all or was she finally starting to go insane after all these years? After a few hours of roaming outside, Serena was driven back inside by the approach of the lunar night. Slowly, Serena crept back into her quarters, being careful to not cross in front of the mirror until her nerves were settled a little more. Finally she had enough resolve to go back to the mirror and find out what was happening to her. As she turned and looked into the mirror, she was not surprised to see her reflection still sitting patiently in the chair awaiting her return. {Did you have a nice walk?} "Not that it's any of YOUR business, but yes, it was quite refreshing." {I'm glad.} "Like you really care, you're just a hallucination anyway!" With that, Serena turned the lights out and crawled into bed, hoping that all the exercise this evening would grant her some needed rest, and she was not disappointed, as soon as her head hit the pillow she was fast asleep. ~*~ "Hi Darien, how's Serena doing today?" Andrew asked as Darien was passing by the arcade. "There's been no change, she's still in a coma and we don't really know if she will ever come out." "They say that all the venom is out of her system, now all we can do is wait for her to return to us when she's ready." Andrew put his hand on Darien's shoulder to give him a little comfort, "She's a strong woman Darien, give her some time and I'm sure she will be back holding you in her arms once again!" "Thanks Andrew, I really needed a little pep talk!" With that reassurance, Darien continued on to Serena's house to take his turn watching over the woman he loved more than anything else in the world.
Darien sat in his usual place at Serena's bedside, close enough to wipe her brow and to be ready to lend a hand if it were ever needed. His eyes lovingly looked over Serena's delicate face burning the image of his beloved Meatball head into his mind. Everyone knew that there was the slim possibility that she may never wake up again, and she would spend the rest of her life as little more than a delicate flower that is attended by it's admirers. Darien's eyes suddenly opened wide and he was momentarily unsure of his surroundings. "Damn it all man, you should not be dozing off while watching over Serena!" Darien scolded himself for his inattention, but something just didn't feel right. As he looked around the room he saw nothing out of the ordinary, but after glancing down at Serena, he saw the Golden moon crescent shinning on her forehead. As he was getting up out of his chair to spread the news of this hopeful sign of recovery, he suddenly stopped and stared at Serena. The Golden Crescent on her forehead, the mark of the true moon princess, began to fade out again. Then he noticed another even stranger thing happening, the Crescent Moon did not fade away, but instead it turned black as night and remained where it had formed. Now she bore the symbol of a black moon crescent upon her forehead and Darien's heart suddenly felt like lead, a sense of dread suddenly washed over his mind, his beloved Serena was leaving! ~*~
Serena lay in her bed, her head tossing from side to side as if trying to avoid some unseen influence. Suddenly her eyes flew wide open and her stare was once again fixed on the ceiling above. The voices were once again calling out her name, begging her to save them from their own destruction. Her eyes were puffy and swollen, it was clear that she had not slept well for quit some time and her nerves were close to the breaking point. She slowly shook her mind free from her tormentors and rose from her useless bed. Having finally given up all hope of getting any sleep, she fixed a lite meal and then settled herself in front of the mirror, which was now her only reliable companion in the universe.
Serena stared into the depths of the mirror, looking past her own image into the depths that lay beyond. " Why must they continue to torment me? " she asked her reflection, which just watched her from the other side. " I was only trying to save them; I didn't mean to kill everything that I loved, it was an accident after all." Serena just sat there, lost in the vast expanse of the mirror. {They all want vengeance}, a voice echoed in her head. Suddenly Serena's eye's opened wide, had she just heard someone answer her question? " Get a grip on yourself Serena, you're starting to hear voices when you're awake!" "If I keep this up I'll loose my mind for sure!" {You're not crazy}, now Serena was getting really freaked out, she had heard the voice again! "Ok; what's going on here, who's talking to me?" Serena quickly looked around the room and having seen no one else around, her gaze returned to her mirror. Just as she looked back into the mirror, she noticed something odd, her reflection was moving just a little slower than she was. Her centuries of solitude had not slowed her reflexes, she had jumped from her chair with cat like reflexes when she saw her reflection move on it's own. Now she stood on the opposite side of the room, but her reflection was still sitting in the chair that she had just left. For an instant, Serena stood frozen with fear, then fear gave way to curiosity. Nothing like this had happened to her in the past 325 years, and she had been pretty bored with the whole situation. She once again approached the mirror and stood looking at her reflection, which just continued to sit there and smile back at her. "Well I'm not going to stand here and let you drive me crazy, I'm going for a little walk and forget about you!" With that Serena placed a finger below her eye and pulled down the lid while she stuck her tongue out at the mirror, then she stormed off to take a walk around what was left of the dome that sheltered her home.
Serena had not left the confines of her few little rooms for a few months, so it was about time that she walked the breadth of her realm and inspect the Kingdom that she had created. The building where she lived had once been a guardhouse, built for one of the captains of the imperial guard. While not nearly as big as her old room in the castle, it had enough room for Serena to live in relative comfort. After the destruction of the moon kingdom, the protective dome had begun to collapse due to the failing output of the main computer network that maintained the shield. As the dome contracted, Serena had scavenged whatever she could from the ruins, before they were cut off by the lunar vacuum. The destruction had been almost too severe, Serena had been hard pressed to find much of anything that she could drag out to her new home, yet somehow she managed to collect enough to live in relative comfort befitting the Queen.
Serena walked slowly around the perimeter of her protective dome (roughly 3 acres) outside the dome she could clearly see the ruble of the old city, which now lay in the vacuum of space. As she walked around and around, she thought about what had happened earlier in her room, had she just imagined it all or was she finally starting to go insane after all these years? After a few hours of roaming outside, Serena was driven back inside by the approach of the lunar night. Slowly, Serena crept back into her quarters, being careful to not cross in front of the mirror until her nerves were settled a little more. Finally she had enough resolve to go back to the mirror and find out what was happening to her. As she turned and looked into the mirror, she was not surprised to see her reflection still sitting patiently in the chair awaiting her return. {Did you have a nice walk?} "Not that it's any of YOUR business, but yes, it was quite refreshing." {I'm glad.} "Like you really care, you're just a hallucination anyway!" With that, Serena turned the lights out and crawled into bed, hoping that all the exercise this evening would grant her some needed rest, and she was not disappointed, as soon as her head hit the pillow she was fast asleep. ~*~ "Hi Darien, how's Serena doing today?" Andrew asked as Darien was passing by the arcade. "There's been no change, she's still in a coma and we don't really know if she will ever come out." "They say that all the venom is out of her system, now all we can do is wait for her to return to us when she's ready." Andrew put his hand on Darien's shoulder to give him a little comfort, "She's a strong woman Darien, give her some time and I'm sure she will be back holding you in her arms once again!" "Thanks Andrew, I really needed a little pep talk!" With that reassurance, Darien continued on to Serena's house to take his turn watching over the woman he loved more than anything else in the world.
Darien sat in his usual place at Serena's bedside, close enough to wipe her brow and to be ready to lend a hand if it were ever needed. His eyes lovingly looked over Serena's delicate face burning the image of his beloved Meatball head into his mind. Everyone knew that there was the slim possibility that she may never wake up again, and she would spend the rest of her life as little more than a delicate flower that is attended by it's admirers. Darien's eyes suddenly opened wide and he was momentarily unsure of his surroundings. "Damn it all man, you should not be dozing off while watching over Serena!" Darien scolded himself for his inattention, but something just didn't feel right. As he looked around the room he saw nothing out of the ordinary, but after glancing down at Serena, he saw the Golden moon crescent shinning on her forehead. As he was getting up out of his chair to spread the news of this hopeful sign of recovery, he suddenly stopped and stared at Serena. The Golden Crescent on her forehead, the mark of the true moon princess, began to fade out again. Then he noticed another even stranger thing happening, the Crescent Moon did not fade away, but instead it turned black as night and remained where it had formed. Now she bore the symbol of a black moon crescent upon her forehead and Darien's heart suddenly felt like lead, a sense of dread suddenly washed over his mind, his beloved Serena was leaving! ~*~