A Heavenly Love written by Atlantis © 2002

Okay, here's my third fic and this time it's a Serena/Darien romance. This'll be (hopefully) quite different from any story you've read on these two before since it's set in Greek times. I think that you'll figure it out as you read on. Anyhow, there is a warning for this story. It deals a bit with attempted rape and some psychological abuse, so, that's just to give you all a heads-up.

Insert standard disclaimer *right here*

Rating: Very strong PG-13

***************************************************************** Bless the Lord, who is my rock. He gives me strength for war and skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my deliverer. He stands before me as a shield, and I take refuge in him. He subdues the nations under me. Psalm 143:1-2 *****************************************************************

Part 1

When time had begun, only Zeus had existed. Now, as people

had begun to populate the Earth and conquer all of life's

adventures, there were more who dwelled in the Heaven's and on

Olympus.

There was Zeus; his queen, Hera; Hephaestus, the god of the

hammer and forge; Ares, god of war; Diana, the beautiful goddess

of the moon; her brother, the god of the sun, Apollo; the

uncomparable Athena, goddess of wisdom; and Aphrodite, the

seductress, the goddess of love. There were also many others.

Among them, there was Aphrodite's son, Cupid, or Eros, as he was

called by the people of Earth. His real name was Endymion, named

for the one whom he had been sired by, one of the lesser gods of

Earth.

Even though he was not, it was in fact as if he was the

Prince of Olympus. For who he was, he was loved, but for the

incredible power he wielded, he was feared... even by the gods.

He was aware that he could have anyone he desired, seduce any

woman he lusted for, but none ever appealed to him. There was

something missing in his life, and he couldn't, for the immortal

life of him, figure out what it was.

Endymion was beautiful, handsome. More so than even some of

the more powerful gods such as Apollo and Ares, the incredibly

built god of war.

He was tall, his well-built frame reaching nearly six

feet-two inches. Shining charcoal black hair fell into bottomless

indigo eyes that could see through people's souls and judge the

love that laid within were the features always noticed first. A

sharply defined masculine face that could be described only as

gentle and soft could hold a person's attention for more than a

lifetime and the smile always resting on full lips always made

the women, even goddesses, wilt. His strong neck flowed into

broad shoulders down into muscular arms and a carved back and

chest, hidden beneath a white tunic slung over one shoulder and

tied at the waist. From the bottom of his tunic which stopped

just above his knees, one's gaze traveled down past hardened

calves into simply sandles that wrapped around his feet.

But by far, his most beautiful feature was the large wings

that came from his back, like the wings of a white eagle. They

were immense: the tops, when folded at his sides, topped his

shoulders by nearly five inches and then gracefully fell all the

way to the floor where they rested just above the ground. Large,

petal soft feathers brushed against his bare skin and dominated

his incredible wings. When opened, his wingspan was twice as

wide as he was tall, stretching from almost wall-to-wall inside

Olympus's palace halls.

Unfortunately for Endymion, though his looks always brought

him attention, he was not happy. At long last, he discovered the

reason for his unhappiness. There was no love in his life. It was

ironic how he brought love to everyone on the Earth and even to

those in the Heaven's including his mother from time to time and

yet he, himself had no one to care for. But who would really love

him, for who he really was and not as a god?



"Endy! Come to me my son!" a furious Aphrodite screamed. She

turned away from her Sight Pool to a mirror, touching her hair

softly and smiling then letting a hard frown mar her perfect

immortal features. How dare they! How dare SHE! No one crossed

the gods and lived to tell about it... at least not in human

form!

Aphrodite began pacing, her golden eyes moving about as she

thought of how to deal with the problem. There had to be some way

to stop all of this. Perhaps one of the other gods could help?

No.

"I have it!" Aphrodite exclaimed. "Oh, that will fix

everything." There was a large gust of wind and the goddess of

love brought up her arms to shield her hair and face. A loud

flapping of wings was heard and then silence. Lowering her arms

slowly, Aphrodite opened her eyes and then smiled at her son.

"What will fix everything?" Endymion asked, dusting off his

tunic and straightening his quiver which was strapped to his back

and taking a tighter hold on his bow.

"Oh my dear Endy! Something dreadful has happened and it

must be corrected immediately!" Aphrodite sobbed as she wrapped

her arms around her son. Endymion nodded into the air.

"What's wrong mother? Show me," he said looking at his

mother. She nodded and pulled him toward her Sight Pool before

she waved her hand over the surface. It rippled and the sound of

chimes rang through the air before an image appeared in the

crystal clear water.

"Look," Aphrodite said with anger on the edge of her voice.

"My temples are completely forsaken and empty! There are no

longer sacrifices in my honor or feasts. Even some of my

priestesses have deserted my altars. And why? Because they have

found a mortal, the princess of their kingdom, whom they dare to

proclaim is more beautiful than I! Endy my son, I must be avenged

and the people must return to me," the goddess said, waving away

the image until the Sight Pool only showed the bottom of the

fountain it rested in.

"How would you have me do that?" Endy asked, folding his

arms across his chest. Aphrodite smiled a malicious smile and the

young god nearly stumbled backwards. Never had he seen his mother

so set on vengeance before!

"I want you to destroy the young princess's heart," came the

simple answer. Endymion staggered and nearly fell, grabbing onto

a pillar just before he toppled to the ground. His dark blue eyes

widened and his mouth opened but no words would come. "If her

heart is destroyed, the people will fall out of love with her and

come back to their senses... and to my temples."

"Mother! You do not know what you ask of me!" Endymion

protested, forcing himself to stand straight, yet not letting go

of the pillar for support. "To destroy a heart is to end life!"

"I know," Aphrodite replied sharply. "And that is why I

want you to do it. The princess doesn't draw the crowds on

purpose, but they go to her and not to my temples, however

accidental it may be and she MUST be dealt with. There is no

other way."

"I cannot do what you ask me, mother. I will not take away a

life. My job may be to steal hearts, but I never hurt them.

People are the ones who break hearts and I have seen what that

simple action has done to so many. I refuse to do something

worse!" Endymion shouted.

"Then I will not ask you," Aphrodite said quietly. Endymion

was about to breathe a sigh of relief when his mother said, "I

command you!"

The blood rushed out of Endymion's face and he took in a

stabbing breath. His heart refused to beat, his body refused to

move. He had no choice now. His mother was more powerful than he,

and because it was a command and not a request, he was forced to

obey. Closing his eyes painfully, he let a small tear fall from

his eyes before walking to the balcony and leaping off into the

air, spreading his wings.

"I shall never forgive you for this, mother," he whispered

as his wings carried him down to Earth. The air shook with his

promise and all of the Heaven's heard the vow of the young god.



Serenity ran through the halls, trying to outrun another

suitor. Her father was in the throne room discussing treaties and

was not to be disturbed, the servants would not interfere, her

sisters despised her and delighted in her suffering, and her

mother thought it was rather funny so she had nowhere to turn.

Except left.

Rounding the corner sharply, Serenity ducked into a small

alcove in the wall and slid in farther until she found the tiny

door and quickly entered, shutting it tightly behind her. She

leaned up against it, breathing heavily as she began to regain

the oxygen that her lungs had been lacking for the last half

hour. Stilling, Serenity stopped breathing once again as heavy

boots cracked against the stone flooring of the palace and

continued on past her hiding spot.

"Why can't they leave me alone?" the young princess sobbed

as she slid down the door and laid her head in the safety of her

arms. The question was pointless. Serenity knew why *they* never

left her alone.

She was perfect, or so they said. Blessed with a beauty

comparable even to the gods and golden hair like the sunshine,

Serenity would never have a moment to herself. Her clear blue

eyes assured attention wherever she went and her young, shapely

body could not hide even under her royal robes. Having matured so

quickly, Serenity was cursed.

At the young age of seventeen, she should not have to deal

with things such as marriage and hiding from suitors who wished

to ravage her and leave her. She should be enjoying her time at

the streams with her hand-maidens and laughing and smiling at

feasts to celebrate the prosperity of her kingdom. But instead,

she hardly ever went outside for fear of being captured and raped

or even lusted after with only the eyes. As it was, her own

guards even had to be castrated because in the beginning, even

they had tried to make her their own.

Her sisters did not make it easier on her, either. Instead,

they strived to make life a living hell for her. Their looks did

not exceed even the normal standard and they were married to

older, unattractive men who had only wed them for their dowries

and status as a king's daughter. It was already bad enough for

them to put up with the kingdom's worship of their sister, but

their husbands also wanted her. So to create an unlivable life

for Serenity, they began to search for suitors for Serenity who

were known as abusers and womanizers. Suitors who would have no

problem stealing from Serenity the innocence she so treasured and

then impregnating her so as to marry her.

Serenity shook her head. She did not want to think badly of

her family at all, didn't believe that they would be so cruel to

her.

Her head jerked up as the loud crack of boots on the palace

floor once again rang through the halls. They slowed and then

moved away again, not moving as quickly as Serenity would have

like. How many did that make this morning already? Eight?

As soon as she had stepped out of her chambers that morning,

she had been assaulted by three men immediately and was saved

only by her chambermaid who proclaimed that the king had ordered

her to eat breakfast with him. Of course it had been a lie, and

Serenity hated lies, but it was the only way to escape. There

were so many tales that she had made up about herself that she

cringed.

The lie that she hated the most was the one concerning her

name, but it was absolutely crucial that none but the royal

family knew what it really was. Her name was one of her most

special treasures and she did not want it to be soiled by lustful

subjects and suitors. She hated the name she was given when in

the public eye. Psyche. It was beautiful but it did not- would

never- fit her the way that Serenity did. Her mother had once

told her that her name was like a shaft of light breaking through

a black thunderstorm and sounded like small silver bells.

Serenity sighed. That was when her mother had taken time for her

and had cared for her. Nowadays, all she cared was marrying off

Serenity and finding a suitable match for her. A shiver ran

through the princess's body. The man who was chasing her now was

one of the suitors that her mother had chosen.

He had already cornered Serenity several times that day, and

she had been saved the first two times by a servant interrupting

to give her a message. The third time she had not been so lucky.



(An hour earlier)

Serenity was walking down one of the numerous palace halls,

simply staring at the beauty of the construction around her. The

engraved leaves and vines into the columns, the silk draping

across the tops of doorways, the open air that blew in softly

from the garden, it was all so wonderful. Her dark blue robes

were wrapped around her body to emphasize her already noticeable

curves, a slightly lighter sash was tied around her waist, and

the light blue ribbon entwined in the two buns on each side of

her head that flowed down into the hair that streamed down to her

knees contrasted beautifully.

The hallway was quiet except for the quiet whisper of her

robes and sandals against the floor and as she caught a glimpse

of the Royal Gardens, her fingers reached down to pick up her

skirts ever so lightly and she stepped up her pace to reach the

lovely flowers. However, as she passed by another hallway that

intersected her own, a large hand reached out and grabbed her

arm, yanking her into the shadows against a hardened body covered

in armor. A scream was not permitted to leave her lips as a hand

closed harshly over her mouth.

"Why Princess, you look like you could use some company," a

deep, mocking voice said from the shadows. "Prince Molgave to

serve you." Serenity's blue eyes widened and she struggled to

get out of the arms that were holding her captive. "Psyche, don't

play games. I know that you and I are meant to be just as you

know. Come with me and I will show you what real love is,"

whispered the voice so close to her ear. Serenity shivered.

One of the hands that had been holding now began roving her

body and she tried to scream, but the other hand still covered

her mouth. Terror shot into her body as the shadow began to pull

her into a secluded part of the palace and into a room. The

roving hand found the curve of her hips and tugged the robe up

before letting go and traveling to her breast. Serenity began

crying against the hand that kept her silent so forcefully and

almost got in a full breath when it moved away before a hard

mouth crushed against hers. They were in complete darkness now

and Serenity could see nothing of her attacker, but knew that she

had to get away soon before...

She stilled as the other hand began moving around her body,

brushing against her breast before it started traveling down

farther and then moved to the inside of her legs. The lips still

crushed against her own, trying to force her into submission and

she found herself pressed between a wall and the large, stinking

body trying to take her. A sob escaped as the man pushed his

lower body against her hard and she pushed her hands against his

chest to make him go away. However her sob had opened her lips

and the attacker took advantage and pushed his tongue into her

mouth. Her head was pushed against the wall with such an

intensity that she was nearly knocked unconscious before she

realized that she needed to get away before her innocence was

taken.

Gathering all of her courage and strength together, she bit

down on the tongue invading her mouth and brought her knee up

quickly to the man's groin. He fell backwards and she took off

for the entrance, reaching it as a yell rang out after her and

bolting out the doorway into the hallway to try and outrun the

terror pursuing her.



(Present time)

Tears began pouring down Serenity's face as she remembered

the events from not even an hour before. Her head pounded from

the tears and the memories, all of them, flooding her mind. Not

only did the attention paid her disturb her, the abandonment of

some of the god's temples also worried her. Especially those of

Aphrodite. Serenity was aware that the goddess of love was

jealous and the fact that her temple and altars were being

unvisited by the people of her kingdom because of her was

weighing terribly on Serenity's shoulders.

What was worse was that temples were being built for *her*!

Serenity did not want temples, did not want suitors, or attention

or glory. All that she wanted was peace. She had never known

peace in all of her born days, being plagued with her looks as

well as the responsibility of being a princess, but she had heard

the stories and constantly dreamed of what it would be like to be

completely at ease.

Those calming thoughts wafted through Serenity's mind and

eased her into a comfortable position where she fell fast asleep,

not worrying of the dangers that awaited her outside of her

secret room.

***

That's it for Part 1. Let me know what you thought about it. If you think it's alright, but needs some work or something needs fixed, write me and let me know please. It's always better to have people tell me *what* to fix instead of just saying that I need to fix it. Oh, and go read works from Jade_Max who is SUCH an awesome writer if you haven't already. If you have, go read it all again!

Atlantis *^_^*

sailorphoenix15@sailormoon.com