Hi minna! Thanks to all of you beautiful people who reviewed (especially you NCS peeps). Your reviews are what encourage me to keep writing, so keep the feedback coming! Grande apologies for getting this out so late. After final exams I spent some time recovering from the shock. Mainly through sleep, sleep, and more sleep. I welcome all comments, suggestions, etc. so don't hesitate to drop me a line. Enjoy!

Dulce Ambrosia
Mucho_dulce@hotmail.com


Disclaimer: Yeah, I'll own Sailor Moon when palm trees grow in Anarctica. Ain't gonna happen.




All Souls Night
Chapter 4

I can see lights in the distance
Trembling in the dark cloak of night
Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
A waltz on All Souls Night


He felt as hot as blue fire. He felt as cold as red ice. The girl in his arms was wreaking havoc on his senses. Before he could explore the sensations he caught her stare and a delicately scalding blush followed the widening of bright blue eyes of the girl trembling deliciously in his arms.

His lips quirked and he laughed inwardly at her attempts to gasp out a name. She was so adorable, with her soft lips and innocent gaze.

Endymion may have been holding her only a few seconds but it was as if his arms had been made to hold her, since the dawn of time. Part of him felt like it would die if he didn't kiss her, right there in the middle of everyone, and he was surprised and a little annoyed at his strong reaction to this girl. It wasn't like he had never embraced a beautiful woman before. But still, there was something about her . . . Goddess he had to kiss her now!

The Prince gently placed his finger to the girl's mouth and stopped her stammering, drawing a sudden gasp from her lips. He could smell the faint scent of violets on her skin and thought violets had never smelled so delicious.

He closed his eyes and leaned in, tasting warm, soft . . .air? With a quick shove back the warm body encased in his arms abruptly disappeared and Endymion opened in eyes to see a peculiar expression upon the girl's face before she turned and ran away into a crowd of dancers, her hair streaks of silver swirling in the darkness.

He sensed the oranges and yellows of her stormy emotional wake, rife with indecision, confusion, and anticipation. Amongst the colors filtering through his mind entered whisper of a thought - I'm sorry, I just can't . . .

Can't what? The Crown Prince of Earth stood rooted; his mouth gaped open in astonishment as he gazed in the direction of the first woman who had ever run away from him.

Endymion closed his mouth and walked stiffly, unseeing, toward the first booth in his path. After buying a hot sweet roll filled with ground beef he sat on a flattened log and puzzled over the last few minutes. Minutes that he felt may have thoroughly changed his life.

Note: came across beautiful blond girl and flirted
Note: held girl in arms and tried to kiss her
Note: girl stares as if I have two heads and runs away

Endymion agonized silently as he inhaled the sweet seasonings of his snack. Girls liked him. A lot. Hell, maybe he was being kind of cocky, but it was the truth. He couldn't help it if women melted like warm butter when he smiled. Or when he sang.

Goddess, he was irresistible, but it wasn't always beds or roses and champagne romance. The false ones had left a slightly cynical mark on his knightly romantic notions. It had taken him years to be able to detect the users and discard the abusers.

After a particularly bad episode in which a woman had played upon his innocence and betrayed his trust, he had vowed to preserve innocence rather than pursue it.

He pulled the harp from his back and began to strum a few chords, to the amusement of the nearby couples. What was he doing now if not pursuing an innocent? Since when did Endymion, Crown Prince of Earth start breaking his own rules about women?

Jadeite would laugh if he were here. Endymion could just hear the annoying strawberry-headed Guardian crowing already. The mighty prince bowled over for some petite village girl. Who had then run away in fright. Girls ran to him, not away from him. And why did it matter so much? She was just a pretty girl and he'd seen plenty of those before. Yeah, just another pretty girl.

Endymion forced himself to try and forget about the girl (definitely impossible), forget about his dreams (undeniably improbable), and to enjoy himself for one night.

Retying the harp to his back, Endymion walked toward a nearby group of revelers around a particularly large bonfire. The flames flickered lazily on the flushed faces of the dancers as he approached. At a break in the music, Endymion noticed a young woman with light brown hair and laughing brown eyes looking at him and smiling flirtatiously from the circle of her friends. He smiled back and the next thing he knew he was twirling into the middle of the dance.

When the dance ended, Endymion approached another woman, and then anther, and soon had a trail of broken hearts leading from one dancing group to the next. He twirled and tapped from bonfire to bonfire and succeeded in only thinking about the girl with blue eyes every five minutes instead of every second.

Pounding drums echoed the vibrant pulsing from deep within the earth itself and the Prince of Earth felt a fierce joy in the power of the land, his land. Drops of sweat dripped down his face and his hair was pulling free from the leather piece, long black strands spilling over his shoulders.

"Enough," he cried laughingly after yet another energetic dance. His lovely partner pouted prettily but moved on to find another partner. Endymion wiped his face with water from a bucket and looked around. Still no sign of a slight figure with blonde hair turned silver by the moonlight.

For some reason, Endymion had the uneasy feeling that if he did find the girl again he would never be able to let her go.

Pulled into another round of dancing, Endymion found his thoughts straying from the golden-haired beauty in his arms to the young woman from earlier . . . Goddess, why couldn't he stop thinking about her! If he was being honest with himself, he'd been looking for her in the face of every girl he had danced with. She had disappeared as suddenly as a hunted fairy and Endymion tried to fight the rising desperation within him. She was haunting him.

Haunting? The word made him think of the silver silhouette his disquieting dreams. Could the girl have something to do with -?
No, there was no way. But still . . . Endymion closed his eyes briefly and searched his inner connection to his planet. There it was, something important, almost had it . . .But all he saw was the girl's face, shadowed by moonlight.

'I need a distraction,' Endymion thought crazily. He gave his current dancing partner a swoon-causing smile and eased carefully through the dancers until he reached the outskirts of the group.

All around him were people laughing and dancing, singing and crying. As Endymion leaned against a tree and watched the archery tournament, he began to feel uneasy. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and his warrior sense flared bright red hues in his mind. He sent a quick mental scan of the area and felt . . .Danger!!!

The Crown Prince of Earth heard the slight hissing sound a split second before he fell and rolled to the ground. In the spot where he had been standing less than a moment before was a short arrow, embedded menacingly into the tree.

Endymion panted slightly and gave a silent prayer of thanks to Kunzite for putting him through all those grueling exercises to hone his mental and physical reflexes.

Sending another mental feeler out, he caught a wisp of, disappointment? Someone had wanted to hit him? Or kill him? The idea that it had been a stray arrow from the tournament immediately fled Endymion's mind as he realized as assassination attempt had just failed. But who, why?

Endymion thought back to the reports he had been receiving of rebellion in the Southern Hemisphere. People who were afraid of magic and disproved of trade relations with the Moon Kingdom. He had championed the relationship against the advice of his advisory council and his mother, and he knew he had made some enemies. But he was here in disguise, so whoever it was had seen him before, maybe even met him before.

The Prince sat up and thought hard for a few minutes. When he was satisfied with his conclusions, he sent a brief telepathic message to his Guardians.

'Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoicite, Jadeite- Listen carefully because what I am about to tell you involves not only a threat to global security but to our very lives. Someone just tried to kill me and -

'What!!!???' Came the stunned reply. 'I knew we should have been with you,' growled Kunzite, his mental voice projecting white anger.

'It's too late to think about that know,' Endymion continued, 'whoever is here knows who I am, and I suspect treachery from within the royal ranks. Someone wants me dead, probably to clear the way to abolishing the Moon-Earth trade agreement. I need you all to search as stealthily and carefully as you can for clues to the traitor's existence, starting in the palace.'

'Yes Sir!' and 'Please be careful, Endymion' swirled through the Prince's mind before he severed the telepathic links and raised his mind shield again.

He suddenly felt a presence behind him and jumped to his feet quickly, his arms poised and ready to strike back at the attacker.

A burly man with a thick red beard and bushy brown eyebrows looked at him curiously and cleared his throat nervously. Endymion relaxed his shoulders sheepishly.

"What can I do for you friend?" Endymion asked, somewhat surprised and a little impatient. He had hoped to start looking for his assassin immediately. But obviously this man had searched him out explicitly.

The older man glanced at the harp on the ground next to Endymion's feet and then looked at Endymion.

"I see you have a harp lad, and we have need of a harpist. Do you play songs of sorrow as well as songs of gladness? We are simple folk and seek a simple, respectful song."

When Endymion nodded in the affirmative, the red-haired man indicated that the Prince follow him toward a small group sitting quietly on the banks of the river, slightly away from the noises and the dancing.

In the absence of bonfires the people's faces were starkly grazed by moon and starlight. Endymion immediately sensed the more somber mood of the people and noticed that some of the children held small paper boats with candles; the colorful ships were ready to sail down the river to light the path to the Underworld for the dead souls.

"Harpist," the man asked as he motioned toward a stump, "could you play us a song to honor the memory of our dead? Something soft and respectful." The sad but dignified faces turned to peer at the young man dressed in festive, but worn clothes. Endymion felt moved to help his people mourn their loss.

Endymion sat on the wide stump and began to play his harp. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth, and the pure notes poured forth daintily, whisperingly. Gentle as a dove's wing, the song began slowly as Endymion sang verses of a ballad in which the only son of a poor widow is sent to battle. After months of silence, the widow receives word that her pride in life is dead, and she dies soon after of heartache.

He opened his mind and let the music envelop him entirely. Endymion who had commanded hundreds of men in battle let himself feel the blood splashing on his armor. Somehow their mourning had become his, and Endymion allowed himself the brief luxury of remembrance. He let himself hear the pounding of horses' hooves and the roar of battle cries. A locked memory door opened, and into his voice he let pour the anguish of having his younger brother die in his older, responsible arms. Despair at the realization that some of his beloved subjects wanted him dead thrummed through the listeners' hearts.

Endymion was so caught up in his memories that he didn't realize the ballad had ended until he felt a slight touch on his arm. Opening his eyes, his mind was immediately embraced in comforting silver. Tear-filled blue eyes stared into his pain-filled blue eyes, and Endymion felt a connection forged in his heart that he knew could never be broken.

* * *

Serenity had run, run, run away from her heart until she was safely hidden in the crowds of people. She had walked quickly to the riverbank and plopped down against a tree, her eyes troubled and her head ringing.

'Go back, no stay here, no go back, no stay here. . .' her thoughts warred fiercely and Serenity had fought the urge to scream in frustration.

Her head in her hands, Princess Serenity had sat trying to come up with a possible explanation for the ridiculous feeling of love she had claimed to experience in Mamoru's arms. She had had a momentary lapse in judgment. No, she was delusional. Things like this did not happen to normal people. Love at first sight! Pah, that was for girls out of storybooks and fairy tales, not for real-life princesses who had to attend battle tactic seminars on Jupiter or visit pestilence-stricken farmers on Mercury.

As the gentle lapping of the river soothed her anxiety, Mamoru's face again invaded her thoughts.

'Lust, it had to be lust.' Serenity thought bluntly. Mamoru was by far the most gorgeous man Serenity had ever seen, and she had seen a lot of men. She had merely responded to her overactive hormones identifying Mamoru as a beautiful piece of manflesh. Right? Right?!

'It would never work anyway,' she concluded sadly, 'when I am free to marry, which isn't anytime soon, he has to be from the Moon Kingdom. And approved by the Moon Council.'

What was it Mother had said? Queens marry for loyalty, not for love. She was not being cruel, but realistic. But her parents had fallen in love, deeply in love. Her parents had glowed with happiness and it had been bliss.

Instinctively, Serenity knew she could have that same pleasure with Mamoru, but it was impossible! She could never turn her back on her kingdom, especially not now, now when she needed to prove her ruling capabilities to kingdom!

If she faltered, the Council would take over, holding the temporary ruling power until the Queen recovered. Serenity would have failed! Failed her mother, who had such faith in her daughter to lead for the kingdom's sake. Failed her senshi, who followed her in teasingly blind devotion.

Serenity remembered the laughing faces of her senshi as they executed their training perfectly. They performed their lessons elegantly, while she stumbled and tripped like a landed fish. Goddess, they could fight, sing, dance, and even walk better than she could!

She knew she was clumsy and awkward, but she had always thought she would have time to grow out of it. Or at least learn to hide it gracefully. Fate had taken that option away however, and she would be damned if her birthright was denied her because of her inadequacy.

A few members of the Moon Council had disproved of granting her sovereign power, citing her age and inexperience. But she knew, oh she knew they thought she would bungle it somehow and throw the kingdom into chaos.

In the past few months she had slowly gained the trust of the Council with her shrewd diplomatic maneuvers. Securing and ratifying the trade agreement with Earth had especially been a coup de triumph for her in the Council's eyes, and she could not afford to lose their support now.

No, she could not love where she willed; she could not disappoint anybody, not now.

Oh Goddess . . . Serenity groaned quietly and looked up at the full moon- her home, her prison.

It was as she was wallowing in the luxury of self-pity that she first heard it. A song so full of sorrow that it pierced her like an arrow. Suffering because of the death of a loved one was rich in the notes.

Tears came to Serenity's eyes as she thought of what she would do if her senshi ever died protecting her. Or worse still, what if her mother never got well? What if the doctors were lying. . . Serenity stifled a sob and took a shuddering breath. Who was this singer that had read a page of Serenity's life story and put it to song?

She stood up, dusted her skirt, and followed the sorrowful music down the riverbank to the quiet group sitting nearby. She was not the only person drawn to the haunting melody. Slowly working her way around the growing crowds surrounding the mesmerizing harpist, Serenity squeezed between two women and found herself looking full into the face of her heart.

His eyes were closed and his body was whipped with tension. Serenity's heart thumped painfully as the ballad ended, but his eyes remained closed, as if he were completely oblivious to the world around him. Shadows rimmed his eyes bruisingly. He looked lost, haunted.

Serenity felt herself walk toward him, through no will of her own, and actually lean over to touch him. Stormy, pain-filled eyes pierced through her tear-streaked face and briefly peered into her conflicting thoughts. In his dazed state he could do nothing, but Serenity could not help wondering who this man was, that he could easily scale her guarded mind.

Fate laughed in the background, but the blend of cruelty and compassion in that voice did not prevent Serenity from taking Mamoru's hand and leading him away from the clapping and whistling crowd.

Unbeknownst to the dazed harpist, someone watched their direction furtively, and slipped away to plot a new strategy. This time, he would not fail.

Serenity had eyes only for the man who held her hand so trustingly, so gently in her own. In her heart, she knew the battle was over. Her will had lost, for she loved this man with every fiber of her being. But this was a love that Serenity would wrap tenderly and keep in her soul, never sharing and never baring. Her heart would be forever broken, for she would not see this man again.

Gazing into her beloved's face, Serenity impulsively decided to stay and let her heart soak up as much love as it could. She would sip lightly on its joyous reserves for the rest of her life. Only her senshi knew she was not truly ill, and they had sworn to allow her a night's freedom from the obligations weighing down on her soul.

She watched as Mamoru took a deep shuddering breath and ran his hand through his loosened hair. They had moved toward a group of trees, away from the heart of the festivities, but close enough to hear a group of musicians play a round of slow sappy love songs. Her feet stayed rooted in place, as if the very earth she stood upon refused to let her move.

Mamoru turned and looked at her, the pleasure and surprise evident on his face.

"Please, who are you? And no running away this time." He chided laughingly. He made no move to touch her, but Serenity could easily feel the heat and expectancy pouring from him.

"Usagi," she answered simply, choosing the pet name her mother sometimes had called her. Tit for tat; he had not told her his real name either. How much did he have to hide? How much did she have to conceal?

"It's Destiny you know Usagi. Us, meeting here." Endymion rolled the name around his tongue like a piece of caramel and decided that it suited her nicely, even if it wasn't her real name. He knew that instinctively.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Serenity replied primly, but at the glaringly comical look on Mamoru's face, her lips quirked and she burst out laughing. Mamoru, looking slightly offended, started laughing as well.

Soon the two were sitting on the mossy ground and talking, talking, talking.

"Tell me about yourself," Mamoru asked Usagi, "I want to know everything about you."

'What possible harm can it be?' Serenity thought, and proceeded to spin a tale of moonbeams and star shadow. She told him about her four best friends in the whole universe. She told him about her mother's life-threatening illness, and the pain of uncertainty. From her lips spilled forth the exhaustion of taking over the "family business."

Minutes turned to hours as Serenity and Endymion sat talking beneath the stars. Endymion talked about his escapades with his four best friends and Serenity countered with a story of playing highwayman, complete with masks and "borrowed" pistols. They were each revealing more and more about themselves while keeping their identities secret. But as the night wore on, it was getting harder and harder to conceal the truth. And did they really want to anymore?

Serenity snuggled into Mamoru's arms as they lay looking up at the sky. The position did not seem awkward or uncomfortable at all. In fact, Serenity had felt as if some natural force was pushing them together, and when Endymion had wrapped his arm around her she had moved toward him, not away.
* * * *

A cacophony of pinks and oranges trampled across the sky with the oncoming sunrise when the musicians ceased playing and vendors finally began to pack their wares.

Endymion smiled tenderly at the girl sleeping in his arms. He had kept watch after she had fallen asleep, but he hadn't minded. It had been the most beautiful night of his life. Who would have thought the slightly jaded Crown Prince would have fallen head over heels in love with a slight stranger.

No, not stranger. Endymion felt like he had known her his whole life, and maybe even before. And he would know her forever.

"I am never letting you go Usako," Endymion murmured, lovingly kissing Usagi's forehead before easing her out of his arms.

He stood up, stretching and looking amusedly at the hordes of people walking unsteadily on the paths. Obviously, some people had indulged in all the free wine and ale available for the revelers throughout the night.

"Usako, wake up." Endymion leaned down and gently shook the sleeping girl.

The Princess of the Moon Kingdom groaned loudly and rolled over.

"Leave me alone Rei," she muttered, "Pluto's delegates don't arrive until this afternoon."

Endymion started suddenly. Pluto's delegates? Rei? He knew her real name wasn't Usagi, but who was she really? Before he could ponder more, a large round man full in his cups stumbled upon them.

"Oh, beg pardon man," the man blustered surprisingly, "I say how did you . . . Hmmm, I seem to have misplaced the road . . ."

Serenity lazily opened her eyes, but when she saw a large man peering down at her goofily sat up hastily and primed her mouth to scream her head off. That is, until she saw Mamoru, his lips quirking to unsuccessfully hide his amusement. The man stumbled away, and Mamoru held out his hand to help Serenity to her feet.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Mamoru whispered seductively. Serenity shivered slightly, but smiled into the face of her beloved. It had been the most magical night of her life. But that was all they would ever have, one night.

The smile dimmed off and her expression became bleak, but and she turned her head away so Mamoru wouldn't see her tears. She wiped her eyes hurriedly, but couldn't prevent the pain and sadness pooling into their blue depths.

'Goddess, how was she going to get away from him?' Serenity thought desperately. Especially when every fiber of her being never wanted to leave his arms?

"Usagi," Mamoru spoke suddenly, urgently, and turned the girl to face him. He tilted her head up with his finger and smiled tenderly. Serenity's heart shattered into a million pieces with that smile.

"Usagi," Mamoru began again, "I have to tell you something important, something about me. My name is not really Mamoru."

Serenity gasped slightly in surprise. She already knew he had been lying about his name, but she hadn't expected him to reveal himself to her, unless . . . did he feel the same way about her that she felt about him? After only one night? But it would only make their parting that much harder . . .

With the frothing hints of sunrise pouring gently on his face, Mamoru, or whatever his name was, raised her hand to his lips and gave her knuckles a tender kiss.

"My name is Endy-" There was no warning, no sound, no cry.

Serenity had felt no hint of darkness, seen no auras of black and red. One second her heart had been about to reveal himself to her and cement the bond between them, and the next . . .

Serenity broke free from her shock and began screaming.

"Mamoru!! Help, someone please!!!!" She sat crumpled on the ground, holding her heart as he lay gasping, a knife embedded gruesomely in his chest.

Some people looked away and kept walking, not wanting to get involved when all they wanted was to get to their beds in one piece. Others however came running over. Serenity was soon surrounded by a group of people, and someone eased Mamoru from her arms.

"Mamoru," Serenity whispered with all the pain in her heart.

Endymion was on fire, it hurt to talk and breathe. Everything was blurry; he was lost in a sea of colors and he could feel his soul trying to slip out and embrace the nothingness.

He heard a moan and knew intrinsically that it came from his love.

'Usako,' he thought despairingly. Who was going to protect her?

With his last mental strengths he weakly called out to his Guardians.

'Please, help the girl, help Usa . . .' Endymion blocked their horrified replies and closed his eyes, perhaps for the last time.

'I love you Usako.' Endymion sent the message through unconsciously as his heart thumped slower and slower and slower.

And then all was deathly darkness.