An: This chapter was especially hard for me to write and I'm still not happy with it so it will probably be revised later. My muse seemed to be on strike lately even though I want to write. I want to thank those who have reviewed the story so far and to encourage you to keep reading and reviewing. Thanks to Atlantis for the kind offer of a being a beta reader, but I already have someone who reads it over for me. Oh and thanks also to the kind person who emailed me with a review and told me that my settings didn't permit me to accept anonymous reviews, I wasn't aware of this and have changed it in my settings since. Anyways, enough babbling from me and onto the next chapter. Please review and tell me what you think of it, the reviews are a great encouragement for me to keep writing.

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Chapter Three

Beryl paced the front of the dark altar impatiently. Her jerky movements reflected the agitation that was emanating from every pore and her anger still crackled in the air. After that vexing encounter with the Prince, she needed to find some way to relieve this tension. She had considered using Jadeite to soothe her wounded pride as she had done in the past, but the thought of substituting Jadeite for Endymion when he was so close was unacceptable.

Endymion's harsh rejection still stung her to the core and she felt a fresh wave of humiliation every time she remembered his sneer as he pushed her off his lap and she was doused with the soup. This rejection was so much more callous than the time when she had first visited his court.

The memory was still imprinted clearly in her mind. She had been the most beautiful maiden of her homeland on Earth. Her beauty, grace and desirability had been a source of pride for her family. Word of her beauty had spread across the region and eager men of all types had asked for her hand in marriage, but she had refused them all. With her beauty, her mother had encouraged her to marry the best and that could only be the Prince, ruler of Earth. Prince Endymion's parents had both died very suddenly and he had not even had his coronation to crown him King. He was still unmarried, and everyone knew he would need a queen to rule by his side. Beryl had been confident in her own allure to capture this prized role.

She had been all the more determined to marry him when she finally saw him for the first time at his court. Her family and its large entourage had just arrived at the capital city after a long journey. They were being announced at the palace gates when the Prince himself rode up alongside her carriage to greet them. He had just come back from his morning ride along the countryside. Beryl had been struck by his beauty and the easy grace with which he sat atop his stallion. But it was later when she was formally introduced to him at his court that she recognized the regal power that the Prince also possessed.

Her family had spared no expense in their preparations to meet the Prince. It was important that they had the best of everything befitting a family of their wealth and status. The finest of silk and jewels had adorned her for her presentation to Prince Endymion at his court.

Her introduction to him had been flawless, designed to captivate him in every aspect. She had been charming, beautiful and well mannered, but he had merely politely nodded to her and invited her family to stay and enjoy the hospitality at the palace. He had not even given her a closer glance. Soon after, he adjourned with his generals for a series of meetings and she did not have a chance to see him again for the rest of the visit. Even the eager attentions of new suitors at Endymion's court had not revived her spirits. Her hopes had been cruelly dashed by his disinterest in her. Yet she still burned with a desire to have him.

Her family had finally left the court when it was apparent that the Prince had no interest in her and they had returned to her homeland. The rage and humiliation she had felt had been only sharpened by the sympathy and pity she read in the eyes of her parents and others who had gone to court with her. Beryl's pride had been battered and in a rage, she had unwisely fled into the forest of her father's large estate alone.

As if summoned by her anger, a dark mist had enveloped her, whispering of its sympathy for her plight, but also offering her the power to overcome it. It greeted her as a Queen, and promised her the power she needed to make all her dreams come true. The dark force spoke of the power that she would have, enough to make her Queen of not just Earth, but of lands she could not even dream of. With such power, even the mighty Prince Endymion would not be able to resist her. Beryl had been hesitant at first, but the thought of Endymion falling at her feet had made up her mind. She agreed to the unholy alliance and since then had enjoyed all that she had achieved with it.

The only thing left was the Prince. Although he was under her power, she still did not possess him. She needed to consult the Negaforce on what to do about Prince Endymion. Damn that insolent man. How dare he reject her so!

Beryl stopped abruptly, her long dress settling around her legs. He was strong willed. But that was part of his attraction, his strength, as well as a few other traits. However, she wanted his strength to bow to her will.

Beryl began pacing again in agitation. Why was he resisting. There can be no one more worthy of him. No one else who could give him what she could give him. These circular thoughts kept repeating in her mind without resolution. Beryl grasped at the possibilities that only the Negaforce can give her. The Negaforce, yes, there has to be a way with the power of the Negaforce.

As if it decided that Beryl had waited long enough, the mist hovering over the dark altar began to swirl and shape into a familiar twisted face. Long slit eyes and a grinning mouth could be seen from the parted mist and it wavered like an image under water as the mist continually moved.

Beryl kneeled down in front of the shadowy face.

"Well Beryl, you have something to report?" the voice rasped.

"Both the Earth and the Moon have been secured. We have the princess and her private guards imprisoned," Beryl said respectfully.

"Excellent," hissed the voice. "I am pleased with your progress Beryl."

"I am as well, but I have a need for a greater power my liege," said Beryl, deciding to be forthright with her request.

"Oh? And what for?" asked the voice suspiciously.

"The Prince of Earth, he has proven to be more difficult than I expected. I need more power to bring him to our side," said Beryl, careful to control her bitterness in front of the Negaforce.

"We have the Earth and its people, the Prince is unimportant," dismissed the voice.

"The Prince's strength would be a power boost for us. There has been some resistance now that the Moon Kingdom has fallen and his people would be more at ease with him by my side," said Beryl determined.

"You told me earlier that you could take care of the Prince yourself," the voice snickered. "And now you come begging for more power?"

Beryl stiffened at the derisive tone of the Negaforce. A wave of resentment threatened to burst out of her but she carefully kept her head bowed to hide her emotions. The Negaforce seems to have forgotten the vital role she played in the downfall of the Moon Kingdom. Without her skilled manipulation of the people of Earth, the Negaforce would not have gained the victory it did.

"Very well Beryl, since you have accomplished so much in such a short time, I will share more of my power with you, but just a bit more. There is still much to be done, and I want more of this precious energy you have been extracting from the humans."

Beryl looked up at the Negaforce in surprise. "More energy? But I just drained a large group for you a few days ago?"

"Do not question me!" raged the voice of the Negaforce and the mist seemed to thicken with its anger. "I need more energy to study the Silver Imperium Crystal, and you will extract it for me!"

"Yes, of course my liege," said Beryl respectfully as she bowed her head further to appease the dark mist.

***

Endymion looked down on the startled eyes staring up at him in amazement. He wondered if his own bewilderment was showing on his face. She was the last thing he would have expected to be hiding under his bed. The girl seemed frozen in fear and her vulnerability hit a soft cord inside of him. She was obviously much more afraid of him than he of her.

He offered his hand to her. "Come out. I am alone, the guards are gone. I am not one of them. There is no one here who will harm you," he said, using the polite voice he used when addressing his court back on Earth.

The shock slowly drained from her eyes only to be filled with a greater wariness as they looked at him harder, as if assessing the truth of his words. It seemed she judged them to be true as she cautiously took his offered hand and crept out from under the bed.

Endymion inhaled sharply at the sight of the woman standing in front of him. Her petite figure was dressed in a soft, flowing gown, her skin was pale ivory and she had the longest, most beautiful silver hair he had ever seen. She was a bit dishevelled from hiding under the bed and a few strands of her hair had escaped her twin buns to hang in soft wisps against her cheeks. Her face was gracefully formed with large, crystal blue eyes framed by a thick fringe of dark lashes, a small, pert nose, and on her forehead - a crescent moon symbol! She looked like the Queen he had seen on the Moon, except she looked younger.

She shifted uncomfortably under his stare making him aware of his gaping. He turned away breaking the spell he had been under while looking at her.

"You look like the Queen of the Moon, and yet different, who are you?" he asked, carefully masking his emotions.

She looked up in amazement at him and without thinking grabbed onto his arm eagerly. "You knew my mother?" she asked hope in her eyes.

Endymion looked down at the girl who had become so animated after hearing mention of the Queen.

"No," he said and regretted telling the truth when he saw the disappointment fill her expressive eyes. "I only saw her briefly during the war," he said, feeling even more regret as he saw the sadness deepen in her eyes at the mention of the bloody war. Endymion refused to analyze why he felt such a pang in his chest at the sight of this unknown girl's sadness. He looked at her delicate fingers curled around his arm.

Following his gaze, the girl seem to suddenly realize that she clutched his arm and released it in a hurry, a rosy flush rising in her cheeks, making her look even more attractive at the moment. She suddenly seemed intent to look at everything but him. Endymion felt a moment of amusement at her obvious embarrassment. He was used to having this effect on women, but it felt like eternity since the last time it had happened with all the recent events and this was the last place he expected to encounter such an innocent. Speaking of which, he still did not know who she was.

"Am I right in guessing that you are related to the Moon Kingdom in some way," he asked, trying to retrieve some information from her.

"Yes I am. I am Princess Serenity. My mother, Queen Serenity is... was the ruler of our Kingdom," she said, her voice breaking as she remembered the death of her mother.

Endymion silently acknowledged her grief. He leaned against the bedpost, arms crossed and head down, staring at the burgundy carpet. It was truly over then. When seeing the Queen, he had somehow felt an awesome depth of power from her, if she was defeated, then it seemed all was under Beryl's control.

Serenity looked at the man in front of her. She had been frozen with fear when she had heard the footsteps enter the room with the chinking of chains but her horror had knew no bounds when a single pair of footsteps had stopped right in front of the bed. Like some poor trapped animal, there was nothing she could have done but wait for the inevitable moment of having her hiding place discovered. She could still remember the agonizing split second when he had whipped the coverlet back to find her. The scene had played out almost in slow motion to her fear clouded mind, and shock of stormy blue eyes gazing down on her still rattled her.

His reassurance that he was not one of them had calmed her fears somewhat, although Serenity cautioned herself for trusting this stranger. She did not feel the same cold waves from him that the others from the Negaverse seem to emanate, so what he said was probably true.

She took the moment to study him while he was not looking at her. His figure was tall and lean, and she could see his finely sculpted muscles outlined in the revealing shirt and tight pants. Serenity quickly jerked her head up as she realized that she had been staring at his body again. She had been embarrassed enough when he had caught her clutching his arm, it would not do to have the Princess of the Moon caught staring at a man's body. She quickly looked at his face instead. His hair was in disarray, and was slightly long, covering those deep, midnight blue eyes as he stared down. Eyes that transfixed her and made her want to explore their depths. No, that was dangerous territory too. Serenity forced her thoughts away from examining him and returning to the situation at hand.

She stood next to him, uncertain how to carry on the conversation again as he looked deep in thought.

"And you are?" she asked, her curiosity awakening now that the feelings of immediate danger had subsided.

He bowed mocking to her. "I am the Prince of Earth, Endymion Darien de Terran," he said giving her a roguish grin. "Pray excuse my improper attire," he said grimacing at his loose shirt and the chains that hung from his arms.

Serenity became more aware of the chains that bound his legs, arms and around his neck and felt a wave of pity for the man who was imprisoned in such a degrading way. At least she had not been bound in her cage like he was.

Endymion stiffened as he saw the pity in her eyes for his predicament. He did not want pity from her or anyone. He straightened proudly, as if to exert his strength despite his restraints.

Serenity backed away a step as his eyes seem to darken in displeasure at something she did, although for the life of her she did not know what she could have done to offend him. "Your highness, I am honoured," she curtsied, falling back to polite court behaviour that had been drilled into her all her life when in an unfamiliar situation.

"Well Princess, we seem to be both imprisoned in this godforsaken place, what do you suggest we do?"