Some time later, after she'd taken another steamy bath and had woven her hair again, her stomach grumbled in complaint. It must be nearing dinner time, she thought to herself. She'd missed lunch all together, and barely had breakfast. Now it was catching up to her.
She'd put a sheet over her drawing by putting nails in the cracks between the stones. Nails that she'd taken out of various items of furniture. Now she had nothing left to do, but pace her room and wear away the stone. She sighed, staring at her door, willing it to open and let her escape to the kitchen.
It didn't move in the slightest.
She sat down in front of her door, leaning against the wood. She listened to the outside noises. People walked by, none stopping to unlock her door. She knew she could beg and plead, but she'd never get out of here.
More time passed. Sun surely had set by now. She felt herself begin to nod off. Finally, the soft clink of metal snapped her into awareness. She scrambled to her feet, waiting for the door to be opened. Please, she thought, please hurry.
The door creaked open, revealing an angry looking general. Her stomach lurched. Nephlite.
His nose wrinkled in disgust. "The Prince told me to release you."
She nodded and waited for him to move. He eyed her, his face contorted as if he smelled dung, then stepped to the side. Serena hurried out, barely keeping herself from running. She entered the kitchen and grabbed the first thing she saw; an apple.
Sweet, fruity, juice covered her mouth and dripped down her chin. She wiped it away with the sleeve of her dress. This apple was too good.
The clomp of boots filled her ears, and she had trouble keeping from choking on the apple. She took one last bite, then went to attention. Prince Darien stepped in to check how the kitchen was running, and for a late night snack. He glanced at her; was that remorse in his eyes? But he quickly moved on, pretending she did not exist.
She slipped out of the kitchen quietly, knowing that she did not exist to anyone anymore. She was a hope, a dream, a story. Parents on the Moon probably told their children of her, the beautiful princess forced into slavery. She was a fairy tale savior. They probably stared at the Earth, muttering prayers for her return. Inside themselves, they knew that she would never save them. So she wasn't even a hope. She was the ghost of hope.
Serena's eyes began stinging in tears. Ghosts surrounded her everyday life, whispering to her to avenge them. She closed her eyes as she stepped down the empty hallway. Her mother, her Court, her people cried out for her.
But she could not save them.
Not anymore.
Her fingertips had just touched the smooth brass of her doorknob, when a raspy voice called down the hallway for her.
"Princess Serenity!"
Serena flinched at the name, it was not hers anymore nor would it ever be again. She turned to face an old woman, with lines carved deep into her face and scraggly gray hair shooting off in all directions. The woman smiled, showing holes where she had lost rotted teeth.
"Oh, Princess," the woman said, kneeling shakily down to one knee.
Serena glanced every which way as she tugged the woman to her feet. "If someone catches you doing that, you'll be beaten!" she whispered sharply.
The woman looked suddenly scared. "You- you've given up?"
"Given up?"
"On taking your throne back."
Serena bit her tongue to keep from yelling at the poor woman. "Does it look like I can? There is no hope for me here."
"No hope?!" the woman growled. "There is only no hope to those who are hopeless. And you are certainly not hopeless with that crystal inside your heart!"
The woman turned and stalked away angrily. She was flabbergasted that a slave as defiant as Serena could give up hope on everything else too. She was tired of hoping for the Moon Kingdom to return to it's once beautiful state and she was sick of being a slave. If only the Kingdom would return.
Serena sighed and shook her head. Didn't the woman know how many times she had tried? How many times the crystal had come within an inch of Diamond's hand? She wasn't taking very many chances anymore. She hadn't in a long time.
"So now you're a princess again, huh?" a voice said. Darien rounded the corner to glare at her, his eyes dark and somehow disappointed.
"No, no," Serena said. "Not yet," she added silently.
"You didn't exactly deny it," he said striding closer.
"But I didn't say I was. The woman is old and tired. She saw me and her memories awakened. It isn't something to worry abut."
She started to go into her room, but the Prince grabbed her arm.
"I think it is something to worry about. You have to know you're a slave or you'll never pass as one."
"I know," Serena swallowed, "that I am a slave. I've known for the past five years. I haven't been a princess since I was thirteen. I know."
Darien didn't release her arm. "You know I've never had a slave come here and get my generals so mad in just two days."
"It's a talent," Serena said and wrenched her arm free. She shut the door behind her right in his face.
He sighed and turned around. "I've never had a slave that I've fallen in love with either." He laughed. "I still don't."
His mind raced with the various pictures he had of her. The moments when he felt close enough to...
"I still don't," he repeated. He couldn't even convince himself.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
The next day Serena was up before the whistle. She was dressed in an airy long sleeved cotton shirt and a pair of brown hide pants. She still, however, was shoeless. She was halfway through her second braid when the shrill whistle blew.
She stepped into the hall, letting go of the hair she'd been braiding. She had trouble keeping a sight of relief inside her chest. The two blondes were on count and check duty today. Last night Serena had received another slap during the count for being two seconds late.
Count was taken and the shorthaired blonde, Jadeite, stood in front of Serena.
"Finish your braid and report to the dining room. You'll be working with me today."
Serena nodded and turned back inside her room. She looked up at the sheet that was covering up her drawing. Paints. She needed paints. She finished weaving the braid as she continued to the dining room. This time she immediately took her seat beside Nephlite.
"Good morning, Serenity," Darien said rigidly. He still wished to pretend he did not know her, let alone... He cut his thoughts off before he could think it.
Serena nodded her greeting to the Prince, whom she was still angry with. She looked down at the fluffy pancakes upon her plate and her stomach jumped in excitement.
Minutes later her plate was left with only traces of syrup, her full glass of milk empty. She wiped her mouth daintily and looked up, waiting for some sort of signal. Jadeite stood up, his chair scraping against the stone roughly.
"Well, let us get going then."
Serena stood as well, taking a swift look at Darien. Dismay shadowed his features. He was strangely sad to see her go, she could read it in his eyes. She quickly turned her gaze to the back of Jadeite's head and followed him from the room.
Darien watched her until the last strand of hair had disappeared from sight. He couldn't imagine why, and hated to catch himself doing so, but couldn't help it. Her mysterious eyes had haunted his sleep the night before. His dream flashed into his mind. She was standing in the Moonlight, her face turned upwards. Great silver wings sprouted from her back and lifted her from the ground. But she was jerked back to the Earth, shackles on her wrists chaining her down. She looked at him, her eyes sorrowful and begging. She whispered silent words that slipped over her full lips and flew to his ears.
"Let me go."
"Your Highness?" Zoicite questioned with his feminine voice.
Darien blinked, pulling him away from his dream. "What?"
The three remaining Generals gave him worried looks, shaking their heads in lecturing ways. They exchanged glances, coming to a silent agreement that something would need to be done.
Soon.
Serena was sitting in a well cushioned carriage on the way to a place she hadn't ever been before. She wasn't allowed to pull a curtain, so she looked through a small slit between curtains. She saw markets, and people, farmers and horses, children and adults. She hadn't seen so much life in a long time.
The carriage rolled to a graceful stop in front of a well guarded building made of stone. Jadeite led her inside quickly, worried that someone may spot them. They continued down cold hallways that froze the bottoms of Serena's feet, chilling her bones. Jadeite opened a large wooden door, ushering her inside a long room. It had an almost equally long glass table running through the center, and various velvet chairs positioned around it. There were six white haired men sitting around the head of the table while Serena sat on the foot. They all looked at her, forcing small smiles. A somewhat uncomfortable silence filled the room.
"Would you care to explain to me why I'm here?" Serena asked.
Jadeite nodded. "Eden is the Earth's Intelligence Central. This is where we keep track of various planets in the universe, and various people on this planet. You're here-"
Serena interrupted him, "To rid my soul of the secrets about Diamond, Sapphire, and Emerald, their different powers, the Moon in general, and so on and so forth."
The men all nodded.
Serena shook her head angrily. "You spent five million dollars to get intelligence? You think that anything I say can help you? You're mistaken."
Jedite cleared his throat. "I believe that you are not in a situation to refuse."
"I believe I am. I believe you can beat me until I'm almost dead and I will not tell you a single thing."
The old men's faces were turning the color of ripe tomatoes.
Jadeite was more patient. "But why wouldn't you want to tell us? What you say may cause the overthrowing of the Dark Moon Kingdom! Your previous master may be killed and the Moon taken back!"
"Do you believe me to be stupid because I am a slave?" she asked. "Yes, the Moon would be back, but I would not be it's ruler! My throne would still belong to someone else. And Diamond may die, but my mother will not be avenged. I will not tell you anything."
The men were more than angry. They were furious. They were imagining slipping their thick hands around her small neck and squeezing the air from her throat. But she sat there with perfect posture, her legs crossed. She had a knack for being insolent.
Jadeite's fury was growing, but more slowly. His patience usually lasted a very long time yet he was already cursing her. He shook his head.
"Please, Serenity, just tell us what we need to know."
Then Serena smiled. It made the men grow nervous. They slipped further back in their seats.
"All you need to know is that the Moon will be returned to its rightful ruler."
That's when the men lunged and Jedite was forced to pull her from the room. He half drug her back to the carriage, throwing her inside roughly. He ordered it to return to the castle and on the way lectured her.
"You disobedient fool. If you would just cooperate..."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "If I would cooperate than I'd have an even harder time regaining my Kingdom and your Prince may find himself dead."
The carriage pulled to a stop and she hurried out before Jadeite could release his anger upon her. She ran to the nearest forest line, climbing the first tree she could reach. She came to a branch too high for spears to reach and sprawled out. She laughed then just to see Jadeite burn more red in anger. He couldn't climb a tree in his boots.
Ten minutes later there were four generals, two knights, and a prince under her tree. She looked down at them like the Cheshire cat smiling at Alice. She'd get hurt later, and have fun now.
"Serenity, you're acting like a child," Darien said.
"No, rather a cat," she answered back.
He shook his head and rubbed his temples.
"Am I still entertaining?"
He looked up at her, a blonde girl sitting in a tree with her legs kicked out and her head on her hand, and he couldn't help it. He laughed. Serena was suddenly afraid that he was losing his mind.
"Yes, I think you are," he said, choking on chuckles.
The generals shook their heads. Giggles and laughs didn't tickle their throats. Every curse they could think of burned at their tongues.
"But entertaining alone isn't worth five million in gems. No, you wanted intelligence too. I'm sorry, Endymion, but I will tell you nothing."
He stopped laughing and glared up at her.
"So I've heard," he almost growled. Then he slipped off his big black boots and started up the tree in woolen socks. Her eyes grew wide as she scrambled for a way to climb higher. She choked back a cry of fear as she realized there was none. He soon reached her branch and sat down beside her.
"Why won't you tell us anything?"
"Because there is nothing you need to know. Isn't that right, Jadeite?" she called down. The blonde turned on his heel and stalked off.
"There is a lot we need to know," Darien said. "And there is a lot you owe us. I still haven't put a price on your head. If you wish me to do so I'll make it very possible that Diamond can buy you back."
Serena shivered at the thought and closed her eyes. "That's an evil thing to hold over someone's head. To use someone's nightmares to get what you want."
Guilt ate away at him, it flared as she trembled. Her voice bore into his soul, his dream returning in it's silver brilliance. He hid his feelings with his unwavering voice. "Whatever it takes."
Serena slipped down from branch to branch, leaving him in the tree alone. Her feet touched the soft grass, tickling her ankle bones. She looked up at him, her face stone without emotion. "Maybe that's not enough."
She walked away, praying that Nephlite didn't hit her from behind, and slid back into the drafty castle. She stayed in the front hall, sitting in the middle of the crest like she'd done the first day she'd arrived.
Maybe Darien- no Endymion- wasn't so different after all. She learned now that he was more evil than Diamond had ever been. Diamond had never made her feel safe, then kicked her legs from beneath her. Darien had played with her mind, tricking her into liking him, then showing his true colors.
A silent tear dripped from her eye.
He'd betrayed her.
Author's Note: I am soooooo sorry that I haven't been updating. I'm really bad at remembering to do it, and I'm short on time. I promise this revision will be finished, it's just I'm not sure when.
Until the next time,
Ai No Senshi