Author's Note: Concerning the rating, if you read the reviews for this story you will see I was basically threatened into changing it to R. Apparently, some people cannot handle fight scenes. However, I feel it does not deserve this rating, and stick with PG-13 at most. I do not write R stories, I hardly watch the movies. I changed it for the sake of the readers and for the sake of my sanity. This is probably my BEST story. I do not want to see it removed.

Many months passed. The new palace was built and Serena and her court had moved in. Slavery was abolished on the Moon. Families had been rejoined. Farmland was returned to its rightful owners and the Moon's economy shot higher as Lunarians struggled to return to the Moon from different planets.

It took many long hours work for Serena, her advisors, and her court to draft the Universal Slavery Abolishment. But it was finally finished, and the palace was a flurry of people. Ambassadors and Royalty, Noblemen and Lawmakers, were all being escorted to a grand room with a high ceiling.

Serena strode quickly down the new marble hallway, her heels clicking against the floor in the rhythm of her nervousness. She stopped as she passed the hallway mirror, leaned back, and checked her reflection. She pushed a few stray strands of hair down, straightened the wrinkles from her dress, and rubbed away a misplaced line of lipstick.

"Serena!" A voice cried from the end of the hallway. "Come on! They're waiting for you!"

"I'm coming, Andi," Serena said continuing her long strides toward the conference room.

The blue haired girl stepped aside to allow the Queen through as her name was announced. As Serena stepped in the crowd of ambassadors stood and clapped. Andi shut the door behind Serena, and then slipped into her seat beside the Martian Princess Reily.

"Please be seated my friends," Serena said as she reached the podium from which she would speak. She gripped the side of the podium anxiously. She looked out over the crowd of faces from her childhood. The people she'd seen staying at the palace. The ones she'd once called silly little nicknames behind their backs. She held back nervous giggles as she met their eyes.

"Today a very grim subject is set in front of us," she started. "As all of you know, for the last five years I have been enslaved." Someone near the front shifted uncomfortably in their seat. "But it is my hope in the near future no one will go through what I did.

"With the help of you my friends, I wish to abolish the Universal Slavery Laws, and slavery all together."

She then read the abolishment aloud, nervous that she would stumble over the words and sound stupid.

"Are you insane?" said a man in the back. The ambassador from Cronus stood, his face reddening with anger. "Abolish slavery? How would our kingdoms run?"

Serena swallowed her agitation. "Easier. People work better if not forced. I do have some expertise on this matter, Trintin."

"You propose that I release everyone that keeps my palace running."

"Are you telling me that you are so incompetent that you cannot dress yourself, feed yourself, or keep yourself working? You rely on the very people that you despise. If your palace cannot run without unpaid help you are very sad, indeed."

"You do not have your mother's articulate tongue, Serenity, so I suggest you hold it."

"Diplomacy is nothing to me anymore. The truth is what matters. And the truth is that you are lowering people created just as equal to you. Intelligent, beautiful people who could outwit you, outrun you, and could outshine you. The truth is these people could do great things, but have not the freedom they need to do it."

Trintin's face was a deep shade of red and a vein burst from his forehead. "You dare say that a mere slave is better than I!"

"Why not? I was a slave once, was I not? The Laws of Slavery do not say that all slaves are dumber and slower than everyone else. That is your own prejudice."

Four women in the back stood. "We will support your cause, Serenity. We will not hold prejudices against servants."

Others stood and agreed.

But the ambassador from Rhea stood next to Trintin.

"You are not thinking clearly! To set slaves free! What will we do? Cook for ourselves?"

"You will hire help! You will pay them! Give them homes, let them go about freely! Don't you understand? You can never get people to help you by hurting them. But if you help a person they will return the favor."

"I will not sign that abolishment!"
"Then you forget your place! You are an ambassador, not the King of Rhea. If your Royalty so wishes, then you will sign. I suggest you go consult them before making any rash decisions."

With that, Serena turned away from the two and faced her allies. She gave them that sweet smile, as if nothing had happened, and brought forth the Abolishment. "Let the signing begin, my friends."

Haruka from Uranus stepped forward and took the quill. The quill flew over the paper and her signature was left. She leaned down to kiss Serena's cheek.

"Your mother would be proud, Serenity. So proud."

Serena nodded. As Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru streamed by they said something along the same lines. More and more people walked by and she uttered her thanks to them. Finally the person which she was dreading most came by. Darien stopped and smiled at her, a small polite smile he was somewhat forced to give. He signed the parchment without a word, and when he looked up at her, he was frowning once more. Not a frown of disappointment, or anger. He was truly sad, despairing.

Her eyes held that same emotion.

Across the room Queen Ryolin of Gaea began crying. She had a skill for empathy, and the pure longing for each other Darien and Serena possessed overtook her control. She collapsed into a chair, wiping the tears that were not hers away.

The line of signatures continued, but Serena was comforting the Queen. "What is wrong, Ryolin?"

"Oh, it is not me, Serenity," she said. "It is you and the Earthen Prince."

Serena went rigid and held her breath, waiting for what else she had to say.

"You miss each other so deeply. Go back to him, Serenity."

"I can't. Not now, not ever."

She left it at that.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

They adjourned for dinner and everyone was quite ready to be seated by the time Serena could arrive. She smiled, embarrassed for keeping her guests waiting, and made her way to the head of the table. To her left were her Court and to her right, as she had discussed with Mina, was to be the Queens from the Outer Planets.

But instead, there sat Darien.

She gagged as she sat, and he looked none too pleased either. The rest of the room sat as well and begin digging into their meals. Serena ate daintily, not that her stomach could handle food at the time. Scenes from breakfasts with Darien were all too fresh in her mind. It'd been- how many months? She couldn't even remember. Too much to do all at once had erased her sense of time. As if on cue, Setsuna raised her glass.

"To the freedom of all people, and to the vastness of Serenity's heart!"

"Here, here!"

Glasses clinked together and every took a sip of their white wine, save Serenity's guardians, who though raised on such fancy things, still did not prefer spirits as their drinks. Darien watched Serena from the corner of his eye as he sipped his wine. She looked so beautiful with silver hair, graceful, and angelic. God, how he missed seeing her in the palace. Sitting in the sunlight, blue eyes determined, porcelain face raised upwards. Her image was forever burnt into his memory. Forever.

He could imagine it. Telling his children, maybe even grandchildren, stories of the beautiful Moon Queen who'd lived in the Earth palace for a short time. He'd tell them every detail of her grace, every corner of her heart. How her kindness seeped through every fiber of her body, how she'd stolen his heart and taken it back with her to the Moon. Of course, he'd tell them, their mother stole his heart back from the Queen and now carried it with her.

Their mother, he thought holding back a snort. How could he find someone to measure up to Serenity? Someone to replace her?

"Prince Endymion?" he heard a voice say. He pulled himself away from daydreams, and smiled as he looked into the mischievous blue eyes of the Venusian Princess.

"Yes, Princess Mina?"

"I was just wondering, sir, why you were staring at milady?"

Serena spit the wine she was drinking back into the glass, immediately regretting the unladylike manner of it all. But still she waited for his answer.

A deep red flush ran up Darien's face. He blinked a couple of times and then laughed.

"Was I? I'm sorry for such impoliteness."

Serena looked at him, grinning like a cat, and shook her head, nodding off the apology. She then turned her glare to the four young princesses all holding back giggles. God, she thought, it's like my friends reincarnated. She wondered suddenly if they were.

She shrugged that particular thought off, though in the back of her mind she made a mental note to ask Setsuna if that was possible and if their spirits had possibly traveled through time to arrive in these girls' bodies.

"Milady? Now you are staring."

Serena let out a sigh. "Your observances are quite annoying, Mina."

"I find them quite the opposite," Reily said, her voice cracking in a laugh, her ember eyes glowing.

"As do I," Darien said.

Serena turned to look at him and mouthed the word 'traitor'. This caused further giggles which the rest of the table seemingly were oblivious to, but all took note of. The Lunarian Queen certainly was young.

"I think they're entertaining."

"Well you find a lot entertaining don't you, Endymion?"

That particular part of the table fell into an uncomfortable silence that even the future goddess of love couldn't fix. Entertaining wasn't the best word to use, noted Darien to himself. He cleared his throat and turned back to his meal. For a time they all did, keeping their eyes on their plates.

"So, Prince Endymion, how long will you be staying with us?" Andi said, breaking through the tension for awhile.

"A week," he said.

"Oh," she said and another silence followed. She recovered again. "I do not know much of the Earth's royal heritage, but is it true you are the only royal alive on the Earth?"

"Besides a few cousins, yes."

Serena bent her brows inward. "Then why aren't you considered King?"
"On the Earth you are only considered King if there is or once was a Queen."

Serena realized with sudden clarity just what Andi was setting them up for. She silently congratulated the Mercurian princess on her subtle manner of turning the conversation back to relationships. Mina raised her eyebrows and smiled proudly.

"You'll have to excuse my guardians," Serena said. "they all seem to have caught a case of the giggles, and it has caused their noses to swell. They do seem to be very nosy."

People were starting to depart from the table to return to their guest bedrooms. Serena stood also causing her chuckling guardians to raise also.

"Until a later time, Endymion."

Darien nodded standing up. Serena left trailed by her four guardians all whispering and giggling to each other. He sank back down in his plush chair as they disappeared from sight. He could not keep his mind from straying back to Serenity, her grace and her...

Her way of avoiding the inevitable. Her way of hiding her emotions. Her way of keeping all people close to her two steps back. And she had every right, didn't she? The last time she wore a crown everyone close to her and been killed. If she did not get close to anyone, if she did not need anyone, then it would not hurt as bad if they were taken away.

"Well," Haruka said looking over at him and smiling. "It seems the Prince has a thing for the Queen."

"Maybe a little more than a thing?" Michiru suggested.

"It certainly seems that way to me," Hotaru giggled.

Setsuna, anxious to throw her two bits in, said, "Only time will tell."

The four Outer Senshi began to leave, smiling with sheer satisfaction.

"If you knew what you spoke of, you would not have spoken in the first place."

They left with their lips in hard lines of defeat.

"I know of what I speak," the Princess from Polaris said. "I can read your mind, Prince Endymion. I know how you feel, and if you ever told her it would be the single greatest and most terrible thing."

"What do you mean?" he asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"The Queen of the Moon holds many secrets within her heart. Many that I will not tell you. But I will tell you she is still waiting and hoping for you to come to her."

Should I go? he wondered. Should I go to her and tell her the feelings of my heart?

"Yes," the Princess insisted. "Go now! She will not wait forever."

Darien stood, thanked the Princess, and hurried down the hall. He stood in the hallway before Serenity's chambers and took a deep breath.

Just how do you tell someone that you love them more than you love them more than the sky, more than the sun? More than your own planet, more than yourself?

For this is how he loved her. With everything he had.