AN And here is the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A silver wrapped gift
Chapter 4: Assurance
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selenity ran through the corridors of the palace. Her heart was flooded with joy. Everywhere she looked she saw Endymion's face. It was wonderful to be in love, and even more to be loved back. Or was it? She couldn't make up her mind. It was probably the fact that she was loved back that made the being in love so exceptionally sweet. At night she fell asleep imagining she laid in his arms. He was so strong and good. No one in the universe could rival with him. Was that a side effect of being in love? That you thought the object of your affections was the most perfect man of all? No, Endymion truly was perfect. And if anyone thought otherwise she would set them right. Or maybe not. That could create rivals. Not that she couldn't handle those. What am I babbling? I swear I left my sanity on Earth with that man! He is amazing! I love him so much!
She wanted to go back and see him again, but she couldn't go to Earth too often, or she would cause suspicion. But she wanted to make sure that this feeling she had wasn't based on a dream. Because that kiss he had given her, had sure been dreamy. Just remembering it made her stomach flutter violently. He had been so soft, so careful, treated her like she was made from glass. Normally that would have agitated her, but now she didn't mind at all.
She would go back today. She would. She wanted to see him again. All she had to do was evade her oh so watchful Sailor Soldiers, protecting her wherever she went, even to the bathroom if she didn't stop them. Well, escaping them couldn't be too hard, now, could it? After all she was still allowed to go to Earth. As long as her mother didn't take back her words, her beautiful protectors should have no cause for concern if she left the palace.
She would go now. She ducked into a secluded spot in the hallway, where a statue would hide her from view and concentrated on getting herself to Earth. She was getting better at transportation now. If she knew where she was going, she usually ended up there. There had been that one glitch when she had accidentally found herself underneath a giant waterfall, instead of across the lake, looking at it. The now familiar shifting of the world around her stopped and she opened her eyes.
With delight she saw she was right on the spot. On her right hand was the fountain where he had found her enjoying the rain, and in front of her was a path that she knew would take her directly to him.
She lifted her skirts and began to run. For once she didn't pay attention to her surroundings, she could only think of him, her beloved Endymion. She crisscrossed through the garden, searching for his familiar form. Her heart jumped when she finally saw the dark cloak between the trees. She slowed and silently neared the young prince.
She smiled when she saw what he was looking at. A large patch of 'daisies' was stretched out before his feet. The simple flowers held a beauty she found very sweet. Unfortunately, they didn't grow on the moon.
Noiselessly she stepped closer until she stood right behind him. She inhaled deeply. "Boo!" With an enormous grin on her face she saw how he jumped at least three feet high. Very satisfactory.
He wheeled around to face her. "Don't scare me like that! I thought you were Zoicite or someone."
"Who is that?"
"Zoicite? One of my four generals. Though I don't know why they are called generals. They are to me, what your Sailor Soldiers are to you."
"Oh, I see," she nodded. "Basically they just pester you with everything they think you should know, until they scare you into hiding."
He laughed at her words. "Yes, I usually hide in the garden, here. It's big enough to avoid running into them."
"I wish I could do that," she sighed. "The palace garden on the moon isn't nearly as big as this one. So lately I have taken refuge on the Earth when Mercury is piling books in her arms to take to me."
They shared a smile. Oh my god, he is so sweet. And he completely understands me. I cannot imagine ever to have lived without him. She suddenly thought of something. "You know about animals? Earth's animals?"
"I know my share. Why?" He looked at her questioningly.
"Well, I saw a few animals, some time ago, I couldn't find their names in our library. I can't say I searched all that thoroughly for them, but maybe you can tell me their names."
"Alright, where are they?"
"Close your eyes," she said.
He blinked, puzzled. "What?"
"Close your eyes. I will take you to them, but you have to close your eyes, or you'll get dizzy." She had experienced that once, and she didn't want to put him through that. Her room hadn't stopped spinning for hours and she had had to listen to one of Mercury's endless speaches about how careful she should be.
Selenity waited until Endymion had obediently closed his eyes. Then she grabbed his hands and closed hers too. Suddenly she became all too aware of his touch, of his hands closing around her own. She had trouble ignoring the sensation and concentrating on where she wanted to go. Finally the world shifted around her.
When the twirling had stopped, the difference of the place was immediately noticeable in the air. It was warmer, a lot warmer. Even the wind, which blew quite strong, didn't relieve the heat. She dared a peak and was relieved to find herself exactly where she had wanted to be. Long grass, dried to a yellow color because of the heat, waved around their legs. Strange trees with stark stems and branches spread like a parasol were also affected by the heat, their leaves a odd shade of greyish green. Insects buzzed around in the grass.
She had been here before. And she had encountered many animals of which she didn't know the name or species, although she figured the ones with fangs were predators.
She saw Endymion staring around him in wonderment, startled at the sudden change in his surroundings. "Uhm... Selenity... Where are we?" He looked down at her, a hint of fear in his gorgeous blue eyes.
She shrugged at the question. "I don't know exactly. I have been here before, but I don't where on Earth we are."
"Looks like we reached the savannas between the rainforest and the mountains on the tropical continent," he said, looking around. "How did we get here?"
"Teleporting. How else?" She looked at him. Had he never heard of teleporting before?
His bewildered look told her he hadn't.
"I'll explain later. Now, come on. I want to show you something and you have to name them." She led him across the savanna, as he had called these plains. She had seen a small circular clearing in the grass underneath one of the trees and she was hoping one of the mysterious animals resided there. She was right. The large animal had taken refuge from the blazing sun underneath the shadow-spreading branches and was now dozing in the heat of the afternoon. It's fur was a deep golden-brown and around his neck the fur was longer, and darker. The plume at the end of his tail was of the same color. It's large glowing eyes were now nearly closed as it contently flexed it's claws and shifted a bit for a better position.
She felt a pull at her hand and looked around at a very pale Endymion.
"Selenity, that is a lion!" he whispered.
"Oh, is that what it's called?"
"Not so loud," he ushered her. "You'll wake him."
"What is he?" whispered Selenity back, not wanting to disturb the sleep of this magnificent animal.
"He is a predator. And a dangerous one at that. You see his claws? He uses those to attack his prey and tear it to shreds with."
He probably meant those words to frighten her, but the effect was opposite. With awe she let go of the prince's hand and walked to very near the great beast. It was very big. When it stood upright it would likely reach to her shoulder. She knelt down beside it and stroked the side of his head with her hand. Her fingers nearly disappeared in the thick fur. It opened an eye to look at her for a moment. Then a low rumbling sounded, like a thick low-sounding string had been touched. It vibrated deep in the lion's throat and made her hand tremble. It was a funny sensation.
"How do you do that?" a voice whispered next to her ear. "He's purring. You made a lion purr!"
"Purring? Is that this funny sound? Purring, how funny. You should feel it." She grabbed his hand and before he could protest she had laid it next to hers on the lions head.
"You're amazing, did you know that? How come you're so fearless?"
She shrugged. "I guess it's because I don't know anything. How can you be scared of something you don't know?"
He didn't answer to that, so she remained silent as well. The lion neck trembled underneath her hands from the low sounds of purring. A funny word that was, purring. It fit the action very well. It was a soothing sound. It made her sleepy. Her eyelids drifted shut and she leaned to the side, against Endymion's shoulder.
"Selenity? Don't fall asleep. Please?"
"Why not?" she murmured.
"You're the only one who can get us back."
He had a point there. She struggled her eyes open. "Alright then, we go back now and then I sleep." She looked at him to see if he agreed with that.
He smiled down at her, making her heart jump. "If there's nothing else you'd like to ask me."
She started at that. Of course she had things to ask him. Question flittered around in her head, trying to push forward to be asked. "Fine, we'll go south."
"South?" he asked.
"Yes, I saw some really funny animals there. I couldn't figure out if they were fish or birds."
"Show me."
She took his hands in hers and ordered him to close his eyes again. She concentrated on the place she wanted to go. The world shifted. The change was immediate and very notable. A icy wind rippled her dress and send shivers down her spine.
"Where are we?" Endymion exclaimed.
"South Pole."
"I see," he said. He glanced at her and then wrapped his cloak around her.
As it had done so many times before in the past few days, Selenity's heart stopped. She released a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. He was so close now, closer than ever. The warmth of his body and cloak enveloped her and drove away the cold. Only her feet were freezing, the rest of her body was on fire! Oh, if only he felt the same way.
The strange animals forgotten she laid her head against his chest and relaxed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN I stopped here, because I figured it would be too long otherwise. Don't worry. Continuation where we left off will be published soon. Provided I get a lot of reviews. So just press that little button in the bottom of your screen. Go ahead. It won't bite.
Bye
Dannee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A silver wrapped gift
Chapter 4: Assurance
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selenity ran through the corridors of the palace. Her heart was flooded with joy. Everywhere she looked she saw Endymion's face. It was wonderful to be in love, and even more to be loved back. Or was it? She couldn't make up her mind. It was probably the fact that she was loved back that made the being in love so exceptionally sweet. At night she fell asleep imagining she laid in his arms. He was so strong and good. No one in the universe could rival with him. Was that a side effect of being in love? That you thought the object of your affections was the most perfect man of all? No, Endymion truly was perfect. And if anyone thought otherwise she would set them right. Or maybe not. That could create rivals. Not that she couldn't handle those. What am I babbling? I swear I left my sanity on Earth with that man! He is amazing! I love him so much!
She wanted to go back and see him again, but she couldn't go to Earth too often, or she would cause suspicion. But she wanted to make sure that this feeling she had wasn't based on a dream. Because that kiss he had given her, had sure been dreamy. Just remembering it made her stomach flutter violently. He had been so soft, so careful, treated her like she was made from glass. Normally that would have agitated her, but now she didn't mind at all.
She would go back today. She would. She wanted to see him again. All she had to do was evade her oh so watchful Sailor Soldiers, protecting her wherever she went, even to the bathroom if she didn't stop them. Well, escaping them couldn't be too hard, now, could it? After all she was still allowed to go to Earth. As long as her mother didn't take back her words, her beautiful protectors should have no cause for concern if she left the palace.
She would go now. She ducked into a secluded spot in the hallway, where a statue would hide her from view and concentrated on getting herself to Earth. She was getting better at transportation now. If she knew where she was going, she usually ended up there. There had been that one glitch when she had accidentally found herself underneath a giant waterfall, instead of across the lake, looking at it. The now familiar shifting of the world around her stopped and she opened her eyes.
With delight she saw she was right on the spot. On her right hand was the fountain where he had found her enjoying the rain, and in front of her was a path that she knew would take her directly to him.
She lifted her skirts and began to run. For once she didn't pay attention to her surroundings, she could only think of him, her beloved Endymion. She crisscrossed through the garden, searching for his familiar form. Her heart jumped when she finally saw the dark cloak between the trees. She slowed and silently neared the young prince.
She smiled when she saw what he was looking at. A large patch of 'daisies' was stretched out before his feet. The simple flowers held a beauty she found very sweet. Unfortunately, they didn't grow on the moon.
Noiselessly she stepped closer until she stood right behind him. She inhaled deeply. "Boo!" With an enormous grin on her face she saw how he jumped at least three feet high. Very satisfactory.
He wheeled around to face her. "Don't scare me like that! I thought you were Zoicite or someone."
"Who is that?"
"Zoicite? One of my four generals. Though I don't know why they are called generals. They are to me, what your Sailor Soldiers are to you."
"Oh, I see," she nodded. "Basically they just pester you with everything they think you should know, until they scare you into hiding."
He laughed at her words. "Yes, I usually hide in the garden, here. It's big enough to avoid running into them."
"I wish I could do that," she sighed. "The palace garden on the moon isn't nearly as big as this one. So lately I have taken refuge on the Earth when Mercury is piling books in her arms to take to me."
They shared a smile. Oh my god, he is so sweet. And he completely understands me. I cannot imagine ever to have lived without him. She suddenly thought of something. "You know about animals? Earth's animals?"
"I know my share. Why?" He looked at her questioningly.
"Well, I saw a few animals, some time ago, I couldn't find their names in our library. I can't say I searched all that thoroughly for them, but maybe you can tell me their names."
"Alright, where are they?"
"Close your eyes," she said.
He blinked, puzzled. "What?"
"Close your eyes. I will take you to them, but you have to close your eyes, or you'll get dizzy." She had experienced that once, and she didn't want to put him through that. Her room hadn't stopped spinning for hours and she had had to listen to one of Mercury's endless speaches about how careful she should be.
Selenity waited until Endymion had obediently closed his eyes. Then she grabbed his hands and closed hers too. Suddenly she became all too aware of his touch, of his hands closing around her own. She had trouble ignoring the sensation and concentrating on where she wanted to go. Finally the world shifted around her.
When the twirling had stopped, the difference of the place was immediately noticeable in the air. It was warmer, a lot warmer. Even the wind, which blew quite strong, didn't relieve the heat. She dared a peak and was relieved to find herself exactly where she had wanted to be. Long grass, dried to a yellow color because of the heat, waved around their legs. Strange trees with stark stems and branches spread like a parasol were also affected by the heat, their leaves a odd shade of greyish green. Insects buzzed around in the grass.
She had been here before. And she had encountered many animals of which she didn't know the name or species, although she figured the ones with fangs were predators.
She saw Endymion staring around him in wonderment, startled at the sudden change in his surroundings. "Uhm... Selenity... Where are we?" He looked down at her, a hint of fear in his gorgeous blue eyes.
She shrugged at the question. "I don't know exactly. I have been here before, but I don't where on Earth we are."
"Looks like we reached the savannas between the rainforest and the mountains on the tropical continent," he said, looking around. "How did we get here?"
"Teleporting. How else?" She looked at him. Had he never heard of teleporting before?
His bewildered look told her he hadn't.
"I'll explain later. Now, come on. I want to show you something and you have to name them." She led him across the savanna, as he had called these plains. She had seen a small circular clearing in the grass underneath one of the trees and she was hoping one of the mysterious animals resided there. She was right. The large animal had taken refuge from the blazing sun underneath the shadow-spreading branches and was now dozing in the heat of the afternoon. It's fur was a deep golden-brown and around his neck the fur was longer, and darker. The plume at the end of his tail was of the same color. It's large glowing eyes were now nearly closed as it contently flexed it's claws and shifted a bit for a better position.
She felt a pull at her hand and looked around at a very pale Endymion.
"Selenity, that is a lion!" he whispered.
"Oh, is that what it's called?"
"Not so loud," he ushered her. "You'll wake him."
"What is he?" whispered Selenity back, not wanting to disturb the sleep of this magnificent animal.
"He is a predator. And a dangerous one at that. You see his claws? He uses those to attack his prey and tear it to shreds with."
He probably meant those words to frighten her, but the effect was opposite. With awe she let go of the prince's hand and walked to very near the great beast. It was very big. When it stood upright it would likely reach to her shoulder. She knelt down beside it and stroked the side of his head with her hand. Her fingers nearly disappeared in the thick fur. It opened an eye to look at her for a moment. Then a low rumbling sounded, like a thick low-sounding string had been touched. It vibrated deep in the lion's throat and made her hand tremble. It was a funny sensation.
"How do you do that?" a voice whispered next to her ear. "He's purring. You made a lion purr!"
"Purring? Is that this funny sound? Purring, how funny. You should feel it." She grabbed his hand and before he could protest she had laid it next to hers on the lions head.
"You're amazing, did you know that? How come you're so fearless?"
She shrugged. "I guess it's because I don't know anything. How can you be scared of something you don't know?"
He didn't answer to that, so she remained silent as well. The lion neck trembled underneath her hands from the low sounds of purring. A funny word that was, purring. It fit the action very well. It was a soothing sound. It made her sleepy. Her eyelids drifted shut and she leaned to the side, against Endymion's shoulder.
"Selenity? Don't fall asleep. Please?"
"Why not?" she murmured.
"You're the only one who can get us back."
He had a point there. She struggled her eyes open. "Alright then, we go back now and then I sleep." She looked at him to see if he agreed with that.
He smiled down at her, making her heart jump. "If there's nothing else you'd like to ask me."
She started at that. Of course she had things to ask him. Question flittered around in her head, trying to push forward to be asked. "Fine, we'll go south."
"South?" he asked.
"Yes, I saw some really funny animals there. I couldn't figure out if they were fish or birds."
"Show me."
She took his hands in hers and ordered him to close his eyes again. She concentrated on the place she wanted to go. The world shifted. The change was immediate and very notable. A icy wind rippled her dress and send shivers down her spine.
"Where are we?" Endymion exclaimed.
"South Pole."
"I see," he said. He glanced at her and then wrapped his cloak around her.
As it had done so many times before in the past few days, Selenity's heart stopped. She released a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. He was so close now, closer than ever. The warmth of his body and cloak enveloped her and drove away the cold. Only her feet were freezing, the rest of her body was on fire! Oh, if only he felt the same way.
The strange animals forgotten she laid her head against his chest and relaxed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN I stopped here, because I figured it would be too long otherwise. Don't worry. Continuation where we left off will be published soon. Provided I get a lot of reviews. So just press that little button in the bottom of your screen. Go ahead. It won't bite.
Bye
Dannee