Here it is! That was fast, wasn't it? Anyway enough of my blabbering. Read, review, and enjoy!

A Girl of Gold

The next week of training was the usual. Serena did remarkably well in her training, and her teachers were remarkably satisfied with her work. So satisfied with her ability to keep up, the Duke gave her a day off. The news thrilled Serena greatly. The daily training was draining her of all her energy. Though she put up a brave font, she constantly felt her muscles ache. But sheer determination kept her going, giving her just enough strength to keep up with the boys. Already, she had lost weight, and her waist was slimmer than ever. The meals that were given to the pages could not sustain her, and only Lita's cooking kept her from pure exhaustion. The girls were extremely worried and decided a day out in the city was the best remedy for their friend.

"Remind me why I'm here again," Serena muttered.

"Well, shopping of course!" Mina pointed at the various stalls and all the brightly colored items, "Besides, isn't there a party tomorrow? We have to get a dress for you!"

"Hold your horses. I'm a page remember? I can't go wearing a dress to the ball tomorrow!"

"Don't be such a worrywart," Rei fingered a beautiful red gown, "Besides, isn't Kelvin and his cronies still giving you a hard time? This is the best opportunity to go punch them in the face. When they see you wearing a dress, looking so radiantly beautiful.."

"One..they'll fall in love with you or two..they'll get pissed at you and you'll have an excuse to beat their fat behinds," Lita finished.

"At least think about the prince," Mina shot her a sly look.

"What's that supposed to mean? He hates my guts!"

Amy pulled a face, "Who would like your guts?"

"You know what I mean! We're not even on speaking terms."

"That's not from what I see. You guys are on speaking terms, spitting insults at each other at every possible moment. But hey 'you only hurt the one you love.'" Rei spoke with mock wisdom.

"In that case, you like Jadeite then? I saw you swing a wrench at his head. You guys must love each other a lot. That would also mean, that you guys won't mind if I hurt you a lot."

"She was just kidding. That saying only applies to a few rare situations, which would be yours. But, you have to admit Serena, the prince is so cute. You must be blind if you don't like him! Besides, didn't you know there are two princes? Prince Darien is the crown prince and there's Prince Seiya."

"First of all, I don't know Prince Seiya. Secondly, Endymion's engaged! Thirdly, he is the most arrogant man I've ever met."

"How many have you met?" Amy asked.

"Can we just drop this conversation?"

Mina swung to face Serena, "Look, we'll make you a deal. I'll try to stop meddling in your love life for one month if you wear a dress to the ball."

"I'll help with your homework," Amy added.

"I'll bring you more cookies."

"And I'll let you read my comics."

"Deal."

The rest of the day passed quickly. Serena found her perfect dress and bought a few more articles that she would need. Before long, she stood in front of her mirror with her four friends surrounding her, giving her suggestions to what she should do with her hair and so forth. When everything was laid out, Serena headed to bed, dreading the party for the next day. That dread did not go away the next day during her morning exercises. Andrew and Jadeite tried to lighten her mood by telling jokes.

"What are you going to wear girl?" Kelvin stepped out of the shadows.

Serena squared her shoulders against the intruder.

"I doubt you're going to wear a dress. You are going to be so laughed at! People are going to see you can't even act like a proper lady. To top it all off, you won't fit in with the boys. You are nothing," smirking, he left.

Serena's fist clenched. She'd show him!

********

Serena stood in front of her mirror and looked hard at her image. She wore a golden dress that hugged her figure and flared out at her waist to rest in a pool at her feet. Moons intertwined at her collar and silver stars were printed on her sleeves. A golden shawl circled around her arms and stretched in the middle to flow down her back and onto the floor like a train. A pair of golden gloves showed off her slim fingers. (an: imagine Belle's dress in Beauty and the Beast, with the extra shawl, moon and stars.)

A thin golden chain held up the top portion of her hair together. The rest spread down her back. She wore no makeup, except for a touch of lip gloss. On her feet, she wore matching high-heel golden shoes. She looked like a goddess, radiating light. Smiling contently she glided out the door. She had been taught to behave like a lady when she was little, and somehow, those lessons just stuck to her..most of the time anyway.

She stood before the set of doors that led to the ball and gathered up her courage. With a determined sigh, she pushed open the doors and entered. A hush gathered as everyone turned toward the newcomer. Men stared. And stared. The women stared. Then cast her jealous stares. Even the king had let his jaw drop, and the queen's repeatedly poking did not bring him out of his stupor. The prince was frozen in his spot. The beautiful girl, whom he did not recognize, was the absolute angel of his dreams. The rooms began active again, as people began to talk about the mysterious girl. Serena pushed herself into the crowd to look for Andrew. She found him, sitting with the generals, chatting. Walking over, she tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned.

"Look, Andrew. I need a favor."

"Whoa. Do I know you?"

Serena looked at him, "Hello? It's me. Serena? How do you not recognize me?"

"Serena? Wow! You look great! Oh my god, you really look magnificent. What do you need?"

"I need you to find Kelvin and tell him that I've decided not to come today. If my best friend can't recognize me, he most likely can't either."

"Aye aye!"

Confident that her plan would work, Serena turned to see the prince approaching her table. Turning her back to him, she made conversation with the generals.

"Wow. You really did a great job dressing up for this."

"I was blackmailed."

"By Mina I suppose?" Malachite asked.

"How did you know?"

"I know her. She's the only one who would come up wit the idea to have you dress up like this."

"I have to say though, revenge is sweet."

"M'lady, can I have this dance?" the prince interjected, offering his arm.

Serena exchanged a glance with Jadeite, who looked as if he's going to crack up any moment.

"You must be Prince Endymion."

"And you are.."

"Friends call me Serena, but you may address me by my full name, which is Serenity. We have met before, have we not?"

Realization dawned. Gracefully, Serena stood up. Like a perfect lady, she curtsied deeply, "If you may excuse me, your highness.."

"This is some joke, isn't it Serena?"

"Serenity," she corrected, "This is no joke. It's your fault that you find yourself so easily wooed by an 'unfeminine girl who can't get married off,' as you put it. It's amazing what a pretty face can do to a person, isn't it?" like a queen with her head held high, she walked off. The prince followed her.

She spotted Kelvin and his little friends muttering to each other about something. Deciding to complete her little fun, she strolled over,

"You hear that? That girl isn't here. She must have been scared off, the little bitch." She heard him say.

"You must be the son of the lord of Darkcastle," she asked him lightly.

"Why, madam, I am," turning, Kelvin gave her a deep bow.

"Do you mind if I join your table?" Serena kept up lady acting, keeping her voice to a sweet tremor.

Darien watched in amusement.

"I'll be honored," Kelvin looked pleased and proud that the beautiful lady had decided to join them instead of anyone else.

Serena sat down gracefully, gathering her skirts to spread around her, "Kelvin..may I call you Kelvin?" she paused and waited for his answering nod, before continuing, "Why is it that girls are always referred to bitches, but never boys?"

He stared at the turn of conversation.

"Do you know that a bitch really means a female dog? Now, I ask you, what is so bad about a female dog? Or, should I say, what's so bad about a son of a bitch? Or, son of a female dog? I couldn't help but hear your conversation earlier and comment. I'm sorry if I'm invading any private space. One other thing before I leave. You mentioned a girl that failed to attend this ball? Well, if seems to me that she's here after all."

Kelvin glanced around.

"You prove to me that you are more stupid that I had previously thought. My name's Serenity by the way. I'm a page here as well. I hope that answers your questions. It was nice meeting you Kelvin." Her voice was kept soft, and Serena gave him a sweet smile. Rising, she made her very ladylike exit.

As soon as she was out of site in the crowd, she was grabbed by the waist and swept on to the dance floor. Startled, she looked up to see the prince smiling coolly at her, "That was a remarkable show of skills Lady Serenity. Who knew you had it in you?"

"That goes for you too. Who knew you actually were a gentleman? Last time I checked, you were still a snobby, arrogant, and Mr. I-know-everything wannabe," Serena glared, trying unsuccessfully to free herself from his grip.

He chuckled, "When was the last time you checked?"

"Just now!"

"I admire your spunk Serenity."

"So touching. Go take your flattery somewhere where it can be appreciated. Like one of those sluts that are bashing eyelashes at you right now."

"Do I sense jealousy?"

"If you had sense, you would know that was a hint for you to go screw yourself."

Darien scowled at the girl in his arms. If she was any other girl, she would just melt in his arms, but no. Serena still had to argue with him and spit insults in his face. He was oozing sensuality and the girl just totally ignored it, determined to see the bad side of him. He bared his teeth in frustration. No girl could resist his charms. It just didn't happen. It defied all reasons of chemistry. He swung her around, making her turn her attention on not tripping and falling flat on her face. A hand tapped his shoulder.

"Brother, may I?"

Darien was about to refuse his brother and keep Serena all to himself, when she saw her chance, and grounded her high heel into his toes. He winced in pain, and watched as she offered her hand to his brother, who swung her into a waltz. A red-head immediately attached herself to his arm, but he shrugged her off, seething. Serena was going to be his. He had patience, and he will wait till she comes begging to him.

End of this chapter

I'm getting really tired of asking for people to review, but here it is.. REVIEW (I'm begging)!!

There. Okay, let's see..ah..the next chapter will be up shortly. I have nothing to do these days since I'm on vacation, so I can do a lot of typing. After though, I have a lot of work to do. Like swimming, school, homework, and a whole lot of stuff. So updating will not be on a daily basis as it has been these past few days. But, I will still try to work on all three stories that I have. I'm only human, and this really takes a lot of time. So, bye!

By the way, have I mentioned to review?