Hey hey people!! Welcome to the next chapter of ....REVEEEEEAALED HEEEAAARTS! First before, I start my writing I would like to say that I don't own any of the characters. My other story, "An Unlikely Pair" has received many reviews that weren't exactly supportive because of me being very stupid and lazy lol. And so, if there is anything about this story like "I've seen something like this before" "the plot is overused" blah blah blah...and so on, please refrain from telling me...I probably already had someone else tell be before. First of all, this is MY story and I haven't copied it at ALL. Ok, so the plot is a bit over used...that isn't my fault. I write what I write....
Yeah, I know I sound a bit cranky and all but don't mind me lol...now on to the story!!!
Also, by the way, someone complained on me and so my other story was kicked off…sorry y'all!! :)
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"The Tehrains are absolutely against this, your Highness. To encourage such an idea would be to delete small countries like ours out of the picture! We will just sitting around waiting for some larger country to obtain us as property. We want equal shares of weaponry and military units."
King Damien leaned back into his chair and tapped his fingers on the table. Right now, all the country officials and representatives were seated around a very large, semi- circle stadium and the King was on the base, looking up to them all. The room was constructed in the Greek theatre fashion, so that the voice would be amplified and heard easily no matter how high a man was sitting. The curved tables in front of them rose gracefully from the ground itself and had decorative carvings shaping it's legs and edges, the marble top splendid and glossy. Damien looked at his son, who was seated in a slightly lower throne than him.
"I think that Darien will answer that one. Darien?"
Prince Darien startled slightly but managed to focus his eyes on the flushed minister. "I believe that your country wouldn't be able to provide enough food and shelter for so many units, sir, and the extra weaponry will be useless in the end, considering the fact that you will actually have any need for it. We have issued you 70 extra units and 35 million pounds for the extra provisions. Considering your relative comparison with other countries, you, sir, have a higher portion than needed already."
"That still isn't enough. My people are weak –"
"We are the Rulers of this planet sir. If we didn't make sound choices, you will all be dead within a week. But if you really find anything wrong with our divisions, then come back in a week and tell me about it."
Darien's voice carried strongly and sternly through all the muttering and to the minister's flushed figure. Almost everyone perceived the sarcastic reprimand. There was a small pause before King Damien said, "I believe that shall be all for today. We shall meet again in two weeks. As you know, if an emergency does appear before then, inform us as soon as possible. Good day, gentlemen."
Damien rose and so did the body of ministers. They stood respectfully as Darien and his father exited through the golden plated doors. Damien muttered, "Patience isn't a virtue when it comes to political discussions, Darien. It's mandatory."
His response was silence. Damien sighed. He shouldn't be too hard on the boy anyway. Darien had already learned the tricks of this particular trade at a very young age. Maybe he was just not in the mood today. As soon as they entered the chamber hallway, Damien said, " Maybe you need to relax. Why don't you and Serena talk a stroll. She hasn't been looking well lately either…is everything alright between you two?"
Darien remained stony.
"I don't know what your problem is. She has only been here for twenty five days and you would think she could look happier. See what her problem is son. Remember, you are her husband now. It's a priority of yours to look after her."
"You should really try to practice what you preach, father," Darien muttered as he walked away.
~~~~~~
Damien strolled into his bedchamber and stopped for a moment as he found a familiar figure sitting on his bed.
"What do you want, Gaea?"
"Is it too wrong to wait for the loving husband to return to his beautiful wife?"
Damien snorted. "What crap have you been reading lately? Where's Simmers?"
Queen Gaea waved her hand breezily. "I dismissed him. I need to talk to you in private. And he snoops too much anyway. You really have no taste in man servants. "
Two minutes with her and he was already infuriated. "What do you want, my sweet?" He removed his crown and placed it carefully onto the purple cushion inside an intricately carved box. Gaea watched as he closed it shut. She remembered a time when she used to do that for him. She remembered how they used to actually bear each other.
"It's about Serena."
"What about her?" She sensed his spine straightening. "What is it?"
"I'm worried about her. She hasn't been looking too happy. I mean…she looks happy enough but it's the type that you can see through."
Like ours, Damien thought, but without feeling. "I'm sure she is fine. She's just homesick."
"I really hope that's the problem because I wouldn't like it to know that Darien is mistreating her."
"Really Gaea, you are his damn mother. Shouldn't you be putting in a word for him instead of accusing the boy?"
"I'm just concerned for Serena, Damien. I'm sure you noticed as well how isolated she always is. Whenever Darien comes by, she becomes alert…almost wary of him. I'm just wondering, all right? Or have I offended your dignity, oh Highness?"
Damien gritted his teeth. "But why accuse your own son? Do you love the princess from faerie land more than your own son?"
Gaea straightened. "What nonsense you talk! Why do you think like that? Why can't you just consider the possibility, huh? After all, he is more your son than mine."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Just that you should be used to his ways."
"I am. And I say that the crap you're spouting doesn't match your position, sweetie."
Gaea stood up and hissed, "Don't you treat me like a small child! It's not my fault he turned out this way! What is he supposed to learn when you parade all your mistresses around like a bunch of daisies in your new garden? Is he supposed to praise your wise and knowledgeable rule? Is he supposed to idol you? Well…I suppose he is just following in your footsteps now!"
"Damn you, Gaea. You say it like it's all my fault," he snapped back. "I've seen your share of lovers. Why deny it, my dear. You are a terrible mother after all. Why deny it?"
"Terrible mother? He is a man now and you have created him the way he is. I've seen him walk with so many women in front of Serena's nose and you have seen nothing! Nothing! I'm just worried!"
" Just like you were worried for Christian? I suppose that was motherly affection as well."
Gaea felt as if she was slapped. She stared at her distant husband with cold eyes. The room was in earthly silence as neither of them talked, but just looked at the other, summing up the reactions. Gaea snarled and said, "You are a damn asshole, Damien….an asshole. I can't believe that you….that you…still…" Her voice was almost on the point of pleading.
Damien clenched his jaw. Gaea turned on her heel and marched to the door and out. She shut it firmly behind her and quickly strolled to her bedroom. She ordered her maid out and slammed the door behind her. She fell into a chair and stared outside the window. The sun was just setting and she could see the faint outline of the night waiting to cover the sky. On her drawer was a framed picture of a happy family. There was a mother and a father, looking completely in love and happiness. And in their arms were two little boys. One had a head of beautiful black hair, as dark as the father's. He looked intensely occupied with the bear he was holding. He couldn't have been more that five or six years old. The other was grinning happily as he held onto his first sword, a blunt silver blade with his name carved into the handle. He looked like a happy ten-year-old, happily celebrating his birthday.
Gaea kept her eyes on the sunset. She couldn't bear look at the picture.
"It wasn't my fault."
~~~~~~
Darien twirled the rose between his fingers. It was almost in full bloom, it's blood red petals bursting to open and flaunt themselves. He felt calm for the first time in so many days. His private garden always cheered him up, almost like they had a special connection, soul to soul. The flowers were of the most exotic and if you looked close enough, you could see a beautiful marble gazebo in the distance, vines climbing up its side, twirling their own beauty around the pillars. And right next to the gazebo was a small fountain. It didn't seem like anything special or out of ordinary with the other fountains until you got closer to it. It's only difference seemed to be that it was made out of colored crystal. But then you see…diamonds and rubies and sapphires…all edged next to creating a beautiful mural of rainbow lights that danced of each other. All in all, his private garden was a fantasy. A fantasy he had created with his own hands.
Right now he was sitting on a large flat stone, facing the gazebo. He kept twirling the flower, lost in thought.
"Whoa! Calm down Felix! I will be here for a while!" she shrieked in laughter.
"First come closer to me, "he heard her say. "Tonight is very chilly."
Was he the only one who could see her true nature. His mother worried about her. His father worried about her. Even Jadeite and the rest worried about the damn slut!
~~~~~~
Darien crumpled the letter between his fingers. "How can they make such a proclamation without me giving consent?"
Nephrite looked very interested in the picture in front of him. Malachite, annoyed at the general, said," Well…since you are on your honeymoon and all…we all thought that you might not have wanted to deal with such trivial things, so we just made a safe decision and sent the messenger along the way."
Darien growled, "I'm the prince around here, Malachite! That was a letter for me not you!"
Jadeite smirked, "We thought you would be too busy with the princess."
Darien's face was devoid of emotion. "I was free enough to know about a very trivial matter though."
"Darien, it was just a small thing. Don't fret so much."
"I will fret when I want to."
Now he was in a dangerous mood. The generals recognized that tone of voice too easily.
"Now, now Darien…."
"It's my business, damn I!. I wasn't busy at all. I was right there and you sneaked under my nose to do this!"
Jadeite rolled his eyes and muttered something.
Darien glared at his general. "You better have the guts to say it out loud, you bastard."
Zoicite, who was playing the part of an audience said, "I think it would be better for you to calm down, Darien. I don't know why –"
Jadeite smirked once again, "I know why. He just has a big stick stuck up his butt. That's why and that's why he isn't even busy on his honeymoon."
"Why the hell is it your business, Jadeite?" Darien glowered. He realized that Jadeite wasn't just talking about the letter.
"Because I can see what is happening and I don't care to see it again. Because I actually care about her. Unlike someone here."
Darien had an urge to punch out Jadeite. How dare he talk about the princess. Damn it! Was he sleeping with her as well? Just how many men has she been with? His fists curled and his eyes narrowed.
"Go to hell, Jadeite. Don't you dare try and tell me what to do."
"I think you should care for her more. Oh! Look…I just dared, Darien. Please forgive me," Jadeite spat back, his mouth curled up in a victorious smile. Before the prince could say anything, Jadeite continued, "Everyone can see her sitting alone in conversations. She only talks when talked to, and smiles when needed. She is practically dying here, and you don't even seem to care crap about it. She is missing her home and you just walk by like she doesn't. Maybe not everyone can see it, but I definitely can! Darien, get a damn grip on yourself. Why don't you even care?"
The room fell into silence except for the sounds of breathing. Darien gave a small, crooked smile and asked, "When did you start caring about her all of a sudden, Jadeite? I thought you thought of her as just another wench. I suppose you have gotten to know her better."
Malachite stepped forward, "Now Darien! You can't mean –"
Darien silenced him with a hand. "What do you say, Jaedite?"
His general flushed under is gaze but kept his eyes on the prince. Nephrite, Zoicite, and Malachite, looked upon the scene with apprehension. What was going on here? What happened to Darien to make him like this?
Jadeite finally said, "You're right. I don't know her much. But I definitely know her better than you."
With that, he walked out the room.
~~~~~~
Ami followed the servants' shrieks of terror. She ran faster and faster…there was something definitely wrong. Rei fell into step. "What the hell is it, Ami?"
"I don't know but I really do want to find out. It really has bad timing."
Mina who caught up and snapped, "I was sleeping!"
They came to a sudden stop outside the transporter. Ami grabbed the first maid she could find and shook her, "Snap out of it! What is the problem?"
The maid blubbered and let out small shrieks at the same time. Rei tried with a servant who was pointing to the transporter and then to the garden. To the transporter and back to the garden. Rei felt frustrated already. Soon Lita, Queen Serenity, and many other servants crowded around the scene. What they saw was a small group of hysterical servants blowing their heads off with very pissed off princesses demanding about what happened. Finally, the Queen had enough.
"Everyone! Quiet!" she boomed into the sky and a silence immediately fell around her. She walked to the transporter and stopped right outside. The transporter was inside the palace, practically, but the back was sticking out into the garden. She looked around first to see if the servants had collected enough dignity to answer her questions. When she saw that they were ready to actually talk, she asked, "Well? What happened?"
And out came a rambling from five of them at once.
"It was huge, Your Highness—"
"What a monster!"
"I swear I saw it with me –"
"And it went in right there! In there!"
"It knew where to go!"
"I didn't see anythin' so fright –"
"It was huge!"
'I really really saw it! I swear –"
Mina had a big urge to grin but she resisted, which was better because the Queen didn't seem equally amused. She turned to the audience and dismissed them all, except the princesses and the blabbering servants. As everyone left with disgruntled sighs, the Queen held out her hand, signaling the servants to stop. Then she looked directly at one of the man servants and sharply asked, "Tell me properly about what happened."
He tried not to stammer and failed horribly. "I-it was h-huge and I-I-I didn't kn-now that something l-l-like that was o-on the moon."
Everyone suddenly felt the dread they were hoping to avoid. Although, subconsciously, they knew what the frightened servants were talking about, they didn't want to hear it. They knew what was going to come out next.
"I-it was like a h-h-huge t-tiger, your Highness! A-and it went r-r-right into the transporter! R-r-right into it!"
Rei slammed the button to open the transporter. It was a very huge room so that it could send at least a few hundred people at a time. All they had to do was stand in the center of the room and say out the name of the location they wanted to go to. It was that simple. And the small band in the center of the floor would expand so that everyone would be inside the circumference. Then it was just a matter of closing your eyes and then you were transported. It was possible even when people wanted to go to twenty different locations at once. It was possible. And because of that, it was definitely possible for Felix to run in here and surprise all the guards and servants. But then again, Felix just waited for the guards to move about before he leaped in.
The queen hurriedly dismissed the rest of the servants and warned them to not say a word about the incident, although it was probably useless.
Mina squeaked. "What do we do now? We lost Felix!"
Queen Serenity calmly whispered, "I don't think so. You as well as I know where he went."
~~~~~~
Darien stood up and dusted himself off. He was wasting his time. He had better things to do. He threw the rose onto the ground and walk back into the maze that led into the palace garden. The Moon palace wasn't the only one with a mind boggling maze.
He wasn't even thinking of which way to turn as he came upon them. It was all like a routine for him. He had been here so many times that it was like tying on his shoe. Practically everyone else, even his own parents, could find themselves around the maze for it was so intricate. He was almost into the middle of the maze, when he heard a noise. It sounded like someone, more like something, was crying. No, not crying. It was like a low growling sound, the exact imitation of a gruff voice sobbing. And suddenly, he felt an urge to walk away. But he couldn't. He knew that he should walk away, right now. But he didn't. His feet kept his walking forward, closer and closer to the center. Turn around, Darien. The gruff sobbing was closer and closer. Damn it, Darien. Turn around! I know you don't want to go there. You know that it won't be what you expect. Then Darien turned the final curve to the right. And he froze.
~~~~~~
Serena sat up straight and dropped her paintbrush. Something was wrong. She could feel it in her soul. Something was out of place. Then she heard something. A low gruff sound. She concentrated on it and prayed to God that she knew what it was. Finally, in her head, she could hear a familiar low growling. Her eyes lit up. He was here. Then here eyes opened wide with panic. Felix is here?
~~~~~~
Darien slowly drew his sword out from the sheath. And froze after every few moves. Right in the circular center of the maze was a huge beast of some kind. Something that he had never seen before in his life. It was curled up in the center, showing Darien only its sleek white coat with think black stripes slashing wildly across the fur coat.
It was enormous. Three times the size of a normal tiger. That's it! It looked like a huge tiger. Darien shook himself to keep his eyes on it. He was approaching it from around the bottom. The tail was curled into the body, almost lifeless. He was almost around the bottom when he started to raise his sword.
He couldn't let this thing live. It would frighten everyone and cause havoc. It probably had huge sharp teeth and a bigger jaw to match. He could image the red eyes in anger as he rounded around the lying animal. The paws were the size of a little under his sword in diameter. Then another whimper escaped from the animal and it raised its head, the large black eyes directed towards the maze. Directed right past Darien and into the opening behind him.
Darien knew that this was his chance. It was concentrated on something else. But he stopped as his sword was raised above his head. The tiger looked…sad…and lifeless. It's eyes held …tears? Darien faltered as it whimpered again, letting out another gruff sob. He had to kill it now, before it was too late! Then he heard another cry. This one different from the tiger's. This one from a familiar voice.
"Felix! Where are you? Loverboy! I'm coming!"
He heard a pattering of footsteps running towards his way and kept his sword positioned above his head. What the hell was this? She had the damn nerve to meet her lover here as well? In front of his nose? He saw the tiger stir even more. Yet again, it released another whimper, this one louder and clearer than the rest. This tiger is alert now, Darien realized, and he had to kill it soon. He positioned himself to bring the sword down into the tiger's gut, between it's legs. Before he realized it, a pair of hands shoved his whole body into the ground. Darien felt the blade slice his arm as he fell against it with a large thud. He winced and placed his hand on the wound. Thank god it wasn't too deep. He growled. What the hell was going on here? He turned around and halted. There was the princess of the Moon, in her night robe, showering hugs and kisses onto the huge tiger, whispering the name "Felix" over and over again.
As he was fixated upon the scene that unfolded in front of him, he didn't realize that others had joined him at first. Then he heard someone mutter, "Bloody hell…"
He looked to the left. Apparently all the generals had heard her screaming or the loud growls. Darien, at the moment, didn't care which it was. He just knew that he was feeling like crap at the moment. And the wound in his arm didn't really help him feel any better.
Jadeite then said, "This is a nice scrap we're all in."
Serena raised her head and flushed from ear to ear…the white tiger sat up and weakly licked her face. Serena turned a caring face towards him and softly ran her hands through his fur. She then whispered, "Everyone, meet my loverboy, Felix."
Jadeite raised an eyebrow, "A very nice and interesting scrap."
