Welcome!!!!!!!!!!!! To chapter 14!!!!! Yeet….yes…that's my new way of saying yay!!! Anyway, I hope you guys liked the previous chapter because it didn't focus too much on Serena/Darien but I hope you still like it! And yeah….I don't have much of anything else to say…and for those people who are wondering where my other story went…yeah, it got kicked off..but that's ok!! Because I can just start another one! By the way, I know that there are a lot of loose ends in this story and some areas where things don't fit together…hee hee…im so annoying sometimes…but don't worry!!! I finally got around to updating my plot chart and now I know what to do and stuff…yeah…well…yeah….on to the story!!!!!!!! By the way, I started another story…check it out!!
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Serena carefully petted Felix's head, remembering to scratch behind his ears once in a while. Felix purred and growled gently as she grinned. Serena was almost oblivious to her surroundings with Felix to keep her occupied. She gave a small chuckle as her loverboy took a small turn and waited for her to rub his stomach. Serena stood up from her squatting position and waved a teasing finger. "No Felix, not now. Not when you're so tired."
She turned towards the generals who, on the other hand, still fixated their eyes on the huge tiger.
"Can one of you help me? I need to feed him and get some shelter."
Zoicite was the first to look at the princess. He would be glad to not see Felix for a while. It was really a spectacular scene. Felix almost gave the air of possession as he, all of about twenty feet of him, claimed the center of the maze his own. He gave a slight bow of his head as he replied, "Of course, Serena. Are you sure that it's safe to do this?"
Serena gave a small frown. "Of course. I've had him ever since I was a child. Don't worry, Zoicite. He's tame enough."
Zoicite was about to exit when he turned around with a small, embarrassed look. "Umm…I don't really know the way out of this place. It's normally Darien's private place," he said, with a small motion towards the prince.
Serena looked towards Darien and managed not to be furious. He was about to kill Felix! That bastard! Isn't it enough for him that he was torturing her already? Darien didn't seem to notice her but the animal behind her. Serena smirked a little. It would serve him right if Felix was to jump on him in a pounce, scaring the hell out of him. Serena gave a little sigh and said, "I suppose I could get it…with a little help…?"
Jadeite, with respect, asked, "You know the way around this maze?"
"Well…yes. I didn't know it was Darien's private maze though."
'That's amazing. Darien built this maze structure himself, and it's almost impossible to find a person's way through this thing!"
Serena supposed she should have asked before going through random mazes like she had done the past few days. The one she was in was something that had kept her occupied for a while, trying to figure out the ways in and out of it. Up to now, she only found one way in and one way out. She didn't mention that she had also seen the beautiful garden on the other end of the maze. It wasn't really a relevant subject to discuss at the moment.
Darien just kept his eyes one the Felix. What was wrong with that man? It was like he was in a trance, unable to move or think but to just stare at Felix. Serena scoffed. If Felix intimidated him, it wasn't any of her concern.
"I suppose Darien doesn't mind anyway," smiled Jadeite, realizing that Darien wasn't going to say anything anytime soon. "Lead the way princess."
Serena gave Felix a last pat and a few words before leading Zoicite and Jadeite out of the maze. Nephrite's eyes flickered between Felix and the departing Serena. What was the tiger going to do now that the master was away? Although trying not to show it, he edged towards where the prince was standing. Felix followed his every movement with sharp and wary eyes. Malachite on the other hand managed to actually walk closer to the tiger. He would move a step and pause. Then move another step and pause. This was the routine until finally he said, "Hello Felix."
Nephrite, although still not at ease, grinned at Malachite's slightly wavering voice. Felix flashed his head towards the man. His eyes narrowed as he watched the man's every movement. Malachite slowly brought out his right hand. "May I touch you?"
Malachite felt ridiculous but he felt as if the tiger could comprehend his words. He wasn't sure, but Felix seemed to have given a small nod of his head. Malachite was only a foot away from the tiger now and it still didn't move. He slowly bent down an inch as he attempted to pet the tiger. This was stupid, he kept thinking to himself. Another inch. Was that thing going to pounce on him in the last moment? He prayed not. Another inch gave way as Malachite loosely balanced himself over the tiger.
Nephrite apparently thought that this was an amusing sight for a snort escaped him. Malachite looked like he was trying to manage a circus act on an imaginary tightrope. He would lean down for a second before pulling back to the other side.
Finally Malachite was only a few inches away from the tiger. Still keeping his eyes with Felix's, he finally took the last inch in bending down. Before any of the fur could make contact with his hand, Felix jumped up in a flash and gave the man a huge, sloppy lick of his tongue.
"Ahh!!!"
Darien, who was watching the scene nonchalantly was shaken from his thoughts. Nephrite froze for a crack before he burst out in laughter. There was Malachite pinned down against the floor as Felix bent over him, giving huge kisses. Apparently the tiger thought it was amusing as well as it gave small growls of laughter in the middle. Or that's what it seemed like to Nephrite.
By the time Serena came back with the two other generals, Malachite was wet and sticky with slobber, and very ticked off to boot. Nephrite seemed to have been either running around randomly or laughing his head off for he was leaning against one of the hedges, panting and grinning at the same time. Darien was no where to be seen. Serena shook her head at Felix, who with an innocent smile, waited for her expectantly in the place she left him.
"Bad boy, Felix. Bad boy," she said in a scolding voice but it was broken by the laughter at the end. Malachite was disgusted. "How much water do you give him? It's as if he had a tank of it in his tongue."
Jadeite raised his hand to give Malachite a pat on the back but thought better of it. He took his hand back and said, "Well, Malachite. I suppose you've been having fun without us? What's the deal with that?"
Serena watched them jest before asking, "Where did Darien go? We didn't see him coming out."
Nephrite shrugged. "I suppose there is more than one way out then. Although I saw him walking out the way you did. Felix didn't mind too much." Nephrite smirked. "Darien seems to have hit the wrong chord with the guy."
"Why? What happened?"
"Nothing. Just that as Darien was walking by, Felix seemed to eye him like a tasty side of beef. A little growling went on, Darien cursed, followed by more growling, and that was that."
Zoicite, who was carrying a large bag, let it down onto the ground. He then picked up Jadeite's carelessly thrown bag from the ground and leaned them against each other. "I suppose you will want to feed him, Serena?"
Serena nodded as she motioned Felix towards the food. Inside the bags were a few pounds of steak. Felix gobbled it down hungrily as Serena gave a little by little to him.
Malachite broke the long silence. "I'm too tired to stay out any longer. And my robe is sticking to me. This is really disgusting."
Serena grinned as Felix purred towards Malachite. He was the picture of innocence. A very huge picture of innocence. Malachite snorted and excused himself to retire to his bedchambers. Nephrite claimed to be tired as well, for it had been a very interesting night, and left behind Malachite. Only Zoicite and Jadeite were left. Zoicite watched the two generals depart and said, "Maybe we should call it a night, Serena. It's almost midnight and we need to be well rested."
"But Felix needs me."
Zoicite smiled. "He seems to need food right now. It's our duty, princess, to protect you but I really can't seem to be up to the job right now. Without us, you can't stay out here." His voice was final. Even though the princess had more authority than him, he knew that Serena regarded them as all equal in power. That was one thing he liked about her. She had respect for even the common beggar on the street.
Serena gave her the coldest frown she could conjure up. "I demand to stay out here Zoicite."
Jadeite grinned. "No way, Serena. We can't allow you to do that. If we had even known, we wouldn't have allowed you to even come to this maze alone as many times as you have done."
"How come Darien can?"
"It's his maze. And he knows how to handle unexpected guests himself."
Serena almost spit out that she was decent with swords herself but she caught herself. There was no need to go into that topic right now.
She changed techniques. "But Zoiciiiiiite!!!!! I haven't seem Felix for-evvvvvver!!!!! It's not faaaaair!!"
Zoicite raised an eyebrow, surprised at the princess's whining. Now there was something you don't see everyday.
Jadeite sighed, "Fine. You go ahead, Zoicite. I'll keep Serena company until I fall over my toes and snore into the ground."
Zoicite finally agreed and before leaving, he waved goodbye to Felix. Felix let out a small growl as if to recognize the wave. As it went walking, Serena could here Zoicite shake his head and mutter, "I can't believe I just waved to a tiger. I just can't believe…."
Jadeite helped Serena throw steaks towards Felix, who caught most of them neatly in his mouth. Serena, without looking to the side, asked, "You wish to talk to me, Jadeite?"
He startled at her question. Yes, he realized, he did want to talk to her. About Darien.
"Are you happy, Serena?"
She looked thoughtful for a while. "I am. I suppose I just miss my mother…and friends…"
Felix made a sound and Serena almost stuck her tongue out at him, before she realized that she was not ten anymore. She said, "Of course I don't miss you, Felix! You're right here!" She threw him a piece and he caught it with ease.
Jadeite threw some steak from his bag. "That's good to hear. But that's not what I meant."
Serena visibly straightened. "I am happy, Jadeite. Isn't that what you wanted to know?"
"What about your happiness with Darien, Serena? Is he all you've hoped for?"
Serena felt her heart speed up by the mention of his name. Her eyes lost their glow as she remembered every single insult he had thrown in her face, every woman he had paraded in front of her, every action he took to make her feel worthless.
"He's all I've hoped for and more, Jadeite."
Jadeite frowned. "Serena, you don't have to-"
"I would like to feed Felix, Jadeite. I ran out of food. May I take some from your bag?"
Wordlessly, he held out the bag for her. To her, this conversation was over.
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Durmis held the ball of dark energy in his hand and whispered an incantation, sending the ball floating into the air and soon, disappearing in front of his eyes. He had right now sent military information to the queen. Durmis, over the past few days was able to collect a few tidbits because of the places his errands took him. He knew the queen was expecting more but he didn't give a damn because he was annoyed at the extra work he had to do. Not only had he to sneak around at night but also work in the mornings till his back ached with pain. Some of the other servants would try to make him feel better by sympathizing with him but he would only feel more pissed off for he was a dark minion and he was supposed to have twice, if not more, the human strength.
He turned to leave the isolated kitchen space when he heard the creaking of a door opening. He managed to dive into a corner when he heard two sets of footsteps enter the kitchen from outside and exit from the entrance Durmis had used. Who could be up so late? The guards didn't walk through the kitchen on or off duty…Durmis stayed low until the footsteps faded away. It was time to make his escape while he still could. He peered up and listened for any signs of approaching people. If it came to the worst scenario, he had his magic. Not hearing any sounds, he speed to the doors, checked once again and then tiptoed away into the hallway.
What he didn't see was the pair of eyes watching from behind the stove…
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Darien didn't sleep a minute that night. Every time his eyes felt the need to close, flashes of Serena appeared in his mind, forcing him to stay awake. He didn't want to see his mistake. The mistake that hurt her to the bone. As if it had happened just today, he could recall almost all the times he hurt her. Not only with the mistresses but also with insults and coldness…in front of everyone. Jadeite was right. He didn't know Serena at all. Hell, he bet that he didn't want to know Serena, not especially at this moment.
A cold smile came to his face. All this time, he was hating against a tiger. A damn animal. He had made her life havoc over the past month because of a damn tiger named Felix. He didn't even check the facts when he first heard her from behind the maze, cooing words of endearment to her unknown 'loverboy'. And he knew very well why.
He had assumed that she was like him. He had thought that she was a conniving bastard like him, and to know that gave him some sadistic satisfaction. Deep inside, he knew that not being the only cheating person on earth was gratifying and knowing that Serena was caught up in the temptation was somewhat of a relief, for he didn't have to pretend to be faithful. After all, she wasn't either and so, there was no need for the facades. Over the last few days, he had waited patiently for her to admit her mistake and to beg his forgiveness. He had then wanted to punish her some more before bestowing his great power of forgiveness onto her. Then she would kiss his hand and become his faithful wife. No, not wife. Subconsciously, he knew that to him, she would have been only another servant, a personal one. Ha! He was the fool of Earth. Waiting for her to come to him? It was almost unspeakable now. No matter how he wanted to deny it, he had seen the truth. The love in her eyes for the tiger showed him the truth. The love which he had never felt or seen his entire life…
How was he going to face her tomorrow? Although he knew of his foolish misgivings, she still had no clue of what just happened... what was he going to do?
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Rachel and Helena looked on with concern while Serenity, almost exasperated, waved goodbye to the girls. Ami, Rei, Mina, and Lita were going down to meet Serenity. And if possible, bring Felix back…that is, if the worst hadn't happen to him yet.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Serenity?" asked Helena. "You did say that there are dark forces getting ready…"
"Helena is right, Serenity. Although all the royalty, except us two, have gone back to their palaces to keep guard, how will you be sure that nothing will happen suddenly?"
Serenity turned a reassuring smile to her friends. "I have a hunch that nothing will happen today. Look at the skies, Rachel. They are clear. The sun can be seen from ever angle on the moon. It is not a cover for any attacking enemies." Helena opened her mouth to speak but Serenity interrupted her. "No, Helena. Please, don't argue with me. If it makes you feel any better, the outer princesses will be joining them soon on Earth."
With that Serenity turned back to the transporter and gave one last final wave. Mina blew a kiss towards her mother while the rest grinned in anticipation.
They had all missed Serena a lot and not having this chance to meet her was a depressing thought. Even the scout training was much more boring without her clumsy attacks and quick humor. The Moon princess was a friend to them all, after all…no, she wasn't just the Moon princess anymore…they were all going to meet the princess of Earth.
