Hi everybody! Chapter four ready for reading! It's been edited by my two
awesome editors, Meg and Erin! They're the greatest. They catch my very
dumb grammatical mistakes. I'm SOOOOOOO sorry about the delay for ch. 6 to
SLAR's! I'm just having a serious case of writer's block! Again SORRY! Well
read away, feel free to review away too! :-)
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~*Recap*~ "Yes death to the witch queen. Her death is key to my victory." The man whispered, a malicious smile coming to his lips. ********************************************************
It had been a week since the celebration feast. Endymion never slept much; spending most of his time with Serenity or working with some of the women in the village, anything to keep his mind from wandering. He had a rather restful slumber the previous night. For once, nightmares of a gruesome death didn't haunt him. As he woke up, his mind slowly began going over every detail from the last week, the best day of his life. The one memory that stuck out over all else was Serenity, in his arms and smiling. Smiling and laughing while he whispered words of endearment. Words he probably would never say to another woman as long as he lived.
He and Serenity had gone out together. Serenity wanted him to see everything the village was. The village, she and her warriors inhabited was quite large. Endymion couldn't, for the life of him, figure out how they managed to squelch all contact with the outside world. Endymion and Serenity didn't talk much, just sat in one another's presence under the thinning moon. It was a comfortable silence, neither really needing to say anything. The only thing Serenity did say to him, Endymion couldn't understand what she meant.
"She will prove what I know. She will prove it to all."
The rest of the night was spent lying in the grass, watching the clouds pass across the moon. So many animals had come out of hiding just to sit near Serenity. Endymion couldn't help but fall deeper and deeper for the lovely vision sitting next to him. Even animals were drawn to her. Sometimes he wondered if the woman even knew what she did to people, mainly him. When the moon started to sink, it was decided that it was a good time to return to the village. Endymion stood up first, extending a hand out to Serenity. She smiled at him, the moon illuminating her features, yet shadowing her eyes. She looked like a mythical nymph, a woman every man desired. A woman so beautiful, even the gods themselves could never say no to her. As Serenity lightly brushed passed him, a thought entered Endymion's head.
That is what Serenity was to him; she was his nymph. The one woman he would never say no to, the one woman he would walk through hell itself to be with. He loved her. With his entire heart and soul, he loved her. And he was scared out of his mind. How could he love her? He has only known her for a week.
"But you have known about her your entire life. You have felt her soul out there, looking, needing the completion only she may provide. Have you not always secretly been looking for your Serenity? Why do you think that myth always caught your attention?" Endymion whipped his head around surveying the location. His eyes wandered to Serenity who was still walking towards the village completely oblivious to the voice carried by the wind. Endymion again turned around. This time though, something held his attention. He squinted his eyes, trying desperately to prove to himself he wasn't crazy. He stumbled backwards.
Eyes as silver as the moonlight were looking at him, eyes that held joy and tranquility in their depths. He blinked rapidly trying to clear his vision, when his eyes once again tried to focus on the silver orbs, they were no longer there. 'What the hell is going on?!' Endymion shook his head a few more times wanting, yet not wanting, those hauntingly beautiful eyes to return.
"Endymion? Are you alright?"
Serenity had come back to him when he hadn't followed her. She had noticed the absence of his presence. Turning around she found him staring intensely into the darkness. Serenity placed her hand on his lower arm, slowly drawing his eyes down to hers. Confusion was written in his eyes, a question only he knew, playing in his head. Then it was gone and Endymion smiled down at her, bringing her hand up to his mouth to place a genteel kiss on her palm. Pleasant chills ran up and down her back and she shivered.
"Cold?" Endymion inquired. Serenity smiled, he alone, was enough to warm her to her very core. She shook her head yes. She took his arm and wrapped it around her waist. Serenity turned her head upwards, wanting to make sure Endymion got the idea. He did. He was practically beaming. She laughed, 'How the heck is his smile THAT wide?' Her laughter stopped however, when Endymion's smile turned to that of a slight frown. His frown got deeper, his face contorting to that of pain. Before Serenity could ask he was on the ground, a blood curdling scream erupting from his mouth. **************************************************************
Rei sat unmoving in front of the roaring fire kept in a sacred hut next to her sleeping quarters. A few nights ago, nightmares of blood, hatred, and the most disturbing, Serenity lying in a pool of blood, haunted her every night her eyes closed. Whether the blood was Serenity's or not Rei did not know, but she was certain she did not want to find out. Rei was very cautious as she made her way towards the sacred fire. Knowing that if any of their warriors saw her, everyone would know immediately something was wrong. Panic would spread quickly, it always did.
Her eyes were shut in concentration, a sheen of perspiration on her forehead; beads of sweating dripping down from her temples. Her head was throbbing, her body felt as though it was being ripped in two. Rei knew she wouldn't be able to withstand the pain for much longer. The vision came swift and quick, slamming into her like a thousand fists; there were so many images. She was having great difficultly sorting through them all. Just when one vision began to clear up another took its place quicker than the blink of an eye.
She felt as if she were going to vomit. It was as though her body were rejecting the images flashing in her mind. Then it happened. Her eyes snapped open, seeing a vision only she could. Rei wanted to scream, she wanted to close her eyes and run far away, but she couldn't. Her body ignored her feeble whimpers of protest at the grotesque picture. Rei fell backwards, the vision finally releasing her from its grasp. She was breathing deeply, taking in as much air as her lungs would allow. Her eyes remained tightly shut, tears already making their trails down her face.
She laid there, her arms and legs sprawled out in every which way. Her now vacant eyes stared up toward the sky, wanting nothing more then to see the moon. It seemed like hours before a scared voice broke through her haze. The voice came from beside her, but she also sensed more than one presence. Slowly, Rei shifted her head to the left, her eyes following suit; the violet hue at last returning to her eyes.
"Mina..?" Her voice was barely audible. If not for the tiny gap between the two, it would have sounded like nothing more than a light breeze.
"I am here. We are all here. Rest peacefully priestess, you are well protected." Rei knew she couldn't argue as she felt, who she assumed to be Lita, hefting her into her protective arms. Her eyes then began to close slowly.
"We should tell Serenity of this." Rei's eyes snapped open. She started flailing her arms out, trying desperately to get out of Lita's strong hold; incomprehensible babble came from Rei's mouth.
"Rei? Rei please rest, we will not allow harm to come to you." Rei could hear the struggle to speak in Lita's voice. She knew she was causing difficulty, but she needed desperately to be free.
"No...danger....captured...please." The exertion just to get those few words out sent her reeling. Her hands went instinctively to her head. The pounding in her head was all consuming, the sweet release of unconscious quickly took her, as she fell limp in Lita's arms.
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Malachite sat, crouched in a brush. He had brought four, including himself, of his best soldiers. Jedite, Kunzite, and Zoicite. They were staking out the territory surrounding the village. If Malachite looked hard enough, he could see outlines of huts. Magician had given him a potion that would disable their shield and leave them totally unaware. But tonight, tonight they would just look, map the most important details.
The potion looked interesting to say the least. It was the darkest of black Malachite had ever seen and yet in the exact center of the darkness, there was a light. A light faintly twinkling to those who saw it, it was mesmerizing. His head tilted slightly to the left, wanting to get a better look. That's when he saw it; a creature clothed in a black robe. Its face was obscured, but it emanated the feeling of pure evil. Its head was bowed as if praying to whatever god it may have, when its head shot up abruptly. In the place of eyes, there were roaring fires in its sockets. A mocking smile appeared on the monster's face, a most hateful one. Blood ran down from the corners of its mouth as the thing reached a skeletal hand out to Malachite.
Malachite gasped falling backwards, dropping the bottle that contained the potion inside and spilling its contents. A dark mist covered the entire area within seconds. A putrid smell entered their noses and lungs. All the men began coughing and wheezing trying to rid themselves of the vile scent. When the air cleared out and the disgusting smell was finally gone, the area they were watching shimmered.
"Quiet!" Malachite demanded in a harsh whisper. Lowering himself further to the ground, he was now lying flat on his stomach, his men followed his lead. Within minutes the entire village they were searching for became visible for all the world to see.
There were women everywhere. Large women, small women, even elderly women. Most of the women were retreating into huts. After about an hour the entire village was empty; all except for a woman who stood between two posts. She held a spear in her hand and what looked to be a rather large sword sheathed on her backside.
Malachite assumed the posts indicated the beginning and ending of the village boundaries. 'Is there always a guard?' His mind was racing. What if there were more women guarding the entrance the night of their attack? How were they to get past the entry without causing a disturbance? Surely they would be noticed.
A loud shriek caused his head to jerk upwards, his eyes searching the sky for the cause. He watched as a hawk soared through the sky, circling them. It almost felt like the bird was counting. It seemed satisfied and flew in the direction of the woman standing at the entryway to the village. The woman held her arm out in front of her offering a place for the hawk to land; the hawk gracefully accepted her arm. Turning its head it stared into her eyes, as if they could speak to one another.
Oddly enough the woman shook her head and the hawk flew away, giving Malachite and his men one last look. Malachite motioned for his men to lower themselves as far down as possible. They all kept their heads down, afraid of being seen. Malachite was hardly breathing. Fear was starting to overtake him. Not fear of being found, but fear of not freeing Endymion. Without Endymion, the city of Terran would fall to whatever barbarian took it once the king was dead.
The woman guard began to walk toward them. He could hear the grass crunching under her weight. He had to do something. They could not be found, for Endymion's sake. Malachite would do anything to get their prince back from the evil witch queen's hold. Whatever torture they were putting him through was going to end soon and Malachite will delight in inflicting a fate worse then death on them all. Unbeknownst to Malachite, a dark mist, the same that had come from the potion, was slowly working its way through his heart, towards his brain.
He heard a twig snap. Faster than lightning Malachite threw out his arm, his hand grabbing on to a shapely leg. As soon as his hand closed, he jerked his arm towards his body. Taking the leg and the body attached to the leg down to the ground with a painful thud. He heard a moan and attacked. Malachite jumped up from his position on the ground with a dagger in his hand catching in the moonlight, the bright reflecting light showing across the woman's eyes. There was no fear in her eyes; she closed her eyes just as Malachite plunged the dagger into her heart and twisted.
Her eye's snapped open, her mouth going wide. She tried to make a sound, but not even a whimper escaped her mouth. Her head fell to the side, blood seeping from her wound. A line of blood had begun to drip from her mouth, as her body went flaccid. Her life was over. Malachite took little satisfaction in her death. He pushed away from the body, standing upright, towering above the now lifeless shell. Giving a grunt of disgust he kicked the once lively body, hard in the side. He smiled when he heard a snap. Malachite cleaned off his dagger on the woman's clothing and turned towards his three most trusted soldiers and friends.
"We must remember. They are merely women. We shall kill them all!"
He turned toward the direction of the campsite and began their trek home his men following in his footsteps. Each soldier gave a quick look at the blood soaked body, all feeling a bit sick. They had to kill women, when all their lives they were taught to protect them.
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Serenity held a still unconscious Endymion in her arms. She was carrying him back to the village and he wasn't as light as he looked. She grunted as she tripped over yet another rock. She quickly got back her balance before she and Endymion went to the ground in a less than pleasant fall. Plus the fact that he kept thrashing in her arms wasn't helping their situation anymore. He kept moaning. A moan that indicated he was in pain, her heart clenched again when she heard his sobs.
Serenity could see the village now. She guessed that they were about fifty yards away. An odd feeling started in her chest, first a dull throb but the pain continued. Knowing what was coming Serenity quickly placed Endymion on the ground, just in time. She felt like a sword was sliding into her ribcage tearing at anything it could. She felt blood oozing from her chest and then she was thrown to the side as she felt a very hard kick to her body. She stayed still, laying on the grass, heaving.
Sitting up, Serenity swiftly scanned the area. Looking for any intruders, satisfied when she found none, she quickly got up. She sucked in a breath when a sharp pain shot through her side. She very gently ran her hand over her side, she was sure it was bruised, at most. She made her way towards Endymion and hefted him once again into her arms. This time going slower than she had intended, she made their way towards the safety of her village.
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"What should we do?" Amy asked the question everyone was thinking.
"I just do not know. We do not even know who or what the threat is!" Serenity threw her arms in the air, exasperated. Just minutes after her and Endymion's arrival the murder of Tienva was reported. That had been two hours ago. The sun was just starting to rise and Serenity hadn't slept at all. Tienva's body would be burned tonight at dusk and her ashes would be given back to the Goddess. But for some of her warriors a proper burial wasn't enough, they wanted justice for their sister's murder. They called it justice, Serenity called it vengeance.
Rei entered the counsel's hut. Only Serenity and her most trusted warriors were inside. She stayed quiet while they argued with each other; some demanded war, while others demanded a more peaceful way of solving the problem. To Rei, every idea or thought would end one way and one way only: with the death of their Queen. She shuddered at the vision that still lingered in her mind like a bad dream.
"Your majesty." Rei went to one knee, bowing to her queen. She rose quickly and began explaining what she could to everyone.
"I consulted the sacred fire today. I had been sensing an evil presence for a bit now and it worried me. When the visions finally came to me they came quickly and irrationally. But one vision was clear, one vision was crystal clear." She paused, taking a deep breath.
"The vision was that of death, blood and hatred mixing. I am not sure if it was our deaths or that of our enemies, but it is still a heady warning of what lies ahead of us." There were collective gasps from the occupants of the hut and an affirmative nod from each of them.
'She's withholding something.' Serenity, Lita, Ami and Mina all thought at once.
"Counsel you are free to leave. Think hard over what decision is to be made, we are treading on dangerous grounds." They all left leaving Serenity and her four best friends alone. Serenity turned her eyes on Rei, a stare that meant only one thing, 'Spill it!' Rei swallowed nervously, the four people she could never lie to were all trying to stare her down. Tears were threatening to burst from her eyes. She dropped her head in defeat.
"He is back."
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Endymion was laying in his bed in his hut, his body drenched with his own perspiration. Nightmares of Serenity being ripped a part by an evil creature kept playing in his head. He couldn't make them stop. He was thrashing in his bed, arms flailing, legs kicking. He was stuck to watch over and over as the woman he loved died before his eyes.
~*It was the same thing. The creature would corner him, drawing forth a sword made of pure darkness and just as it would plunge the sword into his heart Serenity would be there, fighting the evil creature's dark sword with her own sword of light. She was magnificent. Expertly dodging his attacks and managing to plant hard blows toward the creature's body. But her moves were becoming slower, her aim less accurate. Endymion could see many wounds covering her body. Her precious blood was quickly leaving her body; she was being drained of her life.
Endymion made a move to help her when black lightening came down from the sky and struck him. He screamed as he was hurtled backwards, away from Serenity. His scream had caught her attention. She turned, her back to the evil creature, her eyes desperately seeking his own. Their eyes locked, Endymion could see how relieved she was at seeing he was alright. He could even see a smile on her face, but the smile was gone as Endymion watched the evil creature plunge its sword into Serenity's back and saw as the metal ran right through her stomach.
He wanted to vomit, he wanted to scream till his lungs burst, but mostly he wanted to be the one on the end of that sword. Endymion watched as Serenity tried to mouth his name, but only blood came out. Serenity fell to her knees, the sword still protruding from her body. Endymion tried weakly to get up, tried to run to her, but his body was so charred from the lightning he could hardly crawl. Then in horror he watched as the evil creature, was once again standing behind Serenity. A cruel smile appeared on its hideous face as it pulled the sword upwards, cutting through her flesh and bone. The light in Serenity's eyes was fading, she mouthed the words 'I love you,' and fell forward as her life quickly escaped her.
Laughter was coming from the evil creature's mouth. Tears were burning their way down Endymion's face, screams were erupting from his throat as he felt his heart shatter. What was the point in living if your soul mate was dead? The creature was now standing over him, a dagger in its hand. But what it did next surprised Endymion. The creature thrust the handle of the dagger to Endymion, inviting him to take it. Endymion reached a shaky hand out and grasped the handle of the sharp dagger. A voice was whispering in his ear.
"Do it. You want to be with Serenity, do you not? She is waiting for you. You do not want to keep her waiting do you? It will end once you end it." Endymion looked into the creature's eyes and stared for a moment before slowly nodding his head. He pushed himself to his knees, closing his eyes he pictured Serenity, beautiful and brightly shinning. She was smiling at him, her arms outstretched to him, inviting him to join her. Endymion smiled slightly as he plunged the dagger into his heart.*~
Endymion shot up in bed, his mind quickly clearing of the nightmare. His eyes narrowed as realization sunk in. He knew who the evil creature was. Endymion said the creature's name in a dangerous whisper, as if it were a curse.
"Malachite..." ************************************************************** **
Ok chapter 4. Again really sorry about the long wait for SLAR's I PROMISE I will have the next chapter out within a week! If u liked this chapter please tell me! I love hearing from you guys and girls! Thanks again for all your support! Till next time!
~Snowflake~
~*Recap*~ "Yes death to the witch queen. Her death is key to my victory." The man whispered, a malicious smile coming to his lips. ********************************************************
It had been a week since the celebration feast. Endymion never slept much; spending most of his time with Serenity or working with some of the women in the village, anything to keep his mind from wandering. He had a rather restful slumber the previous night. For once, nightmares of a gruesome death didn't haunt him. As he woke up, his mind slowly began going over every detail from the last week, the best day of his life. The one memory that stuck out over all else was Serenity, in his arms and smiling. Smiling and laughing while he whispered words of endearment. Words he probably would never say to another woman as long as he lived.
He and Serenity had gone out together. Serenity wanted him to see everything the village was. The village, she and her warriors inhabited was quite large. Endymion couldn't, for the life of him, figure out how they managed to squelch all contact with the outside world. Endymion and Serenity didn't talk much, just sat in one another's presence under the thinning moon. It was a comfortable silence, neither really needing to say anything. The only thing Serenity did say to him, Endymion couldn't understand what she meant.
"She will prove what I know. She will prove it to all."
The rest of the night was spent lying in the grass, watching the clouds pass across the moon. So many animals had come out of hiding just to sit near Serenity. Endymion couldn't help but fall deeper and deeper for the lovely vision sitting next to him. Even animals were drawn to her. Sometimes he wondered if the woman even knew what she did to people, mainly him. When the moon started to sink, it was decided that it was a good time to return to the village. Endymion stood up first, extending a hand out to Serenity. She smiled at him, the moon illuminating her features, yet shadowing her eyes. She looked like a mythical nymph, a woman every man desired. A woman so beautiful, even the gods themselves could never say no to her. As Serenity lightly brushed passed him, a thought entered Endymion's head.
That is what Serenity was to him; she was his nymph. The one woman he would never say no to, the one woman he would walk through hell itself to be with. He loved her. With his entire heart and soul, he loved her. And he was scared out of his mind. How could he love her? He has only known her for a week.
"But you have known about her your entire life. You have felt her soul out there, looking, needing the completion only she may provide. Have you not always secretly been looking for your Serenity? Why do you think that myth always caught your attention?" Endymion whipped his head around surveying the location. His eyes wandered to Serenity who was still walking towards the village completely oblivious to the voice carried by the wind. Endymion again turned around. This time though, something held his attention. He squinted his eyes, trying desperately to prove to himself he wasn't crazy. He stumbled backwards.
Eyes as silver as the moonlight were looking at him, eyes that held joy and tranquility in their depths. He blinked rapidly trying to clear his vision, when his eyes once again tried to focus on the silver orbs, they were no longer there. 'What the hell is going on?!' Endymion shook his head a few more times wanting, yet not wanting, those hauntingly beautiful eyes to return.
"Endymion? Are you alright?"
Serenity had come back to him when he hadn't followed her. She had noticed the absence of his presence. Turning around she found him staring intensely into the darkness. Serenity placed her hand on his lower arm, slowly drawing his eyes down to hers. Confusion was written in his eyes, a question only he knew, playing in his head. Then it was gone and Endymion smiled down at her, bringing her hand up to his mouth to place a genteel kiss on her palm. Pleasant chills ran up and down her back and she shivered.
"Cold?" Endymion inquired. Serenity smiled, he alone, was enough to warm her to her very core. She shook her head yes. She took his arm and wrapped it around her waist. Serenity turned her head upwards, wanting to make sure Endymion got the idea. He did. He was practically beaming. She laughed, 'How the heck is his smile THAT wide?' Her laughter stopped however, when Endymion's smile turned to that of a slight frown. His frown got deeper, his face contorting to that of pain. Before Serenity could ask he was on the ground, a blood curdling scream erupting from his mouth. **************************************************************
Rei sat unmoving in front of the roaring fire kept in a sacred hut next to her sleeping quarters. A few nights ago, nightmares of blood, hatred, and the most disturbing, Serenity lying in a pool of blood, haunted her every night her eyes closed. Whether the blood was Serenity's or not Rei did not know, but she was certain she did not want to find out. Rei was very cautious as she made her way towards the sacred fire. Knowing that if any of their warriors saw her, everyone would know immediately something was wrong. Panic would spread quickly, it always did.
Her eyes were shut in concentration, a sheen of perspiration on her forehead; beads of sweating dripping down from her temples. Her head was throbbing, her body felt as though it was being ripped in two. Rei knew she wouldn't be able to withstand the pain for much longer. The vision came swift and quick, slamming into her like a thousand fists; there were so many images. She was having great difficultly sorting through them all. Just when one vision began to clear up another took its place quicker than the blink of an eye.
She felt as if she were going to vomit. It was as though her body were rejecting the images flashing in her mind. Then it happened. Her eyes snapped open, seeing a vision only she could. Rei wanted to scream, she wanted to close her eyes and run far away, but she couldn't. Her body ignored her feeble whimpers of protest at the grotesque picture. Rei fell backwards, the vision finally releasing her from its grasp. She was breathing deeply, taking in as much air as her lungs would allow. Her eyes remained tightly shut, tears already making their trails down her face.
She laid there, her arms and legs sprawled out in every which way. Her now vacant eyes stared up toward the sky, wanting nothing more then to see the moon. It seemed like hours before a scared voice broke through her haze. The voice came from beside her, but she also sensed more than one presence. Slowly, Rei shifted her head to the left, her eyes following suit; the violet hue at last returning to her eyes.
"Mina..?" Her voice was barely audible. If not for the tiny gap between the two, it would have sounded like nothing more than a light breeze.
"I am here. We are all here. Rest peacefully priestess, you are well protected." Rei knew she couldn't argue as she felt, who she assumed to be Lita, hefting her into her protective arms. Her eyes then began to close slowly.
"We should tell Serenity of this." Rei's eyes snapped open. She started flailing her arms out, trying desperately to get out of Lita's strong hold; incomprehensible babble came from Rei's mouth.
"Rei? Rei please rest, we will not allow harm to come to you." Rei could hear the struggle to speak in Lita's voice. She knew she was causing difficulty, but she needed desperately to be free.
"No...danger....captured...please." The exertion just to get those few words out sent her reeling. Her hands went instinctively to her head. The pounding in her head was all consuming, the sweet release of unconscious quickly took her, as she fell limp in Lita's arms.
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Malachite sat, crouched in a brush. He had brought four, including himself, of his best soldiers. Jedite, Kunzite, and Zoicite. They were staking out the territory surrounding the village. If Malachite looked hard enough, he could see outlines of huts. Magician had given him a potion that would disable their shield and leave them totally unaware. But tonight, tonight they would just look, map the most important details.
The potion looked interesting to say the least. It was the darkest of black Malachite had ever seen and yet in the exact center of the darkness, there was a light. A light faintly twinkling to those who saw it, it was mesmerizing. His head tilted slightly to the left, wanting to get a better look. That's when he saw it; a creature clothed in a black robe. Its face was obscured, but it emanated the feeling of pure evil. Its head was bowed as if praying to whatever god it may have, when its head shot up abruptly. In the place of eyes, there were roaring fires in its sockets. A mocking smile appeared on the monster's face, a most hateful one. Blood ran down from the corners of its mouth as the thing reached a skeletal hand out to Malachite.
Malachite gasped falling backwards, dropping the bottle that contained the potion inside and spilling its contents. A dark mist covered the entire area within seconds. A putrid smell entered their noses and lungs. All the men began coughing and wheezing trying to rid themselves of the vile scent. When the air cleared out and the disgusting smell was finally gone, the area they were watching shimmered.
"Quiet!" Malachite demanded in a harsh whisper. Lowering himself further to the ground, he was now lying flat on his stomach, his men followed his lead. Within minutes the entire village they were searching for became visible for all the world to see.
There were women everywhere. Large women, small women, even elderly women. Most of the women were retreating into huts. After about an hour the entire village was empty; all except for a woman who stood between two posts. She held a spear in her hand and what looked to be a rather large sword sheathed on her backside.
Malachite assumed the posts indicated the beginning and ending of the village boundaries. 'Is there always a guard?' His mind was racing. What if there were more women guarding the entrance the night of their attack? How were they to get past the entry without causing a disturbance? Surely they would be noticed.
A loud shriek caused his head to jerk upwards, his eyes searching the sky for the cause. He watched as a hawk soared through the sky, circling them. It almost felt like the bird was counting. It seemed satisfied and flew in the direction of the woman standing at the entryway to the village. The woman held her arm out in front of her offering a place for the hawk to land; the hawk gracefully accepted her arm. Turning its head it stared into her eyes, as if they could speak to one another.
Oddly enough the woman shook her head and the hawk flew away, giving Malachite and his men one last look. Malachite motioned for his men to lower themselves as far down as possible. They all kept their heads down, afraid of being seen. Malachite was hardly breathing. Fear was starting to overtake him. Not fear of being found, but fear of not freeing Endymion. Without Endymion, the city of Terran would fall to whatever barbarian took it once the king was dead.
The woman guard began to walk toward them. He could hear the grass crunching under her weight. He had to do something. They could not be found, for Endymion's sake. Malachite would do anything to get their prince back from the evil witch queen's hold. Whatever torture they were putting him through was going to end soon and Malachite will delight in inflicting a fate worse then death on them all. Unbeknownst to Malachite, a dark mist, the same that had come from the potion, was slowly working its way through his heart, towards his brain.
He heard a twig snap. Faster than lightning Malachite threw out his arm, his hand grabbing on to a shapely leg. As soon as his hand closed, he jerked his arm towards his body. Taking the leg and the body attached to the leg down to the ground with a painful thud. He heard a moan and attacked. Malachite jumped up from his position on the ground with a dagger in his hand catching in the moonlight, the bright reflecting light showing across the woman's eyes. There was no fear in her eyes; she closed her eyes just as Malachite plunged the dagger into her heart and twisted.
Her eye's snapped open, her mouth going wide. She tried to make a sound, but not even a whimper escaped her mouth. Her head fell to the side, blood seeping from her wound. A line of blood had begun to drip from her mouth, as her body went flaccid. Her life was over. Malachite took little satisfaction in her death. He pushed away from the body, standing upright, towering above the now lifeless shell. Giving a grunt of disgust he kicked the once lively body, hard in the side. He smiled when he heard a snap. Malachite cleaned off his dagger on the woman's clothing and turned towards his three most trusted soldiers and friends.
"We must remember. They are merely women. We shall kill them all!"
He turned toward the direction of the campsite and began their trek home his men following in his footsteps. Each soldier gave a quick look at the blood soaked body, all feeling a bit sick. They had to kill women, when all their lives they were taught to protect them.
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Serenity held a still unconscious Endymion in her arms. She was carrying him back to the village and he wasn't as light as he looked. She grunted as she tripped over yet another rock. She quickly got back her balance before she and Endymion went to the ground in a less than pleasant fall. Plus the fact that he kept thrashing in her arms wasn't helping their situation anymore. He kept moaning. A moan that indicated he was in pain, her heart clenched again when she heard his sobs.
Serenity could see the village now. She guessed that they were about fifty yards away. An odd feeling started in her chest, first a dull throb but the pain continued. Knowing what was coming Serenity quickly placed Endymion on the ground, just in time. She felt like a sword was sliding into her ribcage tearing at anything it could. She felt blood oozing from her chest and then she was thrown to the side as she felt a very hard kick to her body. She stayed still, laying on the grass, heaving.
Sitting up, Serenity swiftly scanned the area. Looking for any intruders, satisfied when she found none, she quickly got up. She sucked in a breath when a sharp pain shot through her side. She very gently ran her hand over her side, she was sure it was bruised, at most. She made her way towards Endymion and hefted him once again into her arms. This time going slower than she had intended, she made their way towards the safety of her village.
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"What should we do?" Amy asked the question everyone was thinking.
"I just do not know. We do not even know who or what the threat is!" Serenity threw her arms in the air, exasperated. Just minutes after her and Endymion's arrival the murder of Tienva was reported. That had been two hours ago. The sun was just starting to rise and Serenity hadn't slept at all. Tienva's body would be burned tonight at dusk and her ashes would be given back to the Goddess. But for some of her warriors a proper burial wasn't enough, they wanted justice for their sister's murder. They called it justice, Serenity called it vengeance.
Rei entered the counsel's hut. Only Serenity and her most trusted warriors were inside. She stayed quiet while they argued with each other; some demanded war, while others demanded a more peaceful way of solving the problem. To Rei, every idea or thought would end one way and one way only: with the death of their Queen. She shuddered at the vision that still lingered in her mind like a bad dream.
"Your majesty." Rei went to one knee, bowing to her queen. She rose quickly and began explaining what she could to everyone.
"I consulted the sacred fire today. I had been sensing an evil presence for a bit now and it worried me. When the visions finally came to me they came quickly and irrationally. But one vision was clear, one vision was crystal clear." She paused, taking a deep breath.
"The vision was that of death, blood and hatred mixing. I am not sure if it was our deaths or that of our enemies, but it is still a heady warning of what lies ahead of us." There were collective gasps from the occupants of the hut and an affirmative nod from each of them.
'She's withholding something.' Serenity, Lita, Ami and Mina all thought at once.
"Counsel you are free to leave. Think hard over what decision is to be made, we are treading on dangerous grounds." They all left leaving Serenity and her four best friends alone. Serenity turned her eyes on Rei, a stare that meant only one thing, 'Spill it!' Rei swallowed nervously, the four people she could never lie to were all trying to stare her down. Tears were threatening to burst from her eyes. She dropped her head in defeat.
"He is back."
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Endymion was laying in his bed in his hut, his body drenched with his own perspiration. Nightmares of Serenity being ripped a part by an evil creature kept playing in his head. He couldn't make them stop. He was thrashing in his bed, arms flailing, legs kicking. He was stuck to watch over and over as the woman he loved died before his eyes.
~*It was the same thing. The creature would corner him, drawing forth a sword made of pure darkness and just as it would plunge the sword into his heart Serenity would be there, fighting the evil creature's dark sword with her own sword of light. She was magnificent. Expertly dodging his attacks and managing to plant hard blows toward the creature's body. But her moves were becoming slower, her aim less accurate. Endymion could see many wounds covering her body. Her precious blood was quickly leaving her body; she was being drained of her life.
Endymion made a move to help her when black lightening came down from the sky and struck him. He screamed as he was hurtled backwards, away from Serenity. His scream had caught her attention. She turned, her back to the evil creature, her eyes desperately seeking his own. Their eyes locked, Endymion could see how relieved she was at seeing he was alright. He could even see a smile on her face, but the smile was gone as Endymion watched the evil creature plunge its sword into Serenity's back and saw as the metal ran right through her stomach.
He wanted to vomit, he wanted to scream till his lungs burst, but mostly he wanted to be the one on the end of that sword. Endymion watched as Serenity tried to mouth his name, but only blood came out. Serenity fell to her knees, the sword still protruding from her body. Endymion tried weakly to get up, tried to run to her, but his body was so charred from the lightning he could hardly crawl. Then in horror he watched as the evil creature, was once again standing behind Serenity. A cruel smile appeared on its hideous face as it pulled the sword upwards, cutting through her flesh and bone. The light in Serenity's eyes was fading, she mouthed the words 'I love you,' and fell forward as her life quickly escaped her.
Laughter was coming from the evil creature's mouth. Tears were burning their way down Endymion's face, screams were erupting from his throat as he felt his heart shatter. What was the point in living if your soul mate was dead? The creature was now standing over him, a dagger in its hand. But what it did next surprised Endymion. The creature thrust the handle of the dagger to Endymion, inviting him to take it. Endymion reached a shaky hand out and grasped the handle of the sharp dagger. A voice was whispering in his ear.
"Do it. You want to be with Serenity, do you not? She is waiting for you. You do not want to keep her waiting do you? It will end once you end it." Endymion looked into the creature's eyes and stared for a moment before slowly nodding his head. He pushed himself to his knees, closing his eyes he pictured Serenity, beautiful and brightly shinning. She was smiling at him, her arms outstretched to him, inviting him to join her. Endymion smiled slightly as he plunged the dagger into his heart.*~
Endymion shot up in bed, his mind quickly clearing of the nightmare. His eyes narrowed as realization sunk in. He knew who the evil creature was. Endymion said the creature's name in a dangerous whisper, as if it were a curse.
"Malachite..." ************************************************************** **
Ok chapter 4. Again really sorry about the long wait for SLAR's I PROMISE I will have the next chapter out within a week! If u liked this chapter please tell me! I love hearing from you guys and girls! Thanks again for all your support! Till next time!
~Snowflake~