Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. But then again, neither do you. _;; Or do you?

Title: Love Isn't Always Deadly

Author: baby bunnie

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Romance/Horror

Episode 4: Trip to the Past

Let's recap a bit:

There was a scream as she rushed through the double doors. Her eyes widened. He was going to attack. "Darien," Amy tried to keep her voice calm. "Stop."

Darien suddenly relaxed his body, eyes glazing over, but in their normal color; he rocked back and forth on his heels, as if in a daze. Amy let out a breath. Walking over to him, she put a hand on his shoulder, deliberately avoiding Serena's eyes.

"My Lord, Artemis and Luna would like to meet you behind the stables." She said smoothly.

"Tell them to hold." He replied, voice toneless.

"But my Lord…" She pressed.

"Amy," He paused. His eyes were clear now, the confusion and mists were gone. He was straightening up and his aura of command was once again enveloping him. "You may go." He turned his head slightly in her direction, though keeping his eyes on Serena.

Amy cursed silently, as she was hoping to have a word with Serena. Who knew he would recover so quickly? Gritting her teeth, Amy nodded stiffly and turned, slowly heading towards the door as if hoping to catch some part of the couple's conversation. No such luck, for deep inside her, Amy knew that Darien is waiting for her to exit the room. She sighed inwardly as the door shut firmly behind her.

~

"Serena…." Darien started.

Serena shook her head in fear, taking a step back.

"Serena, please, it's not what it seems!" He pleaded.

"Look, if Amy hadn't come in…" She trailed off.

"No… It's not what it seems! This is all Endymion's doing!" He blurted.

"What?" Serena was confused. This isn't right. He's probably crazy from all of that… She frowned inwardly. "What are you talking about? You're Endymion… right?"

"No… I'm not really him. We're two different souls sharing the same body. I… this is a long story Serena." Darien took a step forward.

Serena pretended not to notice. "I have time." She said, voice toneless.

"I don't think you're ready yet Serena…"

"Try me." Serena lifted her head as if daring him to.

Darien cocked an eyebrow in spite of himself. He grinned inwardly. Still stubborn eh, Princess? Sitting down on the four-poster canopy bed, he looked out the window and felt himself drifting off with the gentle breeze that was brewing outside.

"You're the same as I am… two different souls sharing the same body." He continued, not giving Serena a chance to say anything. "Let's talk about the past. It started when I, well, Endymion met you…" Darien looked around, fidgeting. "Maybe a trip back would be easier?" He looked at Serena.

"A trip back…?" She echoed.

"Yes, my mother was a witch. That's why I have these… Powers." He smiled gently. "It won't hurt." He added.

Serena smiled nervously. "Sure, if it'll help. But what is this? A trip back in time?"

"Something like that...." Darien pulled her up and held her close. "Just relax…" He whispered in her hair.

Serena nodded, semi-conscious. He was close, so close she could catch his scent, a faint whiff of roses. Clinging onto his shirt helplessly, Serena hoped in the back of her mind that he wouldn't take advantage of her current position. The world blurred as another world appeared in front of her. She was standing on a rough concrete floor in some sort of a shop. There was a young girl sitting on a rotting wooden stool. She looked to be sixteen or so.

The resemblance between Serena and the young girl was uncanny; they had the same eyebrows that arched beautifully over sky-blue eyes, and long blonde hair put up in two balls on either side of the head with the excess trailing down. Except this girl had hair that reached the floor, while Serena's was a tad bit shorter. They had the same button nose and full pink lips, along with a slim figure that complimented the Goddess Selene herself. "That's…" Serena whispered, half-awed.

"Serenity." Darien said, pain evident in his voice.

It had been a tiring day for Serenity; she had been embroidering the hem of a wedding dress all day. Her parents, well foster parents actually, owned the Fabric Shop. They had had an order from one of the Elders, saying that they needed a dress for his great granddaughter's wedding.

The dress was beautiful, smooth and flowing and pure white. Small, delicate dried flowers were carefully sewn onto the hem of the dress, and 3 layers of skirts were attached last minute on the inside. It had taken 3 weeks, even with the combined efforts of Serenity and her mother. The veil could almost been said as transparent, for it had been sewn with the thinnest of fabrics and attached to a crown of dried flowers to place on the bride's head.

Serenity loved modelling the hundred of dresses that had been ordered while her mother sewed and corrected them, in hopes of making it more beautiful than it usually already is. Her father, however, had to model the men's suits, and always joked about how modelling was for women.

Serenity's real parents had died when she was a baby; it was what she had been told. Her foster parents took her in, and taught her the art of sewing.

She sighed as she laid on her mattress. She was sixteen now, and was turning seventeen in a month. The suitors were already filing in her house. She refused to see any of them, but even so, she knew that if she didn't make a decision soon, the Elders would pick someone for her, and that would be it. It was a Silver's truth.

Silver… Serenity lived in the Silver Millennium, where everything flourished. There had once been a Queen, she was told, and the Queen died protecting her daughter, the Princess. But, it was said, that the Princess had disappeared to begin life anew. There were times when Serenity hoped she was that Princess, and she wondered where she would be.

A bell rang in the front of the store, indicating that someone had entered the shop.

"Serenity! Could you get that please?" A feminine voice sounded from her mother's room. Grumbling incoherently to herself, she pulled open the door that led to the family's chambers and stumbled out groggily without so much as a glance at the customer. She heard a chuckle and snapped her head up, ready to leash out at whoever laughed at her. Her voice froze in her throat as she stared at the man standing before her, unconsciously drinking his looks. Locks of tousled ebony mane with dark azure eyes and a perfect body to match. She was ready to swoon and faint at his feet. Then, maybe he would catch her and they would fall in love, and he would take her somewhere where no one else can find and they would live happily ever after.

Serenity shook her head furiously as she snapped out of her daze. How stupid of her to think of such a thing, it would never happen, and she would just drown in her own fantasies.

"Excuse me Miss…" The deep, rich voice once again filled her ears. Throwing back her shoulders, Serenity straightened and looked him in the eye.

"May I help you sir?" Serenity noticed that he was staring at her, almost… ? That's crazy! She scolded herself, but couldn't help wondering about the fact that every man she met had looked at her hungrily, as if they couldn't wait to get a hold of her. Holding her head up high, she sniffed the air once and glared at him. "Sir." She said again. The man seemed to snap out of his daze as he broke eye contact with her. He grinned lopsidedly and stroked her cheek. "I need a little something… " He drawled.

Serenity was taken aback by his actions. How dare he touch her like that?! For as long as she remembered, Serenity had never allowed any man to touch her, especially not like that. But surprisingly, she made no attempt to stop him. Something inside her made her smile, amazing herself. "Anything you want Sir." What was wrong with her? Since when had she acted this way towards a man?

He smiled lazily at her. "I need that bit of navy blue silk over there and the blood-red one. I want it made into a cape. I'll be back in two weeks to get it. Is that enough time?"

Serenity gave a start. What was with this man? First he had laughed at her, then he flirted with her, and now he's getting into which cloth pieces he needed for a clothe. Her business sense came flooding back at her. Two weeks for a cape…

"May I see your modelling sheet?" At the blank look on his face, she sighed exasperatedly. "Surely you've gone to Conner's Modelling Shop? Without a sheet, we cannot make anything for you. We need the lengths and… " She paused, searching for the right word but gave up. "And things…" She shrugged.

"Miss…" He began.

"Sir, this is a Fabric shop, not the Tailor's. We only do orders if we have a modelling sheet, unlike Jerry's. He's the tailor." She said firmly.

The man cocked an eyebrow. "It's just a little cape, my size, blue out, red in. Is that so hard now?" He stared at her intently.

Serenity felt the world dissolving around her as her thoughts singled on one thing. Accomplishing her task. There was only Him. She was his, she was to do what he says, she was to obey his every intention, and he was to change her life…?! She snapped back to reality, eyes wide as she stared at the man. He too had a shocked look on his face.

Frowning, Serenity figured she had been daydreaming again and smiled stiffly at the man. "Sir, please. If you want your cape made, you need a modelling sheet."

"Right… listen, I'd really appreciate if you would do me this favor… please." He was staring at her again.

Serenity blinked. "Right, sure." She smiled brightly at him and turned away. "Two weeks from today." She said in a singsong voice as she moved towards the fabrics.

The man sighed. "Okay." The bell rang again and he was gone.

~

Endymion stumbled through the crowd that seemed to be rushing at him. Tripping his way towards the woods on the edge of the village, he collapsed under an oak tree, panting. The girl had been hard to control, harder than most humans usually were. They were right, she was strong in telepathy.

The girl was strong, stronger than he had expected, to be able to go around his Mind Control. It wasn't impossible, but it was impossible for his victims to be able to see his thoughts instead, and unknowingly too. He was tired, it took more than half of his energy to hold her for just a second. The things he'd go through for a possible Merger.

It had been said in the World Beyond that this girl was the strongest one in her County to be a Merger, the only one worthy of exchanging blood with a vampire. It was, of course, the Dark Lord's job to draw blood from the victim, also to give. Endymion chuckled bitterly. He had gone through so many Mergers, and some girls were almost goddess-like, with pale glowing skin and delicate china faces. But he had no intention of truly taking them. They were worthless, useful for nothing except to be an assistant or servant in the Night Palace, or to some of the Elders, if they were good.

It was almost ironic in Endymion's opinion. The new would-be Merger wasn't any different from the others, but he liked her. Perhaps it's just her spirit… she is stubborn. He mused. But a nagging feeling inside him told him it wasn't so.

The air is rough today… soon… soon… Endymion thought as he closed his eyes, facing the sky. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, quickly picking up speed.

Fall… Winter… the Solstice. That was when the ceremony would happen. He only had so much time.

He snapped his eyes open, concentrating on the tree trunk he was leaning on. Slowly, like a picture in a book, a black mist formed, creating a black hole. Endymion gathered his energy and stood up, holding out a shaky hand. After looking around and making sure he was doing this inconspicuously, he stepped into the portal as the sky dimmed slightly before recovering its normal color.

Fall… Winter… Solstice.

~

Serena frowned at the sight of the ragged-looking Endymion. "What was that all about?"

Darien smiled a small smile. "Endymion used his powers on Serenity. You were always strong in telepathy Princess… and if I recall correctly, you heard my thoughts… without knowing it." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. "I love you."

Serena froze at the three simple words as the world swirled again and slowly cleared. They were at the Fabric Shop again, and Serenity was once again sitting the stool from before as she attached the small straw beads delicately on a pale, pink dress.

~

The small, bronze bell tinkled as Serenity looked up. She frowned as a familiar scent surrounded her and put down her threads. Rubbing her eyes tiresomely, she focused on the customer. Cobalt blue eyes peered into hers, startling her into jumping up and knocking over her stool.

A rich chuckle emitted from his throat. "I'm here to pick up my order Miss…" He trailed off.

"Um… yeah. Your order…?" Serenity stammered.

"The cape." He said.

"Cape?" Serenity leafed through her sheets of orders. "Sir, there was no order for a cape." She finally concluded and looked up, peering into his eyes curiously. He stared back with a resolute expression on his face. "Cape… right." Serenity smiled nervously. "I remember. I'm quite sorry sir, I don't know what's with me today." Retreating to the back room, Serenity grabbed a bundle of red and navy and stumbled back through the door. "Here it is sir." She held it out to him and watched as he examined the final product. Flinging it out, he traced a finger over the carefully embroidered details and nodded to himself.

"Good." He said and folded it back up.

Serenity smiled happily. "Thank you very much sir."

"Did you make this yourself?" He asked.

"Yes." She bit her lip nervously. Why was he asking so many questions?

"Very good…" He murmured. Serenity felt the heat rising to her cheeks. "What is your name?"

"Oh!" Serenity started. Well… it's not like he's the only one who asked that. She mused silently, a foolish grin on her face.

"What's so funny?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"Nothing…" She snickered. "My name is Connie." She lied.

A smile tugged playfully at the man's lips. "Oh? What's your real name?"

Serenity's eyes widened. How could he have known she was lying? Was she that obvious? No… it couldn't be. She's lied about her name more than once to foreigners and they always believed her.

"No… you weren't that obvious Serenity." He grinned.

Serenity gaped. "Excuse me?" She stammered.

"Don't look so surprised, baby…" He leaned forward slowly without waiting for her reaction.

Serenity snapped. "HOW DARE YOU!" She screamed and picked up a roll of fabric, throwing it at him. The man caught the roll easily and grinned again.

"C'mon. You can do better than that." He coaxed.

She frowned. "Who are you? No… better yet, WHAT are you? You're definitely not normal, nor have I seen you around before." She crossed her arms and looked him angrily. She had never in her life yelled at a customer before, but this is ridiculous. There are men who are interested in her, but none had ever dared to do… this!

"Do you need to know that princess?" He paused, thinking. "Ah… no matter, you'll find out soon, perhaps the hard way if you don't co-operate." He winked at her and turned around.

"Argh!" Serenity groaned and grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be the wooden stick that supported the rolls of fabric. Heaving it up, she threw the stick as hard as she could without looking at where she was aiming.

Endymion sensed something wrong as he whipped around at the last minute. The stick came flying at him as he tried to dodge it. It cut him on the shoulder, leaving a deep gash as he threw himself to the ground. He hissed as a burning sensation ran from his shoulder to hand, instantly leaving his whole arm numb. Clutching his injured arm, he staggered up and tried to make it to the door. The world blurred. Endymion could only hear a faint buzzing before the floor disappeared underneath him, and then, then he was falling… falling into an endless pit….

"… kill…" And then, his voice left him too.

~

Serena gasped as she watched Endymion collapse. Latching onto Darien's arm, she gestured frantically "Darien! We've got to do something!"

Darien smiled at the lithe figure clinging to him. "Oh… but you see… you already have." He looked up at the scene once again and cocked his head slightly.

~

Serenity watched in horror as the man fell. And to think she forgot to ask him for his name… who cares about his stupid name?! Damn you! Serenity cursed as she ran towards the fallen figure. Trying her best not to look at the blood that was steadily dying his shirt red, she tentatively poked at his chest. Oh goddess… he's DEAD! Or at least he's going to be… Serenity almost shrieked out loud. Hesitating, she pulled up his arms and started dragging him towards the back room. He was too heavy and wouldn't budge. Sighing audibly, she carefully pushed him up to a sitting position and put his arm around her neck. He was cold… that's a bad sign. She grunted as she finally lifted the man up and half-dragged him to the back room.

~

It was so dark… and silent… no sounds at all, so hushed it was deafening. Endymion was used to the darkness. He was, after all, the Dark Lord. But this was ridiculous… he was falling again, into an endless pit… there was no bottom and Death wasn't waiting if there was an end.

Wait… Death's not waiting…?

A soft whiteness was spreading, penetrating the darkness as easily as a fox with a rabbit. He could see now, as the white and black spots that were dancing in front of his eyes disappeared and formed objects. He was staring at a ceiling, lined with dirt and brown smudges. What a filthy place… He thought unconsciously. He was in a bed, wait… a… bed?! Flashbacks of what had happened were flowing back; pain… was that it?

Endymion cocked his head to one side slowly, letting his eyes settle on a door several meters away. The walls around the room were grayish white and the paint was slowly peeling off. He suspected that they were once glistening white in all its glory, but now…

The door opened and someone walked in, trying to balance a metal tray on one hand and a bundle of sheets under the other. Hastily she put the tray down at a small table filled with cloth pieces and grabbed the sheets under her arm. Rolling it out in mid-air, she walked towards Endymion's bed, not noticing that he was fully awake and eyeing her movements. He grinned to himself and moved slowly up to a sitting position, ignoring the stabbing pain at his shoulder joint. She was beside her now, eyes on the thick sheets she was putting over his current ones. Blue eyes travelled up and stopped when they met his. They widened to an extent and there was a yelp. She jumped back, grabbing the clean sheets with her, which resulted in the girl tripping and landing… in Endymion's arms.

Like all vampires, he was fast, faster than a normal human, and normally, he wouldn't go through such tactics to save a human from getting cold bottoms. Instinct did this, and he jumped out before he could stop himself. Blue clashed with blue for the third time that day and neither of them bothered to move.

Serenity felt herself falling as she braced for the cold cement floor. Stupid freaky person…Her last thought was. The coldness never came; instead she felt warms arms enveloping her body at the last moment. Her head snapped up when she counted the possibilities of what just happened. By the daughter of Selene…! The single thought echoed through her mind as his blue eyes hypnotised her. Damn you… Her thought weakened as her eyes drooped. He was so close… she could feel his breath on her cheeks. Her eyes closed. Their lips touched.

Fire enveloped the young girl and she gasped. Her lips were tingling from the mere touch of a kiss and she was almost too certain that her cheeks were flushed bright red. Pushing her savior away from her, Serenity leapt up and staggered away from him. She noticed for the first time that he didn't get up like he always did, but was crouching in a twisted position, one hand on the floor and the other holding his left arm so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"SELENE!" She shrieked and rushed towards him, grabbing his waist and pulling him up roughly. Endymion yelled in pain.

"Is this how you treat your damn patients?!" He yelped.

"What?!" Serenity was fuming. As if it wasn't enough that he got a kiss out of her… now this! "Are you crazy or just damn stupid? What the hell do you think I'm doing this for? And it was just a wooden stick… You're so weak, a stick can make you faint." She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

He cocked an eyebrow despite the stabbing pain in his shoulder as the curious expression slowly changed into a frown. "Right… you don't know anything kid, so stay off this."

Serenity snorted, all lady-like manners taught to her by her mother forgotten. "If I'm a kid, what are you? Thousand years old?"

He was grinning stupidly now. Serenity frowned. What was up with this man? "What?" She asked, annoyed.

"Nothing… there's too much in the world that you don't know about, so be careful." He was eyeing her in an almost curious way.

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Look. My parents have no idea that you're in my room, so you stay here until your stupid arm heals. Then, leave. And don't come back." She glared at him one last time before getting up and leaving the room.

~

Serena looked upon the scene as a frown marred her features. Strange… I thought Serenity loved Endymion…? That thought swirled around in her mind until she felt annoyed. "Darien. I want to leave. Now."

Darien stared at her before grabbing her wrist roughly. "But you haven't even seen what else happened." He flung her around to face him as Serena gaped at his actions. The world swirled once again and Serena closed her eyes.

This time, Endymion was walking out the front door of the fabric shop as Serenity stared at his back. Only after a full minute of his departure did she snap and shake her head roughly and pick up the rolls of newly shipped fabric resting on a table beside her.

"You see? I left you there." Darien murmured wistfully. The scene nagged at the back of Serena's mind as something inside her churned. Something's wrong… things are changing… I'm not just…

Me.

The picture swirled once more and another scene appeared. It was of Serenity, surrounded by trees. A lot of trees.

~

Serenity clambered up the hill slowly, a straw basket in one hand. "Hm… " She muttered as she stopped by an old, rotting tree. "Madder for red, Geranium for green, Sumac for yellow, Camomile for brown, Nettle for black, Mistletoe for white, Yarrow for orange, Lemon balm for silver, Willow for purple, and Lavender for blue." She recited solemnly. It was something she had learned since her Tyke ages. It was a Silver Truth. The madder plant is for the color red, and geranium is for green. Often, she would run errands like the one today for a few Bronzes. After all, it had taken her awhile to save up the amount of Bronzes she has now, and now and then she would get a Silver. It was rare though; Silvers were worth a lot, and only the rich had roomfuls of them. Serenity has only one, and she doubt her parents have more then a couple hundred. Serenity shook her head and scowled. Her concentration on the right plants for the right color of dye was dwindling.

A movement somewhere behind her caught her eye and she whipped around. "Yarrow!" She laughed happily and started climbing up the steep hills where the plant was. The gentle breeze was picking up, caressing Serenity's hair. Carefully using a Digger, she dug in the soil surrounding the plant before pulling it out, roots and all. She brushed the dirt and dust away from the leaves and roots and put it in her basket beside an assortment of Madder and Sumac and many other plants used for dyeing. Hitching the basket firmly over her arm, she slid down the dirt path and stood up, laughing at how dirty she got.

A deep chuckle came from behind her and Serenity gasped, whipping around in frenzy. Her blue eyes widened and she pointed a finger at the man angrily. "You!"

He grabbed her finger and leaned close, hot breath brushing her face. "What about me?" He whispered in her ear.

Serenity froze. She wasn't falling for this again. Grinning to herself, she wrenched her finger away from his hand and planted her hands firmly on his chest, gathered herself, and pushed him back. She laughed as she watched the man's face change into a look of surprise before stumbling back and almost tripping. Picking up her fallen basket, she gathered the plants nonchalantly and turned around to walk away.

"Wait!" She heard him shout and felt him grab her wrist, spinning her lithe figure around. Serenity gasped in surprise as she tripped over herself, landing in his arms. She wriggled around, trying to free herself from his firm grasp. He was talking to her now. "What's your name?"

"What does that have to do with you?" She cried angrily. "And let go of me!"

He was frowning slightly. "Not until you tell me your name."

"I already told you the other day!" Serenity was getting frustrated with this man.

"You were lying." He replied quietly.

"I was..." Serenity crossed her arms. "Besides… you already know, don't you?" She quieted down and looked at him.

He smiled. "Yes." He was saying. "I do."

"I don't know your name." Serenity said.

"Endymion. It's Endymion." He looked away.

There was a moment of silence. Serenity felt Endymion tightening his hold on her before soft lips touched hers.

~

Well… there's another episode. Hope you liked it. I have decided to open up my Mailing List for this story. So if you want to be told when I update, please leave your email when you review and say that you want to join. Thanks for reading! Please leave some comments or suggestions. Thank you. ~ Dani