I have finished! Quite a feat if I do say so myself. I dropped this story for a long while
before I got motivated to write the next chapter. I've been fiddling around with another
story I wrote a while back, but I'm not sure I want to share it yet as I really have no idea
where I'm going with it. Hmm... but then that's nothing new to me, since I am a sort of a
haphazard writer.
A review alerted me to the fact that I keep switching Shingo's name around and accidentally
calling him Sammy. I apologize if this has created confusion for any of you. I need to get
around to fixing that, but I seem to have lost a lot of the back up files to some of the older
chapters when I switched from my old computer to my new one.
Well, as always I really appreciate your reviews. I depend on reviews for motivation and I
only need a few more until I reach 100!
Chapter 7
Still reeling from his reaction, Usagi realized that she had some questions of her own.
"Did you kill my brother?" The softly spoken words seemed to hit him like a knife. In
that moment Usagi's carefully constructed lines between reality and fiction blurred. It
ceased to matter that she was not Serenity, that the boy she could clearly remember dying in
her arms could have been an apparition. Her entire being became centered on one thing,
Endymion. Her gaze narrowed in on him and the outside world faded away to
insignificance as she watched him struggle with her accusation.
She did not completely trust him. Usagi's sharp intake of air marked her insight. She
might be infatuated with him and she might even possibly love him, but she didn't know
him. She didn't know his favorite food was, where he had grown up, or even the names of
his parents. She didn't know what type of relationship he'd had with Serenity. Usagi had
always believed that love was something built over time, carefully nurtured, based on trust
and understanding. How could she love Endymion if she didn't understand him? How
could she love him if she didn't trust him? Was the anxious fluttering in her stomach she
felt every time she saw him something that would fade over time? She didn't know.
Her eyes blurred for a second and she bit her lip. Endymion glanced up sharply. "It was
my fault." He sounded choked, and sorrowful.
Usagi's world crumbled. She looked at him dully. How could she have completely
misjudged him? Had his beautiful form blinded her to his faults? She felt crushed. She
turned away from him, only to find that he had grabbed her arm. She inclined her head and
waited for him to continue. There was an explanation due in this.
"I saw him do it, but I couldn't stop him." He was looking at her intently trying to gauge
her reaction.
"Saw who, do what?" Usagi was getting impatient. He was taking forever to spit it out.
"Diamond! Don't you understand? That's why you've been having these dreams. He
works like that. He gets that creepy friend of his to burrow in your mind and spread lies."
Usagi frowned thoughtfully. "So you're saying that Diamond killed my brother and is
making me relieve it my mind? But wait..." Usagi was abruptly struck with a discerning
thought. "How could I relieve something I've never lived in the first place? That was
Serenity's brother, not mine and it was she who held him when he took his last breaths."
"Because you ARE Serenity!" Endymion's arms closed protectively around her.
"We can't keep re-hashing the same argument over and over again. It's getting tedious,
Endymion. We've been through this before. I had a different life before I was here, unless
the last eighteen years of my life have suddenly become void in your eyes. " She crossed
her arms, protectively and gave him a wary look.
Endymion's fingers unconsciously caressed the hilt of his sword and for a second Usagi
felt a stab of fear burst through her as she had a flashback to her vision. She saw him
again, the sword dripping blood and the lifeless body of the dead boy not far away.
He must have seen something in her eyes, because he stiffened and drew his hand away
from the sword. She doubted him and it was driving a wall in between them.
"You don't believe me." He said flatly. Usagi wasn't sure what to tell him. She tightened
her arms around herself and stared at the ground, unable to meet his eyes.
"I just don't know. I'm all mixed-up right now." She glanced up surreptitiously, seeing
his jaw tighten. Icy silence fell and without another word he turned and walked away.
Distraught, Usagi bit back tears. He didn't understand what it was like to be suddenly
thrown in a different world, only having to rely on the knowledge of only one person. She
felt strangely torn as if the two worlds were pulling her apart piece by piece.
Could she really be Serenity? She had adamantly denied it for so long, but even she was
beginning to wonder. Everyone here seemed to think that's who she was. Was it possible?
There was also the very prominent question of Endymion. He had protected her, insisted
that he was married to her, and lead her away on wild chase to find answers. She
desperately needed to find the answers to the questions that were wrecking havoc on her.
She sank down to the ground and waited for the storm to blow over. She'd deal with the
hurricane later.
***
Usagi would have done anything for a car at the moment. Or any other mode of
transportation, a plane, train, bus anything rather than the miserable animal she was on now.
She was practically covered in horsehair, her legs ached like mad, and she was clutching on
tightly to a man who hated her guts.
For a while after Endymion had stormed off, Usagi had wondered if he would return. But
he had returned, eventually. She'd been chewing on her nails, standing by the horse when
he finally returned. She'd figured he probably wouldn't leave without the horse, even
it being the annoying creature that it was.
He was talking to her, but it his sentences were short and clipped leaving her no doubts as to
the state of his mind. He was angry with her. He had expected her trust, her complete trust,
and when he had learned that he didn't have it he was hurt. She felt guilty for it. She
supposed she could have lied to him, but Usagi had never been gifted at manipulation. She
was honest to a fault, although she suspected that it would be her downfall.
She sighed, shifted her legs on the horse and started to fall off. She grabbed a handful of
Endymion's shirt in an effort to steady herself. For a second, she leaned dangerously to the
side, before she managed to right herself. Even with the ruckus, Endymion didn't turn to
figure out what in the world she was doing. She thought she saw the corner of his mouth
twitch though.
When would they get to the Keeper? Usagi was getting anxious and impatient, especially
with the way Endymion was treating her. Not that she could blame him.
With the conversation level at a dead stop, she was bored out of her mind. The most
exciting part of her day had been the times when she almost fell off the horse. She
considered playing patty cake on Endymion's back, but quickly ruled that out, as it would
probably further annoy him. She really didn't want to test his patience at the moment.
She decided to mediate. Clearing her mind of all her troubles sounded particularly
appealing to Usagi. She concentrated, tried to block out the soreness of her limbs, the
movement of the horse under her. For a moment there was nothing, and then there was
another presence. She wasn't alone in her mind.
Usagi jerked hard and mumbled something incomprehensible out loud in her surprise and
fear. The presence was angry and hurt, a tangled mix of emotions that wasn't hers. They
weren't her emotions. Usagi was so frightened that she quickly blocked herself off to the
channel. It was as if she slammed shut the door she had just opened. She wasn't quite sure
how she did, but all of a sudden the flow of emotions stopped and it was only her thoughts
she heard. She breathed hard, feeling skittish.
She knew who it was. The thought hit her like a brick. The emotions were too familiar to
simply be a coincidence. It all led back to the one man that her fate seemed to be
intertwined with.
"Stay away from my mind, Endymion," she warned him, angry that he seemed to have so
much control over her. What gave him the right?
His expression was hooded when he turned to her. "It's not something I can control." He
gave her a pointed look. "You do that."
Stunned Usagi just gaped at him. Her mouth opened and then shut before she finally
regained her ability to speak.
"What... what is it?" She asked in a hushed whisper. "How is it possible?"
"It's a connection, a bond. I had it with Serenity."
Usagi was still having trouble with speech. "Oh dear Lord," was all she managed to choke
out before she fainted dead away.
before I got motivated to write the next chapter. I've been fiddling around with another
story I wrote a while back, but I'm not sure I want to share it yet as I really have no idea
where I'm going with it. Hmm... but then that's nothing new to me, since I am a sort of a
haphazard writer.
A review alerted me to the fact that I keep switching Shingo's name around and accidentally
calling him Sammy. I apologize if this has created confusion for any of you. I need to get
around to fixing that, but I seem to have lost a lot of the back up files to some of the older
chapters when I switched from my old computer to my new one.
Well, as always I really appreciate your reviews. I depend on reviews for motivation and I
only need a few more until I reach 100!
Chapter 7
Still reeling from his reaction, Usagi realized that she had some questions of her own.
"Did you kill my brother?" The softly spoken words seemed to hit him like a knife. In
that moment Usagi's carefully constructed lines between reality and fiction blurred. It
ceased to matter that she was not Serenity, that the boy she could clearly remember dying in
her arms could have been an apparition. Her entire being became centered on one thing,
Endymion. Her gaze narrowed in on him and the outside world faded away to
insignificance as she watched him struggle with her accusation.
She did not completely trust him. Usagi's sharp intake of air marked her insight. She
might be infatuated with him and she might even possibly love him, but she didn't know
him. She didn't know his favorite food was, where he had grown up, or even the names of
his parents. She didn't know what type of relationship he'd had with Serenity. Usagi had
always believed that love was something built over time, carefully nurtured, based on trust
and understanding. How could she love Endymion if she didn't understand him? How
could she love him if she didn't trust him? Was the anxious fluttering in her stomach she
felt every time she saw him something that would fade over time? She didn't know.
Her eyes blurred for a second and she bit her lip. Endymion glanced up sharply. "It was
my fault." He sounded choked, and sorrowful.
Usagi's world crumbled. She looked at him dully. How could she have completely
misjudged him? Had his beautiful form blinded her to his faults? She felt crushed. She
turned away from him, only to find that he had grabbed her arm. She inclined her head and
waited for him to continue. There was an explanation due in this.
"I saw him do it, but I couldn't stop him." He was looking at her intently trying to gauge
her reaction.
"Saw who, do what?" Usagi was getting impatient. He was taking forever to spit it out.
"Diamond! Don't you understand? That's why you've been having these dreams. He
works like that. He gets that creepy friend of his to burrow in your mind and spread lies."
Usagi frowned thoughtfully. "So you're saying that Diamond killed my brother and is
making me relieve it my mind? But wait..." Usagi was abruptly struck with a discerning
thought. "How could I relieve something I've never lived in the first place? That was
Serenity's brother, not mine and it was she who held him when he took his last breaths."
"Because you ARE Serenity!" Endymion's arms closed protectively around her.
"We can't keep re-hashing the same argument over and over again. It's getting tedious,
Endymion. We've been through this before. I had a different life before I was here, unless
the last eighteen years of my life have suddenly become void in your eyes. " She crossed
her arms, protectively and gave him a wary look.
Endymion's fingers unconsciously caressed the hilt of his sword and for a second Usagi
felt a stab of fear burst through her as she had a flashback to her vision. She saw him
again, the sword dripping blood and the lifeless body of the dead boy not far away.
He must have seen something in her eyes, because he stiffened and drew his hand away
from the sword. She doubted him and it was driving a wall in between them.
"You don't believe me." He said flatly. Usagi wasn't sure what to tell him. She tightened
her arms around herself and stared at the ground, unable to meet his eyes.
"I just don't know. I'm all mixed-up right now." She glanced up surreptitiously, seeing
his jaw tighten. Icy silence fell and without another word he turned and walked away.
Distraught, Usagi bit back tears. He didn't understand what it was like to be suddenly
thrown in a different world, only having to rely on the knowledge of only one person. She
felt strangely torn as if the two worlds were pulling her apart piece by piece.
Could she really be Serenity? She had adamantly denied it for so long, but even she was
beginning to wonder. Everyone here seemed to think that's who she was. Was it possible?
There was also the very prominent question of Endymion. He had protected her, insisted
that he was married to her, and lead her away on wild chase to find answers. She
desperately needed to find the answers to the questions that were wrecking havoc on her.
She sank down to the ground and waited for the storm to blow over. She'd deal with the
hurricane later.
***
Usagi would have done anything for a car at the moment. Or any other mode of
transportation, a plane, train, bus anything rather than the miserable animal she was on now.
She was practically covered in horsehair, her legs ached like mad, and she was clutching on
tightly to a man who hated her guts.
For a while after Endymion had stormed off, Usagi had wondered if he would return. But
he had returned, eventually. She'd been chewing on her nails, standing by the horse when
he finally returned. She'd figured he probably wouldn't leave without the horse, even
it being the annoying creature that it was.
He was talking to her, but it his sentences were short and clipped leaving her no doubts as to
the state of his mind. He was angry with her. He had expected her trust, her complete trust,
and when he had learned that he didn't have it he was hurt. She felt guilty for it. She
supposed she could have lied to him, but Usagi had never been gifted at manipulation. She
was honest to a fault, although she suspected that it would be her downfall.
She sighed, shifted her legs on the horse and started to fall off. She grabbed a handful of
Endymion's shirt in an effort to steady herself. For a second, she leaned dangerously to the
side, before she managed to right herself. Even with the ruckus, Endymion didn't turn to
figure out what in the world she was doing. She thought she saw the corner of his mouth
twitch though.
When would they get to the Keeper? Usagi was getting anxious and impatient, especially
with the way Endymion was treating her. Not that she could blame him.
With the conversation level at a dead stop, she was bored out of her mind. The most
exciting part of her day had been the times when she almost fell off the horse. She
considered playing patty cake on Endymion's back, but quickly ruled that out, as it would
probably further annoy him. She really didn't want to test his patience at the moment.
She decided to mediate. Clearing her mind of all her troubles sounded particularly
appealing to Usagi. She concentrated, tried to block out the soreness of her limbs, the
movement of the horse under her. For a moment there was nothing, and then there was
another presence. She wasn't alone in her mind.
Usagi jerked hard and mumbled something incomprehensible out loud in her surprise and
fear. The presence was angry and hurt, a tangled mix of emotions that wasn't hers. They
weren't her emotions. Usagi was so frightened that she quickly blocked herself off to the
channel. It was as if she slammed shut the door she had just opened. She wasn't quite sure
how she did, but all of a sudden the flow of emotions stopped and it was only her thoughts
she heard. She breathed hard, feeling skittish.
She knew who it was. The thought hit her like a brick. The emotions were too familiar to
simply be a coincidence. It all led back to the one man that her fate seemed to be
intertwined with.
"Stay away from my mind, Endymion," she warned him, angry that he seemed to have so
much control over her. What gave him the right?
His expression was hooded when he turned to her. "It's not something I can control." He
gave her a pointed look. "You do that."
Stunned Usagi just gaped at him. Her mouth opened and then shut before she finally
regained her ability to speak.
"What... what is it?" She asked in a hushed whisper. "How is it possible?"
"It's a connection, a bond. I had it with Serenity."
Usagi was still having trouble with speech. "Oh dear Lord," was all she managed to choke
out before she fainted dead away.