***
Serenity shivered lightly as she rolled from her side of her and her husband's grand bed. The warmth of the covers had left her – and even so, it was an artificial warmth. Usually she felt protected and loved in her husband's embrace. Tonight, that had not been the case.
Of course, being who he was, Endymion was naturally interested in his wife's distance. "Is something wrong?" he asked her solicitously, caring evident in the deep blue eyes his wife could not see.
"No, of course not," Serenity had said, but truthufully, she was uncertain. She couldn't feel as comfortable and safe with Endymion as before. She had no way of knowing whether he was really a man or a horrible serpent bent on destroying her once she produced an heir.
The feeling lingered. As she loved her husband that night, she couldn't help but wonder – is this really his shoulder I touch? Or is his skin slimy and slick to the touch? Are these his lips I kiss, or does he even have lips? Does he look down at me with two eyes or twenty?
The questions drove her crazy, and by the time Endymion lay sleeping besides her, she felt absolutely resolute about one thing – she had to see her husband, no matter what.
Quietly, she crept across the room to where she had stashed the oil lantern and the sharp knife. She picked both up carefully and soundlessly brought them to the side of the bed Endymion slept on. Kneeling, she struck a match and lit the lantern, then put it in one hand, the knife in the other, then rose up to the side of the bed. Heaving a sigh, she lifted the lantern high over her husband's body.
At first she was startled, because she saw nothing, and wondered if the serpent had really rendered her blind. Realizing that she had her eyes closed, she held her breath and opened one, slowly, carefully.
The sight made her gasp. Her husband, king of the beautiful dreamworld, looked even more glorious than his kingdom.
Oh, what wonder! He really did have the build of the gods. His form could rival Adonis' or Endymion's...she breathed deeply, realizing that she had been holding her breath. In his naked splendor, one could see clearly the muscled physique, the broad chest that rose and fell with each breath, the silky black hair that lay tousled across his forehead.
Serenity cursed to herself. How could she have ever thought that this dazzlingly handsome man could have been an ugly serpent? It almost made her laugh. This striking king was anything but.
The rapture that had filled her heart was quickly replaced by shame and remorse. Her husband was not a serpent and had never meant to hurt her. Why did she transgress his will? Weakened by the force of her folly, she fell to her knees, trembling in a mixture of awe at the man's divine beauty and her own sorrow at not trusting him. The gods only knew why he would keep such a divine appearance from her, but for whatever reason, he did – but it had not been to harm her in any way.
Overtaken by her unfaithfulness, Serenity struggled with the knife in her hands, fully intending to plunge it in her heart to punish herself for her mistrust. However, the struggle with one side caused a wavering with the other. Serenity inadvertantly tipped the lantern to the side, causing the hot oil from her lamp to pour from the holder and fall on the man's shoulder.
"Yow!" In two seconds he was up, jumping from the bed. Serenity jumped nearly two feet in the air, her arms flailing. The knife flew from her hands, clattering harmlessly to the floor.
"Mamoru!" she yelled. "It is only I, Serenity, your love!"
Endymion's eyes widened when he saw Serenity, naked as he, peering over him, and for what seemed like an eternity, they stared at each other in surprise. His eyes were as blue as the oceans.
However, a billowing screen of smoke soon obstructed Serenity's view of her beautiful husband. In her fright she'd also cast the lantern out of her hands, dropping it on the curtain of the bed, which had caught on fire.
"Quickly, the water on the table! My magic doesn't cover water!" A gale of wind blew over the curtains, ruffling them and spreading the flames of the fire. Serenity reached for the pitcher of water sitting on the dresser and threw it upon the bed. Endymion's winds carried the water all over the quickly spreading fire, and in a matter of minutes, the fire was out.
Endymion stared at the bed for a few more moments, then turned to his wife. He was speechless with sorrow and betrayal.
"Why?" he finally asked.
Serenity looked away from the hurt in his eyes. "I..."
"Did you not trust me? Didn't the others tell you I was not a serpent? Was that not enough for you?"
Serenity's chest heaved with a sob. "I...I'm sorry, my love!" She looked up to him.
He shook his head and began to dress himself.
Serenity sat down on the bed unhappily, watching her husband move as he dressed. His body motions were so fluid...to see him was to love him. Unfortunately, to see him was also to lose him, as she was learning now. She sensed that something was now terribly wrong...after all, he had promised that if she attempted to see him, they would be separated forever.
Helios appeared at the window per Endymion's silent summons. One look inside and he knew exactly what had happened.
Endymion went to the window and climbed on the back of his pegasus, forcing himself not to look at his wife. He longed to kiss her, touch her, but he knew that he could do none of that now. His short time with her was over.
"Are you going away?" she asked meekly.
He struggled to look even further away, but in the opposite direction was the white moon.
"Love cannot live where there is no trust."
*****
Serenity gazed out of the window. Endymion and the pegasus had long since disappeared from sight, and she could only gaze after the place where he had been, knowing that he would never come back to her.
There was a slight rap on the door, but the young queen was unable to answer it. The knocker entered anyway. "Queen Serenity-sama?"
Serenity turned around. The sparkles of yellow told her that the knocker was Ceres, but she also saw hints of blue, green, and red. Pallas, Juno, and Vesta were peeking around the other side of the door as well.
The queen turned back to the window. "He's gone."
The four girls solemnly entered the room. As they entered Serenity turned back towards the girls and was entertained by a magnificent sight. In four different ways, the girls materialized, finally showing themselves to their queen.
"Ceres told us what happened in the parlor," said Pallas. The young girl was the shortest of the girls, defining her age; she had short, curly blue hair and light blue eyes. "We're very sorry."
"Ceres told me not to do it," Serenity said. "I didn't listen to her. I should have. If I had, he would still be here..."
The girls remained silent.
"Who was he?" she asked.
"Endymion was his name. He was the crown prince of this country, Elysian," Vesta answered. This girl was taller than the rest, with long crimson hair and blazing eyes indicating her age with their narrowness.
"Endymion?! Elysian?!" Serenity gasped. "That's the mythical land of dreams, Elysian! Helios did tell me that, but I didn't know he meant the land of dreams!" She sighed. "And Endymion. He was famed as a king, the most handsome male mortal to ever live."
"When his family was killed years ago, including his father, he became the crown prince," Juno continued. The girl held her green hair in a ponytail, and he eyes shared the color. She was taller than Pallas but shorter than Ceres and Vesta. "However, he couldn't be a king until he married, per a decree his father made before he died after a squabble they had. He was going to take it back – he made it frivolously – but the war with Erebus began, and he was killed in it."
"The queen of Erebus saw Endymion during the fight and fell madly in love with him," Ceres continued. Surprisingly, her features were not the color of gold, but rather pink, with pink eyes and skin paler than the other three sisters. She was taller than Juno but shorter than Vesta. "Or rather, became infatuated with him. Her love was not pure like yours.
"That is why Endymion had to hide himself from you. He didn't want the evil queen to find out that he was married to you, and was afraid that if you knew who he was, somehow – perhaps through your sisters – he would be discovered and Queen Beryl would find out. He wanted so badly to have you here that he risked even her displeasure. He loved you so much."
"But who says my love was pure?" Serenity said bitterly. "The king of Elysian!" She shook her head sadly. "I was not satisfied by his caring and his love. I had to see him. King Endymion, ruler of Elysian...he was my husband, and I, wretch that I am, could not keep faith with him."
She turned back to the window. "Is he gone from me forever?"
Juno sighed a little. "He's probably gone to hide from Beryl," she said. "She has spies, and when they saw the fire at the palace – which, I might add, he's been trying to hide the location of for years – they probably rushed off to tell her what happened."
"But," said Pallas, "the four of us have lived here all our lives and learned the ways of Elysian as we've learned the service. We know the Earth like the back of our hands."
Serenity looked up at the four girls. "You...do?"
They nodded, smiling mischievously.
Serenity turned her eyes downward. "No matter. He probably never wants to see me again, especially not after what I did. I've lost his trust."
"My queen!" Ceres shook her head. "Don't lose hope so quickly! King Endymion-sama loved you more than he loved his own life. There's no way even your trying to see him could have erased all the love he had for you – it's impossible!"
"You should have seen the way he moped about the palace after he came back from the wedding on the Moon," Vesta said, smirking. "Beryl had ordered you killed – she envied your beauty. But he said the moment he laid eyes on you, he could not do it! He had fallen in love with you on first sight. He desired to bring you here, and when Helios devised a way to do it – telling the oracle to tell your father about the serpent – he was so happy!"
"You're not just going to let him run away from you, are you?" asked Pallas, smiling at her queen.
Serenity smiled weakly. "I would spend the rest of my life searching for him!"
"Pray it will not take that long, my queen," said Vesta. "We do know a few shortcuts."
*****
"Your highness! Your highness!"
Beryl turned her hazel eyes from the glass of wine she'd been sipping from and caught sight of the two generals she'd sent out. "What are you doing back here?"
"Your highness," the older one of them said. He had wavy auburn hair cascading down his back and deep, warm brown eyes. "We've discovered the location of the prince's palace."
"Splendid!" Beryl shrieked, and laughed, clapping her hands. "Where is it?"
"Deep in the heart of Elysian," replied the younger, a blue-eyed young man with short, fluffy blond hair. He completed the quartet of Beryl's generals – the other two being the ones who had appraised her of the Moon Princess's death. "It had a magic shield cloaking it. But the magic faltered – because the prince was fleeing the castle with that horse-priest of his."
"Why was the prince fleeing his own palace?" Beryl wondered.
"We wondered the same. We had messengers watching. They reported a fire in the palace. And get this – one of them saw the face of a beautiful young maiden – well, obviously not a maiden any longer – in the window of the king's bedroom. Guess who that would be?"
"Who?" asked Beryl. It already caused her heart to roar with jealousy when she heard that a female was in Endymion's bedroom, no matter whom she was.
"The supposed dead princess of the Moon Kingdom, Serenity."
"It can't be!" Beryl said, jumping to her feet. She turned her lovely face from one general to the other. "Endymion killed the wretched thing months ago!"
"Obviously not, your highness. The spies were going to sketch her to be sure. However, they found they couldn't...because she was too beautiful. Classic case. But the description fits her perfectly."
"Ooh!!" In her anger, the voluptuous queen dashed the wine chalice she held on the floor. The red liquid slid through the shards of glass on the floor. "The little traitor! I should have known that squeamish thing wouldn't have done it, fine as he is. Did anyone see his direction?"
Fool queen, thought the older general, she's so worried about that stupid prince. When will she learn that he will never have her? "No, your highness."
Beryl cursed fiercely. "Look, there's four of you," she said. "Two of you pursue the prince – scour the land for him! I want every nook and cranny of the Earth searched until he's found. He's mine – I'll be damned if I let some little hussy from the moon steal him away from me!"
She stroked her chin. "The other two, go to the palace and kill that girl!"
As soon as the words fell from her lips, she thought better of them. "No, no," she said quickly. "I changed my mind. "Don't kill her. When you find her...inform me of her location. No doubt she'll go searching for him."
"If you'll forgive me for asking, why wouldn't you want her dead, Queen Beryl-sama?" asked the younger general, scratching his head.
"Because. She's Endymion's weak spot. The way to him is through her.
"Besides," said the queen, a smirk curling over her face, "there are things much worse than death."