Over a year seems like a long time to wait. I'm sorry that this has been on my computer for so long. I hope to finish it soon.
This is because of the insistence of my wonderful reviewers, friends, and Adamu. I hope you like it!
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"They are here, Endymion."
Endymion forced his thickly lidded eyes open. How long had he slept? He leaned forward, and his sword pressed hard against his abdomen. He sat back and stared at the straight serpent on his lap--the metal seemed so innocent cradled to his body, asleep over his legs. The rust of blood had not scarred its blade; the sanguine fluid of the past had simply rolled away and left no mark, like mist over the dew-kissed grass.
"How many?"
"Too many for you," Zoicite snapped. She stormed to the window, the
heavy steps of her male body jolting the wood-slated floor. "Not quite the mad mob either. Rather collected group. Looks like your girly's little friend is with them too. So much for loyalty."
"Zoi-Zoi," Kunzite cooed, his voice undercut with a warning tone, "do not begin this again. We have greater problems now. Your quarrels with Endymion can wait."
"The only one with a problem is Endymion. I have nothing to do with
this."
Endymion rose from the fireplace, his sword tip briefly grazed the wood floor. Zoicite eyed the blade with a smirk.
"You plan to take them all on, Endymion?" Zoicite removed herself from Kunzite's arms and pointed a thin finger at the distant crowd. "I think that you'd best reconsider your plan."
"You would abandon me when I need your strength."
"The only thing you need is a brain."
"I'm not going to take them on, Zoicite."
"What are you going to do, then?" Kunzite asked quietly.
"I need a wife."
"Convenient," Jedeite said. "You do not know what you are getting yourself into, Endymion."
Endymion brushed back the ebony hair that fell into his dark eyes. He motioned towards Serenity's unconscious form. "She will be my wife."
"And I'm sure that she'll love you for it." Zoicite laughed. "I can't wait until she wakes up and discovers that you've decided her future for her."
"People of the house!" The voice was not familiar, but it caught the attention of every conscious member within the rented home. "People of the house! We request that you deliver Serenity Tsuniko to us!"
Endymion grabbed Jedeite's forearm and locked his dark eyes on Jedeite's gray-blue orbs. "They will kill her. I do not want her blood on my hands."
"So you mean to marry her, then? You claim that you don't want her blood on your hands, but what of your own? She'll kill you for this." Jedeite shook his head. "There are other ways out of this, Endymion. Do not be so eager to throw your freedom away!"
Endymion's next words were lost in a loud thud against the front door. Zoicite groaned and pulled at her thin bottom lip with her thumb and forefinger. Her words were marred by her lip's distortion when she spoke. "I think they want in."
"Shut-up, Zoicite!" Endymion snapped. Zoicite raised her eyebrow but did not respond. Endymion went to the window to witness the swell of people outside. "All of those people for one little girl."
"A little girl you say you're going to claim for your wife. You never struck me as a pedophile, Endymion."
"She's not that young, Jedeite." Endymion moved to the door and rested his gloved hand on the wood doorframe. "This will work, won't it?"
None of the other soldiers replied. Endymion dropped his head and twisted the doorknob to the right. Nippy air rushed into the room and lingered long after Endymion had shut the door and walked outside.
"Who are you, young sir? You hold Serena in this house?"
Endymion looked up at the man who had spoken. He was a chubby middle-aged gentleman with the dusty shadow of a beard draped over his face and down the front of his thick neck. His eyes were brown with spidery red lines splayed across the yellowed-whites of his irises. "Who here holds her life? Who here is responsible for her?"
"Her father has given her life to me, young sir. Her life now belongs to the good people of this town, and we would see her burn for her crimes."
"Crimes?" Endymion's voice carried an anger he had wished to conceal.
The man narrowed his eyes. "You have no right to question our will, young sir. Now, bring the girl to us or step aside so we can take her."
"I can't do that." Endymion spoke in level tones, calculated and precise.
"Then we will have to charge you as her accomplice, young man. You would face criminal charges and may very well share her fate."
Endymion bit the inside of his left cheek and willed his mind to be still. Nervousness clawed at the soft tissues in his brain and opened fear, as though slicing open thick gashes. "I propose an alternative. I do not believe that you want death."
"It is what is right, young sir." The man gentled his voice. "Who are we to fight the greater judgement of the group? Who are we to say what shall govern the lives of mortals? It is not for any one individual, young sir, but for the will of a collective group that has reached a unanimous and undivided decision. It is the community that will decide what is best, and they have spoken. Now quit this play and give us the girl."
Endymion choked on his salvia when he opened his mouth to speak, having inhaled the liquid when he drew in breath for his words. He knelt over his knees and coughed until the discomfort of the obstruction had dissipated into a slight sting in the back of his throat. He straightened his back and met the man's eyes with a gaze of concentrated fury, despite the tears in his eyes. The man flinched back, and Endymion relaxed when he realized that he could intimate the leader. He swiped at his watery eyes and coughed again to completely clear his throat. "I would have her for my wife."
"No! You can't do that to her! She hates you!"
Endymion shifted his gaze to Serena's blue-haired friend who had forced her way to the front of the crowd. He let his glare linger on her until he was sure that it had disturbed the girl and then returned it to the man. "I will take her from here today, if that is your wish, and I can promise you that you will not have to see her again. She will be far away from your village and will bring it no harm."
"You can't do that! She hates you!" the blue-haired girl screamed again. Three people in the crowd were holding her back from Endymion, but she hardly seemed to notice them in her struggle to be freed.
"How far?"
"He will take her past the borders of the Long South and into the territory of Ryuton where he will settle in the city of Taues. You will not hear from either of them again, my good people."
Endymion glared haughtily at the messenger who had worn the Ox's head at the Snowball. "I told you to leave."
"I thought you might need me, milord." The messenger held out a small wooden box the rested in the scarred palm of his left hand. "From Queen Beryl, milord. And, for the crowd, a peace-offering."
The small man removed a green velvet bag from an inside pocket in his cloak at heaved it at the crowd. The man who had addressed Endymion caught it in two hands and pulled loose the copper-coloured cords that had tied the bag shut. "Gold?"
"Fifty imperial-marked pieces, to be exact, courtesy of Queen Beryl in exchange for Lord Shields' wife."
Endymion thought back to the gold coin he had shoved between the tavern wench's breasts months earlier. The coin had been marked locally. Imperial-marked coins carried over seventeen times the worth. The messenger had just handed the man a small fortune for a town that rarely saw excess income.
"Past the border of the Long South, you said?" The man's eyes were stained with the brightness of the gold. "I'm sure we could agree to that. But you have to leave now. We don't want any more trouble. You can take the witch, but if she ever comes back, we won't negotiate."
The messenger gave the man a toothy grin. "Oh, we understand, good people. We understand. Not one of us will be coming back. Not one. I give you my word, good people."
Endymion heard the door to the house open and close. He glanced back and saw that Jedeite had decided to join him. Endymion shoved the wooden box the messenger had given him inside his cloak's inner pocket and turned to face his friend. Jedeite's gray-blue eyes did not rest on Endymion, but instead, scrutinized the crowd of people who had turned to leave.
"A rather large group to be so easily swayed. What was in the bag?" His questions were directed at the messenger who now hobbled closer to Endymion. Jedeite stepped between Endymion and the smaller man, intent on receiving his answers.
"It was gold, Jedeite. Fifty imperial-marked pieces."
Jedeite's lips twitched at the corners. "There's nothing quite like money to cut through pack-mentality. That's quite a fair amount of gold, though, sir. Where would someone like you have come across such an amount?"
The messenger scowled. "My Queen shows her kindness in many ways, and would not appreciate your suspicion. I suggest that you lose that attitude before you go to Taues."
"Go to Taues? I have never considered the idea. A tyrant woman who cares nothing for her people or land runs the country. I happened upon the land once when I was very young and now know better than to return." Jedeite spat, as though the words had left a bad taste on his tongue.
Endymion ran a hand through his hair. "I think I have to go there, Jedeite. I've committed myself to this arrangement now, and this messenger has named the place I am meant to go."
"You're being ridiculous, soldier. Get back inside that house. We'll speak of this when everyone's not so close to the situation."
"Jed--"
"Were you just going to question me?" Jedeite drew himself up to his full height and locked his tempestuous eyes on Endymion. Endymion balked at the blonde-haired man, stunned that Jedeite would pull his rank into play without having said a word of reminder that Endymion was not his superior or equal.
"No, Jedeite." Endymion walked backwards one step and then turned his back on Jedeite and the messenger to trudge through the snow back towards the log house like a child whipped for misbehaviour.
Zoicite opened the door for Endymion and let him into the house. She closed it securely behind him and shook her head at the bare wood door. "What happened? I've never seen Jedeite so physically angry before. I think I saw him spit at you!"
"He didn't spit at me. Do me a favour and pack my things, Zoi."
She glanced at him. "I failed to pick up the rising intonation at the end of your statement there, Endy, and I'm sure that it's just my ears, but would you mind repeating that for me?"
"Please pack my things, Zoi." Endymion walked over to the fireplace, where Serenity still lay on the floor untouched by others. Kunzite sat on the far side of Endymion's established line and watched the young woman rest. "I'll need my horse."
"Among other things like a brain!" Jedeite snapped as he entered the log house. The door slammed behind him and shook the thin-paned windows that let cold slip through the glass.
This is because of the insistence of my wonderful reviewers, friends, and Adamu. I hope you like it!
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"They are here, Endymion."
Endymion forced his thickly lidded eyes open. How long had he slept? He leaned forward, and his sword pressed hard against his abdomen. He sat back and stared at the straight serpent on his lap--the metal seemed so innocent cradled to his body, asleep over his legs. The rust of blood had not scarred its blade; the sanguine fluid of the past had simply rolled away and left no mark, like mist over the dew-kissed grass.
"How many?"
"Too many for you," Zoicite snapped. She stormed to the window, the
heavy steps of her male body jolting the wood-slated floor. "Not quite the mad mob either. Rather collected group. Looks like your girly's little friend is with them too. So much for loyalty."
"Zoi-Zoi," Kunzite cooed, his voice undercut with a warning tone, "do not begin this again. We have greater problems now. Your quarrels with Endymion can wait."
"The only one with a problem is Endymion. I have nothing to do with
this."
Endymion rose from the fireplace, his sword tip briefly grazed the wood floor. Zoicite eyed the blade with a smirk.
"You plan to take them all on, Endymion?" Zoicite removed herself from Kunzite's arms and pointed a thin finger at the distant crowd. "I think that you'd best reconsider your plan."
"You would abandon me when I need your strength."
"The only thing you need is a brain."
"I'm not going to take them on, Zoicite."
"What are you going to do, then?" Kunzite asked quietly.
"I need a wife."
"Convenient," Jedeite said. "You do not know what you are getting yourself into, Endymion."
Endymion brushed back the ebony hair that fell into his dark eyes. He motioned towards Serenity's unconscious form. "She will be my wife."
"And I'm sure that she'll love you for it." Zoicite laughed. "I can't wait until she wakes up and discovers that you've decided her future for her."
"People of the house!" The voice was not familiar, but it caught the attention of every conscious member within the rented home. "People of the house! We request that you deliver Serenity Tsuniko to us!"
Endymion grabbed Jedeite's forearm and locked his dark eyes on Jedeite's gray-blue orbs. "They will kill her. I do not want her blood on my hands."
"So you mean to marry her, then? You claim that you don't want her blood on your hands, but what of your own? She'll kill you for this." Jedeite shook his head. "There are other ways out of this, Endymion. Do not be so eager to throw your freedom away!"
Endymion's next words were lost in a loud thud against the front door. Zoicite groaned and pulled at her thin bottom lip with her thumb and forefinger. Her words were marred by her lip's distortion when she spoke. "I think they want in."
"Shut-up, Zoicite!" Endymion snapped. Zoicite raised her eyebrow but did not respond. Endymion went to the window to witness the swell of people outside. "All of those people for one little girl."
"A little girl you say you're going to claim for your wife. You never struck me as a pedophile, Endymion."
"She's not that young, Jedeite." Endymion moved to the door and rested his gloved hand on the wood doorframe. "This will work, won't it?"
None of the other soldiers replied. Endymion dropped his head and twisted the doorknob to the right. Nippy air rushed into the room and lingered long after Endymion had shut the door and walked outside.
"Who are you, young sir? You hold Serena in this house?"
Endymion looked up at the man who had spoken. He was a chubby middle-aged gentleman with the dusty shadow of a beard draped over his face and down the front of his thick neck. His eyes were brown with spidery red lines splayed across the yellowed-whites of his irises. "Who here holds her life? Who here is responsible for her?"
"Her father has given her life to me, young sir. Her life now belongs to the good people of this town, and we would see her burn for her crimes."
"Crimes?" Endymion's voice carried an anger he had wished to conceal.
The man narrowed his eyes. "You have no right to question our will, young sir. Now, bring the girl to us or step aside so we can take her."
"I can't do that." Endymion spoke in level tones, calculated and precise.
"Then we will have to charge you as her accomplice, young man. You would face criminal charges and may very well share her fate."
Endymion bit the inside of his left cheek and willed his mind to be still. Nervousness clawed at the soft tissues in his brain and opened fear, as though slicing open thick gashes. "I propose an alternative. I do not believe that you want death."
"It is what is right, young sir." The man gentled his voice. "Who are we to fight the greater judgement of the group? Who are we to say what shall govern the lives of mortals? It is not for any one individual, young sir, but for the will of a collective group that has reached a unanimous and undivided decision. It is the community that will decide what is best, and they have spoken. Now quit this play and give us the girl."
Endymion choked on his salvia when he opened his mouth to speak, having inhaled the liquid when he drew in breath for his words. He knelt over his knees and coughed until the discomfort of the obstruction had dissipated into a slight sting in the back of his throat. He straightened his back and met the man's eyes with a gaze of concentrated fury, despite the tears in his eyes. The man flinched back, and Endymion relaxed when he realized that he could intimate the leader. He swiped at his watery eyes and coughed again to completely clear his throat. "I would have her for my wife."
"No! You can't do that to her! She hates you!"
Endymion shifted his gaze to Serena's blue-haired friend who had forced her way to the front of the crowd. He let his glare linger on her until he was sure that it had disturbed the girl and then returned it to the man. "I will take her from here today, if that is your wish, and I can promise you that you will not have to see her again. She will be far away from your village and will bring it no harm."
"You can't do that! She hates you!" the blue-haired girl screamed again. Three people in the crowd were holding her back from Endymion, but she hardly seemed to notice them in her struggle to be freed.
"How far?"
"He will take her past the borders of the Long South and into the territory of Ryuton where he will settle in the city of Taues. You will not hear from either of them again, my good people."
Endymion glared haughtily at the messenger who had worn the Ox's head at the Snowball. "I told you to leave."
"I thought you might need me, milord." The messenger held out a small wooden box the rested in the scarred palm of his left hand. "From Queen Beryl, milord. And, for the crowd, a peace-offering."
The small man removed a green velvet bag from an inside pocket in his cloak at heaved it at the crowd. The man who had addressed Endymion caught it in two hands and pulled loose the copper-coloured cords that had tied the bag shut. "Gold?"
"Fifty imperial-marked pieces, to be exact, courtesy of Queen Beryl in exchange for Lord Shields' wife."
Endymion thought back to the gold coin he had shoved between the tavern wench's breasts months earlier. The coin had been marked locally. Imperial-marked coins carried over seventeen times the worth. The messenger had just handed the man a small fortune for a town that rarely saw excess income.
"Past the border of the Long South, you said?" The man's eyes were stained with the brightness of the gold. "I'm sure we could agree to that. But you have to leave now. We don't want any more trouble. You can take the witch, but if she ever comes back, we won't negotiate."
The messenger gave the man a toothy grin. "Oh, we understand, good people. We understand. Not one of us will be coming back. Not one. I give you my word, good people."
Endymion heard the door to the house open and close. He glanced back and saw that Jedeite had decided to join him. Endymion shoved the wooden box the messenger had given him inside his cloak's inner pocket and turned to face his friend. Jedeite's gray-blue eyes did not rest on Endymion, but instead, scrutinized the crowd of people who had turned to leave.
"A rather large group to be so easily swayed. What was in the bag?" His questions were directed at the messenger who now hobbled closer to Endymion. Jedeite stepped between Endymion and the smaller man, intent on receiving his answers.
"It was gold, Jedeite. Fifty imperial-marked pieces."
Jedeite's lips twitched at the corners. "There's nothing quite like money to cut through pack-mentality. That's quite a fair amount of gold, though, sir. Where would someone like you have come across such an amount?"
The messenger scowled. "My Queen shows her kindness in many ways, and would not appreciate your suspicion. I suggest that you lose that attitude before you go to Taues."
"Go to Taues? I have never considered the idea. A tyrant woman who cares nothing for her people or land runs the country. I happened upon the land once when I was very young and now know better than to return." Jedeite spat, as though the words had left a bad taste on his tongue.
Endymion ran a hand through his hair. "I think I have to go there, Jedeite. I've committed myself to this arrangement now, and this messenger has named the place I am meant to go."
"You're being ridiculous, soldier. Get back inside that house. We'll speak of this when everyone's not so close to the situation."
"Jed--"
"Were you just going to question me?" Jedeite drew himself up to his full height and locked his tempestuous eyes on Endymion. Endymion balked at the blonde-haired man, stunned that Jedeite would pull his rank into play without having said a word of reminder that Endymion was not his superior or equal.
"No, Jedeite." Endymion walked backwards one step and then turned his back on Jedeite and the messenger to trudge through the snow back towards the log house like a child whipped for misbehaviour.
Zoicite opened the door for Endymion and let him into the house. She closed it securely behind him and shook her head at the bare wood door. "What happened? I've never seen Jedeite so physically angry before. I think I saw him spit at you!"
"He didn't spit at me. Do me a favour and pack my things, Zoi."
She glanced at him. "I failed to pick up the rising intonation at the end of your statement there, Endy, and I'm sure that it's just my ears, but would you mind repeating that for me?"
"Please pack my things, Zoi." Endymion walked over to the fireplace, where Serenity still lay on the floor untouched by others. Kunzite sat on the far side of Endymion's established line and watched the young woman rest. "I'll need my horse."
"Among other things like a brain!" Jedeite snapped as he entered the log house. The door slammed behind him and shook the thin-paned windows that let cold slip through the glass.