Chapter 11
Princess Serenity opened the door, and made sure no one was around, she was going to sneak Duo into her room upstairs. The palace was silent, it seemed a bit unusual. "OK, its clear" whispered Princess Serenity to Duo. They both dashed out of the room and quickly ran up the main stair case, down the hallway, and turned to the left to enter the Princess's chambers.
Princess Serenity and Duo both leaned against the door as soon as they closed it panting. Duo walked away from her, "Not bad of a place"
"Well that's royalty for you" giggled Princess Serenity.
Duo had a look around, he never saw her room when the lights were on. He then noticed a picture on Serenity's dresser, a picture of Endymion. He grunted when he first saw it. "I wonder where he is" Duo thought.
Princess Serenity was in her bathroom getting ready for bed, it was quite late as it is. She then walked out wearing a white satin nightgown, her hair gently touching the ground. Duo checked her out up and down with a very red face. Princess Serenity giggled, "I must go to bed, I have a big evening as it is tomorrow"
"What's the occasion?" asked Duo as he took a seat on the edge of her bed just as Serenity was crawling into. Princess Serenity looked down with gloomy eyes, "The marriage celebration between Prince Endymion and I".
Duo quickly frowned, he looked away from the Princess, "You don't have to marry him you know"
"I don't have a choice, its going to bring peace for the Universe isn't it?" asked Princess Serenity.
Duo grunted, "It won't, your kingdom needs to worry about Beryl's arrival"
"I'm sure my Mother is aware of it, she probably doesn't want the kingdom to be in panic or be worried" stated the Princess.
"Whatever works I guess" shrugged Duo.
There was a knock on the door, "Who is it?" asked Princess Serenity.
"It's your Mother dear" answered Queen Serenity.
Princess Serenity and Duo both panicked, "Just a minute Mother!" Princess Serenity quickly jumped out of her bed and grabbed Duo's wrist, "Hide in here!" she said as she shoved Duo into her closet. She ran back into her bed quickly, "Come it!"
Queen Serenity opened the door, and took a seat on the edge of Princess Serenity's bed, "I'm glad your in bed, we have that big ball tomorrow evening".
"I know Mother" sighed Princess Serenity.
Queen Serenity just smiled down at her daughter, she then got a bit of a serious look on her face, "Where were you this evening?"
"I..I went for a late night walk" lied Princess Serenity, "I had some things on my mind about getting married and becoming Queen"
"You know, if there's anything bothering you, you can tell me" insisted Queen Serenity.
Princess Serenity wanted to tell her Mother how she felt, that she didn't want to get married to Prince Endymion, she wanted to be with Duo! But she knew her Mother would say Gods and Queens don't mix, but she would probably only say that because Duo is the God of Death. She wanted to tell her Mother everything, even about Duo kidnapping her and Prince Endymion abusing her. But she kept it all inside, "No, there's nothing".
The Queen and the Princess's peace was disruptive, with another knock on the door. "Who is it?" called out Queen Serenity.
"It's Prince Endymion"
Princess Serenity's mouth became dry, and Duo, who was in the closet listening to their conversation grunted under his breath.
"Alright, I'll let her talk to you for a few, but please get to bed! This kingdom has a big day tomorrow" sighed Queen Serenity as she got up and left the room.
Prince Endymion came in with a sly smirk spread across his face, he walked right up the Princess.
"So, this is where you've been hiding all of this time? Where's your little God like friend?" said Prince Endymion cocky.
"I don't know! He left!" grunted Princess Serenity as she was getting irritated by the Prince.
Prince Endymion grabbed Princess Serenity's arm and pulled her close to him, "If he shows up at tomorrow's ball, I will kill him and let that be a warning to the both of you" and he threw her back onto her bed. "Goodnight" Prince Endymion said coldly as he walked away from her, turned off the lights and slammed her door.
Princess Serenity laid back in her bed holding onto her wrist with watery eyes, she had a vision of what her future would be like with him, always abusing her and making her be a unhappy Queen of the Moon. Duo quickly came out of the closet, "Are you OK?" he asked her.
"I'm fine, I can take his temper" lied Princess Serenity. She then put her eyes on Duo, "I would feel comfortable if you came to the ball"
Duo blushed, "I better not, people of your kingdom don't like me that much."
Princess Serenity gave a little chuckle, "Oh Duo, the ball would be awful without you"
Duo smiled at the charming Princess and kissed her forehead where her crescent moon was, "Don't worry, I'll watch from the shadows". Princess Serenity nodded, "Now you better get some rest" said Duo as he got up and started to walk towards the window.
"Wait! Duo! Where are you going?" cried out Princess Serenity.
Duo stopped and looked, "This God of Death isn't suitable for a place like this, I'll sleep outside somewhere where the guards can't find me"
"Alright" yawned Princess Serenity as she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Duo watched her with a smile, he then flew out the window with his bat wings, soaring high in the sky and flew through the gardens and found a random tree that he went up in and gently fell asleep on a large branch while holding his scythe.
In the meantime, Prince Endymion was still up pacing back and forth in his room, "She's hiding something from me, but what?" asked Prince Endymion out loud.
"Stupid Princess, once I become King, I'll over throw her and the Moon and Earth, and hopefully the whole Universe will be mine to rule!" chuckled Prince Endymion.
"Or it could be yours now" said a voice.
"Who's there!" called out Prince Endymion as he pulled out his sword.
A figure came through the mirror in his room, it was Queen Beryl. "Hello Prince Endymion"
"Who are you?" asked Prince Endymion pointing his sword at the snake like Queen.
"I'm Queen Beryl, future ruler of the Universe" knelt Queen Beryl.
"You? Future ruler of the Universe? How so?" asked Prince Endymion putting his sword away.
"Tomorrow evening my court and I are planning to attack the kingdom. Since that back stabbing bastard Duo betrayed us, we could use another hand" said Beryl with a smirk.
"Me? Over throw the White Moon family?" asked Prince Endymion like it was some sort of a joke.
"We shall make our appearance during the ceremony, join our side, the whole universe is yours" laughed Queen Beryl.
Prince Endymion liked the way Beryl was thinking, "Alright, I accept your offer"
"Excellent" giggled Queen Beryl as she made the deal with the Prince of Earth.