She ran as fast as her two legs could take her, past the blur of the men, past the high pitched tents, and past the forest trees that reached up to the peak of the sky. Her heart thudded and pressed against her chest rapidly.

'I hate him,' she told herself, as the gentle trickle of tears rolled lifelessly down her face. 'I hate him for making me feel this way, I hate him for making me hate him, and... I hate him for making me love him.'

The strange admission entered her mind again. Love, love... she loved him, it was beyond denial, beyond anything that she had ever felt. It brought up so many emotions, but always ended with one strong and clairvoyant emotion: pain.

It hurt to love.

It hurt to care.

It hurt to...

She took a deep breath as she felt her legs slowing down, unable to take the pace that she had previously given herself. Unable to deal with the emotional turmoil within her heart. What was going to happen now? Now that he knew her feelings, now that he had something to hold against her, another foolishness of childhood behavior.

But she knew this emotion was not childish, far from it, really. That's why she had to grow up and accept the fact that he wouldn't love her. That's why she had to forget him, to move on with her life. Maybe he was right; she was just a foolish princess, believing in high castles and fairy tales...

She would move on.

But first... She looked around, frowning at everything. How was she going to get back to camp?

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Call It Destiny
by Sailor Elysia and Eternal Angel
ely_chan@yahoo.com, stargazing12@hotmail.com
Chapter 8
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Damn, that girl could be so... so... he just didn't know. Endymion stood rooted to the ground, too surprised to move. What had he done? Calling her a child had only provoked her to run...

He didn't blame her for leaving after giving such a revelation; hell, if he had been in her place he would have done the same thing.

What had he done? He'd made her care for him, worry about him, even to the point of love... something he never once considered would ever happen on this journey. And then the aching realization hit him.

Somewhere along the way he'd begun to feel the same.

"Selenity!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, running in the same direction she had taken moments earlier. He had to find her... tell her the truth... mend her broken heart...

To hell with the journey, that mysterious crystal, or helping Sylathia regains its rightful king. None of that mattered to him anymore... it never really had. The only thing that meant anything at all now was getting her back. Endymion wasn't about to give up so easily.

Because if he lost her in this wilderness, her brother would kill him.

And if he lost her heart, he would never forgive himself.

He saw a flash of white in the distance, between the glade of trees that encircled the camp. Stubborn girl... running off when something bothered her. He wanted to yell at her, scream that he was tired of chasing after her all the time. Didn't she realize that every time she did so, something always went wrong?

something... always... went... wrong...

Endymion sped up.

He couldn't lose her. Wouldn't lose her. She was too important. Selenity meant more to him than...

than...

life...

everything...

And for the first time in his life, he couldn't help but become completely befuddled with a stark realization.

He loved her.

Lord, how he loved that girl.

He loved her with all his heart, with all his longing, with everything inside of him that made his world continue on with its hypnotic cycle called living. And he knew, that if she was to disappear from his life that he wouldn't be able to live anymore.

Without her, life would be bleak, cold... and alone.

He shuddered at the word.

He had been too alone before to be alone again...

The flash of white then rustled by in a close distance as he chased after it, his mind spinning, his heart racing, and everything bursting so deep within him as he worked his way through the bushes and chaos. He had to tell her, he had to let her know that he... "Selenity, I..."

The white turned around and stared at him with a mocking glare. "Endymion."

Endymion glared at the man. "Syphis."

"So, you're looking for Selenity also, I presume," Syphis said, his eyes staring at him with a deadening glare. "She's too good for you, knight, give her up because you can never really have her."

"And what makes you think you're good enough for her?" he spat back in disgust. "You're nothing either."

"Not yet. But soon, I will be ruler, king, that's much more than I can say for you, knight. I will be king, I will be the one who will give order, to take care of my kingdom, and what will you be? A servant who runs at the mere beckon of his master." Syphis stared at him with a hard look. "You are to be used and disposed of as wanted."

"You said you wanted to be king for a better life for your kingdom, but this means you are just as horrible as your brother. He kidnapped her and then you kidnapped her... are you that weak enough to resort into grabbing the throne by this absurd method? What kind of man are you?"

Syphis' eyes glared at Endymion wildly as he gritted his teeth. "We'll see, knight, when we find out who gets the girl." With that he stormed off across the distance, in search of Selenity.

Endymion's heart sped up.

No matter what, he would find Selenity first. He had to convince Selenity to love him again.

******

She was going around in circles... or so she thought. The trees all looked the same to her. Selenity couldn't tell the difference between a twig and a trunk to save her life.

She sat down on a little rock and heaved a sigh. Endymion would be furious with her when he caught up with her again. Not that he wasn't already... but she expected to see him any moment. That was something he would do... come racing after her so she didn't get into any more trouble. He'd hold her close and reassure her... and she would believe him...

Selenity's heart began pounding fiercely. All of these emotions and feelings weren't new to her... but the way they swelled and mixed inside her heart was definitely something she had never experienced before.

She wouldn't let Endymion break her heart again.

Stupid man.

Selenity sniffed, begging the tears to go away. She didn't want to cry over him. Endymion wasn't worth crying over... even if her heart throbbed every time she saw him, how he touched her so tenderly when he approached her... like a lover's touch...

There went the tears again. She couldn't help it. She loved him too much.

If only...

If only he would realize that this journey had become much more than it was intended to be. Selenity briefly imagined what would happen when they returned to Avaria. Endymion would speak to her brother, and then, in his usual fashion, he would leave her with only her precious memories. Truthfully, he had no other loyalties to her or her brother's kingdom.

But she wished he did.

A sudden crackling in the bushes, accompanied by a chill in the air set Selenity's nerves on edge. It had been stupid of her to run off in unfamiliar territory, but at the time she hadn't any other choice.

There it was again. The rustling.

What if some wild animal was hidden inside of it, poised to attack her at any given moment? There was no chance of escaping. Selenity shuddered. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

"Endymion... please find me soon."

******

Meanwhile, Endymion began tearing through the foliage, having added a new objective to his original mission. He would get to Selenity first, before that offensive man could lay a finger on her. She was his, damn it, and no one would take her away from him. Not while he lived.

He shoved all logic aside. He wasn't supposed to fall for that slip of a girl. He never intended for that to happen when he accepted the charge from his friend. Knights shouldn't fall in love with women higher than their station because of the nature of his duties. He could die at any moment, and there was no way on this earth that he would leave a woman to grieve over him.

But then Selenity entered his life.

And it hadn't been the same since.

Endymion grimaced as he realized that he would do just about anything for Selenity. No other woman had ever held such power over him. But, he surmised, hers was not a threatening presence; aside from her frequent tantrums (and those could be downright frightening).

But love was just as frightening, considering he hadn't ever dealt with such an overwhelming emotion.

But at the same time, love was exhilarating, exciting, and pure blissful happiness...

He looked around, his eyes searching for a figure, the other half of him that made him completely, absolutely whole.

"Selenity...where are you now?"

******

Night began to fall, as Selenity leaned against the tree tiredly. She searched for a way out, only to find herself running deeper and deeper into the forest. It was very ignorant of her, seeing how her brother had told her so long ago that if she was to be lost, it was safest to stand still and wait for someone to rescue her. But waiting had never been her forte.

The soft chill of the night slowly rolled up against her as Selenity shuddered at its force. She slowly slid to the ground, curling up in a ball. Her heart slowly pondered why she had been such a fool to put her into this position and wondered how she could have been such an idiot to fall for him. After all this time walking around and calling out his name, only to have him never appear made her rethink everything that ran through her mind and heart.

Endymion did not love; therefore she should not love him.

That was simple, wasn't it?

She titled her head as she watched the sky, her heart weary, her eyes drooping, her mind failing to see the logic of the world.

Endymion did not love; therefore she could not love him...

Therefore... she did not love him.

She would never love him.

Her mind slowly drifted off with that last thought as somewhere in the distance beneath the fading sun, a frantic lone figure called out for her, his voice filled with all the love, longing, and wanting deep within him.

******


CP: I'm such a bad person, I know. This story has been taking forever to be written because (coughs) I've been such a bad bad person. But then again, Lyssa has been pretty darn horrid herself too, so I feel a tad bit better. Sorry for taking so long, but homework has been a pain. Please send us some feedback if you can, ya know, just to get some of the creative juices to flow! ^^

Ely: horrid is such a fun word, but I haven't been... it's this little obnoxious thing called school. Just a few weeks left and it's REALLY starting to wear on me. Kudos to CP for putting up with me anyway. ^_^