Disclaimer: Don't own nothin', no point suin'…

The song for Serenity and Endymion I chose is Loreena McKennit's "The Dark Night of the Soul"

…Shrouded by the night…

…And by the secret stair I quickly fled…

Sparkling azure. Flaming purple. Lightning green. Deep cerulean.

Four sets of eyes followed Serenity everywhere she went. Walking, eating, and, she felt sure, sleeping, her guardians watched her. Even in the garden, her sanctuary, she knew they lurked.

Five days before, she had done the unthinkable, and descended to the Earth. Five nights ago, she had lost herself to a man she did not know. For five nights, she lay sleepless for hours, blue eyes dancing before her own. His laugh rang in her ears, the deep murmur of his teasing like a caress across her skin. She bit her lip on the strange desires playing havoc with her heart, and tried not to imagine his mouth taking the place of her teeth.

She rolled over in bed, turning resolutely from the beautiful jewel of all her dreams. Silent tears wet the pillow. She held her breath for as long as she could to stifle the sobs, only letting them loose in a brief, ragged gasp before trying again. After what seemed an eternity, her eyes would stay closed, and she fell into a fitful sleep. Every morning she woke to the gentle touch of Venus' hand on her hair, and her concerned questions. But all faded away as she realized she faced the window, through which the Earth was rising.

On the sixth day she found herself alone in the garden with Venus. She sat on the ground, her head down slightly, while the other girl perched on the bench behind her, brushing her hair. Silence stretched between them for several long minutes, Venus' usual chattered subdued with concern. At last, the leader of the Princess' guardians gave a deep sigh.

"What is it, Serenity?"

Staring down at her white slippers, Serenity asked, "Venus…Orianna, have you ever been in love?"

She felt Venus start with surprise. As an unspoken rule for many years, Serenity only called her guardians by their given names in moments of intense intimacy. Using the name of the princess, and not the guardian, meant everything said would be completely secret, even from the Queen. All five girls held this as sacred law, and never had these confidences been betrayed.

"In love?" Venus murmured, pausing with the brush just above Serenity's hair. "Well…yes! I am in love with Duke Adonis! Father doesn't know it, but I kissed him at the last masquerade ball. I didn't know who he was at first, because he was wearing a white mask, but then he took it off and he looked so handsome! He's very rich, too! He promised me, when we were married, that he would make me a new tiara, this one with gold and diamonds!"

"You kissed him!" Serenity shrieked. "You never told us that!"

Venus giggled impishly. "He made me promise to keep it a secret. But when he has time away from getting ready for the envoy, we sneak off to his room. He's kissed me a lot more since that first time."

"And…you want to marry him?"

"Of course! I'm already eighteen, so all we need is father's blessing. After he goes down to Earth and brings them into the Moon court he will be one of Queen Serenity's council. Adonis says that father will be so impressed he may very well ask Adonis to marry me himself!"

Serenity stared ahead. "Why do you love him, Orianna?"

"He's so handsome, and father likes him, and he's a Duke of Venus, and he's funny, and very rich, and—"

"No!" Serenity snapped, twisting away irritably. "No, that isn't what I mean by love! I mean in love! When…when your heart pounds just at the memory of his voice, and you can almost cry when you think of his blue eyes, because they were so beautiful, and so tender, and he did not mean to tease you when you were frightened! Oh, Orianna, you don't understand!"

She buried her face in her knees, her shoulders drooping.

"Blue eyes?" Venus asked slowly. "Who is this, Serenity? What are you talking about?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does! Is this why you've been so sad?"

She nodded.

"Well, what's the matter?" Venus demanded. "Do you think your mother would disapprove?"

She groaned, and nodded again.

"Who is he? A commoner?"

Serenity laughed wildly. "No, no, he is most certainly not a commoner!"

"A guardsman? A servant?"

"No."

"Well, who? Is he a noble?"

"Yes…"

"From where? Mercury? Venus? Mars? Jupiter? Saturn? Are you really going to make me list them all off?"

"He isn't from anywhere you've ever been."

"Do I know him?"

"No."

Venus huffed a sigh. "Is he a lord? A soldier? A count?"

Serenity finally lifted her face, and looked over her shoulder at her friend. "He is a prince."

"A prince?" Venus tipped her head, confused. "But, Serenity, there are no princes in the Silver Millennium."

Serenity raised her eyebrows significantly.

"Well, there is Prince Endymion, but he's from Earth and oh, sweet Saturn's bloody rings of death, you didn't!"

Serenity shrugged. "I did."

"YOU WENT TO EAR—"

"VENUS!" Serenity shrieked. "Don't scream it!"

"How could you do such a thing?" Venus hissed, leaning forward to grasp her Princess's shoulders. "What were you thinking?"

"Not that I would fall in love!" Serenity moaned. "Oh, Venus, I'm in so much trouble!"

Venus sat back, her brow furrowed in concern. Her eyes drifted slowly around the dangling vines of flowers, her teeth worrying her lower lip. It was several minutes before she looked back at Serenity.

"And he doesn't have horns?"

Serenity burst out laughing. "No, oh no! He has black hair, darker than Mars', and blue eyes like you've never seen!"

"What's all this excitement about blue eyes?" Venus snapped. "I have blue eyes! Mercury has blue eyes! YOU have blue eyes! How can you have lost your heart to blue eyes, Serenity? You might as well have fallen in love with Mercury, or me!"

"It's not just the color! He is so noble, and so gentle, and so very strong! He lifted me with one hand!"

"Jupiter can lift you with one hand! She has! We've all seen it!"

"And even when he was making fun of me, his laugh just made my heart pound!"

"Mars makes fun of you!"

"But he's…his hands are so beautiful!"

"My hands are beautiful!"

Serenity frowned. "Are you even listening to me?"

"NO!" Venus groaned, putting her face in her beautiful hands. "Serenity! What are we going to do?"

"I don't know! That's why I need you!"

"I don't know either!"

"You have to know! You're the leader of the Senshi! You're the Goddess of Love!"

"I know! I also know that even communication between the Moon and the Earth is strictly forbidden! As for the Princess of the Moon falling in love with the Prince of the Earth…it's a catastrophe waiting to happen!"

"Do you think I don't know all this?" Serenity whispered. "But it's too late, Orianna. Much too late. I'm in love. When I looked into his eyes, I knew, with the most clarity I ever knew anything, that my life would never be the same. I knew, before I even knew his name, that without this man I would be lonely forever. My heart knew it in an instant. It's just taken five days for it to get to my brain.

"That's why I have to see him again."

Venus jerked her head up. "Are you insane?"

"Maybe. But…I have to see him. If I don't, I will go crazy!"

"Serenity—"

"Orianna!" She turned all the way around, rising up on her knees to take her friend's hands. "Please! I can't eat!"

"Serenity—"

"I can't sleep!"

"Serenity—!"

"I feel like…I can't breathe!" She dropped her face into Venus' lap. "My heart is breaking every second I can't see him!"

"But, Serenity…" Venus whispered. "How do you know he loves you, too?"

"I know. The way I know he is the only man I will ever love, I know. But I need to see him, to tell him the truth."

"Don't." Venus clutched her to her lap. "Don't go again, Serenity. It's just… it's just infatuation! It's nothing more than his handsome face! Don't go back down there!"

Blue eyes, brilliant with tears, rose to hers. "You won't help me?"

"Yes! Yes, I will help you! I am going to introduce you to so many handsome, wonderful men that you'll forget you ever went to the Earth! Within a month, this will all seem like a silly, childish fantasy. I promise you!"

Serenity shook her head. "How can you, of all people, say that to me?"

"Because I know men, Serenity. And I know love. And I know the heart. Trust in me."

She was destined to be proven disastrously wrong.