Moonlight Horizon

Moonlight Horizon

Copyright © 2001 Michelle Harris

aka Lady M. Harris

http://ladymharris.homestead.com

A Sailor Moon Romance Story

Elios and Rini Love Story

Chapter 8

Cerus…

Soft footsteps palpitated across the cold, dark marble and then faded back into the quiet of the night. The color of the marble was obscured by the lime night, making it impossible to see the tiny, intricate designs engraved on the edging of the imported, cut stones. Four moons reflected brightly against the dark, evening sky of the large planet. A crescent moon behind the fourth moon, added to the luminous effect. Two of the moons were in full glory and the night was exceedingly bright even to the inhabitants of Cerus. The city lights below the mountainous palace were bathed within the evening moons, blending together to create an almost daylight effect to the living.

The tall, willowy woman stood against one of the palace's tiered columns. Her stance was relaxed, quite reflective of her morbid mood. The warm, gentle breeze ballooned gauzy, gossamer curtains that floated about her figure like dancing apparitions. Her long hair, like the brilliant, burning solar sun, joined the curtains and swirled like a ghoul specter about her slim, naked form.

They called this woman Mandelhi, a priestess and a guardian of the magical world where only dreams were produced on a planet, they called Earth. A place forgotten by the humans but still preciously guarded against any harm. A place where faeries still existed, Santa Claus and cats secretly spoke like humans.

On Cerus, Mandelhi was a captive by his own, two hands. Confined to her duties that bounded her to Earth and yet, a captive to her own, betrayed heart that kept her on Cerus. Aaron acknowledged this, watching her silently from their bed. He sighed, his face hardening as thoughts strayed to his current predicament. His soul, all his life had been tortured, until now. Eyes the color of dark coal, stayed on the woman before him, never wavering, caressing and yes, loving on her peaceful form. He knew why she stood there, staring with those solemn green eyes of hers at the planet, Paradise.

Silk covers slipped from his trim waist, revealing angled hips, sinewy stomach and long, hard thighs. His long feet touched the cold marble, but he paid no to the coolness he encountered. His silent stride took him quietly to the young woman staring out of the palace and into the bright city the below them. Black feathers fluttered in his wake and his hair, the color of the darkest midnight blended effortlessly with the feathers, as thick and as silky as a woman's, swayed against his naked hips.

Mandelhi did not have to turn around to know that her lover approached her. She knew the beauty of his face, the ridges that formed the sharp angles of his cheeks, jetted arched brows, lips that were full and sinuous to match his dark, tormented eyes. Eyes that seemed to call to her own turmoil, but their purposes were of opposite and of stark opposition. And yet, she was here, standing in his room, naked as the day she was brought forth into the world, her fingers twining within his, as his warm embrace encircling her.

"You are not thinking of him again, are you?" Aaron asked, quietly. He liked the way her slight form seem to fit perfectly within his arms.

"You must let him go," she stated, simply, not bothering to turn around. This argument was old. But it was one that she could not forgo. And it was an argument they would continue to have for as long as the king was held captive under Aaron's orders. For the Earth king was her sovereign and she was his obedient servant by default.

"Shrine Maiden," he sighed again, frowning. He hated this argument. It was pointless as far as he was concerned. He would not budge from his standpoint and he knew she would not from her own.

"I do not trust that woman to keep her word. She wants something from him, something very precious," Mandelhi answered ignoring the title that Aaron used in their conversation, but she knew her words would prove fruitless as before. She had already pleaded the king's case before to him; she tried to explain her reasons to him, as she did not trust Alicia Woodward. Alicia wanted something from her king, something very personal and yet, she had not been able to figure out what it was that the woman wanted. Only that she knew with her womanly instincts that whatever Alicia wanted from the king could only hurt those who were precious to him. Alicia was not trustworthy enough to keep her word as she promised to Aaron that no harm would befall the king while under her guard.

"And what could be more precious than the scroll?" Aaron's full lips curved cruelly in what resembled a sardonic grin.

Mandelhi squeezed her eyes shut against the harsh words, the pain slicing against her insides. That was all he cared about! That stupid Golden Scroll, this senseless battle that would in the end, hurt so many. She knew this with all her heart, could feel it as well as she could feel the coolness of the marble floors beneath her feet. And whether she liked it or not, in the end, she did not want loose Aaron. She turned into his embrace, her cheek pressed against his chest. She could feel the steady beat of his heart, the warmth of his breath across her forehead.

"Why can't we just leave, Aaron? You and I. We can leave this place and never return! We can leave Cerus and no one would know any better," she pleaded, staring up into his hard face. She knew it was futile to plead with him, but never the less she still asked time and time again.

"Run? Runaway! I cannot! You know, better than I, what I was created for!" His arms tighten around her, as if to prove his point and to continually let her know that she was his prisoner.

"Aaron…" she whispered and cried out softly against him. "Why? Why did I have to fall in love with you?"

"Because it was fated and you cannot resist me no matter how much you try." And with that said, he lifted her effortlessly into his embrace. Once more, his sure strides took him to their bed where he laid her gently against their pillows, carefully lifting her red-gold tresses that spilled their glorified length over the bed so that it did not hinder her in any way. So he could admire her luscious beauty. His body quickened with hot desire at the sight of her comeliness.

"Once the Golden Scroll is in my hands, Cerus will be free. To be allowed live like those of the human world, free to choose, free to love and free create new life. Future generations will prosper," he lowered his dark head, the curtain of his long hair trailing over them in a silky, smoky curtain.

And in his treacherous mind, free to obliterate his mind from the killings of the angels necessary to bring about the DNA transformation. They were killing not done directly by his hands but on his indifferent, and indirect orders. Nevertheless, they were orders acted upon his silent directive. His lips touched hers in a soft kiss, stilling his anguished thoughts. Instead, his mind marveled at the sight her perfect pink, crested nipple that peaked rebelliously against the chilly air, his hand reaching out to roll the aroused nub between his fingers.

"Tomorrow, we shall see about the king, for Alicia's games grows old and tires me and I will not wait another day. Will that satisfy you now, my pet?"

Mandelhi could only sigh at his covenant words, her body already arching into his hand, returning his fervent kisses with flaming kisses of her own. His words only made half sense to her, her body already in control of her emotions, aching to have him within her once more. Already he was reawakening those prevailing fires within her with just the touch of his hand, the soft kiss by an indentured curve by her belly or a gentle murmur of lovemaking words. Large, beautiful ebony wings lifted, the brushing, quiet sound could be heard above the soft sighs, their feathered warmth fluttering over them. And then the man was once more settled between the creamy thighs of the lovely creature within his hold; their bodies moving gracefully seamlessly like liquid silk. Raven feathers floated effortlessly down to the floor, forgotten and unnoticed by the engaged couple on the bed.

"So, you're finally waking," the familiar feminine voice said next to him.

Darien cautiously blinked his eyes to clear away the heavy fog that seemed to cling to his semi-conscious, dark oblivion mind. His head felt thick somehow, as if it were too heavy to be held up by his neck. It throbbed quite painfully, his tongue seeming to match the heaviness his head felt. After a moment of listlessness, his mind cleared somewhat and he was able to slightly lift his head toward the direction of the voice.

His mind dimly registered to whom the voice belong to and he immediately felt infuriated and betrayed that he had not recognized her façade until it was too late.

"Release me, Alicia," he commanded softly, coarsely. His throat felt raw and dry. He tried to pull against the ropes that tied his wrists to the bedposts, but of course, they wouldn't budge. Not that it mattered much, considering how raw and numb his hands felt. He wondered long he had been tied up this way on the crumpled bed.

"Uh-huh…" she drawled, laughing smoothly as she slid out of her chair. "You can't order me around here, darling," she sat on the bed, her red, immaculate painted fingernails near his legs.

"What do you want from me?" He tried not to snap, his mind reeling with questions. Where the hell was he? How had he gotten here? What kind of game was Alicia trying to play on him, he wondered with boiling anger. There was going to be crap to pay once he got his hands on her pretty neck. And where in the hell was he, he asked himself again? The last he remembered was getting out of the limousine behind his hotel in London as was often common practice for royalty trying to avoid the public. The last time he was London, the crowd waiting for them at the hotel while they attended a social event given for the Prince of Wales mobbed Serena and him. That was one of the reasons why he took such great pains to avoid the crowds.

"I haven't quite decided yet what I want to take from you first…" she sighed as if contemplating a big decision.

"If it's the Silver--" he started, shutting his eyes for a moment as the room tips sideways and he tried vainly to a hold of his careening senses.

"Oh no, the Silver Imperium Crystal isn't what I want at all!" Alicia laughed throatily, her voice trailing away in the darkness of the cool room. Oh no, not at all. The Golden Crystal would guide them towards the Golden Scroll yes, for Aaron, but something else far more--much more exciting is what she wanted from the King of Crystal Tokyo. And it had nothing to do with crystals or power; she smiled inwardly with wicked glee.

Instantly, Darien's mind cleared of the dizziness and his head snapped up as he recognized the husky catch in her throat. It was a feminine sound, one that any predatorily male would have recognized with the opposite sex. His body grew still in stupefaction and paralyzing shock. Only with Serena he would have gladly surrendered to the provocative lure the sound meant. But with Alicia, his mind went cold blank.

"Actually," Alicia purred and leaned forward, her robe gaping open seductively, her full breasts swinging slightly from her movements, "I do want the Golden Crystal. If it will lead me to what we need. But only after," she paused significantly, daringly.

Darien blinked his cold eyes at her, his cheeks becoming red as indescribable rage began to seep into his veins. Too late did he notice that Alicia was dressed with nothing but a silk robe and that the room was seemed stifling and dark, with only one of Cerus' moonlight rays slanting through a small port window above his head.

"You can have the crystal, Alicia. I will gladly give it to you, if you will just release me," he stated through his gritted teeth.

"Oh I'm not a fool, darling!" Alicia shook her head, letting her blond hair down from its chignon hold atop her head. The blond tresses flowed down her back, enticingly. Any other man would have been charmed, or even turned on by the sight, but as it was, Darien was far from being amused by her tactics.

He was furious.

"But there's just one tiny teeny thing I want first and then I'll take the crystal, Darien, my darling," Alicia drawled, smiling slowly as Darien's dark brows drew together in a fierce frown.

"You're wasting your time," he stated slowly, tightly, on to her game.

"I think not!" Alicia laughed smoothly again, throwing back her head in the process. "Most men are so easily aroused! All it takes is a pretty face and a nice body and the gander is willing and ready to go!" She leaned in close to his rigid face, smiling venally.

"You're sick," he stated disgusted, a cruel smile erupting across his lips.

"Perhaps, but we shall see you're reaction," she quipped back, angrily, having faltered from his last statement. She was not sick, just determined to get what she wanted.

And she wanted Darien. From the first moment she had laid eyes on the King of Crystal Tokyo, those many months ago outside of Madam Winsdor's boutique. She had burned, wanting him so badly. She had played all her cards, had dealt all her aces out and she planned on collecting her winnings very soon. She ignored all warnings that he was married to one of the most powerful women in history or that the woman was eternally, exquisitely beautiful and mindfully intelligent.

All this time, even after trying to lure him into her bed he had remained invariably, valiantly devoted that bitch! She had done her best to spread rumors around Tokyo, tricking the royal family into believing that Darien was having an affair with her. And still, knowing that Darien was barred from the queen's room, he had graciously refused her numerous invitations her bed. The man was totally loyal to that-that witch of a queen! How she hated Queen Serenity and her presence!

It seemed only fair now that Queen Serenity was about to lose this hand, for she was finally going to get Darien into her bed, even if it meant taking him by force, Alicia laughed inwardly. Most men would jump at an opportunity such as this and she knew instant victory at such a thought. God, but he was a fine looking male specimen, she shuddered delicately with anticipation of the night to come.

"You're wasting your time, Alicia," Darien stated quietly once again when Alicia stood up from her leaning position.

"Oh--we shall see about that," she said, releasing her robe. The silk material fell to the floor, pooling around her slender ankles. She stood before him in her nude form, her breasts full, the dark nipples erect from the still, cool air of the dark room that was his prison.

Lady Alicia Woodward was a very beautiful woman and any man would have been attracted to her loveliness on such blatant display. Darien gritted his teeth in seething anger, although his eyes told him she was beautiful, he had seen countless others just a beautiful as her and just as intelligent.

He felt like such a fool for not recognizing her cloaked beauty for a veneer of evil. He was surrounded by beautiful women all day long at the castle and so her beauty was no different the rest. His wife, who was exquisite beyond that of imagination, the Sailor Warriors and the women who served Crystal Tokyo were just as lovely. But the difference between his wife and her warriors were that they're comeliness went far beyond their skin layer. Lady Alicia did not even come close to matching the utter substance that was at the heart of their souls.

But the fact remained; she was not Serena. However, none other could satisfy his insatiable, unquenchable desire that he had for his own wife. He closed his eyes, seeing her as last saw her, with tears of frustration running down her smooth cheeks, her face flushed from their last kiss on the runaway before he took off for London. His heart swelled and ached for her, praying he had the perseverance for the night to come.

He shuddered violently, suddenly remembering another lifetime ago of another woman made of the same material and conscious thought. Two women, from different backgrounds and times, but how much Alicia's mind operated the same way as Beryl's did! They both wanted him, wanted to take him by force, knowing instinctively that the drugs they fed to him would weaken his powers and his mind from killing them instantly. Beryl had succeeded in her endeavors, but he'd rather die in hell before he let that happen again to himself.

He loathed both women; the abhorrence and utter revulsion curled his insides as the thoughts took hold of his numb mind. If there were such a thing as gods, then they had created those two vile creatures, which were nothing but an abomination of humanity.

"So am I that beautiful, that you must force your gaze away from me?" Alicia throatily chuckled, mistaking his closed eyes and stillness for something else.

When Darien's eyes snapped open, she mistook the blazing hate that burned his eyes for desire, and continued to read his silence for acceptance of his situation. Instead, she got on the bed, smiling coyly as she straddled his hard thighs. When his silence continued, she reached forward and began unbuckling his trousers, leisurely, as if she had all the time in the world for a dally.

And still he said nothing, only the warmth of his breath feathering her neck like a silken caress as she continued with her task.

"Well now," Alicia gasped with appreciation, as her fingers encircled Darien's large member, "its no wonder the queen hoards you!" It was flaccid, but it was even obvious to her that when he was fully aroused, how large he would be.

Darien gritted his teeth, trying to will his body not to react to her caresses. But his body had a will of its own, and Alicia was very skilled with her hands. In a matter of moments, his flesh stood high and erect. He could not have controlled that part of his body, unless he had been born a eunuch.

But he smirked inwardly, perhaps having one more ace up his sleeve. Despite not being able to control his flesh - as he was only human - he knew that he could be a very skilled lover. More so than most men, he knew. He could not have made love to Serena, satisfied her, the way a man of his nature could, through out the centuries and not have picked up some useful bedside manners along the way.

There were countless times where he made sure Serena came again and again, while he did not, holding himself back as he greedily watched her release with the glitter of sensual male satisfaction in his lowered lidded eyes. It was one of his favorite pastimes, was to watch the world tilt and explode in Serena's eyes, as he would move deeply within her. Yes, it was exquisite torture for him, but the rewards whether they stemmed from within the king and queen's bedchambers or in the royal courtroom, far outweighed the sacrifices.

It was those very thoughts of Serena that kept his sanity now as Alicia moved over him, her body obviously trembling in her excitement. She was so lost in her self-absorb ness that she failed to notice how still the large body was below her or how Darien averted his face from her in an blatant attempt to withhold his manly dignity away from her loathing presence. Nor did she notice how hard Darien clutched at the dingy bed sheets beneath him, his knuckles white as it stretched taut over his skin.

"Oh darling, I can hardly wait," Alicia cooed breathlessly as she braced her thighs on each side of his own. She poised his member in one hand between her legs, while the other hand was anchored on his shoulders. Finally, she began to slowly descend onto him.

With his head still averted, Darien gritted his teeth, faintly acknowledging his mind's defeat to his willful body.

He bit his lips until he could taste the acrid taste of blood on his lips.

It was no use; he tried to rationalize with himself. He could not deny the fact that her body could arouse him physically, even against a will as strong as his own. No matter how much he tried to prove her words wrong. And that moment, he hated her even more than any other living female alive.

The door beside them crashed opened hard enough that it knocked one of the hinges loose from its fasten, and a booming voice plucked a startled Alicia from her perch above Darien. Bright yellow light spilled into the dark room as four bodies moved into the din room, voices talking all at once.

"I knew it," a light feminine voice accused above the deep murmur of the men entering the room.

"So it would seem you were right, Shine Maiden," Aaron replied, his deep frown on Lady Alicia who squirmed at his hold on her. His frown grew hard and menacing as his gaze encountered the king's refusal to gaze at his rescuers.

Mandelhi moved toward the king but Aaron intercepted her, shoving Alicia into one of the guard's arms instead. "I'll deal with you in a moment," he growled low at Alicia, his cold black eyes showing no absolution. Even Aaron was shocked by the scenery displayed before him.

Darien kept his head averted, the humiliation deep as Aaron zipped his dress pants back up as if it were nothing in the world. His rage was silent and deep, his mouth thinned in displeasure. It was too much, as hot and cold tremors rippled through out his body. He refused to acknowledge the obvious truth. That again, he had let himself be nearly taken by another woman. To add more salt to his mental wound, it was now witnessed by other people.

"Take her out of here," Aaron ordered quietly to the guards once he returned his attention back to Alicia and the guards in the room.

Lady Alicia made a dive for her robe lying on the floor, all the while swearing at everyone.

"Leave it," Aaron roared, his temper flaring. "You shall learn humiliation. And it shall be at the expense of others as you have done this evil deed. Have you no shame?" His raven wings quivered at the sound of his voice.

"You'll regret this, Aaron!" Lady Alicia shrieked in protest as both of the guards forced her back. "If it weren't for me, you would not have his majesty."

"But this?" Aaron raged.

"You promised me anything!" Lady Alicia screeched, "and this is what I wanted!"

"I do not want to even begin to want to understand," he motioned to the guards. "You make me ill, just looking at you."

Lady Alicia screamed, hurtling swear words at everyone in the room as the guards hauled her out of the room, naked as the day she was born.

Mandelhi came forward this time, laying her slim hands gently on Darien's shoulders. She began to chant a rose prayer. It was nothing more than a small prayer of gentle healing to lift the humiliation she knew he must have been feeling at the moment. How could she, Lady Alicia do such an evil and degrading thing to a man as proud as her king?

The chant gentled his raving soul and then the soft scent of roses filled Darien's head, and he reeled back from with shock once more. He recognized the ancient tongue of the chant and the scent of distinctive roses that drifted like a subconscious, forgotten dream.

A golden, gleaming palace shining brightly against a clear blue sky flashed before Darien's hindsight. A palace long overgrown with its own flaying garden of unambiguous roses, an ancient breed, breed for their vividly hardy character and delicate, heavenly scent.

Damask roses.

It was said that a couple of drops of the perfume from the Golden Gardens could costs thousands. Queens, princesses, and noble women of wealthy nature, traveled from near and far, bargaining their fortunes for a drop of the scent. For it was said that a dollop from the Golden Damask Gardens would bestow everlasting comeliness on anyone lucky enough use the precious scent. Indeed, for it were a known and a said fact that the women of the Golden Crystal Palace were forever bestowed with eternal beauty.

Darien knew this.

For the roses was a gift from his father to his beautiful queen, Persia, a millennium ago. It was in the palace gardens that the Damask roses flourished in abundance underneath his mother's caring hands. It was surely a breed of unknown origin and quality. There were a breed of roses that were not of this world. For the flowers themselves only responded to those within the palace that it received well. It was very well said that the flowers perceived kind women very well and tended to grow or even to shy obviously away from men.

For a long moment, Darien's own degradedness was forgotten and he was glad. Glad that he could seize on this moment away from his own deplorable state of wretchedness.

"You are of the palace?" He uttered in shock.

Mandelhi gasped, startled, shrinking back from Darien almost as if she had been stabbed in the heart. How could he know already! She was not prepared to answer him.

Aaron snapped his head toward her sound of anguish, his dark brow already fierce.

"Yes," she answered over Darien's groan of disbelief. She wanted to deny it, but she could not lie to him, he who had her sworn allegiance.

"Where is your twin, Manalani, Shrine Maiden?" Darien pursed with dispensing stage shock. He was remembering. Remembering his childhood of thousands of years ago, a childhood of another lifetime. It seemed so ancient now. His head was already beginning to clear since this Aaron had Alicia removed from the room and that he had another problem to focus on.

"You have a twin?" Aaron came to stand beside Mandelhi, his body taut with dread. He could not believe that Mandelhi had not told him of her twin sister.

"Oh God, yes, I do, Aaron…I meant to tell you but not before…" her eyes fell away from his condemning dark eyes and then she stared at Darien with tears filling her vision.

Aaron turned away with thundering frustration and punched a gaping hole into the wall behind Darien's head.

"What is she to you anyway?" Darien barked, startled.

"She's my captive, like you! She's protecting you and her sister and who ever the fucking else!" Aaron roared back.

"What do you expect?" Darien demanded. "I would have done the same thing had I been in her shoes."

"No, you would have expected loyalty from the one who claims to love you! From the one person you call your lover!" Aaron shot back, his angled face twisted with frustration.

"Stop this!" Mandelhi cried out, the tears now rolling down her smooth cheeks.

"You're right, this has to stop now. For your king must know what I want from him," Aaron smirked as he shrugged Mandelhi off his arm.

"I do not have the Golden Crystal with me, if that is your intent, dark angel." Darien answered cautiously, still jolted by the last piece of news.

"It is not the Golden Crystal I desire but the scroll," Aaron quipped back.

"The Golden Scroll? What for?" Darien gasped back, having forgotten of the papyrus paper until now. It was in existence, but seldom seen or heard of. Only those of the Golden Crystal Palace and those were a select few, had known of the priceless parchment where magical words of unknown wisdom were written in pure spun gold by the ancient scholars of Earth.

Darien had seen the scroll once, but he remembered now why.

"This scroll is to be protected and guarded by your most trusted servant," Darien's father had once warned. "It holds the key to life as we view the world now. This key is different than most of what we know. For now, the scroll is useless to us for we are alive. There will come a time in the world when man will pursue the meaning to this life and then the scroll will become the most wanted commodity to the future."

"Where is it now, father?" A young Darien of ten asked.

"Elios of the Ezekiel House holds the scroll now," Darkus smiled down into his son's eager face. He ruffled the youngster's shiny black hair knowing that he was too old now to show such affection, but unable to resist the temptation anyway.

The young Darien balked as he expected.

"Daddy! Not in public!"

"Alright son, I'll try to remember," his father answered back, a smile splitting his incredibly handsome face.

Darien grinned. "But father, Elios is just a baby. How could he hold a scroll?"

"The scroll is protected by the pureness of his star seed, his heart. He is destined to become your most loyal servant. His position will rise someday to be of equal worth to your station. But as far as we know, it will not be within our kingdom."

"But I don't get it, father. How will the scroll be released?" Darien's small face pursed in deep thought. Darkus wanted to laugh.

"Your crystal, and the Silver Millennium Crystal are one of the keys that will help release the scroll." Darkus answered quietly.

"You mean the crystal that belongs to the Queen Serenity's daughter?" Darien's pursed his lips, thinking at the time that Lady Serena was a completely annoying girl. She had those silly balls on her head like her mother, but secretly he thought she was a pretty girl with pretty blue eyes and a smile that could make your heart do cartwheels. Certainly, no other girl could capture his and his friend's attentions than when Serena was in town visiting the Golden Palace.

Darkus nodded, his mind already a thousand miles away, wondering what the lovely queen was doing at the moment.

It had been nearly seven years since Persia had passed away.

A year ago, he had met the beautiful Queen Serenity at a small soirée and was instantly enchanted by the graceful lady. Under a moonlit night he was able to steal a kiss from the highly reserved queen. And from the kiss had lead to a night of passion that Darkus could hardly forget. His one time lover, standing beneath the arbor of a softly, scented rose garden, bathed in only moonlight and dancing stars. Of silky limbs, golden tresses of the sun and silhouette kisses pressed against his hot skin.

Only the memories of Persia could rival the one night he had had with Queen Serenity. However, her commitment was to her young daughter and to their kingdom, which Darkus could entirely understand. Being he was in a nearly identical situation with Darien.

"There is only one that I know who knows the whereabouts of the scroll," Darien admitted.

Mandelhi gasped, her body utterly still. Surely he would not…

Darien stared hard for long moments at Aaron, measuring the man, silently. If Mandelhi was his lover, then there was more to the man than he believed, Darien pondered.

"Well, I'm waiting," Aaron grounded, his teeth clenching from the wait.

"The scroll is guarded by my most trusted servant," Darien began.

Mandelhi's eyes grew wide as Darien continued. It could not be! All this time! She never knew.

"He is a Dreamweaver, a Dreamkeeper, and a Guardian to the Golden Shrines of Elysian on Earth," Darien continued noting the alarm on Mandelhi's face.

"He is gone, your majesty!" Mandelhi cried out in anguish, jumping up from her position, unable to keep silent any longer. How could he not have known?

"What do mean?" Aaron snapped, "What do you know?"

"Elios is my most loyal and trusted servant! The one who guards the Golden Scroll!" Darien finished, staring at Mandelhi. "What do you mean by gone?"

"He is gone. One day, Manalani and I were at the shrine singing our usual prayers. Manalani went to search for Elios because he was late. It wasn't like him to be that way. When Manalani took so long returning, I went in search for her and Elios. I found Manalani by the Lake of the Golden Woods crying, and in her hands were Elios' clothes. A canary perched on a nearby tree beside us and began to sing. And what we heard pierced our hearts," Mandelhi related.

"Christ, this sounds like a frigging fairytale," Aaron grumbled.

Darien ignored the barb.

Mandelhi shot an annoyed look at her lover and took a deep breath, saying, "This is what the canary told us":

Winged Guardian, Golden Heart

Heaven's Son Reborn.

Under a distant star,

Righteousness goal.

Moon Daughter, Rainbow Heart

Love's blossom in full bloom.

Nurtured under a bright star.

In Compassion's garden, passion's bower.

Heaven's Son, Moon Daughter

King and Queen of Hearts

Call to the hidden,

Uncover the greatest treasure.

In the depths,

Two hearts unite

Call forth the key,

Of the Universal Soul.

"What the hell does that mean?" Aaron blasted in frustration.

"My God! Moon Daughter--Rini!" Darien drew in sharply. His heart felt constricted by sudden fright for his daughter. Dear Lord, he did not want her involved in this!

"Your daughter is the Princess Rini?" Aaron pursed, his rushing anger subsiding briefly. The Moon and Earth princess was reportedly marooned on that hideous island they called, Hades with…with…Elios…good God, could it really be? No, no, it can't be that easy. Could it?

Mandelhi came to the same conclusion as Aaron at precisely the same moment. She swung towards Aaron knowing by the dawning of knowledge crossing his features that they both had come to the same belief.

Elios of Elysium of the planet Paradise was also the Winged Guardian from the canary's fated message. Elios was taken from Elysian only to be reborn on another world. Thus fulfilling part of his destiny.

"What do you know?" Darien snapped, rushing against his tied wrists toward Aaron and Mandelhi.

Aaron smiled slowly, knowingly.

"Elios of Ezekiel House and Elios of Elysium of the planet Paradise are one and the same, your majesty," Mandelhi whispered, shaken by what she finally knew. All this time, she was here on this planet, and Elios was only another planet away. If only she had looked there first, instead on Cerus… He was reborn a guardian again, only this time for the humans that lived there. How was she or anyone else to know that Elios would retain his name on Paradise as he had the name in Elysian, Earth.

"The Winged Guardian! Oh that's rich!" Aaron laughed heartily.

Mandelhi stared at him with something akin to slight horror.

Darien was perplexed, his face turning dark.

Aaron explained, "The planet Paradise is protected by a legion of superior humans called angels."

"I know, for I sit before one now, although I don't believe you ever came from that same domain," Darien snapped, "what the hell does this have to do with Elios?"

"Everything and you are right about the latter!" Aaron chuckled, his mouth twisted sardonically. He could tell that the Earth king still did not comprehend the entire issue relating to Aaron's world of cyborg. It was no small matter now, for he would learn soon enough. "For decades I have been searching for the Golden Scroll, only to find out now that is has been within my grasp had I known where to look. To think that my brother, the Archangel of Paradise carried the precious Golden Scroll within him! Oh certainly, I have been nothing but a complete fool."

"The Archangel of Paradise is your brother?" Darien shook his head perplexed by the startling findings. This did not seem real at all. "But you aren't from the same planets?"

"That's so true," Aaron lifted his arm and peeled away his thin, black glove from his hand. Then he proceeded to pull back his skin on his arm.

Darien grimaced, sure that the angel was in pain. But Aaron's face remained emotionless. Only a small smirk appeared, making its way slowly across his lips as he garnered the king's reaction.

Mandelhi had a sad look on her face, almost as if she were resigned as she gazed back at her lover.

"You see," Aaron paused as Darien's eyes grew huge, his gaze riveted to Aaron's arm, the protruding skin was bloody, but within the arm where there should have been muscle and bone was steel and electricity. "I was once completely cyborg. My creator developed me in the exact image of Paradise's Archangel, Elios. Except for my black hair, wings and eyes, I am his identical twin. But it was his DNA that brought me to conscious life. Because he is an Archangel, extracting DNA from him did not kill him. That is not so true of the other angels. But because of Elios' DNA, my sperm can produce children," he smiled cruelly.

Darien glanced meaningfully at Mandelhi and she nodded hesitantly, tears welling back in her eyes at her confirmation.

Aaron made a sound of impatience. Of course, he would never admit to Mandelhi's king how much the precious life that grew in Mandelhi's stomach meant to him or his kind.

"Do not think that her participation was unwilling, for she consented quite easily to me," Aaron stated roughly, his gaze narrowed to slits.

Mandelhi gasped in embarrassment, her cheeks fusing with color.

"You are the source for all the problems between Paradise and Cerus?" Darien could not believe that he sat before the perpetrator of all the problems between the two feuding planets.

"It is not a problem!" Aaron snapped. "It is the only recourse that we can take as cyborgs. My people need the angels' DNA in order to repopulate. Unfortunately, a few angels were killed in the extraction of the DNA. It is not a perfected technique."

"But you have not stopped the capture of the angels!" Darien snarled.

"I do not encourage it either," Aaron lashed back, stepping away from Mandelhi and Darien. His ire was tenfold, who he to judge him? "I tire of this conversation and wish to see some action."

Aaron motioned toward his two silent guards, forgotten and hidden between the shadows of the room. Listening and waiting for the command of their leader.

"Untie him and clean him up. Then join us at the ship. Dispense Lady Alicia back to Earth. I have no wish to see that deplorable wench again," Aaron grabbed Mandelhi's arm, ignoring her slight protests as his wings snapped wide. "Come, my sweet, for we must prepare to meet my brother. What a sweet reunion it will be for you and your king," Aaron chuckled sarcastically.

Stay tuned for chapter 9! Lady M. Harris