Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Kodansha, Naoko Takeuchi, Toei, Cloverway, etc.
"Shadows of the Past" by Tess: Chapter 3
Written: 6-13-04
Princess Serenity sat down on her bed and sighed. It was the evening of the ball, and in a few minutes she would have to go downstairs and confront a barrage of people complimenting her on her coming of age. Courtiers from all over the Solar System would tell her how much she'd grown since the last time they saw her. Serenity scowled. The last time most of these people had seen her was when she was first born. Did they not expect her to grow over a course of sixteen years?
At least Endymion would be there. A slight blush crept over Serenity's cheeks at the memory of their picnic together. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't starting to feel something for him. It was almost as if she were-falling in love with him? She laughed at her foolishness. 'But that's impossible,' she scolded herself. 'Endy just sees me as a sister. Besides, there are probably plenty of beautiful girls swooning over him on Earth. I don't stand a chance.' It was a depressing thought.
Serenity got up to look at herself in the mirror. She couldn't deny that her dress was beautiful-she had even had some say in the design of it. It was made of smooth white silk with no other design-she liked to keep things simple. It curved into a sweetheart neckline with no straps, and flowed into a full skirt. She complimented the look with simple pearl jewelry. What Serenity saw in the mirror, however, was an awkward teenager playing dress-up. 'Well, I guess this is it,' she told herself. She gave her reflection a small smile and headed for the door.
The evening found Prince Endymion in his guest bedroom, getting ready for the ball. He stared at his reflection in the mirror and nervously ran a hand through his hair. Ever since his arrival on the Moon, he could think of only one person: Princess Serenity. Just the thought of her made his heart race. True, she had always been his dear friend, but he could not deny that in the past two days, he had been more attracted to her than he had been to any girl in his life. No-attraction didn't even begin to describe his feelings. It was almost as if he were falling in love with her. Endymion snorted aloud.
'Love?' he thought. He wasn't even sure what that was. 'Besides, Serenity sees me as her friend and nothing more. She couldn't have feelings for me. Right?'
Princess Serenity stood at the top of the stairs to the ballroom, a bundle of nerves. She hated entering balls alone, thousands of eyes upon her, judging her. She shuddered slightly at the thought. "I hate going in alone, too," said a deep voice from behind her, as if its owner had read her mind. She whirled around and was face-to-face with Prince Endymion. His breath caught in his throat as he drank in the sight of her. Where she had seen an awkward teenager, Endymion saw a beautiful woman wearing a dress that clung lightly to her curves yet still had a hint of girlish innocence to it.
"Wow. Sere, you look...beautiful." A crimson blush stained her cheeks, and she was once again unsure of what to say. Her blush deepened as she realized Endymion looked incredibly handsome. He wore his formal armor and a black and red cape over a black tunic. His raven hair spilled into his sparkling blue eyes and Serenity realized that it'd be wonderful to run her hands through his soft locks.
"Thank you Endy. You do, too. I mean-you look nice, too," Serenity stammered, internally scolding herself for the thought. Endymion chuckled and offered her his arm, and they went down the staircase as their names were announced. When they reached the bottom, Serenity was immediately assaulted by a group of four cheerful girls.
'The princesses of the inner solar system,' Endymion realized. Serenity had written about them many times. They were her guardians and closest friends. He smiled and decided to leave her there and go in search of his friends, who had arrived on the Moon earlier in the day. No sooner than he turned around, he saw the leader of his generals, Kunzite, across the room. He made his way over to him. "Evening, Kunzite," he greeted.
"Your highness," Kunzite said with mock formality. Endymion rolled his eyes.
"Having fun?" he asked. Kunzite snorted.
"Not nearly as much as you and Princess Serenity. I could feel the chemistry between you two over here." To hide his blush, Endymion turned to look at Serenity and her friends.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kunz"
"Oh, c'mon, don't try to hide it. I've known you your whole life and I've never seen you look at a girl the way you look at her." A boyish grin took over Endymion's face as he turned back to Kunzite, running a hand through his hair.
"All right, you caught me. She's amazing. I just hope I have a chance with her."
"All right, Serenity, you still haven't told us about the picnic you and Endymion went on the other day!" exclaimed Minako, the princess of Venus.
"You guys were gone all day!" Makoto, the princess of Jupiter said, winking at her. "Soooo, what happened?"
"Nothing happened. It was just a little picnic between friends," Serenity replied.
"Friends, huh?" said Ami, princess of Mercury.
"Just friends?" teased Rei, princess of Mars. "But you two make such a cute couple!" Serenity couldn't help but giggle.
"Do you guys really think so?" she asked. "Not that we'd ever, I mean, he's just a friend and..." her voice trailed off. Her friends
all rolled their eyes.
"Speaking of friends, Prince Endymion seems to have some good-looking ones," said Minako, craning her neck to look across the ballroom. Three other men had joined Prince Endymiobn and Kunzite. "Do you think he could introduce me? Specifically, to the one with the long silver hair?"
"No, the blonde is cuter," commented Rei.
"Personally, I like the one with the wavy brown hair," said Makoto.
"Zoisite is the most handsome," Ami said quietly.
"What? You're on first name terms with one of them?" exclaimed Minako. "How?"
"I met Zoisite earlier today. He came by the lab because he was bored," Ami replied, waving to the general with auburn hair and green eyes. "He's a doctor on Earth, and very smart, too." The girls all stared at the shy princess of Mercury, awestruck.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say our Ami has a little crush," teased Makoto. Ami turned a deep shade of purple.
"It's nothing like that!" she exclaimed. Serenity smiled as Ami vehemently denied having any feelings for Zoisite while the others teased her. Endymion often wrote to her about his generals, and she had met them earlier that day. How funny it would be if her friends all fell for his friends! She excused herself from the girls to go get some wine. As she approached the table, however, she was stopped by a deep, syrupy voice.
"Well, Princess, you're looking radiant, as always." Serenity turned, a sense of dread filling her at whom she knew she'd see.
"Good evening, Theronious," she greeted warily. "I hope you're well?"
"With you in the room, how could I not be?" he replied. His hungry gaze was making Serenity sick to her stomach. She uncomfortably crossed her arms over her chest. "Princess, may I have the honor of this dance?" he asked, extending his hand. Serenity's heart sank. She didn't want the man to touch her, but what choice did she have? She opened her mouth to speak.
"Why Theronious-"
"I'm terribly sorry good sir but I'm afraid Princess Serenity has already promised this dance to me," interrupted Prince Endymion, who had come out of nowhere. He spoke calmly, but his fiery blue eyes gave away his anger at the man. "Right, Princess?" Serenity nodded, feeling relieved that Endymion had come to her rescue. Endymion curtly nodded at Theronious before sweeping Serenity out onto the dance floor. Endymion kept staring at the man, his dislike for him intensifying by the minute. "Serenity, who is that?" Serenity shuddered.
"Theronious. I'm not sure if you got my last letter-," she began, but Endymion interrupted her.
"I did." He shook his head in disgust. "You're not overreacting at all. The way he was looking at you..." He tightened his hold of her waist. "Serenity, no man should ever treat you as if you were a piece of meat." His eyes narrowed as he looked at Theronious, who was sulking in a corner. He made a mental note to talk to Queen Serenity about the man tomorrow. "Ever." Warm goose bumps crept up Serenity's arms. It was strange, but Endymion's words had comforted her. Of course she knew she wasn't a piece of meat, but the protective tone that he used made her feel safe. Being held in Endymion's arms, zooming across the dance floor, hearing his comforting words, she felt as if Theronious were miles away. She was overcome with gratitude towards the Prince.
Suddenly, she was struck with an idea. "Endy?" she murmured.
"Yes?"
"There's something I'd like to show you." Endymion watched with a puzzled expression as Serenity took his hand and began leading him towards the back of the ballroom.
"Princess, where are we going?" He laughed. This was crazy. The Prince of Earth and the Princess of the Moon just didn't leave a ball together and not start rumors. He didn't care though. All that mattered to him was Serenity. She led him behind her mother's throne and pulled back some curtains to reveal a set of white French doors. She opened them and gestured for him to follow her. The doors led to a small balcony covered with a plant that resembled ivy, but was silver and marked with miniscule pale pink and blue flowers. An elegant stone bench sat in front of a trickling marble fountain. All in all, Endymion thought, it was very beautiful-and romantic, he couldn't help but notice. Butwhy had Serenity brought him here? He looked at her inquisitively.
She flashed him a brilliant smile. "Look straight ahead," she offered. He did, and was taken aback at the sight before him. It was the Earth-huge and a brilliant shade of blue-hanging before them. He felt an overwhelming surge of love and pride for his planet, and of affection for the girl who had brought him here. Princess Serenity had gone to the edge of the balcony and was resting her elbowson the smooth marble, staring at the Earth. "You can't see it better from anywhere else on the Moon. When I was a little girl, I discovered this balcony and used to come up here all the time. Mother never comes here. I think it reminds her of my father. It sounds silly, but I used to talk to the Earth when I felt I could confide in no one on the Moon-not unlike how I confide in you through our letters. It was almost as if I thought you could hear me if I talked to your planet. I don't know. It just looks so warm and inviting. A beautiful blue jewel hanging among the stars..." her voice trailed off.
She didn't know why she was spilling out her soul to him. It just felt right to her. Endymion just watched her throughout her entire confession, realization dawning in his eyes. It was strange. Her words had made him realize something about himself: he loved her, he was sure of it. He always had.
He wasn't saying anything-he thought she was crazy, she was sure of it. The pain his silence was causing her made her realize what she already knew: she was in love with him. She closed her eyes and a tear threatened to trail down her cheek. She couldn't take his silence much longer. A breeze blew, and Serenity shivered. Then suddenly, she felt herself enveloped in warmth. Her eyes shot open to see that Endymion had come up from behind her and wrapped his strong arms around hershoulders. "Endy?" she breathed.
"You know, Sere, the Moon looks beautiful from the Earth, too," he whispered in her ear. "But not as beautiful as its princess." Serenity's jaw dropped. She turned her head back to see Endymion grinning at her. "I love you, my princess. May I please kiss you?"A huge smile spread over Serenity's face as she turned and threw her arms around his neck.
"Oh, yes Endy, please yes! I love you, too!" was all she had time to say before his lips captured hers in an earth-shattering kiss.
Hours later, Serenity and Endymion stood at the door to Serenity's bedroom, ready to bid each other farewell for the night. It was Serenity who spoke first. "Endy," she began, gently brushing his hair out of his eyes. "This has been the most marvelous night of my life. Thank you so much." Endymion responded by encircling his arms around her waist and gently pressing her against the closed door. She giggled as she felt his hot breath against her ear.
"No, Serenity, thank you," he managed to whisper before she gently pulled his lips to hers. When they finally broke the kiss, he cupped her face in his hands. "Good night, love. I'll see you tomorrow." Serenity's heart caught in her throat at the new nickname.
"Good night," she replied, letting go of him and putting her hand on her doorknob. She watched him as he walked down the hall and flashed one last smile at her before disappearing around the corner. Serenity sighed happily, unable to contain the smile that spread over her face. She couldn't remember ever being this happy. However, as Serenity entered her room, the happiness inside of her quickly turned to terror as she felt the cool blade of a sword against her throat.
"Don't say a word, Princess," sneered a sickening voice that sent a chill down her spine. "Now shut that door."
End Chapter 3
Yay! A cliffhanger ;). I hope you enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed writing it. I was listening to Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" all throughout writing the kissing scene. I think it inspired me...lol! Please let me know what you think so far!
Tess