Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Kodansha, Naoko Takeuchi, Toei, Cloverway, etc.
Shadows of the Past by Tess: Chapter 4
Posted: 7-1-04
Trembling, Serenity did as she was told as her attacker stepped into the light. "Theronious," she whispered angrily. The man smirked.
"Very good," he hissed. His hair had come untied, and he had a wild look in his eyes. "Looks like your precious little Prince Endymion can't save you now. Guess he isn't as magnificent as everyone says he is" Serenity's eyes narrowed in anger.
"You'll never be half the man Endymion is!" she spat. She cried out softly as Theronious flexed the sword against her throat, pressing her against the wall.
"I wouldn't be so bold if I were you, Princess. You seem to forget that I could end your life right now, if I so desired to." She glared at him with hatred, and then swiftly kicked his thigh, causing him to yelp in pain, falling to the ground and dropping the sword. She rushed to the door as quickly as her legs could carry her, but Theronious recovered too quickly. He threw himself in front of the closed door right before Serenity would have reached it. Her eyes widened in terror as he roughly grabbed her hands and held them behind her back. She opened her lips to let out a scream, but he clamped his free hand over her mouth, effectively silencing her. "You're a feisty one, aren't you?" he whispered into her ear. He gave a sickening laugh. "No matter. You can be tamed eventually." Fear coursed through Serenity's veins at his touch. What was he going to do to her? She seethed with anger at the man, and at herself for not reaching the door in time.
'Endy!' she cried out silently. 'Mother! Someone help me!'
A few rooms away, Prince Endymion fell to the ground, a terrible pain ripping through him. He clutched his head in agony. Suddenly, he heard Serenity's voice, distant and echoing, but unmistakable. 'Help me! Endy! Someone please help me!' His heart plunged into terror as he ran from his room, an angry cry erupting from his lips. He reached Serenity's room in seconds, and fear slipped through him like an ice cube at the sight he saw behind her door. Theronious had put a rough brown traveling cloak on Serenity, gagged her, and now had her pressed up against the wall, tying her hands in front of her.
"Let go of her!" he roared. Theronious turned around.
"Ah, if it isn't Prince Charming himself," he sneered, throwing Serenity to the ground. He emitted a false deep sigh. "Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you now." Theronious started towards him, but Endymion was quicker. Rage coursed through his veins at the thought of losing Serenity. He brutally punched Theronious square in the face, making him fall to the ground.
"Leave!" he screamed. "Leave this place and never come back!" He roughly kicked Theronious in the stomach, causing him to roll over and hit his head on one of Serenity's bedposts. His body then became eerily still. Endymion glared at the man with hatred before rushing to Serenity. He hugged her tightly. "Serenity," he murmured. "Serenity, what has he done to you?" He pulled away and made to undo the cloth that served as her gag, but a voice behind him made him freeze.
"Basic rules of warrior training, Endymion," it taunted. "Never turn your back on your enemy until you're completely sure he's fallen." Endymion prepared himself to stand and fight Theronious, but before he had a chance, something hard crashed down on his head and his world plunged into darkness. Theronious's cackle echoed throughout Serenity's room as she tried to scream Endymion's name. "Time to go, Princess," he hissed, roughly pulling her up by the arm. She struggled against him as he led her out of her room, down a staircase, and into the back gardens.
He pulled her through the trees to where a black stallion was waiting for them. Theronious grabbed Serenity's shoulders and hoisted her up onto the animal, painfully reminding her of the day she had spent with Endymion. She shuddered when he jumped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her so he could control the reins. She turned her head to look at him with hate-filled eyes. He only laughed and tugged at the reins, sending the horse charging through the gardens and out of the Palace gates.
Princess Serenity's eyes filled with tears as she turned her head and saw her home fading away into the distance. She thought of Endymion's unconscious form lying on her bedroom floor. 'Please let Endy be ok,' she prayed silently. 'Please!' She wanted nothing more than to bury her head in her hands and sob, but she tried to control herself. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, as if to squeeze out her tears. 'I will not give this man the pleasure of seeing me cry.'
The temperature began to drop steadily as they rode through a narrow passage lined with sparkling white trees on either side. Wild plants native to the Moon bloomed all around in the silver soil. At any other time, Serenity would have found it beautiful, but the unfamiliarity of the path only filled her with more terror. Suddenly, something on her wrist caught her eye. Her pearls. Of course-why hadn't she thought of it? She could try and leave some kind of trail. She was determined to escape from wherever Theronious was taking her, but she needed to know her way back. Hopefully, she'd be able to see the pearls in the soil. She stole a glance at Theronious, who smiled evilly at her. It was too dark, and he was too focused on the path, for him to notice anything that Serenity did in her lap. With some effort, Serenity brought her left thumb to the bracelet on her right wrist and pulled as hard as she could. The chain holding the pearls together gave way and the smooth beads fell into her open left palm. She weakly smiled in the dark, and flicked one pearl onto the ground. A few minutes later, she flicked away another one. It wasn't much, but a small fire of hope was lit inside of her as they rode off into the night.
Serenity was shivering violently as Theronious drew the horse to a halt. They had reached their destination: an immense stone manor almost completely hidden by trees and other foliage. Snow fell steadily on the already-blanketed ground. Suddenly, Serenity felt Theronious violently grab her and roughly press a foul-smelling brown cloth over her face. Instinctively, she held her breath as she struggled against him. "Give it up, Princess," he hissed. Serenity continued to hold her breath and tried to get out of Theronious' grip, but he was too strong. Her head was pounding and her chest felt as if it would burst at any second. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore--she breathed. She took in the cloth's vile smell in great big gulps. Dizziness engulfed her and black spots started to form in front of her eyes. She helplessly slumped over and fell off of the horse into the frigid snow. Then, everything went black.
Later, Serenity awoke, her eyelids too heavy for her to lift. It had seemed like hours since she and Theronious had reached the manor. She wasn't sure what kind of drug had been on the cloth, but it had left her feeling nauseated and weak. Her bonds had been removed, and she could tell that she was lying down on something. She could feel the heat and hear the crackle of a fire nearby. Suddenly, she heard a man speak.
"You have done well, Theronious," he said. The man's voice sounded oddly familiar to her. "I assume you followed your orders and did not touch her?"
"I did not touch her, sir. I will have to admit to you that it was tempting though. She is very beautiful," Theronious replied. Disgust filled
Serenity at his comments.
"Good. Do not worry Theronious, you'll receive your reward soon."
"Thank you sir."
"Now, leave us."
"Yes, sir." Serenity heard a door close. Fear filled her body. Who was this man? Why did he want her? She struggled to open her eyes and view her surroundings. She was in a medium-sized room with a cherry wood floor decorated with burgundy carpets. She lay on a cream-colored chaise lounge that had been placed next to a stone fireplace. Across the room were some bookshelves and a cabinet filled with wine and liquor. To her right was a cherry wood desk and chair with two other chairs in front of it. A voice made her jump.
"I see that you're awake, Serenity," the same man from earlier said coldly. She sat up and saw a tall older man standing by the doorway. It was strange--the man's appearance was as eerily familiar to Serenity as was his voice. He had sleek, shoulder-length gray hair and clear blue eyes. He was dressed in a white tunic, black breeches, and knee-high black boots.
"Where have you taken me to?" she asked angrily. "Kidnapping the Crown Princess of the Moon Kingdom is a crime punishable by death!" The man laughed.
"Though your regal attitude is impressive for a girl of your age, you cannot intimidate me, Serenity." She glared at him as he walked across the room and leaned against the desk. "I'm pleased that Theronious was able to bring you here without much trouble, except for that Prince Endymion." His eyes flashed with hatred. "No better than his father, always trying to be noble and dashing. Pompous idiots, the both of them." Rage filled Serenity.
"You're sick! Endymion and his father are kind and loving men!" Realization dawned in the stranger's eyes.
"Ah. So I see you have feelings for the Prince."
"I love him!" For a minute, a something akin to pain flashed in the man's eyes. However, he quickly regained his composure and continued.
"And he returns your sentiments?"
"Yes." He laughed.
"You're so naive, Serenity. Don't you know that the Terran royal family has been trying to get one of its princes to marry a Moon Princess for years? All they want is a secure alliance with the Moon! Endymion doesn't truly love you!"
"You're wrong! Besides, the Moon is closely allied with the Earth without the ties of marriage. My mother is close friends with the King and Queen!"
"Oh, how little you know, Serenity. Your mother isn't fit to rule, which is why, for sixteen years now, I've been planning to take over her kingdom!" Serenity's eyes blazed with fury.
"You'll never succeed!" she spat.
"Yes...your mother agrees with you...or else she would have sent someone after me years ago."
"What are you talking about? How do you know my mother? Who are you?" The man cackled evilly.
"It's time for the lie you've been living with to come undone, Serenity. Perhaps this will help you figure it out. My name is Hematite!" Serenity gasped and pressed a hand to her mouth.
"No," she whispered, thinking back to what was perhaps her earliest memory. "It's not possible."
"Mommy!" a very young Princess Serenity cried out breathlessly as she reached her mother's bedroom.
"What is it, sweetie?" asked Queen Serenity, a hint of concern in her voice.
"Mommy, Princess Minako says her daddy's birthday is today. Where's my daddy?" Queen Serenity's eyes filled with sadness as she scooped her daughter up into her lap.
"Serenity, your daddy died just after you were born."
"Oh."
"He'll always been in your heart, though. He loved you very much." The princess smiled.
"Good. What was his name, mommy?" A tear trailed down the Queen's cheek.
"Hematite...his name was Hematite."
"NO!" Princess Serenity screamed.
End Chapter 4.
So? Good? Bad? Please review w/ your comments/constructive criticism!
Bye for now!
Tess