Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Kodansha, Naoko Takeuchi, Toei, Cloverway, etc.
"Shadows of the Past" by Tess: Chapter 5
Posted: 7-14-04
"You're lying!" Serenity hissed at the man through gritted teeth. "You can't be..." her voice trailed off.
"Your father?" laughed Hematite. Serenity squeezed her eyes shut.
"No!" she whispered to herself. 'This can't be happening,' she thought, hot tears welling up in her eyes. 'This can't be true.' "You're lying!" she shouted again, opening her eyes. My father died sixteen years ago! My father wasn't-isn't you!" But she now knew where she had seen the man's eyes and his smile: they were her own. "NO!"
"You know it's true, Serenity." He approached her and fiercely grabbed her chin, forcing her to lift her teary eyes. "Just look at me. Look at my eyes! Now say it, Serenity, call me your father!" The princess was silent. Hematite shook her violently, a wild glint in his eyes. "Say it, Serenity, say it!" he shouted, almost pleadingly. Princess Serenity's eyes filled with hate and anger.
"Never," she vowed, even though she knew what the man said was true. "I will never acknowledge you as my father." Hematite angrily dropped his hand from Serenity's chin.
"Very well, then," he said, roughly pulling her up by the arm. "You'll eventually change your mind. Now, to show you to your quarters."
"My what?" asked Serenity as he pulled her out of the room, a hint of fear rising in her voice.
"Your new home," Hematite replied, swiftly leading her through the twisting halls of the manor. "Dear Serenity, you don't think I sent for Theronious to capture you just so I could tell you I'm still alive, did you?" He laughed. "You can be assured that you have a purpose much greater than that. Now, you'll remember that I told you I'm planning to take over the Moon Kingdom. However, I need a blood heir who will rule with my principles to take after me when I do die. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly young. I'm no longer capable of having children. That's where you come in." Serenity smirked at him as they stopped in front of an elegantly carved dark wooden door.
"What good will I do you?" she asked. "Even if you do succeed, once I inherit the throne, I will rule it as my mother rules it now."
"Do not take me for a fool. You don't think you'd actually be ruling, do you?" He laughed. "I know your mother has instilled her so-called 'morals' in you, making you quite unfit to rule. You'd be more of a sort of figurehead for the people, keeping tradition alive." Serenity smirked at him again.
"And how would you know how I'm ruling the Moon if you're dead?"
"I wouldn't be able to control you if I'm dead, obviously, but your husband would." Serenity stiffened at the word.
"Husband?"
"Don't be stupid, Serenity, yes, your husband. You will be marrying Theronious." Serenity's eyes widened in fear. "He, of course, will actually be ruling the Moon Kingdom when I die."
"Never!" Serenity spat angrily as Hematite opened the door. "I will never marry such a despicable man!" Hematite laughed.
"You know, Serenity, you're just as spirited as your mother was at your age. Too bad all that ever did was get her into trouble, insolent brat-"
"How dare you insult my mother?" Serenity shouted, interrupting him. "You obviously weren't good enough for her!" This comment had a strange effect on Hematite. He froze at first, a strange emotion briefly flashing through his eyes. Then, he fiercely grabbed the front of Serenity's dress and roughly pulled her right up to his face, causing her to cry out in surprise.
"No, perhaps I wasn't, was I?" he growled, his face red with fury. "Don't speak of things of which you don't understand!" He then threw her into the room and slammed the door shut. She landed on the floor in a heap as she heard the unmistakable clicking of a lock.
A thousand different horrible emotions coursed through her body as she threw herself onto the bed in the room, tears beginning to fall freely down her cheeks. She felt fear. What would they do to her if she didn't obey their commands? Would she ever be able to return home? Was Endymion all right? She felt anger. How could they want to take over the Moon? How could fate be so cruel as to snatch her away from the man she loved on the same night that she had discovered that he loved her back? But most of all, she felt pain. Why didn't her mother tell her that her father was still alive? How could someone whom she had built up in her mind to be a wonderful man be so cruel? How could she be the daughter of such a monster? She tightly clutched a pillow as her silent tears became deep sobs that shuddered throughout her body. She couldn't remember having ever cried so fiercely in her life.
"Why?" she cried out tearfully. "WHY?" She wanted nothing more than to still be enjoying the dreamlike euphoria of hours earlier: laughing with her friends, dancing at the ball, and being safely held in Prince Endymion's arms. Instead, she was trapped in a terrible nightmare.
Prince Endymion groaned as he came to, the back of his head throbbing painfully. 'What happened to me?" he thought. Then suddenly, memories of the previous night came flooding back to him. He remembered kissing Serenity on the balcony. He remembered somehow knowing that she was in danger and rushing to her room. Most of all, he remembered Theronious trying to take her away from him. Endymion's blood boiled with anger. "Serenity!" he yelled hoarsely. He opened his eyes groggily, only to find himself staring into the worried eyes of his mother. "Mother? What's going on?" He wildly looked around, only to see that he was lying in bed in his guest room in the Moon Palace. Endymion made to get out of bed, but Queen Lara gently pushed him back into the pillows.
"You must rest, my son," she said, unable to conceal the sadness and worry in her voice. "It's been a difficult night for you." Prince Endymion shook his head and sat up.
"I'm fine, Mother. Where's Serenity? Is she ok?" He was met with no answer, only his mother's sad stare. "Mother? Mother?" She still didn't respond. "PLEASE TELL ME!" he roared.
"Endymion," said another, familiar voice. "Princess Serenity was taken from us last night." Endymion turned to see his father and Queen Serenity sitting in chairs next to the other side of his bed. King Maginus looked weary and distressed. Queen Serenity had her arms tightly wrapped around herself. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and her face was heavily stained with tears. Endymion's father continued speaking. "Measures are already being taken to locate her..." But Endymion didn't hear a word he said. Taken from us. The phrase seemed to repeat itself over and over again in Endymion's head. She had been taken from them because he hadn't been strong enough to protect her. He glanced at the sad faces around him. All of it was his fault.
"Endymion, I do not blame you for this," Queen Serenity said hoarsely, as if she'd read his mind. Prince Endymion glanced up at her. "On the contrary, I thank you for what you did do. You've shown great loyalty to Serenity..."
"I don't deserve your thanks. I did nothing," Endymion interrupted bitterly. Before Queen Serenity had time to respond, Prince Endymion took a sharp breath. He clutched his bed sheets until his knuckles turned white as a terrible pain shot through his entire body.
"Endymion?" his mother asked frantically, sitting down beside him on the bed. "Endymion, what is it?"
"Serenity," he moaned. "She's in pain." If Endymion hadn't been in such pain himself, he would have heard the gasps of the three adults surrounding him.
"What?" asked King Maginus. "How can you tell?"
"I can feel her...she's...she's crying. The same happened last night...that's how I knew to go to her room. I felt her." Suddenly, the wave of pain that had hit Endymion disappeared. He fell back onto the pillows, exhausted. Sleep claimed his body before he had any chance to fight it. Queen Lara gently kissed his forehead before getting up from the bed and making her way to Queen Serenity and Maginus.
"He loves her," she said simply.
"And she him," added King Maginus. Queen Lara placed a gentle hand on Queen Serenity's shoulder.
"Perhaps, Serenity," she said. "That is a bright spot in a dismal day." Queen Serenity gave no answer. Lara bent down and hugged her friend tightly. She trembled violently in her arms. "It's ok to cry. Cry, Serenity. Cry." Queen Serenity buried her face in her friend's shoulder and cried.
"I miss her," she sobbed. "I want to know why he took her. I want to know if she's ok." Queen Lara gently stroked her hair.
"Shhh, it's ok. We all miss her. Don't worry, though. We'll find her. Together, we'll find her."
End Chapter 5
Hope you liked it...sorry it's kinda short. At least it's not a cliffhanger, though! I'll try to get Chapter 6 out soon!
I love feedback :) !
Tess