Title: Kingdom of Treason
Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Sailor Moon
Authors Notes: Wow, thank you guys all so much for reviewing this story. I'm really glad you like it. Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! Don't hate me because it's short, the next one will be longer, I promise.
Endymion bowed respectfully to the men sitting in front of him. They waved for him to sit, and he lowered himself into the plush cushions while laying his sword beside him for everyone to see. There were no secrets here.
And yet the room was almost absurdly still, as if spies lay all around. He forced himself not to shiver as the many eyes of the council gazed at him. All these men, apparently working together to run their kingdom instead of electing a King. So much more room for flaw and deceit.
"I'm not sure how you want to start," the man sitting across from him said.
"Why don't I explain to you our intentions?" Endymion said.
"We've heard your intentions are to overthrow the King."
Endymion shook his heads. "Our intentions are to protect our Kingdom. Another war will completely empty or supplies of food well before harvest and the people of the city will loose faith in our King while they starve to death. There will be an uprising, and we're trying to prevent that."
"Without your Kings knowledge."
The implication was clear.
"Unfortunately our King has been blinded by the power and riches of his position and doesn't seem to know what his people want of him."
"So you are betraying him." It was a statement.
Endymion hesitated. "Yes, we are betraying him to save his people."
"And what do you require of us?"
"We will fight this war with no battles. My men have begun to send back accounts of our progress and the King will only see what we have done to win. It is my intention to make it seem as if we're losing."
The man in front of him laughed. "We could simply beat you. You are sitting her informing us of you weakness. You supplies will not last, so we must only wait you out."
Endymion nodded. "If you wish to actually fight this war, that is the case. But we will then have to defend ourselves by attacking." He sighed. "There is no need for these games. I want to send my men into battle without actually attacking. We will report loses and move our men out of the field."
"Will we bring them here?"
"No, I would not ask that of you. They will go to a location pre-organized by my general and await my orders. I will of course give you those coordinates so that you can be safe from a sneak attack."
"You put a lot of faith in us," the man said.
"I put a lot of faith in the idea of peace without war and I know that you think the same. Why else would you have accepted the Kings offer and gone to his party? We are all fighting for the same thing. It would be foolish not to try and come to some sort of arrangement that will stop unnecessary bloodshed."
There was a general murmur with the men in the room.
"What will you do while your army is fighting?"
"There is a group of civilians within the city that are planning a revolt. I have spoken to them, and they intend to overtake the palace in my absence. I know that the King will escape before he is harmed, and I have made arrangements for the innocent people living within the palace to be gone. When we here of this, we will return and be allowed in. Once we are within the palace, we will be able to start negotiations."
"How will you find your King?
"There is someone close to him that will inform us of his actions."
The man shook his head. "You seem so sure of your actions. Why do you think this will work? If your civilians fail, there will be no getting into the castle. Your King will order your execution."
"Even if I die, he will loose all his power. Nobody will listen to his orders anymore."
"So then why not just allow him to continue on as nothing?"
"Because he will not take it. He will harm someone and punish those who appose him. There will be bloodshed and chaos. I could not allow that many innocent people to die without a fight."
"In order to succeed, you will have to kill him."
There was a long pause.
"I know," Endymion said.
"Will you become King?"
"There will be an election. If the people want me, then I will lead them. If not, then I will follow their chosen King with all of my heart."
"I know that even through your obvious trust of us you're keeping parts of your plan secret. I just hope that you have made backup arrangements. If one thing should go wrong, you will no succeed."
Endymion waited.
"You have our help," the man said. "But really you have asked nothing of us."
"There is nothing you need to do other than be informed. I am not asking for the help of your army, only your silence. This is our Kingdom and we'll fight for it by ourselves."
"So our army will simply sit and wait?"
"If you wish to do something you have my ear, but it is not my wish to involve you."
"What promise do we have that when you've won your war, you'll turn around and refuse to negotiate?"
"You have my word," Endymion said.
"And what is that to us?" A man asked. "You seem a respectable man, but you still haven't given us any assurances. A man who betrays his king is not automatically to be trusted even if we to appose that king."
He hesitated. They didn't trust him, and he didn't trust them. But they would have to work together to finish this. "What would assure you? I will do anything you wish of me."
There was a pause as the men in front of him looked at each other. They ruled as a council, a concept which was not completely lost on him, but he knew it made decisions difficult to agree on. But obviously they had discussed this before.
"Really there is nothing you could give us right now that would appease our worries. I suppose we'll have to hope that you are a man of your word, and hold are army at the ready in case you aren't. But be assured, we have no choice but to be weary. We will see if you are a man of your word. Until then, we will wait until your new king is elected so we may try to negotiate."
"Thank you," Endymion said breathing out in relief.
"If you succeed, we will arrange a peace."
"Then I hope to see you again very soon," Endymion said getting up. "We will send a messenger to you of any updates that might arise. Tell your guard so our messenger is not detained and if you have something for us, give it to only him. Our normal channels of communication have many spies, and we cannot hope to avoid being revealed if we do not go around them."
"You may be assured of our secrecy."
Endymion bowed again, and then picked up his sword and walked swiftly from the room. Everything seemed to be falling into place. It was almost too smooth, too easy.
He felt anxious. He knew that this Kingdom, ruled by its council, wanted peace. But he was unnerved at the idea of how badly they would fight for that peace. And what if their idea of peace was not the same? Endymion couldn't help but feel that in some way he had just engaged the enemy. But what other choice did he have.
He quickly made his way back to his waiting guards and climbing gracefully onto his black horse. They galloped steadily out of the city.
The gleaming metal of armor and weapons could be seen from a distance, and the dusty dry dirt that was kicked up by the horses drifted behind them like smoke. The city he had just been in had no spies associated with the King, but his own camp was teaming with them. He wasn't sure how they were going to completely hide their actions from the King, but they would simply have to.
The arrived a while later, breathing hard and sweating. The sun was hot in the sky and it seemed to beat down on them, completely dehydrating them.
"How did it go?" Jedeite asked as he walked up.
Endymion looked around. "As expected," he answered.
"Good," Jedeite said. "Our men are prepared for you orders."
"We need to set up a perimeter with trusted men so that nobody can send messengers out to the King. Use Nephrites men and tell them everything is to be read. Even a letter to a loved one could hold a secret we're not willing to give."
Jedeite nodded. "I'll arrange it."
"Have we heard anything from the palace?"
Jedeite suddenly turned away from him and his eyes were pained.
"What? What happened?" Endymion felt himself go immediately tense with worry. Something had happened. Had the King found out? Was Raye in trouble? Had someone gone against his obvious statement and hurt Serenity?
"One of the lads I placed in the palace came back with an update."
Endymion looked at him anxiously. "And?"
"Serenity has left."
It took a full minute for the words to make sense to him. When they did, all he could really understand was confusion.
"She left?"
Jedeite nodded. He looked nervous. "The day you left she packed her things and left. Apparently she took employment somewhere."
"Employment?"
"She left that day and hasn't been heard from since. Apparently the King is extremely happy about it for some reason and didn't stop her from going. She even asked him personally if it would be alright and he half heartedly berated her for betraying you, but she said she wasn't particularly attached to you and wanted to leave."
That didn't make any sense whatsoever. Not attached? He knew that she was. She couldn't really have left. Still his mind wouldn't understand it. She was hurt, so he was relieved. But she had also disappeared, which was suspicious.
"Endymion, if you want to look for her I……"
"No," he said firmly. "She will contact me and I'm sure she'll explain everything. It's not necessary to give up my trust in her." But his mind didn't fully believe what he was saying. She had personally gone to the King, when he had asked her to stay away from him. She had left when he had made arrangements for her to stay safe. It didn't make any sense. She was supposed to wait for him.
He could feel the eyes of the men on him. They had heard every word. It was apparently common knowledge that he had found someone he seemed to like, and now Jedeite had just told him that she had left him. She, had left him. And the King was happy about it. His Serenity had made the King happy.
"Get me my horse," he shouted angrily.
The men half scattered into chaos as the orders were barked and he quickly found himself looking at his horse. He didn't need his house. But he got on anyway, and rode the opposite way through the camp so nobody would notice his sudden sharp attitude.
He made his way to his tent and got off his horse again, heading into the shaded cover of the beautifully colored fabrics that created the tents. His was large, and littered with charts and papers.
He stood there, not knowing what to do in that moment. Everything was set up and yet he knew he needed to check them over. But he was too distracted. He wanted to trust her. No, he did trust her. But why had she left? Why had she so blatantly gone against what he had asked of her? He hadn't ordered her, but still. It was for her own safety.
He sat in the chair be the small table that served as his desk and tried to relax. There was something to explain this, he was sure of it. But the guards outside the courtyard would have gotten a note to him within a day. It had already been five. Why would she have used normal channels to send a letter? She knew it would be read. Maybe that was the point. She wanted it to be read.
But why?
Endymion robbed his eyes tiredly. He just had to focus on getting through this war and back to the palace, and then he would find her and figure out what she was doing.
There was a rustling at the door as a guard quickly stepped in.
"Your majesty, we have begun preparations."
He nodded. "Keep me informed of their proceedings."
"Of course," he said bowing.
Endymion hadn't missed the title the guard had used. Your majesty. That titled was reserved for the person who ruled over the kingdom. He didn't want to make a fuss about the title, but part of him really didn't like it. Part of him wished that when the vote came, the people would choose someone else. He didn't want to be King. He had seen what it did to his brother and he didn't like it. He didn't want the responsibility.
He leaned forward to go through the charts, and that's when he saw it.
He had only seen her writing a couple of times, but he recognized it instantly. Someone had put her letter on his desk, while he was away. Slowly, he picked it up and ripped it open. It was clear it had already been opened by the slightly torn edges but that wasn't a surprise. She had sent it through normal channels. He held his breath when he read the words.
You Highness,
Endymion cringed at the title.
I feel that despite circumstances, you treated me as well as I ever could have hoped. Because of that, I believe I owe you the courtesy of an explanation. After your departure, I was able to procure some employment and given permission by the King to accept it. I know that you have made arrangements for me, but it is unlikely that you will return any time soon and my position here is unsteady. I think it smart to move on.
I am sorry if I have caused you any inconvenience, but I have no doubt that you will quickly find another woman to be your companion. I myself will look back on our time together as a fond memory, and use it to my experience, as I was able to become the person you wished every night. I now know how it's practiced, and I will be able to use that knowledge in my future.
I wish you luck with the war, and hope you come out victor.
Serenity.
Endymion sat for some time, staring at the letter. He could hardly imagine what it said as he read and re-read the words. They were so cold and stand-off-ish. It didn't sound like Serenity at all. She had become the woman that he wanted? She had played a part? She had been trained to make him see someone in her that he desired, and she had done it extremely well.
He felt sick.
Slowly he stood up and walked back to the opening of his tent and looked out at the army in front of him. They were quickly moving around, getting ready for action. Dust was kicked up, making it appear slightly foggy and the heat was everywhere. Not even the shade of hid tent created any sort of change or comfort.
"You seem a little white," Jedeite said walking up to him.
Endymion didn't answer.
"We're ready for your go ahead," Jedeite continued. "We'll send out soldiers out to battle, and only a few of them will come back. The rest will follow instructions."
He just nodded.
"Endymion, if you……"
"Don't," he said suddenly. "You didn't know her, so don't make excuses for her."
Jedeite nodded. "Did you love her?"
"It doesn't matter now," he said softly.
"Would you like to hear the rest of my report?"
Endymion looked at him. "What?"
"After I told you of Serenity, you left."
"There's more?" He asked sadly.
Jedeite nodded. "Her Majesty the Queen has been safely taken out into the country with the Lady Amy and their ladies. The King did not argue their departure, but he has begun contacting surrounding Kingdoms looking for a new wife."
Endymion shook his head. The King didn't waste any time.
"The palace has been almost empties of guards….."
"Why?" Endymion asked suspiciously. "Nephrite was supposed to appear normal. Why would he dismiss the guards?"
"He didn't, the King ordered it himself."
Endymion felt dread build in him. That was going to be a problem for the moonlight knights. If the King employed others to guard the palace, there would be nobody on their side. They were civilians. If they came up against true guards, they would be crushed. "What else?"
"He's angry Endymion. So far it's unclear why, but he's started lashing out at the people in the palace. He's walking around making orders himself and getting violent with those who don't obey. He's dismissed most of the servants and almost everyone who was living in the palace has fled. I can't help but fear that he knows something."
"We're fighting this war for him, like he asked."
"But we're not winning," Jedeite pointed out. "Perhaps we should change our strategy slightly to appear as if we're gaining a small amount of ground."
"That will just draw this all out. I want it to end Jedeite."
"As do I, but it has to be believable. Your army has never been defeated."
He sighed, feeling suddenly very tired. "Alright, we'll win the next battle and move our encampment close to the enemy. Send word to them so they know why we've changed out plans."
Jedeite nodded.
Things were both going right and wrong. Or maybe they just appeared so. No matter what he tried, he couldn't stop thinking of her letter.
He pulled it from his pocket and looked at it again.
It couldn't be real.
End of Chapter Eight!
I'm really sorry this one is so short, but I wanted to make sure you guys got more for the weekend. I'll try to make the next one longer. Let me know what you think!
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