Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta!
I have a series of one shots titled Finding Love. Check it out. The newest one is titled My Best Friend's Brother.
It was at dinner one night when a blonde woman, dressed as a warrior, came running in interrupting them. She bowed low and looked at Princess Serenity, "Your Highness, we must get you out of here. The other guards are with me and preparing your things. I'm so sorry to tell you like this, but the Queen has been killed. Diamond is coming for you."
Serenity paled, and she lifted a trembling hand to her mouth. "No, I can't run. Who will save my people from that tyrant?"
The woman shook her head, "Much of your remaining army and generals have retreated once she was killed, and Diamond claimed the throne. They are gathering and waiting for you. The war isn't really over. I'm taking you to them to lead them."
Serenity nodded and stood, "Good. I will lead my people. I will save them from being abused by Diamond." She set her napkin next to her plate and turned to the King. "Thank you for your hospitality. You've been so good to me. Know that I don't want to leave, but I must. Diamond will find me here. Please continue to take your medicine when I'm gone. I'll worry about you if you don't." Her face softened as she reached out and squeezed his hand.
Endymion was horrified. Not only was she leaving, but she was also going to lead an army to take back her kingdom. She was purposely putting herself in danger.
It was Arcas that spoke up though, "Marry me!"
Everyone's heads whipped to look at Arcas. Darien even heard a servant drop a tray. Everyone was absolutely stunned. Everyone but Serenity. She just questioned him, "Why do you want to marry me when you do not love me like a wife, but as a mother?"
"Because, then we could offer you the help of our entire army. Our people would understand putting their lives at risk for you if we're engaged." he stated.
She gave him a gentle smile, placed her hand on his and said, "You're one of the bravest and kindest men I have ever known. Please don't ever change. No matter what happens to me. You should always remain as you are. I'll say goodbye now. I must make haste."
She spun and left the room, following the woman who had entered without giving her name.
Endymion placed his napkin down and looked his father in the eye. "I am going to go and take my four generals. It's not an entire army, but we can't leave her to fight Diamond alone."
The King sat back in his chair and smiled at Endymion. "Go. Be safe, my son."
"I will, father. Goodbye, Arcas. You make sure that father follows her request, and he takes his medicine." He then turned and ran out of the room shouting orders as he went along. He wanted to make sure that he was riding out with her and her guards. His men could catch up later.
When he arrived at the stables, he saw that Serenity was still there and waiting for him. He smiled. "Thank you, Queen Serenity, for waiting for me." He handed his sack of clothing items to a groom to tie to his saddle. "My men will meet us on the road."
She smiled at him and nodded. She said, "I thank you for your help. I've been trained in battle maneuvers since I was little. This will be the first time I am commanding an army on my own. I appreciate having more people around me that I trust and can give me suggestions." She grew very still. With steel in her voice she said, "But, make no mistake. This is my army and my battle. I will be the one giving the orders. If you can't sit back and let a woman lead, you need to stay behind."
He chided himself for actually taking a step back when she stared him down. He widened his stance to one of strength and said, "I assure you that will not be a problem. You're Queen after all."
She grew pensive and said, "Yes. Yes, I am."
He mounted his horse, she nodded at him and they all set off. He was amazed at what a great seat she had on her horse. She was a very talented horsewoman.
By the time they stopped for the first night, he was concerned that they hadn't got that far since they had set out during dinner. What he said instead was, "I will go get some firewood." He then walked into the forest to find some and sort his thoughts out. He was pretty sure he just set out with her and agreed to help her go to war because he was head over heels in love with her. He hadn't thought back at the castle. Once his heart started again after her refusal of his brother, he knew he had to go with her. How in the world was he supposed to sit back and watch her lead when all he wanted to do was keep her safe?
He heard a twig snap behind him. He spun around and was facing the blonde. "I could have killed you!" he hissed. "Don't try to sneak up on me."
In response, she just laughed at him. She then rolled her eyes and said, "I stepped on that twig on purpose. You didn't hear me following you. I'm not worried."
He shook his head, "What are you doing following me anyway?"
"I know you're in love with Serenity." she stated. "If you're what you appear to be, you have nothing to fear from me. If you hurt her, or even make her sad, I will not hesitate to take action even though you are a Crowned Prince."
"What do I appear to be?"
"On her side."
He nodded, "Then you have nothing to worry about."
She raised one eyebrow, "No comment on me knowing that you're in love with her?"
He scoffed, "I'm not even a little impressed with your ability to figure that out. I chased after her the minute I learned she was in trouble."
"My name is Mina. I figured you should know the name of your newest friend." She then just turned and strode away.
He finished collecting firewood as he reflected on the conversation. He thought about how he actually liked Mina. She seemed fierce in her protection of Serenity. It reminded him of his men.
Around midnight, his generals joined their group. He was glad to have them around him. He trusted them and was comfortable with them. He also knew what to expect out of them.
Jadeite, never one to disappoint his expectations, walked up to Serenity and asked where her guards were. He then commented that they all had beautiful wives.
The one named Raye drew a sword, kicked him in the chest knocking him down, and pointed the sword at his throat. "I'm not a wife, I'm a warrior. And from where I am standing, I'm a better one than you."
Jadeite looked up at her, startled, and said, "Thank goodness! Because I'm pretty sure I just fell in love with you."
She smirked, removed the sword from his throat and chuckled. She said, "You look pretty comfortable on your back, so I'll think about it."
Endymion's head whipped to observe Serenity's reaction. He watched in stunned silence as she laughed. She said, "Raye, you better marry this one. He isn't afraid of you."
"Yet." was Raye's reply. "I will want my husband to be at least a little afraid of me. It'll keep things interesting."
Serenity shook her head still laughing and said, "No one who knows you would think you wouldn't be able to keep things interesting."
Jadeite got up, and everyone moved to ready their bedrolls. Nephrite was laughing at Jadeite for losing to a woman.
Lita smirked and said, "Why don't we fight and see if you will lose to a woman too."
All of the women moved to make room for the competition. Endymion looked at Serenity in shock and said, "This is okay with you?"
"I will allow it."
Lita ended the fight when she had Nephrite in her grasp with her sword across his throat. She hissed at him, "If you ever go easy on me because I am a woman again, I will gut you."
He gave a slight nod, and she released him.
That night, they took turns on watch. Serenity was easy to convince she shouldn't take a turn. She didn't want to sit in the dark, alone, and think about her mother's death. It was already taking everything in her to pretend to be okay.
The next day as they rode, Endymion watched Serenity. He was amazed how poised she was. Her back was straight and her expression intense.
He watched Mina shoot Lita a worried look and then glance at Serenity. He really looked at her again, and he could almost see the tension rolling off of her.
He encouraged his horse to go faster, and he rode beside her. He noticed her face looked etched in stone. He thought about how he would feel in her place. She must be suffering.
He tried empathizing with her, "I'm so sorry you lost your mother. It must have been so hard. I would be devastated to lose my father. It must have been such a shock."
She gave him a weak smile, "Thank you. I… I appreciate your coming to me about this. It's very kind. When I left my mother to come to your kingdom, I knew it would be very unlikely for me to ever see her alive again. It wasn't a shock. Your father is stronger than my mother was. She looked forward to death."
"You mentioned before that she wanted to join your father." He didn't know if he had gone too far with his comment.
She just nodded, "She is with him now. I was never enough to keep her here. Once I was old enough to be Queen, she had courted death. When my father went to the cavern of death, she never was the same. Your father really is an incredible man."
"That he is. He loves you too."
A tear leaked down her cheek, "You have no idea what it feels to have someone choose to look at you as their child. He has been so good to me. I feel it is probably an issue that I feel I owe something to a foreign royal. That said, he would never take advantage of my love of him. I haven't ever felt the love of a father. Mine was gone before I was born."
"I am glad to see his love is returned. He deserves it." He chuckled, "He would do anything for you. I'm here after all. Me and my men will fight in a foreign war, and I am the Crowned Prince."
"Yes, but he does have a spare." She looked at him and laughed. They both laughed at her joke. "I'm more impressed that he let a son go, one whom he loves deeply. That means more to him than your title."
Darien rode beside her in silence. He spent an hour trying to figure out how he went to comfort her and she ended up making him feel even more important to his father. He thought he had stopped being amazed by her kindness shortly after meeting her. He admitted Arcas needed to make another tally mark.
They spent the next two days riding hard. When they took breaks for the horses, Serenity noticed that their people started forming the same small groups each time. She liked that Jadeite seemed to like Raye's temper. She would need someone to find her temper sexy.