Chapter 10 – Her

Knowledge

"Slept well did you Princess?" He stood up from the bed still naked from last night as I watched his muscles and lines of his body flex as he walked. I watched him dress as a slight blush peeked over my cheeks. I pulled the sheet up around me and sat up. He was still shirtless when he came over and kissed me again. "I will go down and get us something to eat. You may want to dress and get changed. I won't let anyone get close to you. I will protect you. I will always protect you." He said watching me.

I nodded to him and with a shake of my head my hair was red again and eyes turned to green. "I still think I like the silver over the red. But the red is growing on me." He said as he slipped his shirt over his chest. I too stood from the bed with the sheet wrapped around me and went to dress. I realized there was blood on the sheets when I turned back. "Ohhh" I blushed again not knowing or realizing what I had done to the sheets.

"It's okay." He smiled and came to me. "You are pure and that is what happens when a girl has her first time." He paused and kissed me again. "Don't worry. I will clean you up when I return if you want to draw another bath." He kissed the top of my head and headed out the door.

I dropped the sheet around me and headed to the bath and started to pull the water into it. He was not gone long and came back with some more bread, cheese and fresh water. I was about to step into the water when from behind me he pulled out a rose and watched as my eyes lit up. I turned my head as he took my hand and helped me step into the bath. He took the cloth and washed the blood from my legs being as careful as he was with me the night before. He was memorizing every inch of me as he used the cloth. I watched his eyes and his face as he was as delicate as the rose he had given to me for the second time.

"Don't submerge your head in the water. It is laced with a powder that makes you see things." He finished washing me before he himself stood naked in the bath with me. "I learned the hard way. I ended up here for a few days before I had my wits. But I would gladly spend days with you in this room if we didn't have to see what was going on downstairs." He pulled me close and shielded me from the window. The water had stripped my hair back to the silver. I moved with him as he kissed me. He was so close and very hard like he was last night. "You submerged yourself last night didn't you?" He said huskily. He picked me up as he sat on the edge of the tub and placed me around him. "Princess." He said as he entered me again. He moved me in such a way that I had arched my back and my hair had just covered us. Shielding us as he had shielded me from the window. I was not in the water but he was. He was gentle with his touch and moved with in me till I cried out as I had last night. "The water does things. Make you see things. Makes you want things. Makes you think of things. It can also make you forget where you are."

I nodded. "Yes I did submerge my head last night. I was trying to block everything that had happened out of my head. Only I had thought of you and the rose."

"The day I had seen you come out of your tent I was mad that my brother got to have something that I had been looking for just handed to him. I was drawn to you then just as much as I am now. I was scolding myself. It was not the first time I had seen you. I had come in the middle of the night and I saw you sleeping. I was drawn to you then as much as I am drawn to you now. I can not give you to him. I will defy them. I will protect you from my brother."

"I know you will." I touched his face and ran my fingers over his mouth as he kissed them. I released myself from around him and stood in the water. It was like I had changed in just a short span. I had awoken my senses. I knew what I was doing. I knew what I was feeling. I was not confused. It was almost natural. He cleaned me again while I stood and he then he stepped back out of the water helping me from the bath. I dried off and we both dressed quickly as a knock came to the door I quickly changed my hair color back to the red and green eyes. I sat at the small table and cut the bread to eat as Endymion opened the door. It was General Kunzite and Mina.

"Sereni- Serena did you sleep well?" She had to stop herself from calling me by my name. She had a huge smile on her face and her eyes told me with out saying anything that she knew something. I smiled back at her as Endymion let them in. The top sheet was laid over the blood spot so no one was the wiser. I had not even noticed that he had done it. I knew Mina would know though. She was from Venus she knew when anyone close to her had feelings of a different nature like love and happiness.

"I did sleep well enough for the place we are in." I didn't look directly at her just at the bread that I was attempting to cut.

"Will you both be alright if we go and scout the area again?" Kunzite asked.

"Yes we won't wander." Mina said smiling at him.

Both the Prince and General left closing the door behind them. Mina came and sat with me and looked at me. She was looking at me funny.

"What?" I asked not really looking her in the eye.

"Is he still arrogant?"

"What?" My eyes looked up at her as I questioned her question.

"The Prince, is he still arrogant?"

I looked at her funny and questioned verbally. "Why?"

"Something changed. You changed. I can feel it. I know Serenity. I am from Venus. I know."

"Ok Mina what do you know?" I pushed her to say it so I didn't have to.

"You are betrothed to another yet you slept with his brother last night. I know. I am your guardian. I am from Venus. Plus you are sitting gingerly."

"Mina do you remember when we were small? Do you remember I had received a rose from a young boy who was visiting from another planet? Before my papa died? At the party I was not supposed to be at."

"Vaguely…. Why?"

"Endymion is that boy."

"What?"

She was watching me as I talked about the dreams I had started to have when we first arrived on the planet. "He has been looking for me too. He doesn't want to give me to his brother. I don't know how to explain what has happened."

We heard a commotion outside and peered outside the window. Beryl was outside talking with what looked like someone from our traveling party. He looked dressed in the same uniforms.

"You are telling me that the Prince is Darien and the Princess of the Moon that we have been trying to locate is in my establishment under my nose and I was not notified. The Wise One will not be happy. He has a plan for the princess and the crystal. We have to find the crystal it has the power to be able to rule the world. We need more energy, more people for the Wise One to wipe out the Moon Kingdom."

"Yes Queen Beryl."

"Find me the crystal. Find me both crystals."

"Yes your majesty." He had run off to his horse and took off down the gravel road. "Once I get the crystals I will rule the world. I will rule the Wise One. I will take the Prince who has infiltrated the kingdom and he will rule by my side."

I looked at Mina and she looked at me. We stepped back from the window so we would not be seen. The look on her face and mine said everything that we needed to leave this place.

It was not till some time later that the Prince and Kunzite returned. The look on their faces told me that they knew some of what was going on.

"We could leave." She said.

"If we leave now we will draw attention. If we stay we have to be very careful. Kunzite come we will get enough food to tide us over for the evening and we will all stay in one room."

"Who is this Wise One? Is he the one who is in charge of all the unrest? Beryl said she would rule with the Prince that has infiltrated the palace?" Mina asked.

"Yes Miss Mina. He is the one we have been searching for. As for the Prince that has infiltrated the palace I am not sure about." The General was speaking right directly to her.

Both Endymion and Kunzite left and it was my turn to stare at Mina.

"What?"

"You questioned me. Now it is my turn. I am your Princess! What is going on with you and the General?"

"Nothing really…. Yet anyway. We spent the night chatting about different things. I told him where I am from and he wanted to see it. He is nice. He is treating me nice."

"Did you sleep with him?" Mina blushed. She didn't have to say anything. I knew from the blush. "You did and you criticized me for doing the same thing."

"I know I am sorry. I guess I was so in tune with what was going on around me." She blushed just as much as I had earlier.

"Uh huh. Now you have to behave yourself tonight since we will be all in the same room."

"That goes for you too Princess." She smiled at me with knowing eyes.

We changed the subject and waited for the gentlemen to return. It was a short time but it felt like it had taken forever. They had returned with bread and what looked like another meat dish and some ale and wine. There was some cheeses and fresh water.

We settled in for the afternoon and the rest of the evening keeping it low noise all around. Stories of the moon and when we were young flowed from us freely. The Prince did the same and told us of meeting his Generals. He told us of Earth in the different seasons she had throughout the year.

When darkness fell again my hair color changed from red to silver and my eyes from green to silver blue. Endymion was in awe. Mina was trying to pin my hair up to limit the moonlight glow it had. I was very aware of both of the men on the other side of the room. They were talking extremely low and I could not hear them.

What ever it was when Endymion saw me looking at him he smiled. The smirks long gone and the eyes reached out as if he was beside me. I blushed and smiled back.

"You're blushing. Stop thinking of him that way. I know you know." Mina said quietly to me.

"Oh stop it Mina we can't do anything but look. I am sure you are feeling the same way."

"You had your first time last night. I on the other hand had mine a long time ago."

I spun around and glared at her. "Mina…."

"My mother set me up. It was a one night thing. I never saw him again after that."

"You never told us. We are all like sisters.'

"It never came up."

It never came up because we never had to leave the palace except on royal duty or when visiting Mercury or Venus. We only ever visited the Moons of Jupiter and Mars. I let her finish and stole glances at the Prince while he did the same.

Since we all were secluded in the room all we did was tell stories from our respective planets. As a moon princess and a princess from Venus both Mina and I could tell the prince and the general wanted to travel to see more.

When I started to yawn I curled up in the bed. The blood soaked sheet forgot about for the time being. I covered it with more of the sheet with out anyone seeing. Mina took one side of the bed and I the other and we lay there talking for a bit before falling asleep. My dream was for a future with Endymion. A peaceful future.