A/N - This is a very long chapter. It was a lot to get through and some fluff in it as well. Some interesting learning in this chapter. It was originally only 1500 words but now has doubled and then some.

Enjoy!

~Munchkin1978

Chapter 14 – Her

Diamond

Endymion had left his generals and climbed the staircase leading to the throne that his father was sitting in. I stood watching him as he turned to face us all. The King rose and came down the steps and reached out to hug me and took my hand.

"My dear we have been waiting for you. I hope you did not run into trouble upon your arrival here? Prince Endymion looked after you and your court well I hope."

"Yes your majesty. I was well looked after. I have a letter for you from my mother."

Mina came forward and provided me with the letter that I had given to her just before we entered the palace. I took the letter and ran my hand over the seal and then provided it to the King. I looked at Kunzite who also had a letter but he would provide it to Endymion to give to his father.

King Michael did not wait. He broke the seal and continued to read it while standing there. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Prince Diamond was inching closer. He wanted to see what was in the letter.

"Ah my dear. Your mother is quite the lady. She has requested that when you are married that the moon be full. The solstice of the moon or full moon is not for a few days still. Thus it will give you time to settle in."

"Thank you King Michael. I trust my mother has given you information on the ceremony?"

"She has. I will follow it to a T. Let me introduce you to your betrothed." He released my arm and took my hand again then turned me around as Prince Diamond descended the stairs from the throne. "Prince Diamond my eldest son."

I curtsied as the smile he had moments ago returned. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Endymion want to reach out but he stopped himself. He had to keep up pretenses just like I had to.

"Prince Diamond it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"It is a great pleasure to meet you."

"Come everyone we have prepared a welcome meal. You have travelled far. Let us rest and hear of the travels and you my dear must come sit beside me, I wish to hear about your mother."

"Yes your majesty."

I took the King's arm again as he presented it to me to take. Prince Diamond was behind me and Endymion had fallen in behind him. His generals walked with my court as we entered the dining hall. We had our seats arranged already and surprisingly enough Prince Diamond was across the table from me. Endymion was seated beside me. I went to sit and before Prince Diamond could assist with my chair Endymion had done it since he was right there. I could see a glare of hate from Diamond to his brother forming so I quelled it and stopped it.

"Thank you kindly Prince Endymion."

The King sat next and then his sons. Then after that the remainder of the table. Dinner was brought out and placed before us and we started to eat. Not really realizing how hungry I actually was. I had had quite the day already and it had not even ended yet I started to eat and continued to talk with the King about my mother.

"Well my dear it sounds like she has the Moon Kingdom in great hands. I am sure you will be sorely missed since you are here on Earth."

"I know I will be your majesty. But I will make my mother proud and if the time comes I will rule both my kingdom and your earth kingdom with pride and just." I could feel Endymion beside me shift ever so slightly as he brushed my thigh through the thin material of my dress. I did not acknowledge it but he knew I had felt it. I smiled at the king but I was truly smiling at Endymion even though he could not see.

Shortly after the meal I ended up walking with the King a little bit more with both his sons in tow. It was late and I could tell the moon was in the sky. I was starting to glow again. I was getting tired and it was showing.

"Serenity my dear you must be exhausted. All this travel and no real rest. Come I will take you to your room. Your court will be with you in the southern wing. If you should need anything please just ask the staff there. They will get it for you."

"Thank you it has been quite the day." I paused as he stopped in front of the door to my suite. "Thank you very much your majesty. If you will have it we can continue this conversation tomorrow when I have rested." I curtsied as he released my arm. Both his sons were there and had bowed in agreement. I looked at both of them and curtsied again before entering the doorway. I stood just inside to listen and I was glad I had. I tried to stay out of the shadows of the doorway but I couldn't tell if I was out of the way.

"Well my Princes you both did well today. I am retiring as well. Please do not cause any havoc."

"Yes father."

"No father."

They were both standing there still as I could see the outline of both of them. They had waited till their father was out of earshot before speaking again.

"Poor Endymion no bride for him. She is mine. The kingdom will be mine. I will rule the world when father hands it over."

I froze. His words I will rule the world matched what Beryl had said. I will take the Prince who has infiltrated the kingdom. I heard it as plain as it was said in front of me when I only heard it a few days ago. I went inside further and sat on the bed. My trunks had arrived and were all over the place in the room but that was not what I wanted to see at the moment. I needed Mina and my court. I needed to tell them. I needed to warn Endymion.

I moved around the room not really tired any more. I was pacing. The thoughts racing though my head. All the changes, the brothel, Endymion and I. I wasn't sure how long I had been pacing for before I had thrown the curtain open to see the moon peeking out at me from behind the clouds. I flung the balcony doors open and stepped out into the moonlight. I must have been pacing for longer than I thought. The moon was high in the night sky and it was very late. The stars were twinkling which made me look like a glittering angel with a crown on my head.

"Your glowing Princess. Someone will steal you away if you look like that." I spun around and there he stood in the shadows. His eyes soft and looking me up and down. His movements told me he was being careful but he wanted to reach out and take me in his arms.

"Only if it is you." I said to him as he came from the shadows. "Endymion." I whispered as I went into his arms as he wrapped his cloak around me.

"Serenity you must be careful."

"I will. The moon is not full. The king can not disobey the Moon Kingdom's tradition."

"That won't stop Diamond. He will draw you to the core. It changes time and space there."

"Well I think I may have something on that." I said looking up at him. I was watching his eyes as they took the sight of me in.

"Come inside before someone sees us."

He closed the balcony doors and drew the curtains. He checked the room to make sure no one was there. I watched as he moved across the floor closing the gap he had made and clutched me into his grasp. Then he kissed me. Softly at first and then more urgent. He removed my crown as I melted into him. He ran his hands through my hair as I felt him. He had me in his arms as he took me to the bed. Everything I wanted to say was now forgotten he and I were the only ones that existed right now as I kissed him.

With a wave of my hand my dress had gone and I was pressed into him as he entered me. He traced my back with his hand as he moved within me. I was ready for him. I needed his touch as much as he wanted me. I was one with him as we both cried out moments later.

"Serenity, my love." He whispered into my hair as he laid kisses atop my head. I smiled as I lay beside him running my hand over his chest. I closed my eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep. Forgetting about why I was pacing all over again.

When I woke sometime later he was gone. But in his place was a rose. A red rose with a note.

Be careful my love

He will court you today. Watch out for him.

Endymion

I lay back in the bed with the note and the rose clutched to my bare chest. I took the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around me. I went to the closest trunk and opened it. Dresses spilled out. I chose a pretty blue one and dressed. I tucked the rose onto the vanity and the note in the trunk where no one would find it. I exited my room and headed for Mina's. I was frantically knocking on the door when Mina opened the door all sleepy eyed.

"Serenity what are you doing up so early. The sun has not risen." She yawned. "Give me a moment." I knew that meant she was not alone. She came back with more clothing on than her night clothing and invited me in.

"Mina is the general here?" I whispered to her. All she did was nod yes. "Good he needs to know this too."

She woke Kunzite who came to sit with her in her sitting room. "Okay we are up now spill."

"Well all of you had retired already for the evening and I was dropped off by the King and Diamond. Endymion was here too and when I went into my suite I waited and I over heard Diamond. He matched what you and I heard that day Beryl was talking about the Wise One placed prince in the palace. I think its Diamond." I paused as I finally got to calm down. "General was Endymion an only child at one time?"

"I don't know. He has always had a brother as long as I have known him. I will run this past him when I see him today. He had his suspicions about this but I will talk with him" He smiled letting me know that he understood the urgency.

"Thank you both. Go back to bed. I am going to wander get my surroundings."

"Be careful Serenity." Mina issued a warning.

"I will."

I was careful not to wake the others leaving Mina's suite. I did see Jaedite leaving Rei's suite though. But he didn't acknowledge that he had seen me looking. I smiled. I was not the only one who had fallen for the Earth generals. Rei closed the door not seeing me as I wondered if the others where doing the same.

"What brings you out so early Princess?" Jaedite asked.

"New surroundings. I wanted to explore. Plus I needed to get a message to Prince Endymion."

"I will see him later. Is there something I can pass along for you?"

"Yes I just told General Kunzite but there is no harm in telling you as well. I believe his brother is not his brother."

"I will tell him of your thoughts."

"I am happy that Rei is happy. She was having some trouble reading people here. Being on the Moon and Mars it came easier for her. She is very in tune with thoughts and what will happen in the future."

"I think that is what is drawing me to her. I will look after her Princess. All of us will look out for all of you."

"I thank you for that." I smiled at him again. I was genuinely thankful that they would be looking out for all of us. Not just myself as I was the Princess.

"Can I take you somewhere in the palace?" He asked.

"No thank you. I think I am just going to wander around. Get my footing for where things are."

"Be careful Princess the core is a different world. Time seems to stop there if you spend too much time there."

"I will be careful."

He was the second person to say that to me. Endymion said something about that last night. General Jaedite walked with me till he got to the end of the hallway to the suites and branched off going a different way. I continued down the remainder of the hallway and noticed some of the doors headed to other suites and corridors. The palace was truly a maze of hallways. I would have to be careful not to get lost. The sun was shinning through the large glass windows casting shadows on the floor. I stopped to peer outside and saw the gardens just like my mothers back home. It was in that moment I wondered if my mother had met the Earth Queen. I smiled at the errant thought and put it aside to ask the King. I sat for a moment to bask in the sun and gather my thoughts. I knew today would be different. I would not get to spend all my time with Endymion like I had the previous two days. The crystal around my neck flickered slightly which caught my eye. It didn't like this place. It didn't like not being close to the piece that was within Endymion. I stood and saw General Nephrite and Zoisite come from the hallway where our suites were. I smiled as they headed the same way Jaedite had. We were more than looked after now.

I continued walking down the grand hall that we had come down the night before. No one else was awake or so I had thought. In the center of the palace stood the core of the palace and the earth but with it stood the eldest prince of the King. The prince I was meant to marry. Diamond. He had a stone in his hand and was talking to someone. The image disappeared as he turned and realized I was there.

"Princess. Early riser I see."

"Not usually but I am in new surroundings."

"Good come we can learn about one another. We are to be married tomorrow. Today if that is better for you."

"As a moon princess I must follow the moon tradition or sacrifice my way of life for something I know nothing of."

"Tomorrow it is." He paused and waited for me to take his arm. "Come I will give you a tour of the palace. You of course know the south wing where you are staying. We have engraved a Moon on the wall for you to know which way is south. Have you noticed them?"

"That is very kind of you. Thank you. No I have not noticed them yet. I was taking my time coming down this morning. I was looking around at my surroundings" I paused curious about what I had walked into when I arrived at the center of the palace. "Is there a way to contact other planets Prince Diamond?"

"In a way." I watched him as his eyes told me he was guarding what I had seen. His eyes had gone dark. "Now that you will be a child of earth you will learn our ways. We will rule the world when you are my queen."

"Don't you mean Earth and the Moon as one?"

"Yes I suppose I do."

He took me around the palace. Places I had seen the night before and then he showed me the gardens I had seen from the windows. The roses were just like my mothers. My eyes lit up but Diamond didn't notice. I knew Endymion would have had a bundle of them ready for me if he had been here. Diamond was too involved with himself. I noticed out of the corner of my eye he had been carrying a stone. He held it in his hands flipping it over constantly. He had not noticed that I had noticed him carrying that as well.

"That is a beautiful stone. Is it a moon opal?"

"Yes it is. You know your stones?"

"Yes. I learned of them on the Moon. Some have certain properties for healing and such. Lady Rei is who I go to for any stone I should need. She can read them along with other people." He didn't need to know she was having trouble reading the people of earth.

"What else did they teach you on the Moon?" He looked at me interested for the first time since I had walked into what he was doing at the core.

"I learned of the different planets where my friends and court come from. We would travel to Jupiter's moons and Mars. Mercury is a star so it is very rare to visit. Venus on the other hand is a star but is fully inhabitable. We would go there from time to time after my father died."

"But you never travelled to Earth?"

"No. Earth is different." I paused. "Earth revolves around the sun and the moon. I only ever saw Earth from my home. It is like when you see the sun and then in the night the moon. Only it doesn't change. It is one view."

He was asking a lot of questions of what they had taught me. What was he trying to get at? He didn't seem so bad at the moment. It is only when you search his eyes do you see the thoughts running through his head. I had hoped that Kunzite and Jaedite had told Endymion by now but I had no way to be sure. I let Diamond continue the conversation. It didn't hurt at the moment and he was supposedly to court me today.

"Princess Serenity you look so much like someone I know. Are you sure we have never met before?"

"No I have never been to Earth before like I had said. I have only ever been to some of the other planets. Why do you think I look like someone you met?" I had seen him with Endymion on the Moon.

"Yes."

"Have you traveled?"

"A few times but nothing to the extent that you have it sounds."

"You should."

"I guess I just wanted to have you rule by my side and not really go anywhere else."

"Well a question for you." I paused and looked at him to see if he would accept me asking one since he was asking all the questions. "How come you don't look like your brother? Your hair color is that of the Moon kingdom. The royal family has silver hair but the remainder of the moon has bluish silver."

"I never thought of it like that. I don't know." He was being very careful with what he said out loud. He was trying to control the situation. We continued through the gardens and just looked at the flowers. I had stopped every so often to cup one and feel its petals as the sun shone down on us. I was warm. The sun soaking into my skin. My thoughts wandered as I walked with Diamond. I wished Endymion had been here instead. I was drawn to Endymion. I stopped one last time and picked a red rose. Holding it in my hands and brought it to my face to feel the petals against my skin.

"You like roses." He spoke out loud finally as he blocked the door to the palace.

"Yes. I think they are beautiful. I like horses too. We don't have horses on the Moon."

He moved out of the way as I held the rose in my hand. We re entered the palace and out of the corner of my eyes I saw Endymion in the shadows. He was keeping an eye out. I smiled at him and continued to pay attention to Diamond. I wanted more information at this point about why he looked like he was from the moon and not like the Earth prince who I had fallen in love with.

"You said you had traveled, have you been to the Moon before?" I asked as I entered the door looking behind me slightly.

"I had been once as child but we didn't travel much from Nemesis – Earth I should say."

I tried to hide the shock of my face from him by looking forward. He had said Nemesis. I had heard that name before. Only once before. It was a dormant moon where evil was banished from the moon. Where papa had banished the evil from before. He was from the moon. He had been banished at one time. I didn't dare look at him now. He was taking me back to the core of the palace. The place I was told to stay away from.

"This is where we will be married. I control this space. It has no time, it has a past that I will correct and future I will control. I will control everything once we are married."

"But this is the core of the palace and of Earth. Does it not belong to the Earth?" I asked very lightly. Trying to hide the fact that I was very scared at this point. He was who I thought this morning. He is formally of the moon.

"Not when I rule it."

"The Moon Kingdom and the Earth will be one." I said again.

"No princess I will rule it all once I have you." He paused. His features changed to the maniacal grin he had yesterday when we met. The fire in his eyes turned to absolute hate for everything. "You didn't think I noticed that you had smiled at my brother in the shadows. Or that you were two days behind schedule riding with him. Or that you have fucked him. You did it last night. I see everything. I know everything you have done with him. Like I said I rule time and space here. I know everything because I am not of this time. You didn't think I noticed your reaction when I let Nemesis slip out." I started to back away from him but he caught my wrist pulling me closer than I had cared to be. "I know everything. I see everything. I have been planning this from the time I left Nemesis to infiltrate Earth. The Wise One turned me small so I could get back at the Moon Kingdom for everything it had caused me and my real brother Sapphire. We were banished there. Exiled for something my parents were caught up in. I decided to force the marriage when the time was right. It just happened that the moon kingdom and the earth had an arranged marriage already in place. I took his place so I could destroy you and your kingdom for your father destroying mine." He pulled me close and forced a kiss on me which I did not return. He was harsh, empty and had no feeling. He did it out of spite that I had been with Endymion. "Nemesis has a royal family a former branch of what should have been part of your family. Once I destroy all of you I will take my true queen and rule the universe."

"No." I whispered as I cried out. I tried to push him away but he only held on tighter. Endymion where are you I need help.

"You will marry me and the first thing you are going to do is banish my so called adoptive family and then bring the remainder of Nemesis before it is destroyed here to earth."

He let go of my wrist as I backed away. Tears streaming down my face. I watched as things in this place had changed. The shadows, the sun was different as I looked around. I had been here only a few minutes yet it looked like it had been hours.

"Time moves quicker here. I control time, space and everything in this place. Not Chronos, Not Pluto. We will be married tonight. Then you will bring Nemesis here. We will live while the rest of you die." He laughed as his eyes turned murderous. He flipped the opal stone in his hand as time shifted again. The shadows changed again moving forward.

I could not have lost a day and a half just standing here. I could not have. I turned on my heel, the tears falling from my face and went back the way I come earlier. The hallway was different. It was not morning it was early evening. The shadows here were different. The shadows were watching trying to draw me in as I moved along towards the suites at a run. I ran through my door my trunks spilled out with clothes everywhere. There were notes in my suite from the girls and from Endymion. He was waiting in the shadows as I came running in. He realized I was very upset and had a look of relief fret with worry. I launched myself at him as he clutched me to his chest as I cried.

"Serenity oh my love where have you been? We have been searching for you everywhere."

"He changed time. We are to be married tonight." I cried into his chest. "I don't know how but he changed time. Pluto has the only time keys. She controls time and space for the whole universe. I know because my mother put her in charge of it. He is from Nemesis. A dormant moon from deep in the universe that does not revolve around the sun. That is where my papa sent all the evil the first time. All the evil from the moon is there. He is going to destroy us all. He wants me to bring his world here. All of Nemesis. His true family. He was never your brother. He infiltrated your family. I was to marry you. It was always you. He knows. He knows everything."

"He controls everything Serenity. Time is different with the core. When you didn't come back last night we sent a party out to look for you." He tipped my face to look at him. "I knew it was me. My father slipped a few times but he always corrected himself when Diamond was around. I have a plan. You are not going to like it."

"Please don't let me have to marry him." I cried out.

"No I don't think it will get that far."

I didn't move for what felt like hours as I sobbed into his chest but it was only minutes. There was a knock on the door and Mina entered with the rest of my court. I stood up and slowed the tears as Endymion explained to them what they needed to do. I just needed to know what I needed to do.

"Serenity as soon as I place the crystal piece into the core it will react. Diamond won't be happy. You need to be clear from the edge or it will take you in and you may be destroyed."

"What if I can't?"

"I know you will find a way." He was pleading with me to be safe.

I had to be away from the edge. How was I supposed to be away from the edge? I had to get ready and Endymion had to leave to keep the King, his father safe. My tears starting to fall again as I realized what was going to happen.