Recap: Serenity had tried to secretly deliver a letter to Endymion while he slept in her home, but ended up having sex with him. Endymion woke up and realized that the sex had not been a dream.

Serenity sat at her window seat with a book in her hand, but she was not really focused on the words. She could only recall that night with Endymion which had been months ago. It had been so passionate and life-changing for her, but he had not said anything in the morning. In fact, he left quickly the morning after. He talked with her father over a quick breakfast, shook his hand, and sped off without so much as a glance. Serenity was hurt, but life went on. There were still books to read, duties to fulfill. So what if Endymion had taken her virginity. That didn't meant the world would end.

As she sat, deep in her thoughts, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" she called out.

Her father stepped inside, with a smile on his face.

"Serenity, I have some news. Your cousin, Amina is getting married next week and your uncle invited us to the engagement party in two nights. Would you like to come?"

"Of course, Father! Will Mother be able to join us?" Serenity asked.

"Unfortunately, your mother is feeling a little under the weather still. So instead, could I escort you to the ball, my princess?" he asked with a chuckle and bow.

Serenity giggled softly at her father's antics. She got up from her seat and curtsied. "I would be most delighted, my good sir," she replied, trying to keep herself from laughing. Smiling, her father nodded and walked out the room, closing the door behind him. He had noticed Serenity's being a little listless for a while and had hoped this bit of news would cheer her up.

At Amina's Engagement Party

"Congratulations!" cheered the crowd as the beautiful bride and groom-to-be stood in front of them. The party had been going for awhile and was hosted at Amina's home. Her father was Count Luna and being a noble meant he had to show off his wealth, or at least that's what he thought. He had invited friends, family, and even far-off nobles just to celebrate his daughter's engagement to the very wealthy Count Seiya of France. Seiya, for his part, was relatively young but seeing his future bride made him pleased despite the fact that he was marrying into a poorer family than his own. But, he rationalized that they could unite their houses and their children would be beautiful and rich. His wife-to-be also seemed to be timid, at least based on the brief interactions he had with her. That satisfied him as he did not want someone constantly nagging him and restrict his freedoms.

Amina for her part looked around with a smile on a face, but it did not reach her eyes. Serenity walked up to her cousin and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. She had noticed Amina's demeanor to be less sparkly than it usually was and felt a little pity towards her favorite cousin.

"Amina, congratulations!" she said.

Amina kissed her back and smiled at her. "Thank you, cousin. I'm glad you could make it."

"Amina, is this the beautiful cousin that I've heard only rumors about?" Seiya walked over to Amina and put his hand around her waist.

"And you must be Count Seiya." Serenity curtsied. "Congratulations to you as well. I'm sure Amina will make you very happy."

"I have no doubts about that," Seiya responded. "It's not a surprise you're related. You're as beautiful as my future wife. If I didn't know any better, I would say that you were sisters, not cousins."

"Sir, you jest. Amina is a thousand times more beautiful than I," laughed Serenity. "Amina, I'll see you later. There is a long line of people behind me who also want to say hello to you and your husband-to-be."

Amina nodded. "Serenity, I'll see you in the gardens? In an hour?" she inquired.

"I'll be there," Serenity promised. She stepped away as another person went up to congratulate the beautiful couple. Serenity walked towards the dance floor to find her father, when she felt someone tug at her arm. She looked back and saw that it was Andrew, Amina's brother.

"Andrew!" Serenity hugged her cousin. "I thought you were still away traveling the world with your bride?"

"And miss this? I can't miss Mina's wedding. What sort of brother would I be then?" he chuckled.

"That's true. Tell me all about your travels! How was France and Germany? How is your wife?"

"Slow down," Andrew said. "We have time to talk about all those things. But before we do, would you like to dance? Rika is taking a break right now and I noticed that you haven't had a proper dance yet."

"Of course, cousin." Serenity took his hand and went with him to the dance floor. She whirled and twirled with him, laughing all the while as he told her stories of his honeymoon. Then she ended up dancing with the other men on the dance floor, switching partners as the music sped up and more couples came out to dance. Serenity was dancing with somebody else when she looked up and noticed that an hour had passed. Excusing herself, she walked out to the rose garden to meet up with Amina. She walked through the roses until she found Amina, sitting on a bench looking up at the sky.

"Mina," she called her cousin softly by her nickname as she sat beside her.

"Serenity, thank you for coming," Amina whispered. She put her head on Serenity's shoulders. "It's been a long night."

"Are you alright?" asked Serenity.

"No. But what can I do? Did you deliver the letter to Endymion?" Amina asked her.

"I did. Who was that letter for?" Serenity tried not to think about the night she delivered the letter.

"He's a merchant. His name is Kunzite. We met in the town market last year." Amina started to sob quietly. "I wanted to talk to my father about marrying him but then Father said there were already arrangements in place for me to marry Seiya. Seiya is rich and young and Father said that we're running into some financial trouble so he needs this union to go through."

"I'm so sorry, Mina." Serenity comforted her as much as she could in that rose garden. She hugged Mina tightly and patted her hair. After some time, Mina's sobs stopped and she was able to calm down.

"Thank you Serena." Mina sniffed a little but she felt better after being able to confide in her cousin. She felt so much guilt towards Kunzite and the letter, but she knew she had to follow what her father wanted. For the good of the family.

"Seiya looks kind, Mina. You should give him a chance." Serenity handed Mina a handkerchief to wipe her face.

"He has been kind to me so far," agreed Mina. "You're right. I miss Kunzite but this is the choice I made. Now, I've got to go back or people will start to wonder where I went." Mina stood up and Serenity looked up at her.

"I think I'll stay here a little longer. Your roses are so beautiful right now." Mina nodded at Serenity and walked back to the house. Serenity tilted her head back and sighed deeply. "Poor Mina," she thought again. As she sat in that rose garden with the moon shining down on her, she never noticed a presence that watched her from a distance. The person came closer and closer until he stood over her. Only then did Serenity open her eyes. Her eyes opened wide as she looked at the person in front of her.

"Endymion."

Mina was walking through the hallways back into her house when she heard someone call after her. She turned and faced the voice. To her shock, she realized it was Kunzite.

"Kunzite! What are you doing here?" she whispered urgently. She looked around her and dragged them into a secluded area.

"Mina, I love you. Don't marry this man. Marry me!" Kunzite looked at the woman he loved with silver eyes. She had never looked so beautiful, but also so sad. He had watched her throughout the party and had wanted to embrace her. When he saw her leave the party, he waited for her to come back so that he could talk to her. He needed to tell her how he felt before she was lost to him forever.

"I can't. Didn't you get my letter?"

"I did. But I don't care. I love you and I know that you love me. We should be together." Kunzite grabbed her hands in his and put his forehead on hers.

"Please, Kunzite. You're making this hard," Mina begged. But even as she said the words to make him stop, her heart soared.

"Mina, marry me. I want to make you happy. I want to have a family with you that we can love together."

"But I can't. I told you, my father made this arrangement for me. I can't abandon my family. He needs this marriage to work."

"I know I'm poor now, but I promise that if you marry me, I will be successful and make enough money so that you and your father will be comfortable. I'll work twice as hard to make that happen," he promised. "I just can't let you go."

Mina could feel her resolve breaking as he said those words. "But…"

"Mina," he interrupted. "We love each other. Eventually your father will understand. He married for love. You told me this. It will be hard at first, but he will come around to accepting us."

"But my family. I can't embarrass him like this," she protested weakly. "My fiancée is here. We are celebrating our engagement tonight."

"Then let's run away. Let's elope and get married instead. I would do anything for you Mina." He dipped his head and kissed her deeply. Mina moaned quietly and put her arms around his neck. When he lifted his head to break the kiss, Mina put her hands on his face.

"Okay. Let's get married."

Kunzite whooped loudly and spun her around the room. Mina laughed loudly with him and for the first time in months, she felt like herself again.

"Endymion."

Serenity continued to stare at him. She didn't know what to do. Her mind was so shocked to see him, that her body was frozen.

"Serenity. Can I sit?" Endymion gestured to the seat next to her. Her body finally caught up with her mind and Serenity glared at him.

"No." She got up to leave. Endymion grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"Serenity, I'm sorry for what happened last time," he started to apologize. Serenity reacted by slapping him across the face.

"I don't want to talk about that. It should never have happened and I'm going to walk away now," she growled. She was reminded of the fact that he had never contacted her for months after the incident. "You didn't even bother to talk to me about it, so now I'm returning the favor."

"Serenity, I really am sorry," Endymion tried again. Serenity pulled her arm free and kept walking away from him. He didn't follow her and watched as she went back into the house.

The Next Morning

Serenity was eating breakfast with her parents when her uncle came loudly into the house.

"Brother! I need to speak with you. Urgently," he yelled.

Serenity's father nodded and led him to the library. "What's wrong," he asked.

"Mina has run away! She left a letter saying that she was eloping with some man she loves! What am I going to do? Seiya is here to marry my daughter and she's not here!" Count Luna was frantic as he paced around the library.

"Have you told Seiya what happened?"

"Of course not! But Mina left a letter for him too apparently and he said that he is leaving today!"

"What do you need from me, brother?" Serenity's father asked.

"I need a solution! I need to save our family name from ruin! Can you imagine what other people will say when they hear Mina ran off with a nobody instead of marrying the Count?"

"Okay, brother. Calm down. We'll stay here and think of a solution together." Feeling slightly better, Count Luna sat down on the chair.

A Few Hours Later

"I wonder what they're still talking about?" Serenity wondered aloud to her mother. They were in her room while Serenity was reading and her mother embroidered.

"I'm sure your father will tell us when he's ready," her mother replied. She looked up at her daughter and smiled. "Your father always tries to do his best by us."

Just as she said that, Serenity's father and uncle walked into the room.

"Serenity, there's been some news," said her father. "Your cousin Amina has eloped with some man and now Count Seiya is getting ready to leave. Your uncle and I discussed a way to avoid a scandal to the family and we decided that your uncle will adopt you officially so that you can marry Seiya and have the 'countess' title. Hopefully that will be enough to appease Count Seiya. This way our family name won't be too badly smudged and you will also have a wealthy husband to take care of you."

"What?!" Serenity shouted. She couldn't believe this. She was happy and unattached this morning and now she was engaged? To her cousin's fiancée? Serenity's mother got up from her seat and walked over to her husband and brother-in-law.

"Are you sure this is the only way?" she asked. She was concerned for her daughter's happiness and knew Serenity was not responding in a positive way.

"It is," Count Luna said. "I'm sorry Serena, but please marry Count Seiya. We can't have the Luna name being involved in a scandal. Your father and I will go talk to the king to talk about the adoption and make sure that he approved of the marriage first, but this is also good for you! Think about it, a wealthy husband with a title. Your father and I agreed that this is a win-win for all of us."

"What about Mina," Serenity argued. She still couldn't believe this was happening.

"I never want to talk about Mina again," her uncle said darkly. He had been so hurt and felt betrayed when he had read her letter. How could she embarrass him like this? Hadn't he told her a thousand times how important this union was?

"Serena, my daughter. This is the only way." Her father went up and hugged his daughter. "I know you wanted to marry for love like your mother and I, but we need to think about the family now."

Serenity could only cry silently as her fate was sealed.