Moving Forward
The soft clicking of boots echoed through the silent hall as Endymion slowly walked towards the slouched figure of his father. All the mourners had slowly trickled out of the building, after whispered condolences had been given to king and prince. All that was left of this somber day was to entomb the body of the queen in the royal crypt. The crowds, now huddled together, stood on standby, quietly waiting for the king to lead the march.
"Father, we must proceed with the arrangements. The carriage is ready to go. Let's lay her to rest already." Endymion placed a firm hand on his father's shoulder giving it a light squeeze.
"We may lay her to rest dear boy, but I shall never rest! Not until we make the moon bleed for all they have done!" said the king as he stood up to face his son. His red rimed eyes glaring at him.
Placing his hands on the kings' shoulders, Endymion looked him in the eyes as he spoke to him in a calm deep voice.
"Father, I have already told you. We don't have enough evidence to prove it was them! All we have to go off is the note left behind! That, and whoever did it must have stolen her necklace. She would never part with it, and no matter where we looked, we could not find it! Father, I promise, I will personally find who did this, and they will pay!"
Placing his hands over his son's, the king spoke in a broken voice.
"My boy, I will hold you to your words! Gaia, was the sweetest woman, and I know of no one who would hurt her! When you find the bastard, let me know, that I may take his life with my own hands!"
Nodding in acknowledgment Endymion let go of his father's shoulders and stood beside him.
"Come father, let's not leave mother alone. We must show a united, strong face for our people. Tomorrow we will start investigating, today let us remember and honor her memory."
Taking a deep breath, the king stood, and straightened his figure out. Then, looking at his son with determination in his eyes he said, "Let us put our queen to rest". Endymion gave him a sad smile and walked with his father towards the exit, to the waiting crowds.
The pair left the great hall together, walking side by side, united for once.
Long fingers gently traced a scar that had only recently started to heal. Beryl was annoyed by the scar. Gaia had managed to slice her forehead with the letter opener, and leave a mark on her, for all to see. That is, if she allowed people to see the evidence of the queens struggle to remain alive. It was an eyesore that only reminded her of the decisions she had made in her quest to make Endymion hers. She would pay it no heed though, after all, her stone headpiece covered the mark well, and in time, the crown would too.
"What ails you my queen? Would you like me to erase that blemish for you?"
A shadow had appeared behind her and was looking at the scar she was still tracing with her fingers. Its soulless eyes following her fingers movements.
"No, I will keep this as a reminder of the day I sacrificed my humanity to obtain my goals. It only fuels my actions."
With one quick movement she turned and addressed the shadow that had appeared.
"What do you want Mortimer? I did not call you. Or did Metallia send you?"
The shadow gave a low distorted sound, akin to laughter.
"I see I don't even get a proper greeting. Well that's fine. We of the dark kingdom don't have need for such formalities. But on to my business, as that is what you wish. I have come to see how your control of the king fares. Metallia wants to know how long it will take for you to get him to make you his queen."
"Always so impatient! I have told her, I don't want to arouse suspicions amongst the nobles, but more importantly the prince. He has enough power to pose a challenge to us. Let us wait a couple of months, then I will act. For now I will make my influence among the court rise even further. Gaia had always frowned upon my presence, but without her influence, people will be more accepting." Beryl slowly walked to the Plush bench that sat at the foot of her bed as she talked to the floating shadow.
The shadow nodded in understanding, as its dark eyes followed Beryl.
"Then you will make the king yours?" The shadow had now returned to hanging off her shoulder.
"Yes, then I will make him mine. I will slowly start getting him under my control. I did it once, on the day I killed his wife, but it was too noticeable. I will do it again, but more subtly."
"I can see your reasoning for taking such actions, but Metallia is not very reasonable. How do you plan on appeasing her?" The shadow continued to swirl around her as it waited for an answer.
"Tell her that in the meantime, I will give her energy by spreading more monoliths for her. Instead of sucking energy from humans and killing them, they will spread discontent. The negative energy from them will be enough to feed her for now." Beryl turned to look at the shadow but it had left her side and was once again before her.
"As you wish my queen." The shadow gave her a mock bow.
"Oh, and Mortimer, please don't call me that." Beryl did not want anyone, be it the golden kingdom or the dark kingdom, hearing him call her that.
"But my queen, I only do what your heart desires. Might as well address you by that which you will one day become. Metallia does not mind. She has heard me refer to you as such. But do not worry, I will heed your wish, for now."
The shadow then gave an empty, joyless laugh and disappeared.
"Yes Mortimer, that is what I want, but I want Endymion to call me his queen. Then I will gladly take that title."
With a sigh, Beryl went to lay on her bed. The queen's funeral was still in progress and among the crowds gathered she knew her presence would not be missed. If questioned, she would say she was present, no one would be the wiser. The crowds gathered far outnumbered the projected amount expected for the burial. She would have been but one more head in the sea of hundreds gathered. The earth was truly mourning its queen and Beryl still had enough of a soul and conscious to guilt her into not attending. Turning her head on the pillow, Beryl closed her eyes as a tear slid free. She would not regret her decisions, but she would have a moment of weakness when no eyes could see.
The ballroom of the Lunar Palace, had recently finished with the remodeling needed after the small attack from earths forces. No one would have guessed that only a couple days had passed since that dreaded night. No one had ever attacked the moon palace in all of the Silver Millenniums history. Enemies had managed to sneak in on occasion, but never had an actual explosive gone off! How the Earth king managed to get to the moon was not the problem, the teleportation chambers had been open to the Earth. What puzzled queen Serenity was how he had managed to get by undetected until he reached the ballroom, surveillance would have surely seen him! Yet after hours of wading through images, the search was fruitless. Nothing was caught by the image recorders until he was actually in the ballroom, and by then, they had already detonated whatever type of explosives they had used. That was also another problem. The explosives used were not able to be identified. No one knew what actually caused the explosion. The only thing that could explain what had occurred was magic. The queen rubbed her temples as she considered the implications. Magic was outlawed in the Alliance, as it had caused rifts and rebellions. The dark moon rebellion to be exact. Her sister in law had fallen into the illegal use of such power, and its dark twisted ways eventually corrupted her. Endymion had informed her that low levels of magic had been authorized on earth, but he was working on having it banned once again. The problem was that the kind of magic Endymion had talked about was light magic, magic used to help in everyday tasks, nothing powerful enough to harm. That is until she saw what the king did at the ball. That magic, as she was now sure, was stronger than the one earthlings had been authorized to use. Walking to her new throne, she sat as she mulled over what she had discovered in the last days.
The queen sighed, then bit her lip, deep in concentration, putting pieces together. The monoliths that had appeared on earth, she was now sure, were the same that Nehelenia had used on the satellite colony, on the dark side of the moon. Those rocks, had garnered energy from the surrounding areas, before drawing power from life forces. It was those rocks that gave that witch the power to get her rebellion started. Serenity gasped as she made a correlation between the events. Just like Nehelenia's goal was to get control of the Moon kingdom, whoever killed Gaia, wanted the kingdom of Earth! She would have to warn Endymion, but how? The Earth had cut off communications with them. The news would clear the moon from any fault, and could unite them once and for all in defeating the darkness, that kept reappearing in different places. Yet, for all the good that might do, was it worth the effort? Would the Earth even bother to listen to her? Should she just allow the Earth to figure things out on their own? Surely someone as intelligent as Endymion could solve the situation. The queen knew she needed to make a decision. Insist on helping earth and fight this potential threat together or leave earth to its own devices? She needed words of wisdom that could only come from one person.
Endymion could cry no more tears. They had all long since dried up. The day he lay to rest his most devoted advocate, was the hardest day of his life. Gone was the only support system he ever had. Now he would have to learn to deal with his father's tantrums on his own. With no mediator to soften the blows his father would surely throw at him. Standing up from his favorite bench in the gardens of Elysion, Endymion took a look around and realized that all looked normal. Since the day after the funeral Endymion had spent his days in Elysion trying to piece together what had happened. After various attempts at reading the earth, no images came that warned him of any darkness or discontent. Even the images of the monolith had ceased! It frustrated him to no end, not having the capacity to use his powers and find the killer as quickly as he wished.
The only clue left behind was the famous note. The one left in his mother's hands. All it had said was "Earthlings shall never join us!" It was obvious that the "us" in the note, was the alliance. No one doubted that. The debatable thing was who in the alliance planted it, and if it was actually them. For all they knew, an earthling with Intel could have planned it. The general public was not aware of the note, as its contents had been restricted to the select few, who knew who the Alliance was. Endymion had spent days trying to figure out how the relations between Earth and the Alliance would move on, if they moved on. His father had ordered to cut off communications with the moon until further notice. Endymion did not know when that would be, and knowing his father, never was a viable option.
He had to talk to Queen Serenity! Things could not be left the way they had. Everyone needed closure. He was keenly aware that his marriage to Serenity was probably not going to happen anytime soon. After all, his father had attempted to assassinate the queen! When he had asked his father about that night, he had simply stated that he could not remember anything, he had blacked out. It was as if someone else had acted in his stead. As much as he believed his father, he knew that the alliance would not excuse his actions. The idea of losing Serenity was numbing. Granted he had just met her, and aside from being enthralled by her, he just knew that they belonged together. That together they could accomplish great things.
Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the golden watch she had given him. He never realized he had it, until he got home that night, and saw it fall from his coat jacket when he removed it. She had given it to him as a symbol of her love for him. Watching it glisten as the light touched it, reminded him of the way her eyes lit up every time she glanced at him. He would miss that. He wished he could return her beloved watch, but just for once he would be selfish and keep it in memory of the woman he would most likely never have.
Standing up from the bench he placed the watch back in his pocket. Taking a deep breath he got ready to leave, nightfall was soon to come and he still needed to talk to Helios about matters that needed to be addressed in Elysion. Tomorrow would mark the end of the Earths week long grievance for the Queen. Court would be in session and there would be much to discuss about security measures in Earth as well as what steps would be taken to solve the Queen's murder. He would not be able to visit Elysion for a couple of days, and as much as that distressed him, there were more pressing matters at the castle that needed to be straightened out. Helios would have to handle keeping an eye on the health of Earth. For now, protecting his kingdom on the surface would take priority.
Serenity had cried for days straight, never leaving her room. The shock of that night had not left her. Not only the horror of seeing her beloved home attacked, but of seeing the man she loved lose the most important person to him. She would never forget the sad smile he gave her as he vanished from site. The hollowness in his eyes had made her heart ache like nothing before. It was as if she could feel his pain. Her beloved guardians had attempted to cheer her up on numerous occasions, but the smiles she gave them, were more for them than her. After what had seemed like an eternity Serenity finally decided to leave the confines of her room. To the only place that brought her comfort. Listening to the water as it fell from the fountain seemed to appease her aching heart. She closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh night air. Lavender greeted her senses.
"Hello Luna"
Serenity could not bear to look at her, she could feel her presence behind her, but did not wish to startle her with the worn way she looked. Luna had always been able to see behind her façade.
"Serenity, I am glad to finally see you! My condition, has not allowed me to leave my quarters, as Artemis did not want me worried over the situation. But how can I rest when I know that my dearest Serenity is hurting! Oh my darling! How you must be suffering!"
Then, before Serenity could react, Luna had come from behind and embraced her. Slowly Serenity gave in and turned into her embrace, seeking the comfort she had been in need of, and letting the tears she had been holding escape her tired eyes.
"My dear, precious child! Let us sit, that you may tell me how you feel!" gathering her hand she led her to that special bench before the fountain.
"Oh Luna, it's terrible! I know Artemis doesn't want you to worry, but as mother's chief assistant, you should not be left out of the affairs of the moon! The engagement has been cancelled, in all but name! The Earth has not contacted us and has refused to answer our calls. King Titus is obstinate that the Moon was behind the murder of queen Gaia! We do not even know why he believes that! I wish I could go to Endymion and tell him our side of the story! I know he would listen and be fair! I just wish there was some way I could get to him!"
"Even if you could my child, the Alliance will probably not want anything to do with the Earth anymore. After what I heard happened in the ballroom, it will take anything short of a miracle for them to change their minds. Let it be my darling. Even though you feel you will never love again, time will heal your heart. The Earth had its chance to join our Alliance, and has ruined it with those insane ideas."
Standing in frustration at her words Serenity ran her hands through her bangs and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Oh Luna, you speak as if removing someone from your heart is as easy as removing a stain from a gown! I have loved that man for far longer than he has ever known, than any of you have even known! The planet he rules is a planet filled with such wonders, one could not forget them once seen! …One cannot forget them."
The last sentence was said in a whisper, but Luna heard the words and quickly stood to face Serenity. Gently grabbing her face so as to look straight into it, Luna asked the question that was heavily implied by Serenity's whispered words.
"Have you been there?"
Serenity knew there was no sense in lying, Luna's red brown eyes, could not be fooled. Nodding slowly she let her in on her most precious secret.
"I will not venture to say I am not upset, furious would be a more accurate description of how I feel! Do you understand the jeopardy you put, not just yourself, but the future of the Alliance in by your actions! You are the sole person who will inherit the Silver Crystal! If anything should happen to you the Alliance will fall, and hundreds of millions of people will be affected! Darling, as much as I want to encourage your dreams, there are some that are simply not worth the risk!"
Luna's typically pale face was now rosy from the state she was. The coloring made her look beautiful, Serenity thought, for a brief second before she gathered her attention once again.
"Luna, I am fully capable of understanding what you say, and agree that it wasn't the brightest idea to act in such a way, but you must understand that when I acted on those whims, I was lonely, I had no one! My heart yearned to feel complete and it led me to him. How, I do not know. What I do know is that I am happiest when I am with him, on his planet."
Before Serenity could continue, she was interrupted by Luna, who was now looking seconds away from losing her composure.
"Am I to understand that he was an accomplice to your illicit visits to the earth? He aided you in this dangerous behavior?"
"Yes and no… not directly." Serenity could not hold Luna's intense gaze, and decided the floor would be a better place to keep her eyes.
"Regardless of the circumstances, how do you know he wasn't tricking you? What if he wanted your trust so he could capture you and hold you ransom? The engagement could have just been a way to keep you close enough, to manipulate you and gain your trust! What need would they have of joining the Alliance when they could hold you hostage and do as they please! For all we know, they could have staged the queen's murder in order to blame us!"
Luna had grown hysterical towards the end of her speech and Serenity had no way of calming her down, save to grab her firmly by the shoulders and give her a light shake.
"Luna, listen! I don't believe that is the case, but regardless, it isn't good for your health or the child's for you to get worked up over this!"
Leading her back to the bench, she sat beside her and looked towards the fountain, taking deep breaths and letting the cool night air calm her down. Serenity then willed herself to look at Luna and give her a weak smile.
"I haven't been scolded by you in so long, that I almost forgot what it was like."
Taking Serenity's hand in her own, Luna sighed, then continued.
"Well if I have it my way, I don't intend for you to forget. Listen, I realize I overreacted, but my motherly hormones are starting to take over, and I just realized that if I love this child a quarter of what I love you, there is no way I could let them endanger themselves in any way. So please Serenity, promise me that you won't go back to earth! Trust in your mother, she will find a way to figure this out. Don't act on your emotions. Nothing good will come of it right now."
Serenity could not say no to those sincere and loving eyes.
Squeezing Luna's hand Serenity, said "I promise you Luna, this moon princess shall not lay foot on earthen soil again."
Queen Serenity had wasted the better half of the afternoon debating whether to approach the guardian of time. Now as she stood before the large lavish doors that lead to her domain, she wondered if she was asking for too much from Pluto. The thought had no sooner passed the queens mind when the doors opened, revealing a solemn looking figure.
"How may I be of Service, your highness?"
Walking slowly up to the guardian, the queen asked permission to enter her domain with her gaze. Once it was granted, the queen spoke her mind.
"I wish your assistance in solving a mystery."
"You speak of Gaia's death."
Even though the queen was well aware of Pluto's ability to know all, it still took her by surprise at times, this being one of them. Smiling gently at the guardian, the queen noted an observation.
"Well it seems you are already aware of what I have come to ask about. Am I that predictable that the stream of time does not even tremble at my decisions?"
Bowing in respect, the guardian stayed in that position as she answered.
"Do not take offense my Queen, the stream of time is never clear, there are paths that even I do not know you will take. Yet, there are some moments that will always lead you here, no matter the choices taken."
After offering said words she straightened and faced the queen.
"Well then Pluto, I seek your advice. Shall I continue my investigation into the murder of my dear friend, or shall I leave it to the earth to solve its own mysteries and move on with the ruling of my planet. It seems there are forces that keep on resurfacing, and I wonder if I should take it as a sign that earth and moon should not unite. It is twice now that Serenity and Endymion have been separated, are the gods telling me to desist?"
Gazing directly at the queens eyes, Pluto questioned.
"You are asking if a union between earth and moon is attainable. All things are attainable, the question is, what are we willing to sacrifice to attain it? Your friend lost her life. What will you lose?"
The queen turned away from her intense gaze and paced a few steps before replying.
"You see Pluto, I already lost half my soul, when my husband died, I do not wish to lose the only person that gives me happiness. If protecting her means turning my back on earth once and for all, I will."
"Queen, if that is what you wish, then so be it. I see no wrong in your words. But again, I remind you, do not let fear guide your decisions. Never give in to fear, it can only lead to destruction."
"I do what I must to protect my daughter, out of love Pluto. ….Out of love."
"Well then, it seems, you have your answer. The stream of time will flow none the less, whatever the decisions we make. All we must do is live with them. I wish you peace my queen."
The queen, now with a resolved look in her eye turned around and left thru the open doors. She would have to meet with her council and soon.
Serenity found herself before her favorite image, image number 3795. Looking at it, she had to admit that the image did not do him justice. No image could capture the beauty of those intense blue eyes. The color of the beautiful planet that was clearly visible behind the large monitor. A sigh escaped her at the thought of giving up on him. She had been so close! Close enough to have her dreams come true. She would have been able to help rule that beautiful planet and be a part of that world so full of myriads of colors. Standing strong beside Endymion, helping protect the Silver Millennium with both her powers and his combined. She would have to speak with her mother, ask, plead and beg to not give up hope.
Just then the sound of footsteps down the corridor had her commanding the monitors to remove the image and turn off. Hiding quickly behind the large curtains that stood by the large glass windows she willed her crystal to hide her presence. A power she had been honing after she discovered she could be undetectable, even to her mother.
Watching in silence she saw as her mother entered the room with a determined stride and sat on her throne.
"This is Serenity, Queen of the Moon, I command you to connect me to the inner kingdoms of the Alliance."
After what was mere seconds, the monitors sprang to life with blank images. The tapping of the queens fingernails against the armrest were the only sounds until slowly the monitors showed the faces of the monarchs of Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter.
"My queen, to what do we owe this urgent meeting?" Asked the worried face of Hermes, king of Mercury. Not one to like surprises, he was the first to get to the point. Being a strategist he wanted information so he could start working on plans for whatever the occasion called for. His piercing sky blue eyes looked intently at the queen.
"I will get straight to the point. I have decided it best to leave the Earth to its own devices. With Gaia gone, I do not want the headache of dealing with Titus. He is acting like an insane man at this moment. Falsely accusing us of murdering Gaia, my dear friend! If not for Endymion, I would be worried about the future of Earth, but with him there, I know it will be in good hands."
"Then you do not wish to give Serenity and Endymion your full support? You know I was able to read their auras and they shined so brightly together that night at the ball. If allowed to continue, those two could easily work as one, using both their crystals to defend this Alliance." The words of Aphrodite, the Venusian queen, were not meant to challenge the high queen's decision, just merely remind her of what she was giving up on.
"I have weighed that fact into my decision Aphrodite and even so, have decided to let it be. With our crystal alone, we have defended this Alliance, and will continue to do so. Maybe it is greedy of us to desire the use of the two most powerful stones in the solar system. Maybe they are to be divided for a reason."
Standing the queen addressed, her council.
"The death of Gaia has secured to me the belief that pursuing any further relations with Earth only leads to destruction. I cannot and will not allow for any more needless suffering. They have been fine without us and will continue to do so. I only wish I could have expressed to Endymion the deep regret I have for the way things turned out."
"Your daughter, she is in agreeance to this?" Juno, the queen of Jupiter spoke up.
Looking into her intense green eyes that reminded her of the jungle forests that made up her homeland, the queen of the moon answered firmly.
"My daughter does not know what is good for her at this time, and is not in a state of mind to understand my decisions. She has yet to learn that her beloved friend Terra, was actually Gaia in disguise. She was supposed to have learned that at the ball, but as fate would have it Gaia could not attend, and we all know how that evening ended."
The room went quiet, and despite the silence, none were aware of the crouched figure hiding in the shadows, trying her hardest to keep her composure at hearing the shocking news. Wanting to make her presence known, she was stopped by the following words.
"For the time being we will be on high alert, in a temporary isolation measure until Earth cools off and the threat of retaliation is over."
"Do you need the assistance of our daughters again?" Asked an eager Ares as his dark eyes glared at the screen.
"Do not worry yourselves. Serenity has grown in power and is not as helpless as she once was. Though I will not hesitate to call them in if I feel it necessary. Are we in agreement over the issues discussed? Speak now if you have any concerns."
The monarchs of the planets just stared at the queen and nodded in agreement.
Soon after the monitors were turned off, and the moon queen had left, did the figure of the princess stand from its crouched position behind the large curtains. Still in shock, Serenity made her way mutely to her room. Having arrived, she collapsed on her bed, and made sense of all that was happening. Her mother meant to isolate her again! Had they not discussed this already? Dismayed that her mother did not think her strong enough to handle her decisions, anger started to course through her veins. Especially at the thought that her dear friend Terra, the queen of Earth, had been murdered, and that they, the lunarians, had been blamed for such an atrocious act! She had never met King Titus, but she cared not for his opinion, all that mattered was that Endymion not think her people behind it. Sitting up she made a decision, she would go to earth and investigate the facts surrounding the queen's death, and if possible clear her people's name. Terra deserved to have her murderer brought to justice. Tears sprang to her eyes as she paused and truly took in the fact that her dear friend was gone, and what knowing her true identity meant. The ache in her heart increased tenfold, knowing the woman who Endymion had lost and called mother, was the woman who she had grown so close to, so easily. Terra, or Gaia, as was her true name, had been the most loving and sweet person Serenity had ever met. It was a shame she did not get to meet her in all her glory.
Standing up she made her way to her closet and pulled out one of the Earth dresses Terra had given her. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she traced the crescent moon on her forehead before willing it to disappear. She had promised Luna that the moon princess would not go to the Earth, but Usagi would.
Endymion was more tired than he had anticipated. The idea of teleporting to his room was starting to sound tempting but the sound of his horse, neighing in background, reminded him that the animal too needed to rest in its bed, even if it was just hay.
Gathering his riding gloves from the stump he had left them on outside of the chapel, he turned to his four legged companion and gave his head a quick pat. Just as he was putting his foot in the stirrup, did he catch the scent of vanilla in the night air, turning he looked around for the figure he knew the smell belonged too.
"Usagi?"
Only silence greeted him. He chuckled to himself as he wondered why on earth a woman would be out in the forest at this time of night, especially one that was to the far north, hundreds of miles away.
Returning to the task at hand he swiftly hoisted himself above the large horse, and had started on a trot when the sound of crying and a growling noise had him on high alert. It did not take long for him to come across the image of a cloaked figure sitting on a high tree branch, obviously scared by the raccoon that was growling standing on its hind legs.
The prince could not help but laugh at the funny scene before him. His laughter did not go unnoticed by the cloaked figure or the raccoon. Getting off his horse and making his way towards the scene, he quickly shooed away the raccoon, who having looked at his impressive height and demeanor, had swiftly decided it was in its best interest to give up accosting its victim.
"You need not fear any longer, the raccoon was not rabid, I think you might have food on you, and it was only trying to secure a meal." His jovial voice had the figure stop crying and turn to face him abruptly.
It was that swift motion that had the hood come down. His eyes pulsed wide as he was greeted with a pair of large sky blue eyes that lit up as they stared at him. It seemed his sense of smell had been spot on. For none other than Usagi greeted his vision. The moonlight reflected of her golden hair, giving the allusion of silver hair. It was at that moment that he realized how similar Usagi and Serenity were. If not for the change in coloring and a slight difference in the blue of their eyes, they could easily have been sisters. Walking towards the tree, he noticed she was staring at him, almost as if she was trying to memorize his face.
"It seems we are fated to continually meet in this forest!" chuckled Endymion as he tried to stop the awkward silence.
It seemed his words had the effect he wanted. For she shook herself from her daze, and was about to reply when she shifted in a way that had her tumbling off the branch.
It all happened in slow motion to Serenity after that. One moment she was about to speak and in the next all she saw were her skirts floating about her. She closed her eyes and would have screamed, had the shock not stolen her voice. All of a sudden she felt a pair of strong arms holding her in a secure hold. Looking up she was greeted with face of the man she had so longed to see. In her great joy at seeing him, she forgot who she was supposed to be, and placed her hands on the sides of his face as if to lock him in place. The adrenaline had her breathing hard and staring intently at him. It seemed they were both in a trance, as he too just stared at her in wonder. Before she could stop herself, the joy of having him in her presence and feeling his skin under her palms, had her acting in a brash manner.
Endymion could only stare in awe at how beautiful Usagi looked, all flushed, attempting to catch her breath. Before he could even react, her soft lips had laid a quick, but timid kiss to his. He closed his eyes for that brief second, and when he opened them the image before him truly stunned him. One word left his lips.
"Serenity?"
