Hi All,

Another Chapter, moving out of home has been good for my writing. Please enjoy Chapter 23. This has taken a weird twist. Getting a little darker, Getting a little closer to some real sinister plans. =)

Enjoy.

PP

Chapter 23

Hours, days, weeks, months and several years passed.

Serena stared at herself in the mirror, she was thinner then what she used to be, the gown she was wearing was the same that she wore everyday. She sat on the floor and crossed her legs, ever since that day she contacted Darien, she couldn't do it again. She had hoped that he had listened to her, and assisted her in coming back to her planet, but over the years she had given up hope. He was supposed to be her true love, her one that would help and support her, and he was just as unreliable as her team was to her. But all of this didn't stop her from trying to get back on her own. But every time she pulled enough power, something stopped her from releasing the power.

"Trying again, Princess Serena?" Asked a voice behind her, feigning concern.

Serena turned around, and stared at the voice behind her, she rolled her shoulders back trying to hide the sudden stress that appeared in them.

Silver eyes stared back at her, and a tall man stepped into the light. His hair was silver, and he was dressed in a formal silver suit. "You do realize that Queen Beryl won't like that you are still trying to run away from me again."

Serena narrowed her eyes at the man. "Diamond, just because I have been forced to be your wife, it will not stop me from escaping from here."

Diamond, smirked, and waved his hand over the mirror. It shimmered, and it showed a forest area.

Serena gasped, this was the forest from her dreams, she saw the purple haze that was rising up from the trees. The future she was fighting to save had happened. Soon in this vision it would show the cemetery with those tombstones. She reached and touched the mirror, and whispered to Diamond, "How long have I been here?"

Diamond, laughed, "A couple of years, my sweet, the planet we are on makes it seem a couple of months. Oh and look there is your graves, and there, your friends and your precious, Darien." and with a snigger, reached down and pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear, and Serena flinched.

Serena stood, moved away from Diamond, tears glistening in her eyes. "Stay away from me you monster."

Diamond, stepped forward, trapping her in the corner and pressed his body against her, and hummed, "I like it when you talk dirty to me," He forced his lips on hers, as he pulled out of the kiss, he bit her bottom lip as she struggled, "One day you will be mine, completely, Princess." And with that closing remark he left the room with a wink.

Serena sank to the ground, and started to weep. Pulling her knees in tight, resting her head upon them. Letting the blood from her lip, seep into the dress until it stopped. When she finally calmed herself down, she snuck out of her room. For people who are holding her hostage, she had surprisingly a lot of freedom to wander the castle, but she still snuck around, she didn't like the eyes of the servants that followed her. She especially didn't want to run into Emerald, Diamonds previous love interest. Who had decided that every chance she got to embarrass Serena further, now that she was Diamonds prisoner. When Serena reached her destination of the roof of the castle, she settled into her meditation pose with new vigor. She was going to achieve something today, she had to find out if her friends, and Darien were truly gone. As she relaxed into her trance, she started to Shimmer.

Meanwhile in the thrown room, a woman with flaming red hair was sitting in a large ostentatious chair, waving her pale hands over a crystal orb. The woman looked up with vibrant green eyes, "Was she more receptive, my dear?" She asked in a serious voice.

Diamond, shook his head, but still smirked at the woman "Nothing that time won't fix Queen Beryl, I showed her present day earth. She will give up eventually. This is just one more step to break her strength, then she will be completely mine, just as it was meant to be."

"I didn't bring her here, to be your play thing, with her meditating in her room, I can harness that power of the silver crystal to fuel the planet earth, and once I have harnessed enough energy to complete my master plan, she will be sacrificed." Beryl said thoughtfully.

"What if she becomes useful?" Diamond asked, his smirk quickly leaving his face.

Beryl leaned forward and cupped Diamonds face in her pale hand, and explained while stroking his face, "She has been here for the equivalent of 5 human years, the most useful she will be to us my prince, is in her Death. Play with her as much as you want, but she will be sacrificed first, or all our plans will be in vain."

Diamonds eyes went hard and he pulled away from the Queens grasp. "You never consider my feelings in your grand schemes, Mother, I want to keep her as my Princess, make her my wife, when she is compliant of course. I think that will be a better use of her and her powers."

Beryl grabbed her staff that was sitting on her right side, with her touch electricity sparked from the orb at the top. She stood, and Diamond fell backwards, scrambling away from the energized staff.

Beryl muttered a few words, and electricity zapped from the ball on top of the staff, the power surged forward and zapped Diamond, he struggled on the ground, convulsing from the energy surging through him. After 30 seconds Beryl released her hold on Diamond, her face moving from joy at the pain she was causing her son, and then flashed through to concern, "You know I hate doing this to you, I don't like using this power unnecessarily, I need every drop that I can save."

Diamond glared at her, and wiped the saliva from his face, without a word to Beryl, he dragged himself out of the thrown room.

On the roof of the Palace, Serena sat calmly, gathering more power than she ever had before down in her room, she inwardly smiled to her inner self, maybe she could get herself home. The glow around her body, was increasing, she concentrated on her pain, on her fear of what Diamond would do to her. Her power increased so much, but she couldn't use it to send herself home, tears of frustration flowed down her cheeks as she released her power and drew it within. But she couldn't go home yet, she couldn't find anything to anchor herself to her planet to bring herself home and to save it.

Back on Earth, Darien woke with a start, a sharp pain shooting through his chest and tears flowing down his face.