A/N- Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me so long to update. My mom's been on my case about homework. I tried to work on the story during Thanksgiving, but I got sick so I wasn't able to. So anyways, here's this chapter. Hope you guys like it!
cosmoscrystal96- I'm glad all the romance. My friends don't think I'm a romantic because I hide it in person, but in my stories… that is where my romantic side comes out.
Silver Moon Goddess1- Thank you!
Lady Tristana Rogue- Glad you liked it!
moonchild08- Glad you like it and I'm sure my English teachers who are sometimes on me to find better words to use will appreciate that comment!
lunarianmaiden- Serena's mom is like the smartest person in the village, you want to guess if they get caught or not now? Cause you'll find out in this chapter.
Psycho- Updating as soon as possible and happy to hear you like it!
Dimples as deep as Moon Crater- Thank you! I used to never write and still love reading tons of the stories on fanfiction and fictionpress. There are tons of great writers out there that have great stories.
Tenshi-Chikyuu- It takes 2 days for her to get from Darien's castle to her village, one day to talk to her mother and see how everything is doing, and then two more days to ride back. It all equals 5 days and I'm sorry if I did not make it clear that it was a round trip. She will not be arriving before the ball starts, but she will be getting there.
Starlit Warrior- Thank you! Of course she comes back! As to your comment on P&P, not sure when an epilogue will get written, it's always in the back of my head, but I have this story and a couple others to work on right now.
Supersaiyanx- Updated!
Melody87- My pleasure.
Dertupio- I'm not sure if phoenixes can completely die and never be reborn. I haven't done that much research on them.
Tristan and Serena and borrowed two horses from Alec and had taken off during the night so hopefully Serena's mother would not notice. They had made good timing, stopping only to water the horses. "Serena, how much longer?"
"A day probably. We need to reach King Darien's forest and then it is most of a day's ride from there." Serena answered. Tristan just nodded and pushed his horse to catch up with Serena.
They reached the crest of a hill that looked down upon the valley and the forest that lay between them and the castle. Unlike they had planned, half of the valley was being occupied by some sort of military and Serena could not tell if they were friendly or not. "Who are they?" Tristan asked.
"I do not know, but we need to tell Darien when we reach the palace. He said they were in a war so this could be his enemy." Serena answered. "How are we to avoid them?"
"Well the valley is pretty large. If we stick to the outside on the far side of their camp we will probably be able to make it around them without them noticing." Tristan said, pointing to the path he wanted to take. Serena nodded and nudged her horse forward, followed by Tristan. They quietly made it down the hill, but when they reached the valley they decided a full gallop would be better so they could get into the forest faster. Luckily the sun rose just as the two made it into the forest, and not one sentry saw them, or at least they hoped.
The pair rode for another hour before the stopped to water the horses and find some food. They sat near the water's edge silently, both lost in thought. After about twenty minutes they mounted their horses and started back for the castle at a casual trot, making sure to keep an eye out just in case the other army did have men in the forest.
"Tristan, you are coming in with me are you not?" Serena asked. They had finally reached the castle and were waiting outside of the large gaits. Tristan kept staring up at the massive concrete barrier and Serena could tell her was not sure what to do.
"I do not know. They are your friends and were not pleased when they first saw Alec." Tristan said.
"Alec charged in like some banshee, which we know he is not. How else are they supposed to greet a raving lunatic?" Serena asked. "Come, you will come with me and I'll make sure that they won't do anything to you. After all, you said they were my friends and if they truly are my friends then they should accept others who I call my friends."
"Fine, but if I don't like it, I'll be waiting for you in the forest." Tristan groaned. Serena gave him a big smile and nodded.
"Excuse me! Could you please open the gate? We're here for the ball." She called up to the sentry. A guard looked over the edge and his eyes widened when he saw who it was.
"Lady Serena! We thought you would not be returning for the ball. It has already started so you must hurry!" The man said. He opened the gate and Serena and Tristan led their horses in.
"Thank you and we will hurry!" Serena laughed. When they reached the front of the castle they stopped and gave their horses to the stable hands, who were also happy to see Serena back.
Before they had reached the gates Serena and Tristan had stopped in the forest to change into clothes that would be more appropriate for the occasion. Serena was in a light blue shimmering ball gown and Tristan was in a formal version of his warrior garb.
"My lady, the ball has started. I will put your things in your old room as well as a guest room for your companion." The stable boy said.
"Thank you and please. Here, for your troubles." Serenity gave the boy a few gold coins before she started walking up the stairs into the castle. "Are you ready Tristan or are you going to be nervous and ruin your time here?"
"I know I know, I'll relax once we get inside." Tristan smiled.
"You won't relax until we're home. You don't fool me Tristan." Serenity laughed and Tristan just shook his head.
Inside the large dinning room the ball was already underway. Darien stood with his generals and the girls near his throne as other couples danced in the center of the room. Almost all of the guests had already arrived and were enjoying themselves, but Darien was waiting for one in particular who had yet to show.
"Darien, relax. It sounded like a long journey from here to Serena's home, one that might not be easily traveled." Rei said. Darien just nodded and took a sip of the wine he had been given.
"I just wish she would be here already." Darien muttered. Everyone gave him a sad smile and nodded, for they all wished the same. Malachite looked around the room, watching the couple dance, but his eyes stopped on the open doorway where a familiar golden beauty was making her way into the room.
"My friend, I believe you can stop waiting." Malachite said with a smile. Darien gave him a questioning look before looking to the entrance to see Serena standing on the top of the stairs looking as beautiful as always. The only thing that bothered Darien was the man who stood behind her. "Are you not going to go greet her?"
"I am my friend." Darien set down his wine and walked toward Serena. As he walked around the room he noticed most of the other young bachelors had also taken notice of Serena and were inquiring to who she was. "My lady, we thought you would not make it." Darien said when he reached Serena.
"I gave you my promise. Plus I helped plan this ball, I wanted to see how it would turn out." Serena smiled. Darien bowed and kissed Serena's hand. "O, this is Tristan, one of the guards of my home. My mother put him in charge of watching me and he helped me get here. Tristan, this is King Darien."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Tristan bowed.
"Thank you for helping her get here." Darien said.
"She was so unpleasant with the thought she would not make it. I just wanted to be a good friend and see her happy again." Tristan said. "I think I'll go get a drink, the journey made me quite thirsty."
"Would you care for a dance?" Darien asked, holding his hand out for Serena to accept. Serena nodded and placed her smaller hand in Darien's and let him escort her to the dance floor. "I'm glad you made it."
"I am to. It took us about two days to get here." They lapsed into silence as they rotated around the floor. "You said you were in a war with someone else the last time I was here."
"Yes, we're fighting King Diamond from the north. Why?" Darien asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
"On our way here we saw an army. We did not know if they were yours or someone else's. They were camping behind the forest, in the valley in front of the mountains." Serena explained.
"You saw an army?" Serena nodded. "I know this is not the time to asked, but how many were there?"
"I could not tell. You'll have to talk to Tristan. We can not stay long, for my mother will realize that I'm gone." Serena said.
"I would like to talk to Tristan, with my generals of course." Darien said.
"Of course. We just have to leave hopefully by tomorrow night." Serena said. Darien nodded.
"One more question. How did you get away from your mother?" Darien asked.
"That is my secret; just know I was able to get here." Serena smiled. "I'll tell you another time."
"Serena, darling are you feeling any better?" Selene, Serena's mother asked as she silently opened her daughter's door.
"A little, but not a whole lot." The quiet reply came from under the blankets. Selene walked over and pulled the blankets away from her daughter.
"Well, you still look a little pale. I do not know why this ball is so important to you." Selene watched as her daughter did not move. "I will ask Christine to bring you some more soup. Would you like anything to drink?"
"Just some water please."
"Water, alright. What kind of soup would you like?" Selene asked.
"Chicken noodle, if there is anything left."
"Molly, where is my daughter?" Selene asked. She sat down at Serena's desk and looked over at the bed.
"What do you mean mother? Molly is home keeping the house for when her father returns."
"Molly, Serena never likes just water. She says it is too boring. Her favorite soup is wild onion with a piece of bread in it and melted cheese on the top." Selene said. "Molly, I will ask you again. Where is my daughter?" Molly did not need to say a word. Selene's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "The ball…
"Serena, we were worried you would not make it back." Rei said. The band had taken a break and Serena and Darien rejoined the group.
"I would not have been here if it was not for my friend Molly or Tristan who has seemed to disappear." Serena said looking above the heads of the crowds.
"Tristan? Is he the man you came with?" Amy asked.
"Yes, my mother put him in charge of watching me when I returned." Serena explained. "Anyways, the ball turned out wonderful! I can't believe you guys were able to put all of this together!"
"We had your help. After you left the men of this group were in council most of the time and so we worked on the planning." Lita said with a smile. "I even gave the chefs a few recipes!"
"And good recipes at that! Can I get a copy of some of them? Christine would probably like them." Serena asked. Lita smiled and nodded. The girls all started chatting and became oblivious to everything around them. Tristan walked over and Serena introduced him to everyone, but soon rejoined to conversation with the girls.
"King Darien, are you not going to dance with anyone else?" A woman asked walking over to the group. Everyone's eyes, except Serena's and Tristan's, narrowed at the newcomer.
"Lady Ann, I was just enjoying a conversation." Darien said plainly. It became obvious to Serena and Tristan that this woman was not welcome.
"But you danced with the lady who came late. Why can you not dance with anyone else? We used to have a good time dancing at all of the balls." Ann continued.
"You might have Lady Ann, but then again, you would not have seen how distressed my brother was since all you cared about was yourself and your flirting." Rei growled. Jadeite had his arm wrapped around her waist in case she tried to lash out on Ann.
"I do not know what you are talking about. Anyone could see that Darien enjoyed our dances." The statement generated a snort from most of the group. "Tell them how you enjoyed yourself Darien."
"Yes Darien, tell us you enjoyed yourself." Rei said as she tried to hide a smirk.
"Lady Ann, I'm sorry, but-"
"You don't enjoy yourself! You could have told me that before I wasted my time on you!" Anne interrupted. She made a big dramatic huff as she turned around and stormed through some of the couples standing near by.
"Took you long enough." Zoicite muttered. Darien glared at him and he gave a sheepish smile.