A/N- You guys are going to hate me, but I could not resist. This chapter does have a pretty big cliffy, but I'm hoping to have the next chapter up within the next few days. I already have it started. Hope you guys like it and aren't too made at me!
Silver Moon Goddess1- Thank you! Time to read the next chapter!
Zoey89- You will find out her powers in the next chapter and she will be fighting in the chapters after that.
X00001- Thank you for all of your reviews!
cosmoscrystal96- Of course he makes an ass of himself as a bad guy. That's just Diamond. He's more involved in this chapter though.
Lady Tristana Rogue- The slicing and dicing is in the next chapter. This one is still good though.
Dertupio- The other two people are the rulers of the elfin kingdom that Serena was talking about in chapter 10. They'll come back in a few chapters.
Sunny38- Yes, well if you thought that the last chapter had a cliffy, you're going to hate this one. This cliff hanger is the worst.
Eternal Cosmic Sailor Saturn- Well it's nice to meet you. Don't worry, I'm still writing more. Right now the end is not in sight.
"While we were fighting yesterday Diamond sent two men into the castle to kidnap Princess Rei and her court. They did find Serena and were leaving with her when they were killed by Tristan. The men did not keep their mouths shut and Serena found out that Diamond is planning on kidnapping Rei and her court and will bring them out as hostages to make us stop fighting. That us why I had them all protected last night by staying with their generals."
"So what are we going to do?" Malachite asked. All the generals from Darien and the other armies were seated around the large conference table in the council room. Darien had told the council members to leave because he knew they would want to work everything out politically. Talking with Diamond ended when he had sent people in to try and take Rei and the others.
"We need to keep the girls protected. That is a must." Darien said.
"How are we going to do that? Diamond's been able to slip men into our castle already without us knowing. Do we put more men in the castle?" Jadeite asked.
"We could keep them with us. Well not in the middle of the war, but in the camps behind it. Diamond won't suspect it." Charles said.
"Have them under his nose." Darien muttered.
"His nose always has been too long for him to see under." Nephrite said. Everyone cracked at least a small smile.
"It is decided then. We bring them with us." Darien said. The others in the room nodded in agreement and Darien went on to figure out the next step in the war. Next time he would be attacking and surprising his enemy.
"Serena!" Ami screeched. The girls were allowed to go out into the gardens as the men were all in council. Serena had walked next to a fountain and when no one was looking, she splashed water at the other girls. Serena started laughing as she started splashing the other girls. Lita soon joined in with the splashing getting Serena soaked as well. The guards who were put on the duty of watching the five girls rolled their eyes and stood back so they didn't get wet.
Eventually the wind started to pick up so the girls started to walk inside to get something dry on. They were all laughing and joking around, an abrupt change to the sad and solemn mood that they had been in before their walk into the gardens. They reached their rooms and entered to get their dry dresses on so they could head to dinner. Each door had a guard in front of it.
Serena walked into her room and found her sword lying on her bed. She picked it up and unsheathed it. On the silver blade was an inscription she knew no one other than her and her mother could read. Her father had it put on the sword before he died. "To my daughter, an amazing warrior and woman, may this sword always be there to protect you." Serena smiled as she let her hand trace the wording on the sword. She gingerly put the sword back into the sheath and hid it behind her night stand. She turned around and found a towel to put her wet hair into. As she dried her hair she looked in her closet to find an assortment of dresses Mina and gotten for her. She chose a white dress that was tight at the top and flowed out as it fell down her body. It had ornate beading on the top and then random swirls of silver thread on the bottom.
"Serena are you almost ready?" Mina called.
"Yes, hold on. I just need to do something with my hair!" Serena called back. She quickly slipped into the dress and then stood in front of the mirror. "Great, what should I do? My hair is soaked now. Great idea Serena, get soaking wet right before dinner."
"You can always ask for help." Mina laughed from the doorway.
"Will you please help me Mina?" Serena asked with a big smile.
"Of course, turn around." Serena did as she was told and turned back to face the mirror. Mina came over and found a brush to pull out all of the knots with. Mina pulled Serena's hair into a long braid that fell down her back, but stopped mid thigh. Mina then continued to put the braid into a bun. The bun wasn't as big as it would have been if Serena's hair was still loose. "There you go! Now your dress won't get as wet as it would have if your hair had been down."
"Thank you Mina." Serena smiled. She gave Mina a hug before the pair continued out to find Lita and Ami talking at the end of the hall. They were joined by Rei shortly after. "Can we go now? I'm hungry." Serena whined. Everyone laughed and the group, along with their escort of five guards, made their way down to the dining hall.
Before the group could get to the main hallway where most of the servants and other warriors were seven figures stopped them. "We're here for the girls." One of the men said.
"Who are you?" One of the guards asked. The girls were huddled into a circle inside of the guards.
"Well, since you aren't going to give us what we want peacefully you're about to die so I don't see harm in telling you. We are from Diamond's camp. I am Lord Rubeus and these are some of my men." Rubeus smiled. Rubeus gave his men a signal and the others rushed at the group.
There was a clash of metal on metal and all the girls ducked as the intruders and their guards started fighting. Ami saw a small gap in the bodies and signaled the others to follow her. They were running down the hall when to men stopped them. One of them happened to be Rubeus. "Now where are you going?" Rubeus asked. A few of the men came up behind the girls and grabbed their hands.
"Let us go!" Rei screeched.
"I don't think that was part of the plan. Sorry your highness, for once you won't be getting what you want." Rubeus retorted. "Tie them up and hurry. We don't want others coming." As the men tied the girls' hands together the girls were able to look back to see four of the guards bleeding and lifeless in the middle of the hallway along with only one of Diamond's men.
As soon as their hands were tied the men dragged them into a room and slipped dirty dresses over the ones they were currently wearing. After the women were in their new clothes and had strips of clothes in their mouths for gags, they were dragged into corridors which weren't used as often as some of the main hallways. The kidnappers were able to get the girls out of the castle and past the walls. As soon as they reached the forest seven horses appeared and each girl was hauled up and held by one of the men. The group soon took of and were on their way to Diamond's camp.
"Where are the girls? They should be here by now." Malachite said as he sat at the table with the others.
"Especially with Serena in the group. Her appetite is never quenched." Charles added.
"I'll send someone-"
"My lords! They've been taken!" A guard huffed as he entered the dining room where everyone was waiting for dinner to start. The guard had his hand on his should and blood was slowly appearing between his fingers.
"What do you mean taken?" Zoicite asked.
"There were five guards with them! One for each girl!" Nephrite added.
"We were ambushed on the way here. There were eight men. They attacked and as the girls tried to get away they captured them." The guard explained. "They've taken them to Diamond. The man who was leading the kidnapping said his name was Lord Rubeus and that he was from Diamond's camp."
"Go get your shoulder checked. It seems we are just eating the basics. We'll attack tonight." Darien ordered. Everyone nodded and grabbed a few slices of meet, some bread, and a slice of cheese. They all ate quickly before leaving and waking up the army. They army, though drowsy, was soon ready and at attention in front of the gates. "I know you were expecting a night's rest before we left to attack our foes, but events have come up. Your princess, my sister, and General Jadeite's fiancée has been kidnapped along with her three friends and ladies in waiting as well as Lady Serena. We ride now to surprise our enemy and rescue those precious to our kingdom!" The army cheered and was soon on the move.
"My lord, we have returned." Rubeus said as he opened the flap to Diamond's tent.
"So I see. Now the question is did you get what you were sent for?" Diamond asked turning around. Rubeus smiled and nodded his head. He signaled to his men who were standing outside of the tent and they brought in the five girls. "Five girls? There were only supposed to be four."
"They were all together so we brought them all." Rubeus said. Diamond nodded before excusing Rubeus' men.
"Let's see. There's Princess Rei, Lady Ami, Lady Lita, and two blondes. One of you is Lady Mina and the other is the mystery." Diamond said. He walked around the five girls who stood defiantly in the middle of his tent. "I believe you are Lady Mina." He said as he picked up Mina's chin. "So that leaves you as our mystery woman. What is your name?" Serena stayed silent only to be shoved in the shoulder by Rubeus.
"He asked you a question." Rubeus growled. He was about to smack her again when Diamond stopped him.
"You are never to hurt a lady. Now Miss, what is your name?" Diamond asked again. "If you do not tell us then you get to watch each of your friends die right now instead of later."
"My name is Serena; I am a lady in Princess Rei's court." Serena said, hoping that Diamond would take the lie.
"That is an interesting name. I have heard one like it before. Lady Selene was her name. She was a wise woman, but also a phoenix. She had hair just like yours, in fact you look almost exactly like her." Serena tried to stop her eyes from going wide, but knew they widened a bit. "You are the girl who escaped all those years ago with the phoenix. Now the question is, are you a phoenix or not?"
"I do not know what you are talking about." Serena said.
"Really?" Diamond asked. He picked up a dagger and examined the glistening blade. "Are you sure about that?" He asked as he walked over to Serena. "Let's test that theory of yours." Diamond plunged the blade into Serena's stomach, causing a gurgling sound to come from Serena. She put her hands on her stomach and looked down as the blood stared to flow through her fingers.