Chapter Twenty-Five

LadyPrin

Disclaimer Applies.

The 25th chapter on the 25th of December!!! Merry Christmas everybody!!!

"Jupiter, take Serena to her bedroom and lay her to rest in her bed. Urnus take Ann to Alan's room and lay her to rest in his bed." Queen Serenity commanded in a tired voice.

No one argued otherwise, everyone could see they needed sleep.

After Jupiter and Urnus left with the Princess and Ann, Queen Serenity spoke to Pluto.

"Pluto, Beryl now knows where the Time Gate is located. You need to move it as soon as possible." She said.

Pluto nodded and walked up to the still closed doors of the Gate.

She placed both hands on it, closed her eyes, and started glowing green.

Then the doors disappeared in a flash of green light.

Pluto turned to look at Serenity.

"It's moved now, to a place it's never been before. Beryl won't be able to find it for a long time at least." She explained.

"Good work." Serenity congratulated her. "Now everybody, we need to get this place cleaned up in time for the wedding tomorrow."

Alan and Endymion looked at her sharply then glanced away again dejectedly.

They had totally forgotten about the wedding.

No one saw Alan look up the staircase.

No one saw the look of thoughtful hope cross his face.

Five hours later Ann awoke to find Prince Alan leaning over her with a concerned expression.

"ALAN!" Ann cried joyfully as she threw both her arms around his neck and hugged him with all her might.

Alan almost fell on top of her, but pull her up to a sitting position and hugged her full force as well.

Their hug lasted for quite a few minutes.

After they broke their hug, Ann placed both her hands on Alan's chest.

"Are you okay? Is everybody okay? I thought I was going to die! What's going on? I'm starving!" She rambled.

Alan laughed loudly.

"It's great to hear your voice again! And you sound like your old self which is a good sign!" Alan spoke finally with a smile on his face. "I'm okay, everybody else is okay as well, yes you were going to die, but Serena saved you, and Serena's sleeping right now while the others are finishing up cleaning and rebuilding the ballroom."

Alan then turned to the nightstand and picked up a tray and placed it on Ann's lap.

"Dig in!" Alan encouraged her with a smile.

Ann didn't hesitate.

"How was Princess Serena able to save me?" Ann asked in between bites.

"Queen Serenity tired to explain it. She said that she, Queen Serenity, couldn't have saved you because she didn't have true pure energy anymore. She's lived for years and her power, energy, and spirit isn't as pure as it used to be. But Serena is still basically a child at heart. She was still pure enough in heart to help save you." Alan explained.

"And for that I thank her." Ann replied.

"As do I." Alan agreed.

It was silent for a moment as Ann ate some more while Alan just watched her.

"How did you get captured by Beryl?" Alan asked abruptly.

Ann's eyes went dark as she remembered the betrayal.

Ann looked into Alan's eyes.

"Your father gave me to her." She explained.

Alan's eyes went dark with fury.

"I knew he wasn't a good King, I knew he wanted to still control the throne when he supposedly retired, but I never even thought that he'd go that far!" Alan exclaimed.

"You know he disapproved of me, because he knew he couldn't control me with threats and bribes. That's why he picked out the Moon Princess, he thought she might be more easily imposed upon, but he didn't want to take the chance that I'd help her around the place when she moved to the home planet. He didn't want me to warn her, so he decided to get rid of me short of killing me directly. He gave me to Beryl. He didn't realize that with me in her hands, Beryl could kill you before you were married. He wanted you dead after you were married, when the Showma planet had a weak Queen." Ann explained.

"It's terrible when your own father wants you dead." Alan stated, rubbing his forehead. "Well, I know one thing, Serena is not the kind to be imposed upon. She has strong morals of what's right and wrong. And if she was tricked into doing something wrong, once she realizes it was wrong, she'd try to right it."

"She'll make a great wife." Ann whispered as she took a sip of her drink.

"Yes. She will make a great wife to someone someday, but hopefully not to me." Alan answered.

"What do you mean?" Ann asked as she sat her drink down on the tray.

"I put a plan into motion before I left our planet. I won't find out if it'll work until after father gets here. If it doesn't I'm going to have to marry Serena, but hopefully it'll work and then I'll be married to you instead." Alan explained taking Ann's hands into his own.

"Won't that make Serena or her mother upset?" Ann asked.

"No. They don't want this wedding to take place anymore than we do." Alan explained. "In fact, Serena seems to fancy the Earth Prince, Endymion. I know that Endymion fancy's Serena because I see him always looking at Serena with a wistful stare, or glaring at me with death rays in his eyes. So everyone will be happy if my plan works, but first, I have to talk to Serena. I'll need her help if my plan is to work."

"Rei, I need to speak with you." Queen Serenity said softly as Rei was walking past her to the dinning room.

"Yes, my lady?" Rei asked as she stepped to the side of the hall to stand beside Serenity.

"I have been looking through some of Serena's earlier memories, and I have to ask you, why didn't you report it when you found out Serena was having those nightmares about those red eyes? I'm sure you recognized who those eyes must have belonged to."

Rei started as she remember Serena as a seven year old, crying in bed over a nightmare of white mist, an unknown woman, burning red eyes, and then darkness.

"I thought they were just nightmares, so I thought I could get rid of them myself. I did too, I think. She never woke up crying in the middle of the night again." Rei explained.

"Yes, but they weren't just nightmares." Serenity informed her. "By that time she had already made a connection to the Crystal using her "I call upon my forbidden birthright" chant. The Crystal was trying to tell us something, using her memories and dreams. She remembered me taking away her birthright. I was the unknown woman that she couldn't see the features of. Those eyes she saw burning over my shoulder? That was real. Beryl was there when I gave Serena to Ikoku and Kenji, though no one but Serena knew it at the time."

"How did Serena know it?" Rei asked.

"Children can see things adults can't. Especially a child so pure of heart as Serena was and still is. She saw straight through the illusion Beryl used. Beryl knew all along where Serena was, but she couldn't watch her all the time, and so didn't know whether Serena or Mina was really the Moon Princess because they looked so alike as they grew. Me disappearing, the darkness pushing away the comforting white mist, and only the burning red eyes remaining? The Crystal has made it clear to me what it wanted to convey to us with that. It wanted to tell us that I would soon become powerless to protect Serena. That evil would surround her. You should have reported those dreams to us, Rei." Queen Serenity lightly scolded.

It was a light scolding, but Rei took it like a slap to the face.

This whole thing could have been prepared for, if only Rei had reported those dreams like she had first thought she should've.

"I'm sorry, my lady." Rei spoke softly, unable to stop the tears swelling up in her eyes.

"I know that you're about to say that you failed me, but don't say it." Serenity told her. "You didn't fail me, because Serena is not dead. She is not in the control of evil, she is not in the presence of evil anymore, and she is safe in bed at home at last. You made a mistake, but it was not a deadly one, and you were only a child. I'm not wanting to hurt you, I'm just pointing out to you that even the smallest things that don't seem all that important, can be the most important things ever. Understand?"

"Yes, my lady. I understand, and I promise to be more alert about the small details in the future." Rei answered.

"Good, that's all I want." Serenity told her with a smile. "Now, let's eat."

Alan quietly snuck into the Princess Serena's bedchamber without arousing anyone.

He found her sleeping peacefully in her four-poster bed.

"Princess Serena? Please wake up! I need to speak with you!" Prince Alan spoke softly as he gently shook Serena's shoulders.

Serena opened an eyelid and looked at him unseeingly for a moment.

Then she closed her eye, and then opened both eyes again.

Then she sat up covering a yawn with her hand.

"What is it?" Serena asked after the yawn was over.

"Am I right in thinking that you'd much rather not have this wedding go on?" Alan asked.

Serena looked at him with clear eyes.

"I don't want this wedding to happen with all my heart, for though you are a kind and courageous man, you were not meant to be my husband. But I cannot ignore

the fact that my Kingdom and the Earth Kingdom needs an alliance with your Kingdom, and so for that reason alone I will go through with it." Serena replied. "Why?"

"I have a plan that if it works, the wedding will be off, but an alliance you still shall have." Alan said with a grin.

Turns out that his grin was contagious.

"Tell me more about this plan." Serena encouraged him.