Story: Beloved Midnight

Chapter: Three

Anime: Sailor Moon

Pairing: Serenity/Endymion

Rated: Teen

Author's Notes: I am SO sorry about the wait. Enjoy the lengthy chapter as an apology.

My parents weren't as bad as I thought they would have been when I returned to the palace. Well, at least they stopped when they heard from Endymion that I was going to give him a chance. After a few more words were exchanged, Luna came to whisk me away to my room for some unknown reason.

"I'm sure you're exhausted from that running. You should rest," she told me at my bedroom door. The way she moved told me she was annoyed with my earlier actions.

"I'm fine."

She shook her head. "Rest, Serenity. I'll come for you later."

Well, it wasn't that often I was allowed to take a nap so I decided to follow her instructions. I took that silky, silver dress off, replacing it with a pair of shorts and a white tank top. Even though wearing this kind of outfit wasn't proper, especially for a princess, it was comfortable. Besides, I didn't care what people thought of me right now. I slipped into my bed, letting sleep take me as quickly as it could when it came.

--

Luna never did wake me up. The liar. Instead, I had to wake to a window that wasn't lit by the sun anymore all because of the consistent grumbles from my poor stomach. I threw my legs over the side of the bed, grabbing my robe at the bottom. A little snack wouldn't hurt so I made my way to the nearest kitchen.

I walked into the darkened room, flipping the light on without having to search for it. The metal room lit up, and I walked straight to the refrigerator, looking for something to munch on. I found some cold pizza that I believed one of the cooks left in there. Shrugging my shoulders, I pulled it out. Going over to the island counter, I pulled out one of the bar stools to sit on while I ate the pizza. I stuck the end of the slice in my mouth, biting down into the bread, cheese, and sauce. It tasted so good. Mother rarely let me eat foods like pizza, donuts, French fries, etc. because they weren't healthy food choices, especially for a 'growing young lady'. It wasn't my fault that her advisor didn't wake me up for the healthy dinner I knew mother had prepared so I believed I had every right to enjoy this piece of greasy, fatty goodness this time.

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat, suppressing a laugh. In the middle of a bite, I whipped my head around to see who was standing in the room. A blush rose to my cheeks when my eyes landed on the casually dressed prince. "Sowwy." Another mistake! I was always reprimanded as a kid when I was caught talking with my mouth full.

Endymion chuckled as he pulled his hands out of his pockets. "It's okay. You weren't at dinner."

After swallowing, I deemed it all right to speak. "Yes. Luna didn't wake me up. She was the one who said I should get some rest when I wasn't even tired." I lifted up the cardboard pizza box towards him. "Want some?"

Walking forward, he flipped open the lid to pull out a piece. "Thanks." The dark haired man made himself comfortable on the stool next to mine. "So… tell me about yourself, princess. It has been ten years."

I swallowed my current bite. "Yes, and as I recall you knew absolutely nothing about me then."

He chuckled. "True."

"Why do you want to know?" I walked over to the refrigerator to pull out a jug of milk. Reaching towards the cupboards, I pulled out two glasses. After I filled with the white liquid, I put the milk back and handed the extra glass to the prince.

"Thanks. But I couldn't help but notice chocolate milk in there. I would have preferred that over white milk."

I raised an eyebrow. "What are you, racist?"

A startled laughed sounded from the prince. "Racist? Don't be ridiculous. I just like chocolate is all."

"You like chocolate?"

"Well, to be more honest, I love it."

"Well, then. How 'bout that? You can marry chocolate instead of me. You'd make a happy couple." I rose from my bar stool, finished with my pizza and began walking towards the exit not bothering to look back.

--

Sitting at breakfast with my parents and Endymion, we sat in silence. I was eating as quickly as I possibly could without being improper in front of my parents. It wouldn't be as a big deal if it wasn't for the guest joining us.

"Endymion, I hear your guards are arriving today, is that right?" my mother spoke up.

Endymion nodded. "Yes, they are. My parents figured if I'm going to be here for awhile now, I should have my men join me."

My father cut a piece of his ham, popped it in his mouth, and then spoke after he swallowed. "That would make sense. Serenity's guardians are usually here as well, but they were sent back to their planets for a visit about two weeks ago."

"But aren't they coming back today?" I asked. I was almost finished with my meal so I could greet my much needed friends as soon as possible.

My mother smiled kindly at me. "Yes, dear. They should be here by now."

My manners broke. Leaning my head towards my plate, I pushed the rest of my eggs in my mouth. "I'm done!" I looked at my parents' shocked face. "May I be excused, please?"

The queen nodded. "Yes, Serenity, but next time, I would advice you to remember your table manners, especially in the presence of a royal guest." Her eyes were stern.

I stood up quickly, a servant coming to retrieve my plate. After a quick curtsy and apology, I headed down to the landing wing. I made it just in time to see my four best friends appear on the pad, their respective planet color swirling around them from the after effect of teleportation. Happy tears started to well up in my eyes as I practically ran in all of their arms where my frustration finally seeped out of me. My friends patted my on the back while rubbing my shoulders and arms and comforting words filled my ears. They had been gone too long.

My best friend and cousin, Mina, Princess of Venus, stood me back up. She smiled a sad smile at me. "We heard."

Lita, Princess of Jupiter, pounded her fist in her hand. "Where's the bastard? I wouldn't mind warming up for training later."

The Princess of Mercury, Amy, stepped towards the thunderous Amazon, placing a delicate hand on her shoulder. "Lita, calm. We talked about this on the way here."

The pyro, Raye, Princess of Mars, had her arms crossed. "Yeah, well, he should still be beaten. What he did to Serenity is unforgivable."

Mina held up her hand, making Raye go silent. "Now, ladies, Amy is right. We did talk about this." She smiled at me again. "We also know you are giving him a second chance."

Following Raye, I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yes, well, I'm not happy about it. The only reason I'm giving him a second chance is because I don't really have a choice. My parents already choose him as my betrothal whether I pick him or not."

Amy gave me a small hug of reassurance. "It's all right, princess. It just shows you're considering what this man could cost you if you don't try to accept him."

Sighing, I let my arms fall back to my side. "I know I'm not acting as mature as I should be, but you all know what he did to me!"

Lita nodded. "Even if it was ten years ago and you two were still growing."

I glared at her. "Lita!"

She held up her gloved hands in defense. "Hey, calm down, Serenity. I'm just saying that maybe you shouldn't be so hard on the man. He was, after all, only fourteen and you were only ten. You were sweet and innocent and he was horny."

Amy turned to the Amazon sharply. "What does the prince being horny have anything to do with it?"

Lita shrugged, placing her hands on her sailor suited hips. "I'm just saying that he wouldn't have been able to get any from a ten year old."

Mina giggled. "It's true. I do remember seeing the sexual needs around him that day."

Raye lifted a finger, a smile adored proudly on her glowing face. "Yes, and if I do remember correctly, I did hear the prince is quite the playboy."

My mouth dropped. "You guys!" They laughed, excluding the blue-haired Sailor Scout.

Amy started walking towards the palace. "You guys shouldn't listen to gossip. It's bad for the brain."

Mina laughed, but Raye is the one who spoke. "Ames, you were the one who told us in the first place!" We ran after her. It was great to have my friends home. They would happily help me see if Prince Endymion of Earth would be able to handle me. How do you think I lived through my sixteenth year without a man able to woo me?

--

Standing beside my mother with my four guardians dressed in their warrior garb, I waited with everyone else for the prince's guards to arrive. Endymion had his hand tucked away in the pocket of his black pants while his left hand slightly fingered the tip of his sword's handle. Why he was carrying it with him, I had no idea. He seemed to always have it on him when I saw him.

The crystal pad began to glow a bright white and then flashed gold to signal travelers from Earth were coming through the portal. Each planet had a specific color that defined them. Earth's was gold, like their crystal and kingdom while the moon's was silver like the planet, crystal, and kingdom even though the common name was the White Moon Kingdom.

Suddenly, the forms of four men began to slowly appear as Earth's power sent them to the moon. Glancing over to Endymion, I saw him knuckles were turning white from grasping his sword tightly.

Amy caught me staring. 'Princess, he's all right.' She used our telepathic link we shared. All the Sailor Scouts shared a telepathic link with me as well as each other. It wasn't uncommon to invade each other's thoughts.

'But why is he clutching his sword so tightly? It looks like it's hurting him.'

Mina's voice broke in. 'The prince's soul is connected to his planet just like ours is to our own planets. He can feel the energy the Earth is using to send his guards here.'

Lita nodded mentally. 'Yep. It's just a reaction.'

Our mental conversation was interrupted when the men's bodies came into clear view. They stood in front of us with their bodies covered in the gold and black uniform of Earth. I would have thought that the colors of Earth would have been green and blue, the color of the planet.

Amy mentally shook her head at my thoughts. 'No. Their crystal is gold, remember?'

'And adding green or blue to gold would just be ugly. Black is sexier.' Raye cut in. I stifled a laugh while Amy glared at her.

I watched as the short blonde haired guard glanced at Raye before a long haired brunette made him turn back. A white haired man stepped from, immediately lowering himself in a bow. The others followed suit before they each took a small glance at Endymion. My mother smiled, slightly raising her hand. "Please, rise, Generals of Earth."

The men listened to her kind command and stood, but the white haired man spoke for them. "Queen Serenity, King Sol, thank you for letting my comrades and I stay her with our prince."

The smile lingered in my mother's eyes. "Your quite welcome, Lord Kunzite." She motioned towards me. "Allow me to introduce my daughter, Princess Serenity." She paused once the men bowed towards me. "And these are her guardians of the inner planets. They are also princesses. Serenity, introduce your guardians."

I nodded, motioning to Mina at my immediate right. "This is Mina, Princess of Venus and Sailor Scout of Love and Happiness." Mina dipped into a simple curtsy. "Raye, Princess of Mars and Sailor Scout of Fire and Passion." Raye followed Mina's example. "Lita, Princess of Jupiter and Sailor Scout of Thunder and Lightning." Lita curtsied as well. "And this is Amy, Princess of Mercury and Sailor Scout of Ice and Wisdom." Amy bent her head as she slowly went down into a curtsy as well.

The men lowered themselves back into another bow intended for my friends. The lord known as Kunzite spoke for the men again. "It is an honor to meet all of you. I am Lord Kunzite and these are my comrades, Lord Jadeite, Lord Nephrite and Lord Zoicite. We thank you for letting us stay among you."

I watched Mina blush mentally and physically at the speaking lord. I just smiled at him in respect. "You're welcome. Thank you for arriving so safely."

I saw my mother tighten her hold on my father's arms as they exchanged an interested glance. "I'm sorry, my lords, by my husband and I are going to have to excuse ourselves. Girls, you can show the men around, yes?"

My friends nodded, but I just looked at her in astonishment. She sent a sharp reply through our link. 'Don't change your current behavior, Serenity.' She smiled one more time at the men, they bowed, and then my parents departed. After my parents were completely gone, I immediately felt the atmosphere relax and tension slightly decrease.

The one named Jadeite rubbed the back on his neck. "Ugh, parents! Sophistication is so overrated." Nephrite patted him on the back, nodding in what I believed to be agreement. I watched as Jadeite eyed Raye up and down and felt Raye scowl through our link.

It didn't take long for the rest of the men to do the same thing to the rest of my friends. I narrowed my eyes. "I would expect you four to keep your hands to yourself while you are in my kingdom."

The men gathered around their prince, letting him speak for them. Endymion crossed his hands over his muscular chest, making his black shirt slightly rumple together. "What do you mean by that?"

I made eye contact with him, but made sure his gaze didn't penetrate my concentration. "I mean, we all know about your reputation so I would advice you to keep it on your planet while you are here."

Endymion smirked. "My men may do as they please. I am their master. You are not."

My eyebrows rose in curiosity. "Oh, is that right? Well, then, does that statement also pertain to you, Prince Endymion?"

"My business is none of yours, princess."

I eyed him carefully. "We shall see." I turned towards my friends, walking in between them so I could go back inside. "Come, ladies." I glanced at Endymion over my shoulder, a heated glare in my eyes. "We should catch up on our skills just in case we need to use them."

His glared met mine, but it didn't faze me. Instead, I continued to walk through the palace doors with my guardians on my heels and Endymion's power filled stare piercing in my back.

Mina's laughter and respond whispered in my mind. 'Sexual tension.'

Raye nodded afterwards in agreement. 'For all of them. This will be fun.'

I laughed out loud, racing forward to entwine my arms through theirs as all five of us walked to the training grounds. "Yes, it will be."

Well, it turned out longer than expected which is a good thing! Usually, my chapter are usually only around three pages on Word or at least they have to be at least three pages. I won't go shorter, but I'm so proud this made it past five! Well, I've decided to extend this story from being only five to ten chapters. That way I won't have to cram everything. I don't really want to rush it. Well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed and liked what you read. I can't wait to hear your thoughts!!

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MoonlightMaiden14

P.S. If you are wondering what it is I'm working on, you can check it on my profile because I have a section just for that information! Hope that helps to find out if I'm working on the story you want me to update!