Title: PEACE AND WAR

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Sailor Moon

Authors Notes: Here you go, another chapter!


Serenity paced back and forth in her room, trying to clear her mind of its torments. The great castle was almost empty at this moment, and even though she stayed in her rooms as requested she could feel it echo around her. The sun streaked across the beautiful marble floors of her room and reflected against random objects that she had or hadn't noticed before. The room felt dark despite the vigor of the sun.

She sat down and looked out the window, longing to bask in the light. But she would not break her promise to the King.

She stood up again, pacing back and forth.

"If someone saw you right now they'd be convinced you were being kept here against you will," Raye said trying to focus on her book.

Serenity gave a half hearted smile.

"Seriously Serenity, you're driving me mad," Raye said exasperated.

"I'm sorry," she said sitting back down across from her. "But I can't help but feel like somethings wrong. I've never been in a situation like this before. I've never had to stay in one room the whole day or look at the sun without going to it. I'm just not certain what I'm supposed to do or think."

Amy and Lita came back into the room carrying refreshments for them all. Mina heard them coming and walked into the room from the adjoining sitting room that they had also locked off from the rest of the castle.

"You're not supposed to do or think anything," Raye said. "You're simply supposed to realize that you're safe right now and you will be if you simply continue staying here."

The girls sat together around the table and Lita poured everyone drinks.

"It is a very strange situation," Amy said after a moment. "I want to believe that no person can do the things that you tell us he's done, but I cannot deny what is true."

"You don't have anyone where you come from like him?" Lita asked.

There was a pause.

"There was a man who treated one of the Queens ladies poorly, but he was banished from our lands," Mina said. "It is simply not acceptable to treat anyone with that kind of hateful reproach."

"It does exist," Serenity said after a moment. "Only we've never seen nor been apart of it."

The girls nodded.

They all jumped when there was a knock on the door, but relaxed again when Jedeite came in swiftly.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yes," Serenity said. "We're just not sure what to do."

Jedeite smiled and pulled something from his pocket. It was Lita who noticed it first.

"Cards?" She asked surprised.

Jedeite sat at the chair they had pulled out for him and nodded. "Four years ago we were stalled the night before battle by a particularly rough storm. It was impossible to fight for both sides. We were nearly going mad with the anticipation. But then Darien……his majesty tor apart a book and used ink to create a deck of cards. We sat up all night together, cheating to win and betting everything we had." He smiled at the memory.

Serenity couldn't help but grin. "What did you play?" She asked.

"Everything you can think of. It kept our spirits up and we were awake and prepared for the fight the day after. It was a well fought victory."

"It must be much harder to fight in that kind of weather," Amy said.

Jedeite shook his head. "Not really. I know that we mostly prefer to fight in the rain. The smell of blood in the heat can sometimes….."

He stopped mid sentence and looked Serenity, aware that he had just given detail not suitable for someone of her nature. But she just looked at him curiously. He did not see the disgust in her eyes that would have been there only days ago.

"The rain washes everything away everything, even your sins," he said trying to lighten it up a bit.

"Do you think they are already fighting now?" Mina asked.

"No," he answered seriously. "The plans were to get there tomorrow, and attack the next day. But it all depends on what they found when they got there."

"Are you angry for not going?" Raye asked.

Serenity realized that Jedeite hadn't look at Raye the whole time they had been sitting here, and when he did he seemed to be caught. He averted his eyes as best he could without trying to appear rude.

"Yes, in a way I am," he answered. "My role in life is to protect the King and I do it with a glad heart. I am angry that I am not there fighting beside him now, but I am not angry that I am here with you."

Serenity looked at Raye and saw a longing in her eyes when she looked at Jedeite and she couldn't help but smile in sudden and uncontrolled happiness. The other all looked at her like she was mad when she let a little giggle slip.

"Are you alright?" Lita asked.

"Yes, I was just coming to a beautiful realization. But you mustn't ask my what it was about because I'm sure I won't tell you."

They continued looking at her, but then shifted back to the game.

Jedeite laid out the rules and the play began.


Darien stood at the top of the rocky cliff looking over the army in front of him. They had been wrong. This army had gone nowhere near where they thought they were going. Instead it seemed they were on their way to the castle. It was a good think they had spotted them when they did, or else they would have walked right into their army.

The metal of swords and helmets glittered in the strong sunlight, making it hard to look at them. Darien breathed in the smell of them. The smell of an army a long way from home. Sweat, dirt and dried blood.

He turned and made his way back to where his men were setting up their camp. They would attack at first light.

"How does it look?" Kunzite asked quietly.

"They are larger than us, but they are not as well equipped. Their soldiers look hungry and homesick. If we plan our attack right, we will not have to worry about their numbers."

"And if they don't wait?" Zoicite asked.

"Make sure we are prepared to defend at all times, but the plan stays firm. We will attack at first light."

Zoicite quickly made his way from the room to send the command.

Darien turned back to Nephrite and Kunzite who were standing with their eyes focused on him. He wasn't unnerved by their stares, but he was aware of them. They were always waiting for him to make a move.

"We are only a days journey from the castle your majesty, perhaps it would be best to send a messenger to them."

"There is no need," Darien said. "We will not let them get that far."

"Of course your majesty," he said.

Darien knew that they couldn't see it, but for the first time in as long as he could remember he was nervous. He could feel the soft pull on his stomach and the strength it took him to bring in a ragged breath. They were so close to her.

"Kunzite, make sure that we're ready. Nephrite, take a small team to the top of the cliff to watch. If anything seems amiss, inform me at once."

The two men quickly left leaving him alone.

Darien walked over to his horse standing patiently by the side. His shiny black coat was sleek in the sunlight, and the armor he wore shifted as he moved. Darien ran his hands through his thick main trying to take calm from the horse.

"This could be it," Darien said softly.

His horse looked at him with deep black eyes.

"This could be the beginning to a life without war. If we win this war, I will put up a peace treaty as Serenity's mother did. We might have a life without bloodshed."

Darien felt his heart in his chest painfully. He knew he was getting his hopes up, but he was so determined to win that he could taste it. He felt the tension in his back and neck rise, and his muscles clenched painfully together. His wound from the previous fight still sent a painful reminder through his abdomen. It was the long wait before the bloodshed and he was nervous.

He needed to move, so he set off through the camp.

His men watched him as he passed, getting down on one knee in respect. He moved slowly, taking in all the men around him. All these men fought for their country and they fought for their beliefs. All these men fought beside him for the same small hope of being free.

The dirt below his feet was dry, and he could see that the dust created by his feet would coat everything. Only a few days ago it had rained a river on them, and now there was a desert at their feet. This was the mood of his land, always swinging from one thing to another without apparent rhyme or reason.

This was war.


The next morning the army stirred to wakefulness before the light had even begun to shine. They marched as one to the battleground, knowing that they would be met by an unprepared army.

Darien sat proudly on his horse, his men behind him glittering as the sunlight just began to peek over the horizon. There was only the sound of Nephrite and his men returning to the ranks.

He came with his horse to stand beside Darien.

"Their army has been warned. They are preparing for war."

Darien only nodded and watched the smoke from the fires withering in the enemies camp. They were not going to wait very long.

"Are we in position?" He asked Kunzite.

"Yes sir, we are ready for your signal."

Darien nodded.

The calm of the morning was almost overpowering. He could feel it work itself within him and settle over his men. They could very well loose this war if they didn't do it right. They had spent that night setting up, unseen by the enemy. They were tired, but the adrenaline of anticipation coursed through them.

Slowly he saw them, marching as one over the small hill that separated them from the camp. It was the sound of a dark future trampling all the light from the earth. It was the sound of an army.

Darien felt the excitement and anticipation well up inside him. This was always the hardest part, waiting for the fight. But it wouldn't be much longer. In a few moments, it would begin.


Jedeite ran quickly through the castle, his heavy footsteps echoing through the halls. He could not believe what was happening. At this very moment the war was being fought, two days before schedule and so close to home.

He burst into Serenity's room, startling the five girls who were sitting together on the bed. They looked at him in surprise.

"They were wrong about the placement of the army," Jedeite hurried out. "They came across the enemy only a days ride from here and are as we speak in the battle that could end the war."

Serenity felt her heart drop into her stomach.

Amy took her hand tightly in hers.

Raye stepped towards him. "What news do you have?"

"None," Jedeite said with shaking hands. "Zoicite sent me this letter saying that the King asked him not to, but he believed we should be prepared. I believe that he has acted wisely. We must be prepared to leave."

"To leave?" Lita asked startled.

"If they were to lose this battle, then the army will march towards the castle and attack immediately. If we see it is to happen, we must be ready to leave. Trust me, you don't want to be here if the enemy comes."

"Do you think they will lose?" Mina asked.

"No, but if there is anything I have learned in all my years of war it is that no matter what the odds, you must prepare for the worst."


Serenity could only watch as her ladies gathered her things around her and pushed them into the same cases she had used to come this great distance from her own land. She was afraid. She wanted desperately to be strong, but she didn't know anything about this kind of situation.

"We must get these boxes to the front," Mina said trying to lift one.

Serenity quickly went over to help her and the three of them carried the case into the hallways. It took them a long time, but finally they had put it with the others in the front.

They stood together, breathing hard.

"Where's Jedeite?" Amy asked after a moment.

"He's helping the Lady Raye," A male voice answered.

The three girls spun around at the voice, their eyes darkening at the sight of him. He stood there, grinning like he had won a prize. His eyes glittering with devilishness.

"I see that you are readying for a departure," he observed.

"Only if the worst happens," Mina said.

"And what is the worst?" He asked.

Serenity wasn't sure how to answer.

"I am sure that the King of this place wouldn't leave a small group of women to fight his war."

Serenity found herself suddenly angry that this pompous man would dare talk about the King in that fashion. She stood up to her tallest and crossed her arms across her chest. Her eyes were firm.

"I would not expect you to know the first thing about how he defends his country."

"How bold," Diamond said laughing. "You're standing up for him."

"I am not," Serenity said. "I'm standing against you."

"I can see that you do have feelings for him don't you. How peculiar that the innocent jewel of all the land has set her heart on the darkest part of this shadowed earth."

Serenity felt her heart flutter.

"If I were you, I wouldn't make your mind up on him. I'm sure that a situation is coming that will show you how completely wrong he is for you."

"And then what?" Mina said mimicking her princesses' stubbornness. "You think she will decide you are the better choice. I think not."

"You may think whatever you want," Diamond said. "But we will see what happens in the future."

Serenity was relieved to see Jedeite walk quickly around the corner with Lita behind him. She tried her hardest to hold still and show him that he wasn't affecting her. But the truth was, he had sparked a doubt within her.

Prince Diamond saw that the guard had spotted him and quickly took a step towards her. His voice was low as he spoke to her.

"In all my life, I have never desired anyone as much as I desire you."

Serenity felt like he had hit her.

And then he walked away in time for Jedeite to make his way to them.

"Are you alright?" He asked him.

Serenity didn't move, but Amy and Mina nodded.

Something inside her was terrified.


End of chapter Nine!!!

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