Title: PEACE AND WAR

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Sailor Moon

Authors notes: Wow, we're getting close to something, I can feel it. Thank you for the reviews. I'm sure some of you thought that Darien ending the war meant happy ending, but that would have been so easy. Here's the next chapter!


Serenity sat alone and in tears in her room. The sun had given way to pouring rain and she felt her insides darken with them. She had honestly thought that everything would be okay. Her mother would surely allow her to marry Darien as an allegiance with his land would be good for their country. She had thought it was safe to give her heart to him.

Another knock at the door that she ignored.

All day they had tried to console her, but she had refused to see anyone. She felt it within her, her broken heart. She felt her world crumble and all her beliefs and ideals proven wrong. She felt like her whole life had been a lie.

She knew Prince Diamond. He was the last person on the earth she wanted to marry. She now saw the horror in marrying someone you didn't know. What if it turned out to be a man like him?

Serenity nearly lept right out of her chair when she heard what sounded like a door open close to her. She looked over to the wall to find a large portion moving out of the way, and then he was there.

She hesitated for only a moment before running to him, allowing him to wrap his strong arms around her.

Darien just silently let her cry into him. He could feel the pain she felt as if it were his own. He could feel how hopeless she felt.

"I won't let you marry him," Darien said after a few moments.

Serenity gently pushed herself away from him so she was standing a few feet away. He looked confused at the sudden loss of her warmth. Her eyes looked almost empty.

"Darien, don't try to interfere," she said sadly.

Darien looked at her as if she were crazy. "You want to marry him?"

"Of course not," she answered. "But I don't have a choice."

"You do have a choice Serenity, you can choose to marry me."

"No, I can't," she said loud enough to quiet him. "Darien, I have to do this to restore peace in my country. It's going to cost me my life, but hundreds of the people I love and cherish will be better for it. My whole country will live as it did, and I will be the only casualty. It's a small price to pay…."

"Stop it!" Darien yelled. "It's not a small price to pay. You're acting like your life doesn't mean anything."

"Why fight what you can't change?" She challenged.

"You're giving up," Darien said. "You're proving you're not strong enough to deal with these kinds of situations. You're allowing your life to be ruled by those around you rather than dealing with it yourself."

"No, I'm choosing to sacrifice myself for them," Serenity said defiantly. "Wouldn't you give up your life if it meant saving your entire country?"

Darien just shook his head and despair. "I won't let you marry him," he said stubbornly.

"Darien, don't…."

"You can't change my mind Serenity. I may be a selfish being, but I still fight for what I believe." He stepped towards her, reaching out to touch her face gently and feel her hair. "I have never felt this strongly about anyone. I have never loved anyone in my whole life as much as I love you. I will find a way to make you happy again."

Serenity just looked up at him. His stormy blue eyes were overwhelmingly full of emotion and she could see right into his soul. She wanted more than anything to lose herself in him and never look back. But there were to many people depending on her.

"If I can find a way to change this," Darien said hesitantly. "Will you still have me?"

Serenity stayed quiet, she didn't know what to say.

"I know your position Serenity, and I know that you've made up your mind. But if I can find a way to stop this marriage without your country suffering, will you still have me?"

Serenity paused for a long moment, and then slowly nodded.

"I will love you forever," she said softly. "And if things were different, I would marry you in a heartbeat."

"Then that is all I need to hear," he said gently.

Serenity could only watch as he exited back the way he came through the secret door in her wall. When it was closed she couldn't see where it was. It was so well hidden that you wouldn't even be able to guess at its location.

She sat back down, feeling hopeless. He would never find a way.


The very next day Serenity rode the long way back home to her own country. Her mother sat with her the whole way, not speaking a single word to her. The journey was as long and arduous as it was meaningless to her.

The palace was hardly altered after the war. It seemed the devastation had not reached this far. But she could smell it in the wind. She could feel it all around her. The smell of death and the smell of war.

The palace seemed absurdly bright to her. The darkness of Darien's castle had grown on her and she now was uneasy in the brightness of the white marble.

She walked quickly into the castle and would have gone straight to her room if she had not been stopped by the one person she realized she hated most in the world. Prince Diamond stood there, in her home, smiling at her as if he had won.

"Why?" Serenity asked walking up to him.

"Why what my darling?" He asked reaching out and touching her hair.

"Why attack our country?" She finished.

Prince Diamond just laughed. "For power of course," he said snidely.

"Power?" Serenity seethed.

"Your land is one of the largest. To rule over you would mean to have power over a greater kingdom then anyone else. I was cursed with having an older brother and therefore there was nothing left to my name for me to rule," he said leaning close to her. "But then I realized that I woudn't have to fight. When I met you, long before this ever happened, I decided I wanted only you to be my wife."

"Why?" She asked again.

"Because you are the jewel of the land. You are the prize given to the most worthy."

"And you think you are worthy?"

"It doesn't really matter, does it," he said with amusement in his eyes. "Either way you will be mine, and when your mother dies I will rule your land and nobody will be able to argue against me."

Serenity glared at him wishing she could hurt him with her eyes.

"Don't worry my darling," he said moving so that she could feel his breath against her cheek. His smell was all around her. "I promise that while you and I are together, you shall want for nothing."

"All I want is to be away from you," she said.

"And near him?"

Serenity knew he was teasing her and it make the anger blossom within her until it was all she could see.

"Your prince charming can do nothing for you now."

Serenity ripped herself away from his touch and walked quickly down the hall without looking back for even a moment. She could feel the angry hot tears start again in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She would not let him win. She might have to marry him, but he would never have her. Never.


Serenity lived the next few days a minute at a time. The days dragged on and the rain continued to flood the land in sorrow. She did nothing. She didn't eat, she hardly slept and she refused to partake in the preparations for her wedding. Part of her felt that if she didn't take any part in it, then it wouldn't actually happen. Maybe if she ignored it, she would one day wake up to realize this was all a bad dream.

It made matters worse that she heard nothing from Darien. He hadn't said he was going to communicate with her, but their last meeting had convinced her that he would. Despite herself she had almost believed that he would find a way to stop her marriage.

But the only person that she had heard from was Raye who said nothing more than that he had left the castle the morning of her departure and he had not returned. Lita had also written and confirmed that she would be able to attend the wedding accompanied by Raye. The thought of seeing them again briefly brightened her spirits, but not enough to make a difference.

"Serenity?"

She didn't move at her mothers voice. She had heard her come in.

"Will you not join us for dinner?"

"Is he there?" She asked in a dark voice.

The Queen sighed sadly. "Yes."

"Then no, I will not join you."

"Serenity, he will be your husband. You should at least try to get along with him."

"I will never allow myself to know him," Serenity said.

The Queen sat down beside her softly. Serenity still didn't look at her.

"Your whole life you have known this would happen," The Queen said quietly to her. Her voice was full of caring. "I have always made it known to you that you would marry a man that you didn't know. Why then did you let your heart become free to love another?"

"You told me my marriage would benefit our country and I believed that marrying Darien would benefit us. I could be in love and help those around me."

"Yes, he would have been a good match for you," she said softly. "But you were never promised to him."

Serenity thought about that for a moment. "Raye told me when he was a child he thought he was engaged to me."

"Why would he think that?"

"Apparently his father thought that he could arrange it so he'd get our land."

"That is unfortunate," she said sadly. "But he did learn the truth?"

Serenity nodded. "And for the second time he is to lose me."

"He will deal with his loss as you will yours."

"It is not that easy," Serenity said.

"Yes it is," the Queen said.

Finally Serenity looked at her mother and saw the knowing in her eyes.

"You didn't love father?"

"Not at first," her mother said holding her hand tightly. "I was in love with another and I thought nothing could change the mind of my heart. When I married your father I thought I should never be happy. But he turned out to be a good man and he understood my vision of peace."

"Prince Diamond is not like that mother. He attacked us for power and is marrying me to win some sort of battle he is fighting with himself. All he wants is to prove that he can rule the world."

"But you can change that in him," the Queen said.

Serenity just sighed. "You don't know him."

The Queen stood up and walked towards the door. "I know that your heart is broken Serenity, but try not to let it ruin who you are and what you believe. Every situation has some good to it."

Serenity listened to the door close behind her and felt herself close to tears. She had always believed that every situation had good in it, but she simply couldn't find good in this one. She couldn't bring herself to hope for the best and she couldn't remember what it had felt like to live so self assured.

She realized that she was lost in herself. Her greatest fear had been losing that which made her special, and now she was living it.

Her mind once again moved to Darien and she felt her insides ache with loss. She wanted to feel his arms around her and smell his sent when he stood against her. She wanted to feel him kiss her again and see the love in his eyes. Now she would never be loved. Prince Diamond cared nothing for her at all. This would be the end.


Darien dismounted from his horse heavily feeling the stiffness pull at every muscle in his body. His hand unconsciously touched his still healing shoulder and he cringed with pain.

"This wasn't the best idea," Jedeite said behind him. "We should have waited until you were better rested."

"Then it would have been to late," Darien said tiredly.

Jedeite just followed him with hesitation. They had been traveling for days without rest, and he was sure that his King might find himself exhausted at any moment. The war had just ended and yet they were still allowed no rest. They had already visited a number of neighboring kingdoms and this was to be the last before going to Serenity's country. Jedeite just sighed at the thought.

The two men walked quickly up to the entrance of the great stone castle that stood deeply in the woods. It was barricaded from every angle and guards stood at every post. It had a foreboding feeling to it. This was a castle of war.

They were let into the hall by a servant and walked in to see a burly man wearing a glimmering golden crown.

Darien bowed deeply to him and Jedeite went to one knee.

"It is a pleasure to see you again your majesty," Darien said.

"Welcome my boy," the man said in a great loud voice that echoed around the room. His swollen stomach bounced as he laughed and his cheeks were red with the heat of the room. It smelled of roasting meat and Darien realized then how hungry he was.

"I received your note only this morning. I did not expect you so soon."

"I hope we do not inconvenience you," Darien said.

"Not at all, we were just sitting down to eat. You are of course welcome to join us, and your man as well."

Darien thanked him and accepted that offer. He and Jedeite followed the King into the brightly lit wooden room reserved for eating the large meals only suitable for royalty of this kind.

Darien smiled at the man already sitting at the table. He looked just like the King, only much lighter in the belly and much younger.

"It is an honor to see you again," the man said wiping the crumbs from his mouth. He had red hair that shone sleek and light down his back. His eyes shone like jewels and were the match of Prince Diamonds. This was his brother.

"What is it that brings you here?" The King asked.

Darien had only just sat down so he hesitated. "Your son," he said seriously.

All at once the mood shifted on the room. Instead of welcoming the air was tense.

The large king sighed where he was and took a swig of deep red wine.

"I cannot undo what Diamond has done Darien. All he wanted was a kingdom to rule on his own and it seems he has got one."

"He has enslaved a whole country," Darien argued.

"He has been brought up in war and I am proud that he has lead an army to victory. It is somewhat diminished by the idea that he won through negotiations and the country he attacked was next to unarmed, but he still won fairly."

Darien wished he was not so tired. His mind hurt and he needed to think of a compelling argument. But he really didn't know how he would convince a father to stop the ways of a son he was proud of.

"I will be truthful to you both," Darien said finally and felt Jedeite sit rigid beside him. "Your son is at this moment forcing the young princess Serenity to marry him and I simply appose the union."

Their attention was so grabbed.

"Don't be silly my boy," the King said seriously. "You and I have a treaty with one another. You would break our truce because you don't like what my son is doing to some girl from another country."

Darien just looked at him without wavering. The answer to that questions was obviously yes.

The King looked angry. "That is not acceptable Darien," The king said with fury in his eyes. "You have lust for some girl and you're angry that my son has stolen her from you."

"Your son has violated hundreds of women and I will not let him injure her."

"We will not stand for this," the King said. "You are no longer welcome here."

Darien softly stood up watching the King seethe in anger. But the prince looked uncertain and he directed his words towards him.

"I am sorry that we could not come to any sort of arrangement, but I have one other option open to me. Tomorrow I will propose a peace treaty with the Queen and once it is sighed we will be allies. Whoever invades an ally of mine will experience that surge of my army. Furthermore, I have spent the last number of days visiting all our neighboring countries and they are in agreement that a time of peace is soon to be upon us." Darien pulled a document from his shirt and rolled it out showing the signatures of a number of Kings. "Anyone who refuses to cooporate with out negotiations will face this new union as a whole."

The prince looked uneasy at the idea.

Darien knew that his army was the strongest almost of the whole land and he knew that the threat of open war would resonate within them. He bowed deeply to the King.

"Thank you for you welcome," he said gently. "I expect we will see each other again very soon."

Jedeite quickly got up and followed him out of the great room and into the front hall. He quickly turned to Darien and stopped him.

"That was probably a very stupid thing to do," he said uneasily.

"If anything it could halt the marriage for a little while longer."

"Where to now?" He asked.

"I have sent Kunzite in my place to speak with the Queen. We will now meet them there."

"Darien," Jedeite said stopping him.

Darien looked at his long time companion and saw the concern shining clearly through his eyes. He knew that the people around him thought he was being foolish, but he had to do what he could.

"You know I would follow you into any war, but make sure you're doing this for a good reason. It is tragic that she is to marry such a man, but do not involve your people and a number of other countries in this plot of you are simply jealous."

Darien looked at him without hesitating.

"Jedeite, you have known me longer than anyone. How often to I act without rationalizion?"

"Never," he said before gently smiling. "But that is because you have the talent to rationalize anything and make people believe you."

Darien couldn't help but smile.

"We won't make it without resting some," Jedeite said firmly.

"I know," Darien said starting towards the door again. "We will start at first light if we are not called back here."

"You think we will be called?"

"I'm counting on it."


End of Chapter Fifteen!

Please review! The end is near, I can feel it!