Forgotten Land

9/28/2010

SUM: Endymion stumbles upon the hidden world of the Moon.

FOUR

"What you seek must be earned."

The wise man had spoken, but Endymion was about to cheat, he would not bother going through all the trouble his father had to uncover the secrets that the Grandfather had hidden. He would not play the old man's game, learning everything he could only to be disappointed or chose not to go. Endymion did not bother at first to even look through the books he had taken from his Grandfather.

He instead turned directly to the study his father would be occupying this time of night. He knocks on the door, understanding that like his Grandfather, he might not get the answers he needed if he just barged in. He hears the admittance and lets himself in. Showing more respect than normal, (though he did show respect, just not as pronounced), he waited for his father to invite him to sit down.

"Ah, Endymion. What do I owe this unexpected visit, my son?" The man gestured towards the seat across from him. It was a comfortable chair, but its height and position still conveyed the message his father wanted to get across to all who sat in it. Endymion remembered bitter-sweetly the times he first sat in this chair when he was a child, getting into trouble for pranks he and his friends had pulled. The discipline was light, compared to what would happen to someone not so young or of Royal Blood.

The discipline was always hard work and required ingenuity to pull it off without getting hurt, and the punishment only inspired Endymion to act out more. He wanted to be like his father, but he wanted to be nothing like him at the same time. He wanted siblings, but he wanted all of the attention. His childhood was rough for him, and the years recently hadn't been easy, but they had been smoother.

"I was just down to see Grandfather." The name had been lost amid the generations, and it was a sign of respect.

The King raised a brow in surprise. "Was it useful?"

"More confusing than anything else."

"The man always had a way of reading my mind whenever I went to see him. So I stopped going."

"Seems no one is immune to that trait of his then." Endymion waited a beat before continuing. "What I went down to see him about, he said that you tried. That you got the furthest off all those wanting to-"

"Take that silly dream out of your head at this moment. You would not survive one second in that environment. It is not the Earth. There is no one up there, nothing to sustain life of any kind. I have seen the surface and it is barren."

"How did you see it?"

"When I was young, there were a group of men working on what they called a telescope. They allowed me access and I pointed it at the Moon. It is just craters and bare rock up there. Nothing to entice even the most romantic dreamer."

"You expect me to believe you were once that?" Endymion could have laughed, if he didn't feel like this was a dead end to every dream he ever had. "I would never have pegged Romantic or Dreamer on you."

"Enough son." The King commanded. "I wanted to go out and claim that land. Then I learned even the craziest of our people would not dare dream to move there. If there had even been a way to get there."

"What did you learn?" Endymion pushed. "Share with me the secrets Grandfather is trying to bury. He wants someone to go there. He believes he lives because of sins he committed there."

"Mindless ramblings of an old fool who does not know what he's saying. He's too old to understand what he's talking about." The King shook his head, he would not budge. "Anything you want to know about the legends and myths, all make believe of the orb in the sky are in those books he keeps with him. They will give you no answers, and in the end, if you follow this path, you will see you have only wasted your time. Many men and women smarter than you, only echo what I have just said, this is nothing, there will be no end result."

Endymion rose and left without another word. He pulled out of his shirt the two books and flipped through them. He slowly became entrenched with all that was written. Especially the part about a device that had been given to the people of the Earth by those of the Moon, a device that would allow movement between the two lands.

Since both the ones related to him failed to give him any truly useful, he turned to the only other person he thought might be able to help him. He rapped on Jadeite's door. The blond head peaked out, his torso bare from what Endymion could see and he didn't look any further. All he probably would have seen would have been a red cloth just above a bare knee.

The blue eyes widened in surprise to see the Prince at his door. "Endymion?"

Endymion lifted a brow. "Rei with you in there?"

Jadeite looked back before a head covered in black hair, mused but still shiny and mostly straight, appeared below Jadeite's. "Were you looking for me?" She asked silkily and then gasped and jerked away. "Jade!" She growled, clearly not amused about whatever he had done to her.

"You know better than to flirt with my Prince."

"But he's such a handsome fella." She pouted up towards him. Endymion cleared his throat and she winked at him, whether it was a flirtatious one or to reassure him that it wasn't, Endymion didn't know or frankly care.

"Not yet, Rei. I might have use for you later though. I was just more interested in knowing whether or not you were with him. Mind if I borrow your husband?" A slow smile unfurled Rei's lips before she shrugged and pulled away.

"Just don't keep him for too long." She called, and Jadeite's eyes tracked her movement and he almost left the door cracked open in an attempt to follow her. The two of them were very seductive with one another, and Endymion had to knock to regain Jadeite's attention, but he could tell it wasn't completely there.

"Just give me... a minute or two... to get dressed. I'll meet you-"

"I understand. Three minutes. In the office."

The words snagged Jadeite's attention for a brief second, and with a confused but interested look, Jadeite hesitated, like cold water had been splashed in his face. Then he nodded. "See you in a few." Jadeite shut the door and locked it and Endymion walked away. He'd give his general longer if he needed it, but he at least had caught his attention and he would be coming.

It was fairly late, and he didn't bother to wake any of the other generals, not that most were sleeping, but Jadeite and Rei were by the most active couple of the three of his married generals. Only Kunzite remained alone.

No, none of his other generals would be as much help as Jadeite. Not because of his training or intelligence, Nephrite and Zoicite out did him respectively on those issues. Nor for his incredible fighting ability, Kunzite was the first one he turned to if he wanted to spar. Jadeite offered a different kind of help altogether. Something that annoyed most of the staff and sentry of the Castle, but only amused Endymion and maybe caused a small amount of envy.

So he waited, Jadeite was worth the wait and patience, because he might sweep in greater rewards.