So i know i haven't updated in a very time. i beg you to please forgive me. I'm trying to get back into the mood of uploading as i used to but it seems all forces are going up against me but i will definitely keep trying. i hope to be able to upload more frequently from now on. Pleaseeeeeeeee don't abandon meeee!

What's Done In The Dark: The King's Concubine

Dear Diary 22

Their return back to the main palace was swift with no delays. Deciding that there was too much to be done, Serena wasted no time as she and prime began writing thank you cards to all the ladies. Following her fast pace, Darien too began his own campaign. Calling all the elders and Hotaru together, a decision was finally reached on how to decide who would remain on the throne and who would step down. The choice belonged to the people. Sending out heralds of messengers to proclaim the soon to be held elections for their monarch, Darien too paid visitations to many of the men folks of his kingdom, poor and rich alike. That entire day was spent in a brisk vigorous pace as Serena finished the cards and began diligently working on the paintings but not before making sure that Mina was transported safely to Hotaru's family house by Jadeite. In a fortnight, the election would be held and the war would finally come to an end.

By 9pm, Darien and his advisers wrapped up their business and each returned to the comfort of their beds. Upon entering his room, he sought out Serena and found her not. Thinking she might be in her room, he took a quick shower and went to hers only to find it empty. Malcolm was not standing by the door either so he went to the kitchen asking anyone if they've seen Serena, Lita or Malcolm. One helpful little girl pointed him in the direction of the abandoned art studio that had belonged to princess Rei when she was young.

It was several feet away from the palace. Though it had been abandoned since Rei stopped painting when she was twelve, the building was kept in a pristine condition. It was a two story building with the bottom floor made of bricks. It housed swimming pools and recreational rooms such as a massage room, weight lifting and so forth. The second floor was completely dedicated to art. It had a gallery of arts by famous and not so famous people, a room filled with art supplies, another filled with canvases of all types, shapes and sizes and another room where all the magic of drawing and painting took place. The Second floor was made 90% out of glass with a doom that opened up to the sky. The other 10% which was made of brick housed a room, kitchen, bathroom and an extra room for all of Rei's clothing and such. When she was young, Rei loved to paint. She was really good at what she did and on her fifth birthday, their father had the building constructed for her. Though the former king had been abusive to Darien and his mother, he had had a softer side for his precious only daughter and for Diamond who was his heir. With each grand gift Diamond and Rei received, the queen paid a heavy price.

It wasn't until Rei was about twelve years old that she discovered the suffering of her mother and she had abandoned art and the building. She realized that most of the things she received were a chain to tie her to their kingdom so that if her mother tried to escape with them, they wouldn't go because of all that they had. Giving up art was the hardest thing 12 years old Rei had ever done. With it she also stopped asking for things and stopped showing interest in anything when her father was present but there was only so much she could hide from the man who knew everything because he had spies everywhere.

Walking toward the building, Darien found it unlocked and entered. Silence greeted him but he took the stairs and made his way to the art room. At first when he entered, he did not see her. He looked around the room, looking from one picture to another. Back then, Rei's favorite thing to draw was Darien and Hotaru so there was so many painting of the two of them that his gaze could not escape it even if he tried. Slowly he moved about the room, staring at each painting as memories assaulted him.

Hotaru's scent, her soft skin, her warm breath, her husky voice, her moist lips….each thought roused him; his groin hardened and his chest constricted. He came upon one particular painting where Hotaru laid on the bed naked, her head on Rei's soft red pillow, a rose in between her breasts, her hands laid carelessly beside her, her lower torso slight curved in and her eyes stared straight ahead filled with so much lust and darkness that Darien visibly shook. He remembered now. This was the woman he had loved, lusted for and had been infatuated with for years. The woman who had thought him the pleasures of the flesh, rousing and teasing his every senses. He had been able to deal with his father's abuse because she had been there. She had promised him love and care, she had promised him blissful happiness and delivered them for a brief period of his life. He could have it all back again. The love making, the erotic woman, and the childlike innocence he had in being in love with. The light heartedness of loving her…all of it, he could have it back if he wanted….

"She's very beautiful isn't she?" Serena's soft voice wove through the air, touched one ear and penetrated his thoughts of his former lover. Slowly, he turned around and found Serena sitting just a foot away. She was splashed in covered with paints and surrounded by paintings. She did not look at him but rather continued painting, her face devoid of emotions. Startled by her voice and presence, Darien could only stare at her and for a moment his thoughts confused him.

Who was this woman?

Frantically he sought to arrange his thoughts, trying to tear himself from the spell Hotaru's mere picture had put him under but he seemed glued to where he stood. For ten minutes no one said anything and Serena brought to an end the painting she was working on.

As Serena tried to rise to her feet she waddled a little and unceremoniously resumed her sitting position. She sighed and blew her bangs out of her face. That entire action finally shook Darien awake and he moved to help her but Serena blocked his reach with the painting she was working on.

"Isn't she beautiful?" she said smiling up at him. He looked at her, trying to explain himself but she pushed the picture up and he realized she was talking about the painting. Almost in a confused daze he looked at it and blinked. It was a picture of Rei in her red bikini from the beach. She was standing at the edge of the wind, invisible winds blowing her hair and the sun setting just right behind her. It was a most beautiful painting. She looked like a fire goddess just landing on earth. By the time he looked up from the picture Serena had reached the exit.

"I'm going to go take a shower." She said and walked out. Darien gently set the painting down and sighed as he ran his hand through his hair confused. He realized that ever since he walked into the room, his entire actions had been trance like. As he stood there trying to draw himself out of the strange mood that had over taken him, it did not even occur him that he might have just hurt Serena.

By the door, a figure slipped away with an almost triumphant smile. She had not planned anything and had definitely not suspected Darien to be drawn back into the memories of his past and almost embrace it. All hope was not lost. As weak minded as Darien had just become, this was her last chance to bring him to her side. Without waiting, she quickly hurried to prepare. It was now or never and now was most desirable.

Serena barely made it to the bathroom before she started throwing up. She felt feverish and tired. Her body sagged against the sink and trembled. Her heart and body were both weary. She coughed and wheezed, trying to get air into her lungs. Her eyes rolled in and out as her head hammered in pain. She gripped the counter of the sink as she fought to remain conscious. Blood filled her mouth and started trickling down and tears followed. Serena cried.

Not for her weakened condition, not for the pain that was tearing away at her body, but for the lost of something so precious and the heart of the man she had given her all.

Watching him stare at Hotaru's portraits was the hardest thing she had ever done. He seemed so lost in thought and longing. Several times she had raised her voice to speak but nothing came out. Then he looked at that one painting in which Hotaru was naked and she knew that Darien was not a hundred percent over Hotaru. Despite what he said or wanted to believe, if Serena had not come into his life, he would have ran back to her.

But who is to say you can keep him interested in you forever?

The horrible words whispered to her by her fears chilled her very soul. So what? They would win the battle, she would become his queen. Did any of that really matter in the end when his heart and soul belonged to Hotaru and not her? Where had the magic they shared gone to? Where was all that promise of forever yours alone? In the face of his past with Hotaru, the present was nothing to brag about. He had stared at the picture for so long. She almost relived his memories with him. She saw his body stiffened, aroused and longing for the woman who had held his very soul in her palms and shattered it.

In that moment she knew he had never completely belonged to her and after all that Hotaru had done to him he still desired her, then he would never belong to her.

"Why why why?" she cried, carelessly hitting her fisted hand on the counter. So overcome with grief and exhaustion that she accidentally let go of the counter that supported her weight and unable to catch herself, she slipped and fell, a piercing scream rising from her throat for a brief second before crashing to the floor in silence and unconscious.

Blood oozed out everywhere.

Walking out the art studio, Darien thought he heard a scream but when he listened and heard nothing else, he continued to walk thinking nothing of it. His mind was still foggy but was slowly clearing. Everywhere he looked now, a memory of him and Hotaru would assault him and he found himself immersed in when all the happiness he knew was the joy of loving her. He remembered how childlike and pure his affections were for her. So trusting, so caring. He never felt alone….not like with Sere….

He caught himself before finishing that thought but the realization hit him hard.

"What am I saying!" he said, holding his head and shaking it vigorously as he picked up his pace. He began arguing with himself. His inner thoughts surfaced and he realized he had no choice but to face fact.

He had never had a moment of doubt with Hotaru, he had never worried or felt afraid. He never doubted her affections, didn't have to go to extremes and was constantly happy. His relationship with Hotaru had been a steady rhythmic beat with no interference, no high notes or low notes, just one steady, straight forward, vigorous beat.

But with Serena he was constantly worrying, always afraid, never sure and nothing steady. It was a roller coaster of ups and downs, pain and happiness, war and love. She was a poetry that had no rhymes or rhythm because nothing about her was ever as it seemed. Just when you'd think she's given up she finds strength to keep going, just when you think she is strong that's when you realize how weak she really is. She was like a river, ever changing and flowing. He was always running after her, trying to keep pace. He loses face and has no control, his emotions are never stable and only she alone manages to bring out the madness within him.

Between the two of them, wasn't Hotaru the best choice for him then? The thought which would have been ridiculous and blasphemous if he had been in his proper mind now sounded like an inviting option.

Though lost in thought, his feet directed his path back to his bedroom and upon opening it, the sight that greeted him surprised him entirely.

Lying on the bed, unclothed and nude, Hotaru watched him standing at the door with a seductive smile. To say Darien was shocked was to underestimate the level of incomprehensiveness his mind could not atone. His jaw dropped, head slightly bent and eyes wide.

"Come Darien." Hotaru said softly and sweetly. Darien did not move. Not because he didn't want to but his feet were glued. Shock, surprise and a terrifying sense of wrongness made his feet as heavy as lead and he could only stand and watch, his voice lost to him. Hotaru sighed a little as if dealing with a child. Rising from Darien's bed, she stood to her full glorious nakedness and slowly walked to stand before him, her large bottom swinging from side to side. Hotaru was a beautiful woman and though she was small in structure, she was blessed with large busts and butt. Her heart shaped face was enhanced by her large, mysterious dark purple eyes. She had perfect set of white teeth, glossy red lips and a flawless skin which seemed so soft and warm. And to top it all off, her small beautiful face was framed by shoulder length raven hair with streaks of purple. Truly, she was sight to behold.

She held up her hands and held on to Darien's face.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry but…I love you and I need you. Please come back to me. I'll treat you right, I'll make amends. I was infatuated with Diamond yes, but it is you I have ever loved." She said softly, her eyes sparkling with truth and desire. She trailed his face with soft fingers and down to his hips. Then she took one of his hands and pressed it to her stomach. A shock so powerful electrified within Darien and his knees nearly gave out under him. Hotaru drew his hand over her body up to her breasts and squeezed his hand which was lying on top of one of her breasts. Even so, Darien stood still, his shock still keeping him in active.

"Darien…Darien please, talk to me. Will you come back to me? We can fix things. I know we're still drawn to each other. You still love me, I know you do. All of me, it shall be yours again if you'll just say you'll be mine. You can have me even right now." She said breathily. When Darien still did not move, she stepped forward, stretched her hand and gently grabbed the flesh between his legs.

As if finally woken from a dream, Darien violently moved away from Hotaru, the image of his betrayal to Serena with Mina shaking him out of his stupor. Could he afford to betray her again, and for what? A woman who could not move his emotion?

It was true that being with Hotaru wouldn't cause him nearly as much grief as being with Serena does but that's because Hotaru cannot move his heart. She has an effect on him because she was a beautiful woman with all the access and asset to tame a man but the only chemistry Hotaru was capable of rising out of Darien were physical excitement and nothing more. But Serena, no…Serena was too special. She was far too good for him to trade her in for anyone else. Yes he can keep his composure with Hotaru but was that called love? How can he claim Hotaru stole his heart when he was in complete control? Falling in love meant losing your emotional balance, that's why it's called "stealing your heart." If you can live your life being unaffected by your partner, then that is not love.

"I am insecure with Serena because she is such an amazingly wonderful woman. An angle in the guise of human. Someone as pure and good like her deserve so much better than me. That's why I'm insecure, not because I cannot trust her to be faithful to me. I am constantly worried because I know I'm not the only guy out there that is completely head over heels in love with her. My fear of someone taking her away from me was born out of the trust I placed in you that was betrayed. Serena loves me with a love that is so pure, true and strong. No matter how scared she gets, she always finds her way to me. As much of an ass as I've been to her, she is still with me out of her own will. I can't keep my cool because with Serena my heart beat so fast that it feels like it's going to rip out of my spine. She is good, she is kind, she is so loving, caring, inviting, appealing, she is pure, she is comfortable and comforting, she is amazingly wonderfully made. She can have anybody she chooses but instead she has chosen to be with me, a crazy psychopath who easily loses control. I love her so much and I will be damn if I let you destroy what she and I have. Best be out of my room by the time I come back or I promise you, your naked behind will end up on the street." As he spoke, the truth of his words began to firm him against Hotaru's wiles. He no longer found her appealing because he knew he had someone way better. Someone who needed him right then. He turned and left the stunned woman staring with her mouth ajar.

He assumed she had gone back to the bedroom to shower as she had said but when he found her not there and searched the most likely place she would go and could not find her, panic clutched at him. As he was running from one place to another, he bumped into Lita and immediately grabbed onto her shoulders.

"Thank God you're here. Where is Serena?" he asked widely, his eyes swimming with unshed tears and fear.

"Pain…" Lita winced. Darien's grip on her was extremely painful. He immediately let go and she massaged her smiting shoulders.

"She might still be at the art studio." She finally answered.

"No! She was there but then when I went to visit her she left to go take a shower. I followed soon after but I can't find her anywhere!" he half wailed.

"Maybe she went to take a walk."

"No, she could barely stand when I went to see her."

"And she is not in our room or yours?" Lita asked

"No!" he yelled.

Righ then Malcolm and Rei walked up to them.

"Hey Dari…" Rei stopped as he turned panicked eyes on her.

"What's wro…"

"Serena…I can't find her!" he wailed.

"Apparently he left the art studio to go shower but she did not come to our room to shower or His Majesty's and he's been searching for her but can't find her." Lita said.

"Mmmm…Where could she have gone?" Rei asked.

"If I knew I wouldn't be wasting damn time here!" Darien yelled his patience at its straw.

"You said she said she was going to take a shower but disappeared instead?" Rei asked in puzzlement.

Darien nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"She might have gone to the commo…Malcolm, go to the commoners' community to see if she is there." Rei said commandingly and without hesitation, Malcolm departed.

"I should never have allowed her to walk away from me." Darien said miserably as he placed his head in his hands.

"Oh stop whining…wait….you said she was going to take a shower but she didn't come to her room to shower right? And after all that painting, she wouldn't go somewhere without showering. Which means she is either still in the art studio or somewhere within the palace but you've been searching for her here in the palace and she is not turning up. This morning before I left her I told her she was welcome to do whatever she wanted in the art building….maybe she is showering there?" Rei said thoughtfully. All of them looked up and took off in sync for the art building. They budged into it with no care and ran to the apartment within the art drawing room where Rei often used to stay. Rei went immediately to the bathroom but it was untouched.

"Search every bathroom in the building." Splitting up, all of them went about searching all the bathrooms. Lita stayed on that floor and began checking one bathroom after another. She was about to go down stairs when a slight open door with light on caught her attention. She flew to the door and pushed it open so hard that the slammed to the opposite side and the handle became loose. Lying on the fool in a pool of her own blood was Serena.

Lita screamed.

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