Chapter 9
When Endymion woke up he found himself in a dank little room that he could only imagine was a dungeon. It was so dark that he couldn't see in front of his nose. . "You didn't do as I asked."
The queen's voice was enough to make his head explode in anger. His fists were balled up so tight it felt like they were replaced by boulders. He felt he could do anything out of his rage. He tried to stand only to see that his waist had been chained to the wall. He was only allowed a few feet to move in.
"You didn't do as I asked." she repeated it, waiting for a response. But he refused to give her any satisfaction, so he remained silent. Instead thinking how he could escape these chains. He moved his arms and he felt the shackles around his wrists and then his ankles. He was not to move at all.
"You know I must kill her now." This statement fell upon his ears like an avalanche and he felt his body shrivel up. Now he couldn't speak out of pain. "I mean we had an agreement and if I don't hold up my end of the bargain I'd be…" "You won't touch her," he interrupted.
"Oh and what do you plan to do about it, hmm?" He said nothing for he had no answer. "Think of me badly until you die in that same position. Face it, it's time to give up on all of this and just believe that it wasn't meant to be. Happens all the time." Her slight gave him time to think of the one thing that would protect Serena.
"You want the crystal…" "And I will have it. Once she is my daughter the crystal will be passed to the eldest in her family, and that will be me." He shook his head. "The crystal is smarter than that." She laughed at this. "It's a rock." "That would make it smarter than you." He laughed at her, and this seemed to offend, as she got up and began to walk away.
"It's over" she spoke before leaving the room. Leaving him in the silence of no answers and so many questions.
The queen spoke to her ferret as she did every night. Celebrating her victory, and as she did she didn't notice the person slowly moving behind her. She continued to rant to her precious about how she felt like things "were working out," and how "by the end of the lunar cycle she will have all the power."
When she realized how quiet the ferret on her shoulder when she knew it was rare for her ferret to shut his mouth. She turned to see her reflection and she had began to fix her hair before she realized that what she was looking at was not her mirror. By the time she laid on the floor, unconscious due to a blunt force to her head.
The silence in the cell had gone for hours before it was interrupted by what seemed to be an abusive use of a door, it slammed to the wall with such a noise that one might think that the moon had cracked. But the footsteps that came after were as quick and light as if a dove had landed on the water for only a second and rose up again and by the time the bird had flown away there stood the horrible almost painful sight of the queen in front of him. "We have to go." The statement was almost shocking but quickly followed by the feeling of a twist in his stomach, like his small intestine had felt this lightness as if he heard something familiar and heartfelt, while his large intestine shrieked in fear of what was going to come next from this image.
"IT's me," and soon the feeling of lightness was replaced with a voice of fear but a different kind than the one that the queen had invoked. "Serena," the shakiness of his voice alarmed him, but she stood unshaken in the image and dress of someone who had tortured him. She revealed a pen and smiled, and reached into giant pockets pulling out a ring of keys. She had marked the key with a red ribbon. The door was opened in seconds, seconds Endymion spent standing in awe.
Come on," she spoke asking for his hand, her hand was gloved, he was sad to have to notice that. "Come on," these words were more demanding and he couldn't help but rise to the occasion and lay his hand in hers, which she then to his hands and cuffed them. She smiled sweetly and said, "So they'll believe me when I sneak you out." That action was quickly followed by her grabbing him and fleeing up the stairs, but he quickly stopped her.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, and with her solemn look that she returned, she was thinking that he wasn't willing to go with her. "I am going to be with you , I'm not leaving you Serena." She looked at him for a second of confusion as if she had heard these words before but now that it came from Darien's lips it sounded as if a tree had spoke them. "I just want to know that you are ready, now get stern." She perked at this advice and quickly changed to her queen face that almost made him shake. "Good," he commented almost in pain. He willingly followed her and he soon saw light that blinded his eyes, he thought it would shake her too, but like a true professional she simply gave a snarl disguised in a smile, something that gave both of them a free ticket to the outside garden where they had first spoken to each other, he smiled thinking of her foot.
She did not take the luxury, as soon as they hit the edge of the garden she began to run towards nothing, and she seemed to enjoy that because it was NOT the walls of the castle. "We're free Darien," she had her own bubbly voice which means that she had turned the pen off and allowed herself to become hopeful for the first time in years. Her hair was in bundles at the top of her head, many would thing this was a sign of not wanting to trip on her hair, but to him it was a sign of his beloved returning. All they had to do was escape.
It was long before he felt her begin to hesitate like she no longer knew where she was going. He felt her tense up and turn and she seemed to lose her step and fall over a branch and continued to perk right up, and she turned to him and said " This way."
She continued and then she felt her heart rise as the light from the nearest village rise through the trees, she looked to smile at her friend, but he was gone. "Darien", she called, and then she cried again seeing that he was nowhere to be found. She found herself looking back at the light thinking of how she was free and maybe her friend would find her, maybe he had just tripped and would soon be following her to the freedom the village promised. But the feeling she had when thinking about this man's side, this man she only knew for months felt like she was counting on him for salvation. This feeling pulled her slowly back into the woods away from her promised freedom. With every step the light got further away, and soon her body was in full panic and she bean to run screaming out for her friend soon to meet the painful strike of shadowed stranger which was followed by a painful slumber.
When she awoke she thought she was waking to a dream, because the song of her locket spilled into the darkness, and with one more look she saw the light from her locket illuminating what seemed to be a bowed head adorned with a black mop of hair. Her head could not yet understand what was going on when she saw the two shadowed figures behind the man who bowed in front of her. "Who… what…" she whispered and it was only answered by what sounded like a struggled groan as if the man in front was trying to get away. Which was quickly followed by a strike to the captured head.
When she finally began to comprehend what was happening Serena saw a head of silver hair emerge from one of the shadows. It was Diamond and that meant the person next to them was that horrible creature she called a mother. But who was the man behind the hair, and with out an inkling of who it could be something grew in her, and she no idea what it meant.
"I see that you decided to run away," it had spoken to her and with it's voice it felt like Serena's skin began to peel, but still her eyes never moved from the dark mop. "It's too bad because if you had decided to leave your friend behind I would have just let you go, but you see…" "Liar" the word was definable but since it came from the unknown head Serena had no idea what it meant. The queen just continued, "The person who you try to steal from me, my servant, is someone of some importance to me…" this statement reminded Serena of the man she was really looking for. "Where is Darien?" Serena said this and a smile stretched across the Queen's face and Serena felt her body break in two. She coughed out this pain in a hack, and a tear slipped through to the ground.
"You don't have to cry Serena…" Diamond said and the Queen turned to him and scowled as if he was stealing her fire. "He's right Serena, you shouldn't be weeping for your friend…he is closer than you think." A laugh that was as coarse as fingernails on chalk board echoed through Serena's head. "I must say that it was quite a cruel joke your friend played on you, I mean he was your only friend and he lied to you…" "What are you talking abo…" At that the man's head was raised against his will, and above his pained neck, and his pained face, was the most painful helpless look in the most familiar blue eyes. When Serena could breathe again and she looked at the whole picture of his face and could get past how much pain she was in from the look on this man's face, she felt her heart race.
"I think you should be sure…" The queen said before having one of her guards take Serena by the arm, in such force that caused her to cry out, making the man across from writhe in the hands of his captor. They pushed her naked hand towards this man's face and she fought because it couldn't be true and would disappear when she touched it, but when she touched his skin… The words seemed to seep into her hand and flow out of this man's mouth at the same time, they vibrated in her skin, and all she could think was, "Serena, I'm sorry."
Chapter 9
During her quick stint as a sleeping beauty she recalled the night she lost, or had thought she lost everything and this night seemed to end with her watching her beloved fall. But as this new information entered into her mind the events of that night became blurred and dark. When she finally allowed herself to come to, she felt so different but her surroundings were the same. "I need to stop being unconscious," she spoke out not realizing how heavy the situation had remained. All eyes were on her and the man she loved struggled to break apart from his captors, the man she thought was dead was in front of her and she could not touch him.
"I'm so sorry Serena, I meant to tell you." his voice was dreamlike to Serena, probably due to her unconscious state being the only place she had heard it for so long. She looked up to him and his eyes were hard to see in such struggle, but she was looking into them and that gave her such a mixed feeling, that her body hurt until she pulled herself away from his sight. "Serena, listen to me you cannot give them the crys…" He was interrupted by the Queen's men pulling him away. "Serena!" he hollered and when she felt he was gone Serena stared straight into the face of the queen. "Don't worry sweetheart, you won't have to see him again, he is just a ghost in the wind, we will take care of you." The queen lifted her to her feet, trying to comfort Serena at arm's length.
Serena kept her eyes to the ground as the queen led her to the castle and soon to Serena's room at the top of the tower. The queen ushered her into to her room, and since Serena no longer had a pushing force to motivate her body she just stood there on her side of the door. She heard the sound of a padlock on her door. The queen advised someone to not let her out until tomorrow, because it was the day she would be wed to the prince and she had to be ready for it. "I don't want that little brat to run off again with our dungeon's resident prince."
When the queen was gone Serena felt her joints give way under the pressure of the tomorrow that was to come. "He's alive," and with that said she began to sob for what she had so close to her, but never saw, why couldn't she see it? In between her sobs her cat Luna walked up to her and sat with her other cat comrades in toe. Serena continued to cry until finally she looked up to see what was hidden underneath her Luna's paw. It was one of the Luna Paw's. "I can't keep pulling these out of my butt Serena, so please promise to take care of this one" The voice seemed to come from close to the ground. It was the voice of the cat's namesake.
"Luna?" Serena looked around for the origin of the voice but she could not find a sane explanation, but of course her world seemed to be turned upside down permanently since that horrific night. "Down here Serena", no longer could Serena ignore the fact that the voice was coming from her cat. "Luna?" she asked the cat and she felt herself go insane as she said it, asking her cat to respond.
"Serena it's time to get out of here," the cat's mouth moved to the words but it still felt as if she was asleep. "Serena are you listening?" "How are you…" "Your mother she turned us into cats, for some reason, so we could escape and have more of a chance of protecting you, and until she returns…" "Is she still alive?" Luna's face shook, and Serena's heart dropped, "We don't know but that is not what you have to focus on, we have to get you and Endymion…" Serena began to weep at the mention of his name.
"Serena you have to focus," Artemis's voice rose to the top of Serena's mind and she looked up to see him stare into her, with his worrisome eyes. She shook her head and wiped her eyes hoping that this would allow her to do as her cat had said. She then sat there focusing on both of her guardians' faces. "Now I think it would be a good idea to leave tonight with us, we know a tunnel…" "What about Endymion?" Serena interrupted Luna in the middle of her idea and the cat dropped her head, and continued with out looking back at Serena, "I think it would be best if we left him here for now." Serena stood and walked over to her window hoping that all the words would just blow away, but the cats followed her. "It is just temporary Serena, you have to think about yourself for right now and the safety of the crystal." Serena ignored and began to think of how she could get back to him and how could curl up under his arms…."Serena!" But Serena refused to snap out of it her train of thought but when she finally arrived to her plan she gave the cat's her full attention but not until after she made herself clear.
"Sorry Luna I am not leaving him behind, when he died I…" her throat caught on the pain of remembering the emptiness she had been living only a few moments ago. With out continuing she fell into her rocking chair. "I don't even have that stupid crystal anyway."
The cats looked at each other as their only chance of salvation tried her best to fall asleep while planning her escape with the man she thought she had lost so long ago. She thumbed her locket and for the first time, the melody clear in her head, she sang the song with the hope of the next growing inside her heart.
The next morning came after what seemed like a year of planning and anticipation, and Serena woke tired from the night before, but energized by the hope of seeing Him today. She looked herself in the mirror and the smile that reflected in the mirror shocked her, and she quickly wiped it away as not to alarm the queen to her plan, but as a secret message to herself she placed her hair in her usual buns hoping that the queen wouldn't know what it meant. But she knew it meant that she was ready for war.
It was only an hour of disapproving looks from her cats before the queen returned to Serena's room to retrieve her for a dress fitting. Serena went willingly but did not responded to anything the queen hoping that the royal monster would think nothing had changed and that she had just given, all the while gripped her luna pen in one hand and her locket hidden around her chest.
When walking into the room Serena squinted to take the atrocity in that the queen called a dress. It was about ten feet in diameter and had twenty bows on it from what Serena could see and she could count five different materials. It was a nightmare.
The dress took five people to lift over Serena's head and when the dress fell on her it almost caused her frail frame to collapse but it just caused her to grip the pen harder knowing in a few moments she would be free to roam.
The queen then spent the next few moments ordering her them to add more bows with needles that seemed to penetrate all five feet of fabric and pierce Serena's skin. She quickly got tired of this but she knew it was not time, she would watch the queen and wait for her to turn her back and she would know, and that time came soon enough because someone had come to the door asking for arrangements on the flowers. With this cue Serena gripped tightly onto the pen and suddenly the room was filled with a blinding light and when the light fell away the dress was empty. The queen took only a minute to realize, but this was the time it took for Serena to be halfway down the hall and following the trail to his cell.
Her tiny mouse body dragged the locket a mile before reaching the door to the dungeon, she climbed the door and slipped into the bars. She quickly ran down the cold stairs and across the floor, only able to see his feet she got closer and closer and walked up close to his thigh. He didn't even notice the tiny mouse before she quickly transformed back into her own skin.
His eyes took a second to adjust to the vision he saw in front of him. She was curled up with her form bare except for except for the locket that lay between her breasts. "Serena" he breathed into the air and she looked over to him "Hi," she spoke as if they had never stepped onto the dark moon that cursed them. She stood tired but strong as she stretched back into her human form, not realizing how naked she was. He was silent, not seeing her this bare before. "God it's col…" she spoke and in the middle of the statement she noticed her lack of clothing and before she freaked out Endymion wrapped her in one of his many coats. She curled into it like a new skin. "Thank you." they both stood there with out saying anything for what seemed only a second before she rushed into his arms.
Where there should have been no more tears it seemed like Serena's face became flooded with them. Endymion tried his best to leave the crying to the angel wrapped in his embrace but he could not hold back the silent tears that streamed down his face and into her hair. The words were hard to bring but since one of them had to say something Endymion decided to be the breaker of the silence. "You should have left with out me." As soon as the sentence had left his lips she pulled out of his embrace and turned away so he would not see her tears. "You should have told me who you were." her voice was cold, she had tried to turn her emotions off and that made him regret opening with such an observation. He moved closer to her hoping to comfort her, but she flinched away. "I was hoping that if you didn't know me you would have left me behind and I would be able to slip away, I just wanted you to get out…" She turned to him on that note, and looked straight into the eyes she never thought she'd see again. "I never thought I'd see you again," she reached for his hand, stunned by her sudden strength he gave it to her silently, "I never thought I would touch you." She came closer to him and they both felt each other and they both took a breathe so they could swallow this moment with out breaking down. "I never thought I'd kiss you again," this sentence was followed by silence and both of their lips meeting in the middle of this dingy cell, but all of a sudden that meant nothing. All there was each other and moments passed when the need to breathe was ignored, they only needed each other.
When the kiss was broken Serena laid her head onto Endymion's chest and folded herself into his arms.
"It was so hard to see you every day and never tell you," as he said this Serena felt his thoughts spill out and it gave her this shield of certainty. She knew what she had to do. Until that moment she promised herself this moment, and she would never forget this feeling. "I love you Serena," she heard his voice and his confidence rose her heart to a height she had forgotten about over the years she had been there. "I will always love you Endymion." When she said this he gave her a look of confusion, "What do you mean Serena?" She gave him a sad smile asking him to support her, but he refused to understand what she was talking about. "Serena, what…" he began to shake his head. "No, you're not thinking…" "I see no other way, she'll kill you if I leave and I just cannot go through that again." He backed away from her, not allowing himself to believe her.
"Please forgive me, but I have to go through with this wedding." He shook his head, and grabbed at her shoulders and held her so she had no choice but to understand him. "You cannot do this Serena you have to get out, you cannot stay here, they're going to kill you, once they get that crystal…" "Will you stop talking about that stupid crystal, I have no idea why people think I have it!"
He looked at her confused, but before he could respond the sound of the door opening clashed through the dungeon, and the queen ran down to the doors of the dungeon. Serena realized what had happened before Endymion could so she caught him off guard when she grabbed him and placed what she thought to be their last kiss. "I love you," she whispered before being led out of the cell by one of the queen's guards. While he watched her leave, he remembers screaming everything he could think of to dissuade her from going through with this. But in the end he was left in silence when the door closed and she was gone.