Star-Crossed Lovers: Chapter Six
Michael groaned as he heard his maidservant, Juanita, open the large oak doors of his room and then proceed to roll up the curtains of his windows, letting loose all the light that Michael was so blissfully grateful had been trapped outside for the past twelve hours.
"It's time to greet the morning, Master Michael." The Spanish woman always declared the same statement, in the same singsong voice, each and every day, which gave Michael a further reason as to not want to get out of bed.
The young prince pulled the blanket over his head and shut his eyes tightly. Of all the days to get out of bed, this one had to be the worst. Today was the day where his entire family (save Bernice, as she would not be cooperative at such an event) would be traveling to the Moon in honor of its princess.
Juanita pulled off the covers and smacked a pillow on top of the boy's head.
"Must I do this every day, Your Majesty?" she asked in a bored voice.
"No," Michael retorted, pulling the blanket over his head. "You can save yourself some time and go away instead."
"Michael," Darien's sassy, sarcastic drawl split the air like a knife through fog. He had obviously heard Michael's comment and had come in to "angelicize" (a term Michael had invented to uniquely describe Darien's acts) himself in front of Juanita. "Don't talk to Juanita in such a way. She is far too delicate to endure your insults."
Without waiting for either Michael or Juanita (who was probably rolling her eyes by now) to reply, Darien ripped the blanket off Michael's bed and smacked him upside the head with his fist.
That was it. Michael jumped off the bed and grabbed Darien around the neck. Although he knew that his older brother was much stronger than he himself was, he wanted to make a mark.
However, Darien made his mark first. He grabbed Michael around the waist and threw him over his shoulder and flat onto his face.
Michael was just about to get up and punch Darien squarely in the face when Bernice burst into the room and joined the fray, grabbing Darien around the knees and toppling him to the ground.
"I was just about to send for your parents," Juanita said in a mixture of disappointment at the two boys and shock at what Bernice had just done.
"I want to play!" the little princess shouted.
Michael rolled his eyes and spit the blanket that had flown into his mouth out.
+*+*+
Five hours later, the entire Terran family arrived on the Moon. The coachman opened the carriage door and helped each alight onto the flat surface. Darien breathed in the air with delight. The scent of fresh spring flowers filled the air. The sky was the brightest of blue. The crown prince had to believe that while Earth was much more appealing from any outsider's point of view, the Moon won the heart of any insider.
As he gazed around the vast luxurious satellite, he tried to recall anything he could remember about it from his past, having been there once before, at the age of three.
Michael, on the other hand, seemed to show absolutely no appreciation at all at the glorious bliss that was the Moon. The look on his face was beyond sour. In fact, if Darien hadn't known his brother better, he might have assumed that he was on the verge of killing someone.
"Why do we have to do this?" the younger prince complained, dragging his shiny black shoes on the ground. "Why do we have to meet Queen Serenity, anyway? She's probably just some frumpy old woman who bosses people around."
Darien was not at odds as to why neither his mother nor his father gave a response to their youngest son's ignorant outburst. Queen Serenity was in fact a woman possessing an exquisite beauty, unlike any other woman Darien had ever came in contact with. Then again, he had only seen the Queen once before and that had been years ago. So, there was a chance that she had not retained the beauty that he remembered.
Upon arriving inside the Palace ballroom, Darien's memory began flooding back to him. The large chandelier, the marble walls, the orchestra, the chattering, dancing people, everything was exactly the way he had remembered it being. Although, back then, everything seemed much larger than it was now.
Queen Serenity was exactly the beauty that Darien had expected her to be, and what he remembered her to be. Her hair was just as long and pulled into the same style of ponytails and buns. Neither a touch of gray had marred her lavender hair nor had one wrinkle damaged her smooth white face. A smile ran from ear to ear as she saw her Terran friends walking toward her.
However, there was one thing that bothered Darien. Not everything was the same as it had been years ago. Someone very important who had been present the last time Darien had been there was missing….
King Robert struck his son from his thoughts as he began to introduce him and Michael to the Moon Queen. Darien had not even noticed that they were already a foot in front of her.
"Nice to see you again, Prince Darien." Serenity held out her elegant hand to take Darien's, smiling sweetly, just as she had all those years ago. "You've grown much since last I saw you."
Darien was frozen for a moment and could not find the right words to respond. He had met enough royals in his life to know what say and exactly when to say, so why could he not do so now?
Luckily, something else happened that allowed the Moon Queen and Darien's parents to be distracted. A tall dark-haired girl with pale skin and clothed in a red dress walked slowly up to Michael and tapped him on the shoulder. Darien noticed instantly that she had the symbol of Mars in the middle of her forehead.
"Hello," she said in a long, drawn out voice. She seemed to be speaking only to Michael and did not even acknowledge that Queen Serenity was even there. The Queen didn't seem to mind, however. In fact, she even looked intrigued as to what the girl might say. "My name is Raye," the girl continued, smiling coquettishly at Michael. "I'm the princess of Mars."
She pronounced the last sentence clearly, as though she were trying to make a point that she was a princess and worthy of Michael's attention.
Unbeknownst to her, Michael was not won over easily, especially by a girl he had absolutely no interest in, and apparently, Princess Raye was that kind of girl.
"So?" He retorted rudely, looking at her dress in disgust.
Queen Bianca let out a gasp. "Michael!"
"What?" the Earth prince asked his mother as though he had no idea what she was talking about. "Look at the way she dresses! And her skin! She looks like she just walked out of a morgue! There is no way I would be interested in her!"
He turned back to Raye and looked her straight in the eye. "The answer is 'no'. I will not dance with you."
Darien felt embarrassed. Queen Serenity's eyes had just enlarged to the size of saucers. Both Bianca and Robert were staring at their youngest son with gaping mouths. But, Raye, predictably, showed the biggest reaction.
She jammed her ruby high heels right into the tip of his shoes. He gave the loudest scream Darien had ever heard and reached out to grab her, when she ran off as fast as a cheetah.
Michael, apparently unaware that he was making a scene for the whole ballroom to watch, fell to the ground and began wining as loud as a newborn baby.
"SHE BROKE MY FOOT!" He shouted, tears streaming down his face. Darien couldn't help but suppress a laugh. It was the stupidest thing he had ever seen Michael do.
"THAT STUPID WRETCH! SOMEONE ARREST HER!" Michael's face was now volcano-red.
Robert grabbed his son by the arm and ordered him to get up off the ground. By now, half the ballroom was hovering over the young Earth prince. Darien was just glad Bernice was not here to see it.
About ten minutes later, Michael had finally calmed down. Queen Serenity had had one of her servants bring him to an adjacent room to rest his foot, which, as Robert clarified much to Michael's dramatic protests, was not broken, just swollen slightly.
As it turned out, both Queen Serenity and Raye's parents suspended her from the ballroom and forced her to retire to her room early. Her father had given her a warning before escorting her out of the room.
It was right after this had happened that Darien's life changed forever.
A small girl with blonde hair and blue eyes walked over to where Darien, his parents, and Queen Serenity were all standing and watching Raye leave the room. She was surrounded by three other young girls, all dressed in colorful dresses.
"I'm sorry, Mother," the young girl linked her arm with Queen Serenity's as she spoke. It was then that Darien realized that she was the Queen's daughter…and that she was remarkably beautiful.
Apart from the color of her hair and eyes, she was almost an exact replica of her mother. She even wore the same hairstyle as the Queen.
"Raye was not being very cooperative with us," the Moon Princess explained, speaking first and foremost to Darien's parents. "We told her to leave that boy alone."
"She's positively crazy." A girl with short blue hair chimed in. She had the sign of Mercury glistening on her forehead.
She began to speak more, but Darien's eyes and ears were lost to the angel in front of him. His heart felt strangely warmed, a feeling that he had never before experienced around any girl.
Could she be the one?
And before he had the chance to consider what he was doing, Darien blurted out, "Would you care to dance with me, Your Highness?"
He got down on one knee, grabbed the Moon Princess's hand, and kissed it.
"What's with all the romantic impulses tonight?" Darien heard his mother inquire from behind him.
The Moon Princess stared, wide-eyed, at Darien, for at least a minute, before responding. She giggled slightly and said, "certainly."
She quickly glanced at her mother for permission. The beautiful queen just smiled in confirmation.
Darien, more excited than he had ever been about dancing with a girl, walked the beautiful princess out into the middle of the dance floor, which cleared immediately upon their entering.
It felt as though the world had disappeared and Darien and the princess were alone, together, never to be apart. Her eyes were sparkling, like blue crystals being kissed by rays of sunlight. He had soon lost all senses and had no idea where he was.
They must have been dancing for hours. It did not stop until Darien's father pulled him out of his reverie and told him that it was time to leave.
The two of them ceased dancing, leaving Darien's legs to feel as though they had been pulled out from under him.
"My name is Serena," the princess said with a smile.
It was then that Darien realized that he had not introduced himself. What an idiot she must have thought him to be!
"My-my—" Now that was really stupid of him! He was starting to sound as dumb as Michael. "My name is Darien."
He said it so fast that he was worried she might not have been able to understand him. His face was flushing more than ever and his palms were so sweaty that he did not dare grasp her hand again for fear that she would run off in disgust.
"Darien." She pronounced the name slowly and clearly, her voice sounding like music to his ears. "I shall remember that."
And he would remember her name. From then on, he vowed to do whatever he could to have her as his own. He knew it. She was the one.
End Note: So how was it? I thought the part with Michael and Raye was pretty funny, and yes, there will be some more battles between them as the story goes along. Do you like the plot so far? Do you think you can see any foreshadowing? What do you think will happen next? Do you think the characters are rounded enough (most of them, anyway)? Can you give me an analysis? This is the kind of stuff I want to hear from you guys in your reviews, not just "good chapter" or "update soon" or "I really liked it".
Merci à tous,
Amélie