Star-Crossed Lovers-Chapter Thirteen
"Still wearing that stupid pin, I see?" Beryl scoffed as Darien approached her and Michael.
Darien grimaced and rolled his eyes. "You need to leave," he ordered, feeling his blood boil. "You weren't invited."
"Ha," she let out a snarky laugh. "But, of course I was. Your brother invited me. That being said, I'm aloud to be here."
Well, with that being said, Darien felt a sense of pride that he was the elder brother. "I'm the Crown Prince," he retorted, "and that means I have the authority to tell you to leave if I so wish." He pointed his gloved finger toward the door. "And I wish to see you gone, you ungrateful bitch!"
Beryl glared fiery amber daggers at him. "You'll be sorry you said that! One day!"
Serena, Zoicite, and the others appeared behind Darien. "Is everything alright?" the Moon Princess asked. Out of the corner of his eye, Darien thought he noticed Malachite put a hand on his sword.
"Yes," Michael cut in, almost aggressively. "We were just leaving, weren't we, Beryl?"
The red-haired girl wrenched her arm out of Michael's hand. "And who might this be, anyway?" she asked, looking directly at Serena in a manner that was saying "This couldn't possibly be the Crown Prince's date!"
"I'm Princess Serenity," the blonde girl introduced herself without any help from Darien.
"Serenity?" the girl echoed, looking her up and down, most certainly judging her. "From the Moon Kingdom? I've heard of your mother, but she isn't very good at her job, now, is she?"
Darien was taken aback. For Beryl's information, Queen Serenity had done more for the Solar System than any other monarch to this date.
"You're just trying to get tried for treason, aren't you?" Zoicite cut in before Darien had the chance to respond.
"It's the truth!" The redheaded girl shouted. "My father tells me everything when I visit. Queen Serenity is nothing more than a swine."
"Your father," Darien retorted, "is the most twisted monster alive. He made his fortune off of selling women into slavery! How could you believe anything he says?"
"Well," Beryl eyed Serena. "Daughters should always trust their fathers' judgment. Isn't that right, Princess?" Then, Beryl's eyes narrowed and she smiled darkly. "Oh, that's right. You wouldn't know anything about that."
Darien stole a look at Serena, expecting her to burst into tears just as she had the night they had gone ice skating, but to his surprise, she simply blinked.
"Let's go, Beryl!" barked Michael, pulling the girl along. "We know when we aren't wanted."
Beryl gave Serena one last smirk and trotted off with the younger Prince.
Darien noticed Zoicite purse her lips and swallow hard.
"Are you just going to let her go?" the young woman sounded highly offended and outraged. "She just said two things that would qualify as treason!"
"She did not," Nephlite replied sharply. "What she said may have been outright offensive, but she's still entitled to her opinion."
"Unfortunately, it's true," Darien said. "By law, there is nothing we can do based solely on her words. Only through action can we take charge."
Serena watched as Michael dragged the girl out of the pearly white doors of the ballroom.
"I wonder where he's taking her?" Nephlite asked, although nonchalantly, "it's not like she has a place to stay."
"She can head back to Germany where she belongs," said Darien. "I'm quite sure her relatives would be glad to have her back…" there was a pause as the Prince looked directly at the door. "Then again, maybe not."
Serena tried her hardest to hold back her tears. She couldn't believe that a girl whom she hadn't even known for two minutes had insulted both her parents! She could handle someone insulting herself, but not her family!
"Are you alright, Serena?" Darien asked as she felt his warm gloved hand slide into hers.
"Y-yes," Serena stuttered slightly, still staring at the door. She felt a build-up of something hard appear in her throat. "I think I'm going to go to bed."
As soon as she made it to her room, she burst into tears and threw herself on the large bed in front of her. Luna, who had been sitting on the dresser, jumped onto the bed, panicked.
"What happened, Princess?" her voice full of worry. "Did Prince Darien harm you? We'll leave this instant and—"
"No, Luna," Serena interrupted sadly, her eyes already puffy and red. "He didn't do anything." She sniffed and tried to wipe her eyes with the back of her hand, but the tears kept coming. "It…it was this girl Beryl. She insulted Mother and Father."
The black cat was silent, lost for words.
After a few minutes of crying, Serena tried her best to collect herself in order to write a letter to her mother. Her hands shook as she held the quill.
My Dearest Mother,
I wanted to let you know that I was indeed having a great time with Prince Darien. He has a female general who did my make up before the ball tonight, and it was lovely, but unfortunately, things took a turn when we met this horrible girl named Beryl.
You may remember her father, whom you jailed for trafficking women a few years ago. Well, Darien spotted her at the ball and tried to make her leave, but before she did, she said you were a horrible ruler! And worse, she insulted Father! I'm so upset that I'm crying, but I tried to be strong in front of Darien. I promise you I didn't let him see my tears.
When Queen Serenity received the letter from her daughter, her heart sank horribly. Yes, in answer to Serena's assumption, she remembered Beryl's father, Thion, very well.
It was a mid-October night, the crisp autumn leaves having fallen on the palace lawn. Serenity had been pregnant for approximately one month, but she and Julius had not yet told the galaxy. On that particular night, they were thrust from their bed by a harsh pounding at the door.
"Your Majesties," the guard began without preamble or apology for disturbing the royal couple's sleep. "You must come quickly. A doctor from the town hospital is here. He needs to speak to you about a patient."
It was something Serenity did not understand at the very moment. Why in the world would a doctor care to speak with the King and Queen regarding a patient? It made no sense to her. The doctors always consulted one another on matters of patients, medicine, and illness. It certainly wasn't a job for royalty.
Julius clearly shared Serenity's feelings, because he said, hoarsely, but politely, as was his fashion, "Is this not a matter for the hospital?"
But the guard insisted. "He needs to speak with you."
Without another word, he proceeded down the marble staircase to where the doctor was, so they followed him. Upon seeing the doctor, Serenity noticed that his face was as white as snow. What could possibly be the matter?
"Your Majesties, you need to come with me to the hospital. I received a patient who needs special attention."
So, they threw their coats over their thin nightclothes and went straight to the hospital, the doctor talking in a rush as they climbed into the carriage.
"A woodworker and his wife brought her in. They found her screaming outside of their house a short while ago. She's bleeding profusely, but she managed to tell us what happened. She claims a man tried to…" There was a long pause as the doctor's face grew even paler. He swallowed hard and looked down at his shaking hands, as though afraid of what was about to come from his mouth. Neither Serenity nor Julius knew what to expect."….he tried to…. abort her child with a broken wine bottle."
Serenity felt her heart stop, a wave of nausea and absolute horror overtaking her mind. She had never heard anything like it.
"She claims to be a sex slave," the man continued. "She says there are many other women and girls like her. I knew it was a matter for you as soon as I heard."
But, by the time they arrived at the hospital, the woman was already dead. In addition to severe vaginal trauma, her uterus had been ripped from its wall, causing massive bleeding. Yet, the nurses in attendance were quick to lead them to the body and to talk of what information the girl was able to provide.
Her body now lay on a cheap cot, her long dark hair striking against the pallor of her thin, almost starved, face. Blood was seeping through the linen cloth in which she was wrapped. Serenity's eyes filled with tears upon seeing her. The girl was no more than seventeen.
"She said the man's name was Thion," said one of the nurses. "She didn't know if it was his first or last name nor could she give us a location as to where he lives."
"He must live in the vicinity of the woodcutter who found her," the doctor said. "She couldn't have traveled far with that amount of injury."
Julius spoke for the first time since leaving the palace, his voice harsh and low. Serenity had never heard him so angry. He turned to the doctor.
"Wake my soldiers," he demanded. "Search everywhere in the kingdom. Find this man. As King, I will try him myself at court."
And so, his soldiers were sent that very night to interrogate everyone in that part of the city, and sure enough, within a few days' time, the man was found. As it turned out, this Thion had many years worth of trafficking under his belt and hundreds of clients, all of them noblemen and some even part of King Julius's court. Thion's hundreds of female slaves were all missing woman and girls from across the Solar System, some who had been lost for over a decade. Julius gave him the fairest trial the law would allow, but, in the end, he sentenced the man to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Of all the experiences of being Queen, from the worst of Galactic threats to the simplest matters of politics, this incident haunted Serenity the most. And as she remembered, it had haunted Julius, too. Up until his death, he couldn't believe that such a horrid tragedy had gone on right under his nose for so long. He had blamed himself for not paying more attention to the goings-on of the wealthy in the kingdom.