AN: Look you guys! I got a chapter written in a timely manner!
I know you are probably getting tired of me endlessly thanking FloraOne, but it's not going to stop anytime soon xD Thank you, Flora, for your encouragement and beta skills even after you've had a 16 hour day 333 this wouldn't be what it is without you!
I hope you all enjoy this penultimate chapter, and please let me know what you think!
oOo
She couldn't recall the last time she'd felt so nervous. Being a princess had prepared her for nearly any situation life could possibly throw at her.
But being summoned by her father-in-law was not one of them.
Serenity hadn't seen Aethlius in a number of days, and since the wedding, any time she'd had the honor of spending in his presence was formal at the very least.
So, when she'd received his summons only minutes ago, dread bubbled up in her.
Had he learned of her troubles with Endymion? Did he know that Endymion was in love with Beryl? Was he, perhaps, going to send her back home to the moon?
Any number of possibilities swirled in her head as she listened to her heels clack on the stone floors. And when she reached the door to the king's meeting chambers, Serenity could feel her hands shaking.
She took a steadying breath before knocking lightly on the door, and held her breath while she waited for an answer.
"Come in," came the muffled reply.
Serenity opened the door quietly, and stepped inside where Aethlius was waiting for her.
He sat in a chair by the fire, his reading spectacles hung low on his nose, as he poured over a thick book. When she entered he closed the book, placing it down on the end table next to him, and smiled warmly at her.
She stepped further into the room, and curtsied low. "Your grace, you wanted to see me?"
Aethlius didn't move from his chair, nor did the smile leave his face, as he chuckled low. "None of that now, dear. We both know if anyone should be bowing in this room, it's me to you."
Serenity blushed and smiled.
"Come. Sit here with me," the king continued, patting the arm of the chair next to him.
Moving swiftly to comply with his demands, Serenity briefly stumbled on her skirts, but righted herself without a flinch. She had become used to her frequent tumbles by now.
Once she was seated, she turned towards Aethlius, already feeling more at ease in his presence.
"Is there something I can do for you, your grace?" she asked, her curiosity still getting the better of her.
"Perhaps it is more of what I can do for you, child," he replied, dark blue eyes twinkling with the light from the fire.
Serenity, raised her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Aethlius reached over, and took her hands into his. "Are you happy, here, Serenity?"
She sucked in a breath at his query. How could she possibly answer a question full of such complexities?
"Well…" she started, turning her eyes away from him, afraid he would see her every thought and feeling reflected there. "I certainly do miss home, from time to time, but it is so very lovely here."
He laughed lightly at her response. "Ever the diplomat, aren't you? Your mother taught you well, my dear."
Serenity blushed furiously, eyes darting nervously back to the king's. "But I truly have had some wonderful times, here!" she protested, only causing him to chuckle harder.
"But that's not the question at hand, now is it?" he said, before his face turned serious. "Are you happy, here, Serenity?"
She found herself unable to look away from him, his eyes capturing hers just like his son's did, and she found it was useless to continue the ruse, for it seemed as if Aethlius already knew the answer.
"No, your grace. I'm not."
Aethlius patted her hand gently, before moving away to sit back in his seat. "And why is that? Is someone in particular causing you trouble?"
A sad smile claimed her lips.
"It seems as if you already know the answer to that, my lord," she said quietly.
He sighed deeply. "My son seems to be rather adept at making a mess of things."
Serenity shook her head, jumping to Endymion's defense instinctually, words spilling out before she could stop them. "Oh, no, it's not Endymion's fault, you see. He was already in love with someone else before we were married, and-"
"Serenity," Aethlius cut her off with a stern tone, as if he were her father, scolding her for speaking out of turn.
But when he spoke again, his voice was kind and his eyes soft. "Whether or not Endymion was in love with another, is immaterial. His duty is to you, and you alone."
It was Serenity's turn to sigh, defeated.
"He has much of his mother in him," he went on, "all passion and love with a stubborn streak that would rival that of any mule."
"He certainly is all of those things," she giggled at the example.
"Does he know?" Aethlius asked quietly.
"W-what?" she breathed, taken aback by the sudden change of subject.
"Does he know that you're in love with him?"
She cast her eyes down, again, a brief silence hanging in the air between them, before she whispered, "No."
Serenity heard the creaking of the chair next to her, as the king stood up. She raised her head in alarm, as it appeared he was going to be taking his leave of her.
But when he reached the door, he paused, turning back to her, as he leaned against the frame. "There is something you should know, Serenity."
Her mouth opened, but her voice refused to speak, while her eyes grew large at the fear that began to spread through her veins.
"Endymion sent Beryl away the instant he found her in his sitting room," he said, the weight of his words crashing into Serenity like a giant boulder. "There was no hesitation in his order, from what I am to understand."
Blood was pounding in her ears, and her breath came up short. "H-how did you…?"
Aethlius smiled warmly at her. "My dear, there is nothing that goes on in this palace that I'm not aware of," he said, winking mischievously. "It's my job, you know."
oOo
Endymion had tried to keep Serenity out of his mind. Really, he had. But his wife had a way of creeping into his thoughts no matter where or what he did.
His favorite places and pastimes were now haunted with his wife. The gardens, the kitchens, the stables. Even his bedroom only served as a reminder of her. A reminder that she didn't want him.
And logically he knew that Kunzite wasn't really at fault for the state of his and Serenity's relationship. But when the general had him sulking in the atrium that morning, berading the prince about how he hadn't shown his face at the breakfast meeting they'd had scheduled, it was all too convenient.
"I'm warning you, Kunzite," he snarled, trying to walk away from his friend, but Kunzite persisted.
"Warning me of what? Your ridiculous attitude?" Kunzite countered, matching Endymion's pace, step for step.
Endymion stopped dead in his tracks. "My ridiculous attitude? My ridiculous attitude?!"
Kunzite stopped, as well, turning back towards his prince, annoyance and frustration lacing every word. "I don't believe there was any mistaking what I said."
"You've got some fucking nerve, you know that, Kunzite? Coming here, acting like I owe you the world, when you know good and well just how much damage you've done to my life," he sneered, unable to hold back the jealousy that had been coursing through his blood since he'd seen his wife with his general a few days prior.
"What the hell are you talking about, Endymion?"
"I saw you with her."
Kunzite's brow creased as if his head were hurting. "You saw me with whom?"
Endymion laughed derisively. "As if there's any other woman I would be referring to."
The general glared. "Well, from the way you treat your wife, I'm almost certain you couldn't be talking about her."
If there was a line, both men had apparently agreed to cross it.
Endymion smiled sardonically, as ice creeped into his veins. "And to think I considered you my brother."
Before Kunzite could react, the sound of applause filled the large, open space they occupied. Their heads flew towards a low wall, where both had missed the presence of Venus.
She hopped down from her vantage point in one, fluid movement. "Oh, please, don't let me stop you. It's been very entertaining."
Kunzite smirked at her, but Endymion continued to snarl. "You have no business here, Venus."
She smiled, but the gesture didn't quite reach her eyes, and Endymion couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine. "Like hell I don't."
Endymion sighed exasperatedly, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "Listen, Venus-"
"No," she said, almost as if she were commanding him. "It's time for you to listen, prince."
Venus walked up to him, and though she was at least a head shorter, Endymion felt like a mouse that had been cornered by a cat.
"Do you have any idea just how much damage you've done?" she accused, blue eyes piercing through him.
And though the slight but fierce woman frightened him, it wasn't in his nature to back down. "What damage I've done? Damage to whom?!"
She raised an almost amused eyebrow at him. "Are you honestly that dense, Endymion? And to think I believed you were actually capable of intelligence."
"Venus-" he growled threateningly.
She held up her hand to silence him, as if she were his superior, as if she were allowed to speak over him. "Uh uh. It's your turn to listen, remember?"
Endymion glared at her, crossing his arms, but remaining silent.
"You stand there, accusing your general, your friend of having, 'some nerve,' but you…" she broke off, shaking her head, and moving her eyes up and down his form. "...you, Endymion, have more nerve than any idiot I've ever met."
He rolled his eyes, not even bothering to hide his distaste for the woman in front of him.
"From day one, you treated Serenity as if she weren't worthy of your time. As if she were some nuisance you had to tolerate."
"I apologized for-"
"Did you, Endymion? Did you really?"
Endymion looked down at his feet, which Venus apparently took as a concession.
"Just one, short month ago, you told her you loved someone else. That, I guess, I can forgive, since it was through no fault of your own, but she never deserved your behavior."
A defeated sigh left him. "I know she didn't."
"And then, by some miracle, you start to act like a human being. Which caused Serenity to fall for you, because of course she did! I'm not sure if you'd noticed or not, since you're so busy being wrapped up in yourself, but you happen to be married to one of the most kind and good creatures I've ever met."
He was suddenly confused at Venus' words. "What? Serenity didn't fall for me-"
But the senshi kept going, her list of accusations only seeming to grow as her speech went on. "But by the time I'd realized what was going on, it was too late. She was already in love with you."
"She was in love-"
"Not only that, but she wanted you to be happy. So much so that she went and brought your former lover back to be your fucking mistress." Venus shook her head, almost as if she was having a hard time believing what she was saying.
"She loves you so much, she brought your lover back to be your fucking mistress. And what did you do to repay her?! You reverted back to being a two year old, because of course you did! That's who you really are, it would seem.
"You don't deserve to even kiss the ground she walks on, you stupid, idiot boy."
Endymion was frozen, not even his eyes blinked, and his vision swam because of it.
"How the hell you manage to live with yourself, I'll never know. You treated the most precious thing that ever walked into your life as if she were completely expendable. Does it feel good, Endymion? Does it feel good to know you treated someone who loves you like that? You're despicable."
She leveled Endymion with one last, terrorizing glare, before she flipped her hair over her shoulder, and stormed away from them, the sound of her shoes on the floor echoing after her.
Endymion still hadn't moved, unable to process the myriad of feelings Venus had left in her wake.
The silence around him was deafening, and when Kunzite cleared his throat awkwardly, the prince jumped, startled from the sound.
His eyes flew to Kunzite's, an unmistakable urge growing in him. "I…" he started, eyes wide, "I have to go."
And he turned, running, his feet taking him in the direction of his gardens.
AN: Tune in next time for the not so stunning conclusion of O&D!
