Hey all! Sooooo sorry it's taken me so long to update! I have been in the middle of moving and I'm vacation. With my new apartment, I have no internet either so it's a bit difficult for me to update, but I'll get to it whenever I can! Thanks for staying true! Enjoy this next installment! ^_^

Chapter 17: Moon Make-Ups

Serenity looked out the window as they landed on the moon in front of her home, her palace. When she and the rest of the crew felt the jolt of the bottom of the ship making contact with the ground, she stumbled out to the front deck. There, waiting with plenty of guards and generals, was her mother. She felt Endymion walk up behind her and she immediately went running away from him along the balcony toward the ramp that was being placed down on the red carpet. The Queen of the Earth fluttered down to the moon's surface and stopped just inches in front of her mother.

Bowing to her daughter, she said gently, "Hello my fellow queen."

"Mother…" she whispered.

Not being one to control her emotions, Serenity went lunging toward Queen Serenity of the Moon. The two embraced and hugged one another for a while. Even when Endymion had sauntered up behind them, they didn't pull away for about another minute. When they finally did, the younger Serenity wiped away her tears and stepped back. Endymion bowed to the queen and clutched onto his wife's hand, against her will.

"It is a pleasure to see you, Queen Serenity," Endymion smiled.

"I wish I could say the same to you all," she sighed.

With a guiding hand, she led the way inside the glittering Crystal Palace that had been talked about so wonderfully on the planet earth. They walked through the tall, long brightly lit hallways. Although it was night time on planet earth, the moon caught the sunlight more hours in the day. They followed the queen into her private meeting chambers that was placed behind the throne room. She gestured for the young couple to sit down on either side of her as she placed herself at the head of the long table. The large group that had followed the three royals in had dispersed throughout the court, bowing out when only the head lady in waiting was left to curtsy goodbye to her majesty.

"Thank you for having us here," Endymion said. "We have been going through some awfully traumatic events."

"Traumatic? You think losing one son out of the womb is traumatic, your grace?" she retorted with an arched eyebrow.

He was suddenly off kilter in his mind and he tried catching his wife's gaze for some help, but she refused to look at him. Clearing his throat, he replied. "Um … well, yes. It is terrible, don't you think?"

"Yes, to begin with."

"To begin with?" he repeated.

"Go through a child dying within your wife's body and then you can tell me you're experiencing a traumatic event. Do not confuse me; I do believe that losing this offspring is an occurrence that needs proper mourning. However, I have been through eight miscarriages in my lifetime and even had one while we were in the midst of war with Uranus. I hate to be so negative, Endymion, but it will only get worse as time carries on."

He shut his lips tight after she had explained her disposition to him. This was one topic that he couldn't possibly argue with the queen about. He didn't know what it was like to give birth, let alone have the life within you die suddenly. It had to have been a scary experience and one that made some women much stronger than before. Just sitting in her presence, Endymion could see that she was a bold woman not to be reckoned with. She single handedly created universal peace among the planets. They all have their own problems – such as civil war – to deal with.

Clutching onto her daughter's hand, the queen said gently, "My child I am so sorry for your loss. You need to regain your strength and rebuild your character. The connection with a mother and child is terrifyingly strong. This broken bond should only make your relationship with your husband that much tougher, do you not think so?"

"Not when the child was murdered by his mistress," she hissed.

Queen Serenity looked over at Endymion and narrowed her gaze slightly, "Is this true?"

"We're still investigating. Last I heard Lady Catherine escaped the clutches of my general Jadeite and Lady Rei," he explained.

"Demetrius is being held by the scouts for questioning," Serenity told her mother.

"Why?" she asked.

"He was seen with Lady Catherine and Lady Rei had a prediction of the two possibly being in a relationship together," he answered.

"I see," she responded with a solemn tone and matching expression. "Well, I wish to be in complete contact with this issue, please. I don't want a detail left out."

"Yes ma'am," he nodded.

"Mother," Serenity breathed, "would you mind if I go lie down?"

"Oh my darling, please! I'm sorry I didn't offer that to you before. Please do go and rest. Your old chambers are prepared for you and Endymion. I will see you in the morning," she smiled as she slid her knuckles down her daughter's cheek.

The couple stood up in unison and he followed his wife through the hallways to the bedroom. They both got undressed, slipped under the covers, and turned their backs to one another in slumber. Although she had brought him to see what a true queen would look like, Endymion still hadn't seen it fully. He had seen a spark or two, but time there would tell soon enough…

Actually it would tell him sooner rather than later. A few hours into his sleep, he had turned over to instinctively pull Serenity into his arms, but she wasn't there. He opened his grey-blue eyes and looked around the room, thinking that maybe she had pulled back the black out curtains to the balcony in order to get some fresh air. But when he got out of bed and took a look-see, he was mistaken. She wasn't anywhere in the room. Endymion walked out of the chambers and tried to find a servant, but the halls were empty.

"What the hell is this place?" he whispered.

He wasn't used to not having a bunch of people running about, a ward here and there, and especially not having security. He guessed that this is what Serenity meant when she had described her home planet in the beginning. Formalities and high security wasn't a necessity here. After getting dressed in a pair of pants, he started to stroll through the premises. Thanks to the silence in the palace, he was able to hear something off in the distance. He went toward a staircase which brought him to a long and winding balcony that wrapped around the tip of the pointy crystal top of the palace. There was clanging and the sound of metal clashing against one another. He stepped into a nearby room and was surprised as to what he found; Queen Serenity of the Moon versus Queen Serenity of the Earth. The only way that he could tell the difference between the two was that the elder queen was taller, had more maturity in her eyes and was more solid in her movements. She hardly had to move where as her daughter was rather manic in her brandishing.

"Be more fluid, darling," the older queen commented. "I can feel your anger."

"How … am I not … supposed … to be … angry?" she exclaimed through her grunts.

"Your anger should come at the end of the fight and then be transformed into victory," she explained.

"Maybe she needs to fight against her cause of the anger," Endymion said.

The two stopped their sparring and turned around to him. His wife became lazy suddenly in her posture in order to show him that she was still annoyed with him. He walked toward them casually and was handed a sword by his mother in law. He looked over at Serenity while her mother left them alone; knowing exactly what she was doing. The two started to walk around in circles through the gym room. Serenity slowly started to remove her guards; physically and emotionally. Tears were falling from her eyes as she lifted her sword up in front of her chest, trying to block him from her heart. She was still in love with him … she couldn't help it.

"You want to fight the problem and have a victory?" he asked as they continued to circle one another.

"I would rather fight Catherine."

"Well she's not here, so fight me."

He stepped backward and pointed his sword at her chest that was being shielded by her own rather large weapon. He was surprised that she could wield such a thick piece of metal, but then again Serenity wasn't an ordinary woman. She put one foot behind herself in order to position her body correctly and then held her weapon out to him. The two clanked swords and shifted quickly back and forth on their feet. They swiftly moved around the room, alert to not hit one another. However as they started to get into it more and more, Serenity let her cautions go into the wind along with the swipe of her sword when she suddenly cut Endymion's arm. He let out a small shout and backed away from her. She had gotten him pretty deep.

"This is an unfair game," he huffed, his tone completely breathless. "I have only pants and nothing else! You are wearing pants, shoes and a shirt to protect your body!"

Serenity threw her sword through the air nearly hit him again, but he was able to leap back. Her anger was clouding her judgment again. So he decided to take action into his own hands; he started to violently clash his weapon against hers. While she was slightly distracted by his strength, he tried to swipe his foot through her ankles. However, she was a fast fighter and ended up jumping up the moment he did this, causing him to fall backwards in surprise. He rolled away just in enough time to see that Serenity was not joking around; she slashed her sword down onto the ground he had just been laying on seconds ago. Endymion got up and lunged for her, pushing Serenity all the way across the room and up against the wall. She struggled to get him off of her, but his strength was too overpowering. He leaned forward past their crossed swords and kissed her deeply. She did her best to resist him, but once his tongue entered her mouth, she couldn't hold onto her sword any longer. The two of them discarded their weapons and embraced one another. Endymion slithered his hands down her chest and ripped open her thin, flowing blouse. She moaned as he moved his lips down to her neck and led a trail to her breasts and nipples. While he tended to her torso, she untied her pants and dropped them down. He did the same and helped her out of her clothing so that it was easier to lift her leg up against him. He slipped inside her, causing her to shout in ecstasy while she gripped tightly onto his hair. He slammed vigorously into his wife while she groaned in his ear and nibbled on it simultaneously. The two pulled away from the wall and fell down onto the padded ground. Endymion laid back and let Serenity grind against him, on the floor. He gripped tightly onto her hips while she scratched his chest, leaving slight red marks, nearly bleeding. She pulled him upward and they clutched onto one another sitting up. She could feel him tense up and she dove down to his right ear as he finished and warmed her up.

He pulled her away from his ear and clutched onto her face in his hands, "Do you love me?" When she only nodded with her breath heaving her chest up and down he pleaded, "Say it! My love let me hear those words!"

"I love you," she said, her voice quivering and shaking. Tears fell down from her eyes as she also gripped tightly onto his neck. "I wish for my life before this great loss to come back, but I know it will not. Endymion … I love you … I do. I push you away and become angered because you remind me of the life we created between the two of us."

"That's what I thought," he whispered as he cradled her back and forth in his arms. "I have been experiencing the same thing my love. I see you with our son … it reminds me of the pain I've been hiding inside."

Feeling himself soften down below he pulled out, cleaned himself up, and tied his pants back up. Serenity stood up and got dressed back into her clothing. As she slipped into her blouse, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She smiled at her husband and the two of them strolled out of the fighting room and made it back to their chambers in order to shower and dress properly for breakfast with her mother.

Meanwhile on Earth…

Lita cuddled her child as Nephrite paced back and forth in front of her.

"Why do you insist on taking care of him? We have plenty of nannies here," he stated.

"After what happened to the late prince? I think not, my husband," she murmured.

"What is taking them so long with this interrogation?" he exclaimed suddenly.

"Darling, you know how Rei and Jadeite are; they want to be thorough." She looked up at him when she realized that her words weren't comforting him in the slightest bit and sighed, "Would you like me to go down there and see what is going on?"

"No. No, it's alright. I'm just impatient and restless," he said.

Nephrite sat down in a chair beside his wife as she bounced their son on her knee. The small child laughed and giggled loudly which made a smile crack over his father's lips. Lita glanced at him and grinned a bit.

"You haven't beamed like that in a while," she noted. "Are you anxious because your king is out of your reach and contact?"

"Aren't you like this with your queen?" he retorted as he took Zeus into his grasp and got up to make the child feel like he was flying throughout the room.

"My lady is with the great Queen of the Moon. She is in the safest of hands possible," she answered. "I wish I could say the same for ourselves here on this blasted planet."

"Are you scared?" Nephrite asked.

"Of what? War? No … well … yes. I'm not scared for myself so much as I for our son. I do not wish for anything to happen to him," she mused with a far off, distant tone to her voice.

"Neither do I my dear," her husband responded as he knelt down to her level and kissed her gently on the lips.

Their intimate moment was unexpectedly interrupted by their chamber doors slammed open. In stormed Rei, Jadeite, Mina, Kunzite, Ami, and Zoisite. Rei looked mad as hatter and Jadeite … well he looked the same which was stoic and unexpressive. Mina was rather distraught as she breezed right up to Lita with a long letter in her hand. She gave it to the Princess of Jupiter to read while Ami chewed on her nail nervously. The other men in the room didn't understand what was going on.

"She did what?" Lita screamed, jumping into a standing position.

"She conceived on the moon," Rei growled.

"Is she that daft?" she asked.

"Apparently," Mina quipped as she placed a hand on her hip.

"What's going on?" Nephrite asked.

"Queen Serenity has conceived on the moon with King Endymion," Ami answered.

"What's wrong with that?" he continued.

"The powers of the moon work in mysterious ways … especially with those of royal blood and the crescent moon branded on them," Mina answered. "It's not like if she were to conceive here on earth. If she is anything like what I have heard of her mother going through the child bearing process will be three times faster and ten times more painful."

"And this only for the royals?" Kunzite asked.

"Yes," Ami nodded. "She needs to stay on the moon in order to complete the process. If she comes back to Earth before the child is born within the three months that it is expected to form … well, she will most likely experience a miscarriage like that of her mother."

"So that's why Queen Serenity had so many!" Zoisite whispered.

"She traveled too much. She hated the thought of not being apart of the political aspect of her title just because she was performing the personal duties as wife," Lita replied. "She is a very strong and, at times, stubborn woman."

"What does this mean for Endymion? Can he leave?" Kunzite asked.

"If he so chooses. He is free from the grip of the moon," Ami answered.

"But he's not free from the grip of Serenity," Zoisite laughed. "Which, let us be honest, it's pretty much the same thing."

"We'll see. He needs to come back sooner or later. The rebellion is growing stronger and stronger in the east. If we don't take action soon…" Kunzite's voice trailed off and Mina laced her fingers through his for comfort.

"Well we need to get into contact with them soon anyways," Rei said from the darkest corner of the room. "Demetrius has given us some interesting information."

"Oh?" Lita pressed on. "What did he have to say?"

"He said that Lady Catherine accidentally poisoned the child and had no intention of killing him," Jadeite explained. "He also told us that Lady Catherine merely wanted to gain some information on what Endymion was planning on doing with the rebellion. Her brother is the head of it, after all. She isn't that much of a threat or any use to the retaliation against the Golden Kingdom, but we should take caution. If someone like her can so easily infiltrate the palace … just think of all the spies that might be here."

"Jadeite, you think everyone is against you," Zoisite grinned.

"This isn't a matter to be taken lightly," Rei argued.

"But we shouldn't act with such haste!" Ami said.

"Are you defending him, Ami?" she asked with a surprised expression on her face.

"Please, don't start fighting," Mina begged.

"Don't even get me started on you!" Rei snapped. "Marrying a general because you're afraid of being alone? Your parents will have your head!"

"It is of no concern of yours, Rei!" she yelled back.

"You're no better than Lita! At least she had a physical excuse to get married! What's yours?" she fought on.

"Ladies, ladies please!" Kunzite hollered, making everyone stop bickering. "We'll never solve anything unless we go to the moon and discuss this with the King and Queen face to face."

"Who do you expect to go? We can't leave the kingdom unprotected," the Princess of Mars sassed.

"Thank you for volunteering, Rei," Mina smiled. "Please go pack your things. Ami will accompany you."

"What?" the blue haired scout exclaimed.

"You heard me. You will journey to the moon with Lady Rei. Serenity needs someone with a medical background in her midst with the crazy body changes she's bound to go through."

"And what am I? Just a messenger?" Rei asked.

The head scout bit her tongue so that she didn't say anything hurtful to the feisty raven haired girl. She gestured for them to leave the room and go get their things together as soon as possible. They both started to leave in rather angered dispositions, when Rei turned around and asked, "Why is it me and Ami?"

"Because Lita has a child and I'm in charge while the queen is absent," she answered. "Now stop questioning my authority and leave."

Once they were gone, Mina sighed loudly in frustration. It was difficult to deal with such clashing personalities at times.

The moment that Endymion and Serenity were met by Rei and Ami, they understood the intensity of the situation that was developing on earth. The king left the moon at once to tend to his realm and she was practically trapped on the moon. She had her mother at her side for the most part and Ami and Rei were in constant contact with the rest of the scouts on the distant blue orb while their queen went through immense changes. Her mother gave her a small booklet that she had kept when she was going through this process and actually gave birth to her. It had every step that she would encounter, every pain, every bubble of bloating, and even had it down the very week when her bladder would become the size of a quail's egg. It was astonishing to watch from an outsider's point of view and yet almost unbearable from Serenity's standpoint. She was always uncomfortable and even more so at nights when she didn't have her husband's arm wrapped around her blooming belly. His letters every day comforted her constantly though and she often re-read them throughout the day just so she could feel a little bit closer to his presence.

When the time came for her to finally give birth, Endymion had made a special and necessary trip to the moon in order to be at her side while she pushed out a quickly developed child. The moon doctors were more about giving their own high-priest powers that had acquired over the years rather than potions or herbs to the queen. She gladly accepted it, especially after reading in her mother's pregnancy journal that she was immediately calmed upon receiving the energy from these tall, black cloaked men. Even Endymion could feel the healing powers channel through him and his nervousness of his wife dying or the baby not being healthy all washed away.

After sixteen long hours of repeated pushing, cramping, calming, pushing, cramping, and calming down again, Serenity gave way to a healthy baby girl. Five fingers, five toes, two big blue eyes, and golden crescent on her forehead. Endymion kissed his wife's head and got up as the priestly doctors surrounded her completely and worked their healing magic on her. He walked over to the nurse who was cleaning his child up and wrapping her up in a fluffy pink blanket. She handed the baby off to him and he suddenly didn't just see that this was supposedly the end of his reign. This child was the beginning of everything. He knew then staring into her eyes that he had to develop a new policy for her reign to be set in place if she in fact survived past infancy.

When he walked up to Serenity with their child cradled in his arms, he was surprised to see that these doctors knew what they were doing. His wife was sitting upright with a glowing face, completely healed, and looking down-right healthy. No wonder people on the moon – especially royalty – lived for so long.

"What shall we name her?" Endymion asked, sitting beside Serenity and bouncing their gurgling baby.

"Selene?" she suggested. "It's a name taken after the goddess of the moon."

"That only seems right," he smiled, kissing her cheek as he handed of their child into her arms. "Princess Selene."

Because of her fast healing powers that surrounded her on the moon, Serenity and Endymion got down to their physical sexual business a lot faster than expected by anyone … even Rei. She was grumbling to herself angrily as she paced back in forth in front of a fire. Ami was trying to read a book, but was having difficulty since her fellow scout saw it fit to burst out in a rage randomly while conducting her swift movements across the room.

"How could she do this again?" she shrieked.

"It wasn't planned, I'm sure," Ami mumbled as she turned the page.

"She knows what happens here! How foolish of her!"

"Yes, yes, quite foolish."

"Now we'll have to stay here even longer!" she hollered.

Ami looked up from her reading and removed her glasses as she curiously asked, "Why do you care if we're here longer. I thought you couldn't stand it on planet earth."

"I-I can't!"

She closed the book loudly and stood up to her feet in order to approach Rei with a devilish smirk etched on her face, "I don't have to be Mina to know that you're in love."

"What? That's preposterous!"

"Deny it all you want, but it's been obvious from the start," she grinned.

Rei suddenly fell down to her knees, dragging Ami along with her, "I am distraught and confused Ami!"

"W-what is the meaning of this display?" she stammered, completely caught off guard by the sudden emotion that came from her friend. Usually Rei showed only two emotions; snappish and sassy.

"I wish to marry, but I know my brother will have my head for it…"

"Your brother does not control your life any more than you do his," she stated to her. "You are a woman of many means and a princess to boot. You have more independence available to you than most of us in this courtly realm. Who is it you wish to marry?" When Rei didn't answer, but just merely swallowed and looked away, Ami inquired, "Is it Jadeite?" Again, no answer, "It is Jadeite." Sighing she continued, "Well, you should ask for your brother's blessing."

"And if he won't give it to me?" she asked.

"Then you remind the Grand Prince that he himself hasn't married is has a ticking time bomb placed under his ass. You are much closer to marriage – and a good one at that. Is it true that if you marry first, you will become Queen of Mars and he just a mere duke?"

This change of subject suddenly stiffened Rei and brought her back to her stand-offish disposition. She leaned back away from Ami and looked at the fire that was dying down to a slow ember. She hadn't told anyone about that little fact. They all just assumed that she was trying to look out for her elder brother's best interest. He was after all very erratic and couldn't even keep a stable staff of wards and courtiers. Ami however, was the one they all went to when they needed information; it was no surprise that she knew every detail and fact about Rei.

"You can see my dilemma, then?" she replied, her violet eyes matching the blue ones in front of her. "I wish to marry him so badly. I've pushed him away and he keeps coming back much to my own surprise. He won't give up like the rest. I admire that."

"We've all noticed," Ami smiled. "You should go to your brother at once and tell him of your situation. We wouldn't want to loose you in this court all because the Grand Prince still thinks of himself as raging hormonal boy."

The next day the two scouts were called into the Queen's bed chamber. She was dressed and not alone. With her was her mother; the King was nowhere in sight. It had only been a few weeks since conception, but she was already showing, as expected of a family of royalty of the moon.

The women bowed to each queen, "Your majesties."

"Ladies … the war on earth has become overwhelming. The king has left already to tend to matters in person there. The castle has been breeched by a small brigade and they have been fighting for a few days now. Mina and Lita have written to me, just as you, reassuring me that they are not harmed and have been brought to safety. Their husbands have been taken away to war with the rest of the available, strong able men.

"I have discussed it in full detail with my mother. If this rebellion does not subside or die down a little bit in the next week, I will go down to earth to meet with them. They need our powers and our help. I will not sit on the side while my husband is at war. I will battle with him."

"Your majesty, won't that ultimately result in a miscarriage?" Ami asked, her eyes wide with fear and surprise.

"Yes, more than likely. If not, I will have the strongest child in the galaxy. But if it turns out that they should be taken from my womb, so be it. My mother has asked the priestly-physicians to prepare potions for me. I will be fine. Trust me," she soothed. "I have asked that Mina and Lita come stay with us as soon as they can get their hands on a ship. I find that it would be safer for them here. If we end up leaving the moon to go battle, the children will be out of danger and there will be no threat of kidnapping."

"If this is what your majesty wishes, then so it shall be," Rei said. "May I ask for a favor though, your majesty?"

"What is it?"

"I … I wish to go to Mars and speak to my brother, the Grand Prince. He could help us in this great dispute and that way you wouldn't have to venture to earth and put yourself in such danger."

"That sounds like a good idea, Lady Rei," the elder queen said.

"Write to me as soon as you have confirmation of Martian support," Serenity ordered.

Her lady in waiting nodded and bowed out of the room, determined to pack her things up and get to her home planet as soon as possible. Of course she had other ulterior motives to this trip to Mars, but the pregnant queen didn't need to know of that just yet. In the meantime, Serenity and Ami made all of the preparations complete in order to fly to earth on a moment's notice. With this growing war and battle, she had to ready for anything…

Please review! It might be a while until the next update since I don't have internet currently. Up next: The war progresses and Rei goes to Mars to speak to her brother.