I'm starting to wonder from some of your reviews, how many of you actually read these author notes of mine. I'm guilty of skipping over them myself when I read other's stories. But now I am starting to feel bad for that. (Sigh) I guess it doesn't really matter, I just wish I could get more of you to subscribe to me at the examiner. That's all I really need right now.

This is probably one of my favorite chapters. I just really like it for some reason. Hope you guys do too!

The Truth About Tragedy

Ch. 17

"The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief - But the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love." - Hilary Stanton Zuni

She found herself looking at the lifeless body of Mamoru once again. Was this their fate? To constantly watch him die for her over and over again? Was fate that cruel? No, she would not be satisfied with that. She refused to believe that she was going to lose him again. A blinding light shone out of nowhere, covering her with warmth. Slowly opening her eyes to the light, she found a small clear crystal shining beautifully in front of her. Just like the sword, it looked beautiful to her. She recognized it as her salvation.

It came to her hands and she whispered her wish to save Mamoru to it. Following her command, it glittered over his body. She felt his warmth slowly return to his body, dropping a small piece of itself into him and melting with his body. His chest began to rise and fall slowly and tears of joy sprung into her eyes. Then she felt a force looming over her. The crystal had begone to dim as Kunzite neared her and soon it was no more than a stone. The sound of her friend's screams could be heard once again, but it didn't matter what this man did now, Mamoru was alive. She felt weak, the power of the crystal had drained her. Everything was growing dark and the last thing she remembered before drifting into unconsciousness was the sound of her friend's voicing and the sneer on Kunzite's face growing closer.

It was very dark, as if the place was completely void of light or any objects. She could feel a hard cool surface beneath her body and cool cuffs on her wrist and ankles. They were tight, making it impossible to move. Her head was pounding and her body felt very weak. She felt the material of her clothes against her skin and could tell it wasn't her fuku or the clothes she had worn to battle. A wave of nausea and weakness washed over her clouding what little sight she had. Suddenly, everything cleared and standing around the table next to her were her Senshi, her friends. Relief flooded her heart.

"Oh thank God! I was starting to get scared. Help me out of these restraints guys."

They each looked at one another with an evil knowing smile. Rei was the first to look back at her.

"No Usagi, I think you should stay here."

"What?!"

Makoto looked at her, "Yeah well you see, you are such an annoyance to our team."

Then Ami, "You really hold us back."

Lastly, Minako, "Yeah so you should just stay here. Your not ever a real Senshi, I'm the leader now. We don't need you."

They all turned and walked away from her.

"What are you guys saying?"

Turning back to her, they all spoke to her together, "We don't want you Usagi!"

"But...your my friends."

They all just laughed evilly as they walked away, leaving her on the table. Tears fell down her cheeks and into her hair as she lowered her head back to the table. They wouldn't do that to her. This must be a trick from the enemy. That had to be it. The cuffs on her wrist and ankles opened, freeing her. She cautiously sat up on the table, rubbing her sore wrist. A small light peeked at her at the other end of the room. She tested the floor with her toe, making sure it actually existed before rushing towards the light.

The light came from a small crack in the door. Pushing it open slowly, she peered around in what was a hallway. It was dimly lit but it was still a large contrast to the room she was just in. Tip toeing, she began to explore her surroundings. The ceilings were very high and the walls were made of some kind of black stone. They held no shimmer or reflection, completely devoid of light.

She stumbled upon a room, looking in she could see that it was filled with mirrors. On further inspection, she realized that all the room held were mirrors. Her reflection was a shock. She was dressed in a dark purple gown that held tight to her body, leaving very little to the imagination. The silk material floated just above the ground showing off the heels that adorned her feet. The neck line of the dress plunged deep into her chest, revealing way more than she was comfortable and the whole dress was held by two straps that were tied behind her neck.

Falling in between her breast on a delicate chain was the silver crystal. Her fingers touched it lovingly, but it no longer held the warmth it once did. Her face flushed at the sight of herself as she felt very exposed. Not to mention that someone else had dressed her as she had been unconscious. She left the room, slipping off the heels to conceal her journey a little better.

The next room she found, to her luck, was an armory. It was filled with swords, shields, and other impressive looking weapons. She grabbed a small sword that she could just barely handle the weight of. Even though it was heavy, she felt much better with something as a weapon in her hands.

She continued to roam her prison, hoping to find an exit. She didn't run across a single person, which she was glad for, but also began to feel very alone and hopeless. She must have been walking around for hours in the silent halls. The sound of wind could be heard in the distance. It was a sound that brought joy to her as she ran towards the sound. Turning a corner, daylight flooded the hall in front of her and she continued to run towards it.

But all hope quickly left her as she stepped through the threshold and out into the world surrounding the prison. It was nothing but snow and ice for miles. The wind howled and blew snow hard across her face. She wouldn't last an hour in that weather. Stepping back inside to the slightly warmer atmosphere, she fell to her knees and cried herself to sleep.

She woke back on the table still unclasped. She didn't know how long she had been asleep but she still felt tired and weak as if sleeping had only drained her more. It was still dark and she felt as if she was in a black hole. A figure in the distance began to approach her. She was sure it was the enemy so she began to fanatically look for her sword or a weapon of any kind but she found nothing. The figure grew closer, it was Tuxedo Kamen! She jumped off the table and threw her arms around him. She thought she felt him stiffen at her embrace but she ignored it.

"Oh Tuxedo Kamen, you have come to save me."

He gripped her hard and pushed her from him.

"What's wrong?"

"You. You are what's wrong."

He backhanded her hard across the face, sending her back against the table. She was in shock. How could he hit her? Tuxedo Kamen soon turned into Endymion in full armor. He drew his sword and pointed it at her.

"You are the reason my family is dead. You bewitched me into loving you and now I have nothing!"

He swung his sword down at her. She fell out of the way as it hit the table with a loud smack. Her hand fell on something metal and looking she found the sword she had picked up in the weapon room. Endymion stood over, preparing to drop his sword into her head. She raised the sword to block his blow. The force of it shocked through her arms and hands in a painful blow but she stopped his sword from meeting its target. He backed away allowing her to get to her feet.

"Endymion, please. I love you. This isn't you!"

"I won't fall for your tricks again whore!"

He thrust at her heart. She was able to block it from it's target but it still sliced through the flesh on her arm. She screamed in pain as her tender flesh was peeled away by his sword. He looked at the blood on his sword, her blood. For a minute, it looked as if he would wake up and realize what he was doing. Then a smile formed on his face he turned to attack her again. She blocked blow after blow as her arm screamed in pain. She was no match for him before he injured her. He knocked her feet out from under her and her sword skidded across the dark invisible floor. Crouching over her, he held his sword at her neck pressing it so hard that it cut the skin. One move and she would slice her own neck open. He sneered at her as he held her in place and examined her face.

"You are beautiful. Or is that part of your illusion?"

Tear streamed down her face and fell into her ears, "Please Endymion. Why are you doing this? I would never hurt you!"

He let out a hollow laugh, "Is that so? What do you call causing the death of all my people?"

"But they were reborn! None of them died in vain!"

"Yes they did. They all died because of you! I should kill you, you bitch!"

She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the blade to finish her when a voice rang out.

"Leave her Endymion. She isn't worth it."

She looked up to see Rei in a gown gently touching Endymion's shoulder. He rose, smiling at each other while she lay helpless on the ground. The other princesses soon joined them and looked down on her as if she were a bug that needed to be smashed.

"Endymion, what are you doing? I thought you loved me?"

"You? I could never love someone as weak as you!"

"Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter. Don't any of you love me?"

Mercury scuffed, "You are the reason we all suffer."

Venus placed a hand on Mercury's shoulder, "If it wasn't for you and your selfishness, we would have lived out a life of peace and happiness. But you only think of herself you pathetic weakling."

They all turned and left her alone in the dark once more. Was it her fault? If she hadn't fallen in love with Endymion, would they have all lived peacefully? If she had never been reborn, they all could have had normal lives.

"It is my fault. I shouldn't be alive."

She had whispered it out to no one but someone answered her.

"No princess, it is not your fault. You are a strong woman. They are just too weak to see the great power you possess."

She could see no body to the voice but it was the first kind words she had heard in what seemed like forever.

"But they all died because of me. I don't deserve to live."

"It is not your fault that they are weak. They died because they couldn't defend themselves. If they were as strong as you then they would have lived. You shouldn't be blamed for their misfortune."

"The misfortune that I brought upon them."

"Perhaps. But if they were truly loyal friends, they wouldn't have blamed you for it."

If they were good friends, then they wouldn't have blamed her would they? After all, she fell in love with Endymion. Was that such a horrible thing? How could he blame her? How could he not love her anymore? Wait, no. They were her good friends. They would never blame her for this because it wasn't her fault. She didn't do anything wrong. Endymion had loved her freely and she loved him.

"Your lying. This is all some kind of trick! Show yourself!"

Laughter filled the endless room and a tall figure appeared before her. Her long red hair fell in waves to her waist. Her dress fit tight to her shapely body and exposed much of her breast.

"Beryl."

"That's Queen Beryl to you Princess Serenity!"

The witch moved closer to her. She reached out and picked her sword up once again.

"You are a strong little one. But I see you still refuse to take blame for what you've done. Even your friends are blinded to the truth of you and you've managed to snare Endymion once again. I guess I have no choice but to force you to be my servant!"

Her skin seemed to catch on fire as dark energy forced it's way into her body. All she could hear over her screams was the cackle that erupted from Beryl's lips.

"I wanted to do this the easy way. Your body is already half way filled with dark energy, a little welcome present from me. I've been giving you doses since you got here. Now just hold still, this won't take too long!"

She felt her heart burst as the dark energy pushed out her pure energy and pulled it back together into one piece. Her brain burned and she could feel her memories being stripped away from her. She tried in vain to hold onto them but whenever her brain touched upon the memory, it burst into flames and shriveled away. The last memory she held was of Mamoru. The one of him kissing her in her Aunt's garden. The smell of his skin, roses and pine. The feeling of her heart racing. The cold wind licking at her flushed cheeks. It was the first time she had ever been kissed. The first time she understood all her feelings towards him. When she realized she was in love with him. Flames licked at the scene and she pushed it deeper into her subconscious before the flames could consume it. Storing it deep away and safe. Sending a small piece of herself to protect it from Beryl's attack. Then all went black.