Ainako: I just realized I'm using Darien's civilian name and not his pre-reincarnated name, Endymion. Fail. Anyhow, this chapter is a bit of a mess. And it had not been proof read yet. Sorry about that.

Just so you know, Alex is Haruka Ten'ou. And yes, I ship Usagi and Haruka together so much more than I ship Usagi with Mamoru.

Serena fanned herself with a silk folding fan, a gift from a traveler years ago, to give herself fresh air to breath aside from the strong smell of a feast laid before her. She can feel the Queen's disapproving look from the corner of her eyes and she made her wrist stop. Raye and the others were nowhere to be seen and they promised to be with her throughout the night. They might be somewhere at the balcony, she guessed. She tried to peer through the sea of guest in the ballroom to see if any of them was there but to no success. Serena sighed. Seeing another friendly faces would have calm her down in this ordeal.

Since the start of the dinner, she had been introduced to many Lords, Dukes and even wealthy merchants. They ranged from the no older than herself or old enough for her to call her grandfather, and their faces ranged just as vastly. Serena didn't like it to judge people from their physical look but she prayed to the Gods she would not end up with an old man with a large wart on his huge nose and a missing front tooth behind a lecherous grin, no matter how many greatships of trade he had in his pockets. One of them smelled too strongly of wine, the Queen had to order the guards to take him out of her sight and he left staggering, still boasting on how his House could bring the monarch great prosper.

"It's a pleasure to finally meeting you in person, Princess Serenity."

Her eyes found a pair of piercing eyes that belonged to a man in a suit as white as the hair on his head, standing in between her Lady Mother's seat and herself. It's not that he is old enough to be having grey hairs but this seems to be something he was born with. For some reason, his eyes made her skin crawl. There's something in his look that made her wary of this man. It made her think of how dangerous he will be. Serena's throat felt as if it was strangled. Those gray irises as if beckoned her to surrender.

"It's a pleasure of mine too, uh…"

Her words came out in a stutter, and the Queen was not pleased from the way she clicked her tongue and corrected her.

"This is the Crown Prince of Black Moon, Prince Dimande. I had told you his name just an hour ago. Forgive my daughter, Your Highness. She's usually very attentive."

"I understand. I was lost with my manners by the beauty of the Princess Serenity, of whom I've only heard of from traveler's tales. She is truly a sight to be admired."

His smiles were supposed to make her smile too but there's nothing in her desire to be smiling back at him. He rested his eyes on straight to hers again and made her lost her grip on the silk fan. She pretended to fuss over her clumsiness as a servant appeared out of the shadow where they loomed to serve and picked it up again. Her Lady Mother gestured the servant away before Serena could take it back from his hand and she was forced to face the Prince. The Prince didn't even have an expression painted on his fair features but she was sure to see a devilish grin on his lip. Something in his stares made her afraid. She almost pushed his hands away when he reached to kiss her fingers.

"You are trembling, my Princess. Is something wrong?"

"I'm just… nervous, Your Highness. Please, would you excuse me, Your Highness?"

Snatching her hand away almost too quickly, she left her seat and curtsied to her Lady Mother. The Queen was clearly unpleased but she nodded in approval. Almost showing relief in her face, Serena hurriedly walked straight to the balcony area and found her friends talking together among themselves there, with drinks in their hand. Usually commoners were not invited to this kind of grand banquet but they were not just maids to the Princess – they are in truth daughters of influential Lords and Ladies in alliance to the crown. In exchange of the Queen's favor, they sent their daughters to the Palace to serve the Daughter Heir as personal servants. When Serena ascend to the throne in the future, they will instantly be raised Ladies of their own Houses and be granted a stretch of land. With still years before Serena can be crowned, they would need to live as only maids and only nights like these they could live the life they were supposed to be. Tonight, they were all laughing and smiling; Serena's felt a flicker of jealousy ignited in her brain.

"How come you got to enjoy the night while I had to meet every man my mother deemed eligible and pretend I will think on choosing them as my husband?"

"If it was me, I'd say your night was more enjoyable than mine. At least you got the men come up to meet you and not the other way around like us."

Raye was looking very beautiful in a very lovely shade of red of a dress, her long dark hair made the contrast even more elegant. She always said she had no interest in men but perhaps the wine had made her tongue go loose on what really played in her mind.

"Yes. And all we had up until now were drunken lesser Lords from somewhere, promising the stars in the sky to be made necklace. Can't people drink their wine responsibly for a change?"

Lita, in deep green, snatched the goblet Raye was holding to her lips and put it aside. A firm look from her hazelnut eyes made her message clear – Raye had too much to drink already, stop before you're drunk like an idiot. Raye made a face but she admitted she had reached her limit.

Serena laughed at the scene. She at least wouldn't be drunk anytime soon. The wine they served to the Queen and the Princess were always watered down considerably. This to ensure they would never go drunk and lost all abilities to think straight if an unexpected were to happen, and night like tonight, with many foreign individuals of power as guests, this was especially important. For a moment she didn't remember how many sips had she had for the night. Not that many, she answered to herself and shrugged the thoughts away.

Mina placed her hand on Serena's waist and pulled her to a corner behind a pillar. Giggling, she pointed towards a crowd of girls – and some would have been a mother of three or more – and a blonde lordling that seemed to be talking to every one of them all at the same time.

"That is the young Lord Alex of Windia. We talked to him before and he was the man of any woman's dream, Serena. He was so charming, even Amy lost all functions of her brain and that's just when we introduced ourselves."

"That is untrue. Mina, I did not-"

"Oh shush, Amy. Admit it. You're as charmed as we all were. I know I did."

Mina laughed and a touch of red appeared on her cheeks. All of them were blushing when they told her of their brief conversation they shared with this lordling. What kind of magic does this young man spun to get all four of her friends this flustered?

"What are you suggesting; I should introduce myself to him? I can't, unless Mother told me to."

"Serena, even if the Queen didn't introduce him to you that doesn't mean you shouldn't get to know him. It only means he's not the one to be taken as a husband. And what fault would you do if you only meant to be acquaintances to him?"

Even Amy nodded to that. Most of the time she's one to disagree with the majority but this time it's almost strangely planned to lead her to a certain achievement. Serena would have voiced her doubt but before she knew it, Mina pushed her towards the crowd of flattering women and left her there. She would have skittered back to them but a warm voice greeted her and stopped her in her tracks.

"A very good evening to you, Your Majesty."

His hands extended to kiss her hand but this time, she didn't have the strongest urge to swat them away like she had with Prince Dimande. Unlike the Prince, this young Lord's smiles and eyes made her feel warm. It almost made an impression that she can trust him with her life. Unlike the cold fear that Prince Dimande radiated on her, this man was like the sun.

"Good evening, uhm.. Lord Alex, is it?"

"Indeed I am Alex of Windia. It's quite a surprise you knew of me, Your Majesty."

"I was told from a certain little bird. Four of them, actually."

Serena eyed the corner where her friends was standing, pretending they were not straining their ears to listen to their conversations. Lord Alex glanced at the same direction too and laughed softly. His blue eyes sparkled so prettily, Serena didn't even realized the crowd he has around him earlier had disappeared.

"Ah, those pretty little birds. I was intending on talking to them a bit longer before, well, another flock of little birds came over and took me away."

Taking a glass of drink from a servant who bears a mark of Royal service that suddenly appeared beside her – she was not supposed to take anything other than these marked servants in a very intricate security measures – she followed the Alex downstairs to the garden. There's only a few already enjoying the night stroll under the moonlight, so they stood beside a great fountain right in the middle of the garden. Serena could see from the corners of her eye a slight movement in the shadows that indicated the presence of her bodyguards. She wasn't supposed to be out in the open without one, as the Queen had decreed. Serena wondered why for such paranoia but no one questioned the Queen; not even the Princess.

"Tell me, Lord Alex, are you here on behalf of your father?"

The man narrowed his eyes for a second and made it disappeared in an instant; Serena almost thought she was imagining it. Without taking a sip of his own drink in his hand, he placed it down on the fountain's wall and gave her a smile. An odd smile, as if he never meant to.

"What if I tell you I'm here to attract your interest to choose me as your husband?"

"That can't be possible. I can only choose from the men my Lady Mother had introduced and none out of it. Besides, my Lady Mother had made it clearly I should only marry a man who has great wealth or influence. Are you such a man, Lord Alex?"

"Windia might be a small stretch of land but we trade horses there and most of the prized breed comes from our stables. I cannot say we are a wealthy family, but we have a stable treasury. As for influences, well… I may not be able to strengthen the Moon House's further than it does but I can promise you one thing if you do choose me, Your Majesty."

"And what is that, Lord Alex?"

"I can promise you that I will love you."

Serena stilled her nervous twitches and turned away from him, throwing her focus to the gentle splashes of the water. Why is her heart racing so intensely, she asked herself. She had never felt this way since the first time she set eyes on Endymion and she thought that was what people called love at first sight. Why is she getting the same flood of emotions on this man? Love. Somehow she felt sick of listening to that word. She wanted nothing to do with it anymore.

Carefully, she lifted her glass and took a sip, taking her time to phrase her words. A stab of pain attacked her brain. Maybe she had a few sips too many, she heard her conscious said but she ignored it. Taking a deep breath, she searched for Lord Alex's eyes. It didn't seem like he was anticipating for a reply, but instead before she could say anything, he added;

"A lot of these men can only promise you the money in their pockets, or the numbers of armed men in their barracks, but they can never promise you a life showered you with love. I can."

"You said it as if it was easy to love anyone as much as it was easy for these men to bury me in their gold. What difference are you seeing yourself compared to them, Lord Alex of Windia?"

Maybe she had raised her voice a bit too high too suddenly, the shadow that lurked a few paces from her jumped and placed himself in between Serena and Alex. The guard ordered the confused Alex to back off a few paces, all the while Alex tried to explained he never intended to upset their Princess, or at least how it sounded like. Serena's head was as if contained in water. The ground underneath spun and she missed her step. The last thing she knew she heard worried voices of her friends calling her name again and again.