A/N: Sorry it took so long. As for the Halloween fic, I think it would be better to release it next year, so I would have it edited. It's taking a while, and I was busy trying out NaNoWriMo, which is a lot more fun than it seemed at first! I really have something pushing me to finish this one story. As for Elf Dawned, it will take me a long time to update, so just bare with me. Too many exams coming up, and I do need to rest sometimes. Meanwhile, ejoy what I can give!
BY THE WAY!: Just a thanks to unlockurdestiny for pointing out that it's ELF DAWNED BOOK 2, not 1 on the bottom there. :p My bad... So I'll fix the other two chapters eventually. :p Just bear with me until I do. ^^ Sometimes the copy/paste method does have its drawbacks! :p
Disclaimer: All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation.
Summery: She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning.
Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance...
Chapter 3:
Endymion led me through various halls, up some stairs, and into a cozy little room with a fireplace. It was dark, and the fire that glowed in the hearth fell onto the rug and walls, giving it a sort of homey feel.
"You got her!"
I turned to look at the group that was sprawled out to the side of the room. A raven-haired girl sat in a big fluffy chair, hugging her legs. A blue-haired girl and a blond girl sat on the couch. A brunette with a pony tail sat on the rug, her legs crossed, and two guys sat near the fire, one of which was Andrew and the other one with silver hair.
Andrew was the one who had spoken.
I narrowed my eyes at him, eyeing him distrustfully, but didn't say anything. Endymion put a hand on the small of my back, something I would realize later he did a lot of, and led me to the girls.
The blond girl stood up first, and, just like seeing Endymion, I felt that strange wave of deja-vu looking at her, and everyone else in this room. "I'm Mina! Oh, it's so good to see you again!" she grabbed me and enveloped me in a tight hug.
The raven haired girl clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "We're all happy to see her, Mins. But let the girl breathe! I thought we agreed we wouldn't freak on her." She paused, but then smiled at me. "I'm Ray, by the way."
Mina stopped choking me and led me to the couch, setting me down. "That's Amy," she pointed at the blue-haired girl. "That," pointing at the brunette, "is Lita. And This..." she pointed to the silver-haired man sitting next to Andrew, "is Kunzite, my boyfriend. Later you will meet Zoisite, who is all Amy's, and Jadeite, who is all Ray's, and, of course, we can't forget Nephrite, who's all Lita's."
"What about me?"
I looked around, searching for the chiming voice that spoke. Then I stared at Mina, who seemed to be looking at her shoulder. Then, out of her hair, a blue figure that looked like it was made of ice stepped onto her shoulder and smiled broadly at me. "Serena!"
I frowned and cocked my head. "Hey, I remember-"
"I'm Frost!" she continued, not seeming to have noticed my confusion. She clapped her hands; making a sort of clink, clink noise that a glass piece makes when hit lightly against another glass piece.
I nodded, not sure what else to say. Frost, who seemed to not really care for the fact that it had gotten awkward in here, held her hands out to me. When I held out my hand to her awkwardly, she jumped on and hugged my finger. "I missed you, Serena!"
I nodded.
"Guess what?"
"What?" I asked, amused. Even though I had just met her, I knew then that I would like her.
"I'm gonna be three in a couple of months!"
"That's great! But... what are you..?"
"I am Frost."
I laughed.
Endymion came over and crouched in front of me. "She is my creation. Sort of like a glass figurine, but more ice than glass. She doesn't melt here in Elf City, and stays together like glass. She can live long, but if you take her out to the human world, she will begin to melt unless kept at frigid temperatures. Loud noise can kill her kind, but Frost seems to be immune to that fact as she is loud naturally. She eats ice and," he paused, smiling up at me, "she's yours."
I gasped my eyes wide. "Mine? What?"
"I... uh... made her for you when we first met. You two were quite close."
On the way through the castle, Endymion had explained to me what Elf City was, who lived here, the rules, and meekly mentioned that I might want to stay away from most of the commoners if I knew what was good for me. I found it all odd, but, in some ways, I was also fascinated. I mean – what are the chances of something like elves existing, right?
Frost stared at me with her blank blue eyes. "You still dont remember me?"
I shook my head at her. "I dreamt of you once, I think, but mostly no."
She shrugged her shoulders. "Ah well. I'll finally be moving back in with you anyway so we'll have lots of time to catch up!"
Mina harrumphed.
I assumed that she had been living with Mina as a substitute before I came along again.
"Ah, not so fast, Frost," Endymion said. "Serenity will need some time to adjust. You'll have to stay with Mina a little longer."
"I don't mind, actually," I said quietly, figuring that Frost would be easier to handle than the rest of them.
Mina harrumphed again.
Endymion put his hand on my knee, drawing circles with his thumb. I shied away from him, ignoring the warm feeling I got. I couldn't trust him – I wouldn't! "Yes, I know. But I was hoping that... perhaps you would like to get to know me again before that?"
Everyone in the room groaned.
"Endymion, you were the one who told us not to make such a big deal about her, and to let her adjust first," Amy reminded him strictly.
"Yeah," Ray intervened. "I wanted to take her fortune!"
"And I wanted to take her shopping!" Mina put in.
"I wanted to let her try some of my new cakes!" Lita exclaimed, nodding her head proudly.
"And I wanted to get on her good side again. Us humans have to stick together," Andrew called from the fireplace. "Besides, it's your fault for sending me there, knowing I'd mess up before I even started the mission..."
Endymion grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. You're all right. That was inconsiderate of me. Frost, if it's alright with Serenity, you can move in with her."
"Aw, come on!" Mina exclaimed. "I feed you, clothe you, and basically raise you, and you leave me for her?" Mina shook her head, "Traitor." But she was smiling, so I was glad that she wasn't taking offense.
"I love you Mina, but I love Serena too! Besides, you snore at night."
"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say."
I laughed. Truly, I was beginning to like both Mina and Frost.
Endymion cleared his throat. "Uh, Serenity? I may not have mentioned this to you but... I kind of made a mistake earlier when we first met. And, by all means, you have every right to hate me..."
"Hate you?" I asked, frowning. "Why would I hate you? I don't trust you, yes, but I do not yet hate you."
He shrugged. "I just did a terrible thing. Of course, I was influenced... but even that isn't a good enough excuse."
"What, exactly, did you do?"
"I... uh... Remember how I told you that some elves might hate you?"
I nodded.
"Well, that's because they were told to... by me... and then I tried to, uh-"
"Serenity's back! Why didn't anyone tell me?"
I looked over my shoulder at a brown-haired man who stood in the doorway, dressed like Kunzite.
Mina spoke up beside me, "Hey Nephrite. She just got back."
He nodded, but didn't seem to be interested beyond that point. He sauntered over to Kunzite and said something to him in low tones. Then he, Kunzite, and Andrew got up and left the room. But before Andrew left, he turned to me and said, "We definitely must meet up and hang out. I promise you, you'll like me. I won't say any more nonesense. Scout's honour!" he put a hand to his heart and the other hand up in mid-air.
I raised my eyebrow as I watched them leave.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Ray said, sitting up. "The Queen wanted to meet with Serenity."
Endymion, still looking kind of miserable, got up and nodded at Ray. "I'll tell you later, Serenity. Right now, how about you come meet my mother? I think you'll like her."
He offered me his arm again, and I took it, giving Frost back to Mina. Frost pouted, crossing her arms and stomping her foot for emphasis. "I'll be back later," I said to her.
Endymion led me down the hall and around a corner. Now that things had actually began to process in my head, even though I still found it impossible, I was able to notice that the walls had the most beautiful designs.
The tops of the high walls had colorful circles that led you up and down the hall, swirling mesmerizingly. The walls also had words written on them. Sometimes they were just posters. I found this odd, because – well, think about it. You never saw the Beast's castle adorned with posters. Or Cinderella's.
One poster stood out most to me. Mostly because they sounded exactly like the words my aunt sang to me this morning while brushing my hair, if not a little different.
Once upon a time,
There were two soul mates that could never be apart.
And oh so far away
There was a prophesy that would never be fulfilled.
The prophesy…
One that said 'Hardship'; one that said 'Agony'
But they ignored it
Because they knew...
Knew they were always meant to be
I opened my mouth, pointing at the poster. "What is that? I thought-"
Endymion put his hands on my shoulders and led me into a big room. "Someday I will tell you about what those words mean, Serenity."
"But I wrote them!"
"Yes, you did."
"But-"
He put a finger to his lips, ending the conversation. Then, he stirred me towards a striking woman sitting on a throne. "That is my mother. Queen Terra."
The Queen, although petite, seemed taller than she was because of an air of authority she seemed to have. Her hair was ebony, like Endymion's, but also... different; with a tinge of blue. Her ears were just like Andrews, but more... soft looking. She had a cat-like elegance that Endymion had, and a soft, relaxed posture that didn't scare you away. Her eyes were a remarkably green shade.
I looked at Endymion, for the first time noticing his ears. Just like the Queen's. I reached out, caressing his right ear with my pointer finger and thumb. His point curled lightly, adding an accent to his strong jawline.
He grinned. "That tickles."
I laughed, remembering how Andrew had told me it tickled him, too.
"Serenity, welcome back, it is as refreshing as always to see you again."
I turned back to the Queen, smiling up at her, and curtseyed. She grinned, ammused. To sum up my expectations of Endymion's mother: she was nothing like I thought she would be.
But, also, not at all surprising that she wasn't.
"Where's dad?" Endymion asked, letting go of my shoulders and stepping forward.
The Queen regarded me, looking weary. "He's at a meeting trying to settle the treaty between her world and ours."
Endymion nodded.
"Serenity," the Queen said, turning her attention back to me. "I see my son has been very unhospitable to you. I presume that you are hungry? Tired? Maybe you wish to get cleaned up?"
Of all things, Endymion blushed.
But now that I was thinking about it, I was kind of hungry. Not tired, more excited, if that makes any sense. And the twigs I had noticed in my hair were bothering me. I didn't know what the rest of me looked like, but I could guess it wasn't pretty.
"Yes, your highness."
She grinned at me, and then turned to her son. "Endymion, take her to her old rooms. Have the maids prepare a bath and... For goodness' sakes, take care of her hair."
Endymion nodded, looking like he had just gotten spanked. He guided me out of the throne room and down another hallway, up some more steps, and around a corner. In the middle of the very small hall were two large doors. The doors looked like a dragon face poking out from the darkness.
"That," he pointed to the dragon face, "is my room. You may come to me whenever you feel like you want to chat. This," he led me to a simple-doored room to the left of his, right next door, "is your room. Mia will draw your bath for you."
He signaled to a maid rushing past with his hands, and she nodded and left in a hurry, then seconds later came back and entered the room, expertly navigating through it to the adjoining bathroom.
The room was simple enough. There was a large bed on one side, a closet directly across from it. A nightstand stood off to the right of the bed. Next to the closet was a desk with a hair brush, tall mirror, hair pins, hair scrunchies, perfumes, and so on, partnered with a chair. The walls were a simple white tone.
"Here, come sit here and I'll take some of the twigs out of your hair." Endymion set me down on the chair and began to brush my hair, gently removing one of the thousands of twigs embedded in my locks. I relaxed against the back of the chair, letting him run his fingers through my hair. If there was one thing that I loved beyond anything else, was when people brushed my hair. Right then, it didn't matter that I had been kidnapped.
"So," I said, "who is 'he' exactly?"
He furred his brow. "He? What do you mean?"
"You know. That guy who's after me?"
Realization dawned on his face, but he didn't say anything for a long time. Then, finally, he spoke in hushed tones, "We aren't sure, Serenity. We've been trying to figure out all we can about him. His name, we don't know for sure. But we know what to expect when we see him. There were a few victoms who escaped his grasp. They say they didn't see him, but when he came close, he smelt of blood. And something else."
"How do you know it's him?"
"We don't. We're just guessing, because so far that's all we have to work with."
"After a year?"
"Serenity, if I told you to find a guy named George, or else you'd die in a week, and then left, where would you start looking?"
I blanked. "Uh... can you be more specific?"
"Exactly! There are millions, maybe billions, of people who could qualify! It's the same for this guy. We're doing the best we can, but we don't have much to work with."
I nodded. He brushed my hair for a few more minutes, and then set the brush down. "I did all I can. If you need help washing your hair, you can call any maid you see and ask."
I got up and thanked him, just as Mia left the bathroom and scurried down the hall after curtseying to Endymion.
"You need help with your dress?" he asked.
I raised an eyebrow, startled. "What?"
"I seem to remember your aunt had a way with bows… and chose very stiff zippers."
I grinned. It was true, and even though I don't remember him or even having told him about the zippers, it felt kind of good to know that he remembered. And even though it was weird (I mean, come on, some guy comes along and knows the little things about your life that most people don't? Creepy...) it still felt kind of like he had listened.
"Sure. You could just get the zipper. There's no bow on this dress."
"Thank the Elfen Queen," he murmured, pulling me to his chest. I put my hands to his chest, like I had been in his arms before, and felt his muscles ripple as he struggled with the zipper. My heart sped up at the thought, making me mad. I didn't even know him, and he had kidnapped me! I couldn't – no, wouldn't - feel anything for him. But even so, I felt like this had all somehow happened, his warm arms holding me like this, that feeling of deja-vu again, but I had been getting that a lot today.
He pulled at the zipper, struggling with it, and I laughed at the sheer foolishness of it. "Oh, you think this is funny, eh?"
"Yes, I do," I replied. "I never expected an elf, much less a prince, to struggle with one of my aunt's obsessions." It felt weird, knowing that this boy holding me was actually an elf. And a prince. I mean, come on... this was kind of impossible, if you thought about it, but maybe if I woke up tomorrow I'd find that this was all a dream, so I might as well go along with it, right?
Eh, who am I kidding? It was still odd.
"Well, then you're one lucky girl," he murmured, finally tugging it down enough so I could wiggle out of it.
"Thank-you. Now shoo. Let me enjoy my bath."
He grinned. "No matter how many times we meet, it will always go like this, won't it?"
"What do you mean?"
He shook his head, as if to clear it, then smiled. "Never mind."
I pushed him out and he laughed, but obeyed.
Before he left, though, he said to me, "Let's hope not all history repeats, Serenity."
When I finally shut the door and got into my bath, I could feel the day's events sagging against my shoulders.
Happy birthday to me.
TBC
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think! ^_^