Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Against All Odds ❯ Chapter Thirteen ( Chapter 14 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Against All Odds

A Sailormoon Fanfiction
by dejanatalis@aol.com

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Thirteen

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


It was a beautiful afternoon on Earth. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and a gentle wind prevented the air from becoming too hot. The weather was perfect and the residents of the Golden City were taking full advantage of it. The business district was teeming with people of all classes going about their daily affairs, from the richly-dressed lord with his entourage to the child in ragged breeches with his mother's pennies. Parcel-laden figures bustled in and out of shops, and the air was filled with hagglers' arguments and peddlers' shouts. In these few streets, the entire city was alive. Everyone was far too busy to notice the cloaked shape wandering anxiously through the throng.

If ever Princess Serenity doubted the depth of her love for Endymion, she had her proof now. She had to be insane with devotion to go wandering the surface of the Earth alone. The rain cloak effectively concealed her identity, but it also erased any power or respect that identity might have commanded. Out here, she was nothing and nobody, and all the strength of her mother's crown could not protect the Princess if the Earth-children decided to make her a target.

Blue eyes darted from side to side constantly as the Moon Princess dodged carts and tried to keep out of the way of the small groups of people that were milling about. She wished she could see in all directions at once. Everyone knew the Earth was a chaotic place, filled with the lawless and unruly; at any time the Lunarian might be robbed, abducted, or even murdered -

Someone bumped into her.

Serenity recoiled, wrapping the cloak securely around herself and widening her stance. When the man attacked, he would not find her defenseless -

"Do excuse me, miss," the Earth-child said with an apologetic smile. Readjusting the bundles on his shoulders, he touched his hat respectfully and continued on his way without a second glance.

Princess Serenity was so taken aback that she froze for a moment, all the traffic on the street flowing around her as if she posed no obstacle. Such politeness from a man who had likely never set foot on a civilized world? It was unheard of! How could a courteous person survive on a savage planet such as this?

"Are you all right, miss?"

A young woman had stopped and was looking at Serenity with what seemed to be genuine concern. The Moon Princess shook herself; it would not do to let anyone look at her closely enough to notice her pale skin. Mumbling an apology, Serenity hurried off down the street.

Again, such unexpected kindness from an Earth-born stranger. This world was turning out to be quite different from the picture painted by Lunarian rumors. The streets were dirty and narrow, but the shops and homes Princess Serenity passed were clean and well-maintained. People grumbled beneath the weight of their belongings, but they were not rude or cruel to one another. There was quite a crowd, but it was not a mob. All in all, it was not so different from the Lower Quarter of her mother's city.

There were some differences. As the Princess made her way out of the marketplace, she began to notice the figures in the shadows. There were adults, children, old men, people of all walks of life dressed in rags and dirty from head to toe. They slept in doorways and huddled in alleys. Many of them coughed, or shivered from fever, or had bandages wrapped around their limbs. Serenity's heart ached to look at them.

So this was what poverty was. Could the rulers of the Golden Kingdom not provide for their subjects? Where were the medicines, the staple foods, the shelters? Was this the fate that befell a world shunned from the Silver Alliance? The Moon Princess nearly wept as she passed a small girl with a metal cup begging for coins and wished she had something of value to give her. Was this child not as deserving of the generosity of the Alliance as any other citizen of the Solar System?

The planned treaty with the Moon Kingdom could change all this, Serenity knew. The very treaty whose existence she was risking to satisfy her own selfish desires. She knew she should turn back, but her feet kept moving, her legs kept carrying her further and further away from the palace. The Princess had done so much to be here; she couldn't leave without completing her mission, no matter what the consequences.

With difficulty, Serenity put the plight of the Golden Kingdom out of her mind and refocused her thoughts on the task at hand. Every minute that passed was a minute in which the soldiers might be searching for her. How was she to find her beloved stable hand in this massive city?

As one unfamiliar face after another passed the Princess by, her goal seemed more and more hopeless. She had been truly foolish to seek Endymion blindly on an alien world. If it were not for the massive height of the palace looming over the city, the Moon Princess would have already been completely lost.

Wandering from one street to another in futile hope bordering on despair, Serenity's eyes fell on a signpost at a crossroads. Her eyes scanned the first several labeled arrows blankly; there were so many unfamiliar places, none of which gave her any clue to where Endymion might be. She knew it was pointless to expect a sign to direct her to an individual, but the Princess was beginning to feel the tears brewing in her stomach. She knew if she gave up hope, even for a moment, she would be overcome by grief.

Toward the bottom of the signpost Serenity's eyes caught a word that at least was familiar. A green sign pointed the way to the Central Gardens. After wandering the crowded streets for what seemed like a lifetime, the thought of being once again surrounded by flowers and trees was comforting. Besides, Endymion had always loved the gardens on the Moon...

Attempting to quash the seed of surely foolish hope that was sprouting within her, Princess Serenity drew herself together and hurried off down the street that the arrow indicated. Unfortunately, the gardens lay in the direction of the palace, but at this point it was a risk she was willing to take. If she did not find Endymion soon, she would have to return to her escorts anyway. Sailor Venus could not maintain the deception forever.

The route to the gardens seemed endless. Serenity rushed down the street as rapidly as she dared, the importance of not drawing attention to herself barely preventing her from breaking into a run. Dodging knots of people, she hurried past dozens of buildings and nearly identical streets, crossing block after block of alien shops and homes and faces. All the while, the palace loomed ever closer and the fear of discovery grew ever more insistent. Was it possible that the Central Gardens were actually on the palace grounds? Would the Princess have to abandon her search without finding her beloved? Would all she had done to secure a visit to Earth be in vain?

Finally, as she pushed her way through a small crowd, the first relief the Princess had felt in what seemed like years rolled through her like a wave. She had come to the edge of a courtyard and just across it stood a tall arch of stone that outlined an opening in a large hedge. A sign beside the gateway proclaimed this the entrance to the Central Gardens.

The palace was quite close now. Although the hedge border extended quite a distance to Serenity's left, large manors that obviously belonged to lords and ladies surrounded the gardens on all other sides. In such an area, one mistake could mean discovery. The Moon Princess wrapped the gardener's cloak securely around herself before crossing the courtyard and passing through the arch.

Although she was so nervous that her pulse was racing in her ears, Princess Serenity could not help but pause a moment to admire this paradise hidden in the center of the Golden City. This was clearly a public space, as it was the most open garden the Moon Princess had ever seen, with avenues wide enough for a dozen people to walk side by side.

Flowers and hedges were not the only beauty of this garden. Tall trees towered overhead at intervals and sculptures had been placed at strategic points. Pillars, archways, and decorative walls divided the garden into sections. From the entrance, a clear avenue ran straight from the courtyard outside to a great sweeping staircase and carriage circle at the far end of the garden - the main gate of the Earth Palace itself.

It was quite a distance away, but Princess Serenity gasped and hurried to her left to duck into the nearest enclosed space. Once there was a solid stone wall between her and the palace, she allowed herself pause to catch her breath. The Lunarian was disguised, but there had been guards standing at attention on those distant steps; if an alarm had been raised they might be on the lookout for suspicious figures.

It was quite a long moment before Serenity stopped shaking. Her quest had led her right back to where she had started! The Central Gardens had seemed a likely place to search, but they were in the most high-class area of the city, in the very shadow of the palace. Even on his home planet, her beloved Endymion was no nobleman. Would he even be permitted in this place?

As if in answer to her question, a trio of small children in shabby clothing ran past the disguised Princess, laughing and calling out excitedly to one another. An exhausted woman in a worn and patched dress staggered after them, looking as if she had been on the chase for quite some time. A moment later, a richly-dressed nobleman and his lady paraded by at a more serene pace, surrounded by their retinue and looking just as happy as the children.

As the Moon Princess looked around, she saw representatives of every class and caste, sharing the gardens in apparent harmony - although they were careful not to cross paths with one another. Serenity smiled despite her unease. In some ways, the Golden Kingdom was more advanced than the proud civilization that orbited its world. This was a place where anyone could fit in, even a princess from the Moon.

More relaxed now, Serenity began to aimlessly wander the gardens, as much enjoying her surroundings as looking for a certain familiar face. She was so absorbed in the lovely feeling of being one anonymous person among many that when her gaze found that face, it almost passed on by without recognizing him. When her brain caught up with her heart's excited leap, she found herself pressed against a wall fighting tears.

It was him.

Princess Serenity forgot to breathe as her eyes devoured the sight of the tanned dark-haired man, her gaze roaming his body from head to toe. He was standing beneath a tall arch supported by two elegant pillars, and deep shadows cloaked his face, but Serenity would have known it was Endymion even if it had been midnight. He was gazing blankly past a pair of decorative urns atop a nearby pedestal, his short hair dancing in the breeze.

The mere sight of him was enough to weaken Serenity's knees, and she leaned against the wall and gasped for breath. Endymion seemed different, somehow. He was as strikingly handsome as ever to the eyes of the Moon Princess, but he seemed bigger, stronger, nearly glowing with restrained energy. Had they been separated so long that Serenity's memories of her beloved no longer did him justice?

For several minutes, she stood there staring, the sheer joy of seeing her long-lost stable hand enough to sate her longing for the moment. He was all right; he was healthy, he was whole, he was safe. Beneath the flood of relief a familiar fire was rising within Serenity's stomach, the smoldering spark of her love reignited into a fresh inferno of desire.

At the same time, a dreadful hesitation was stealing into her mind. Since Endymion was taken from her, Princess Serenity had thought of nothing else but her longing to be with him again, but what if he did not feel the same way? She remembered now his expression as she willingly left him. What if he could not forgive her, or had even moved on? Was it right to burst into his life again, after he had already endured so much? Beyond that, there was duty to consider. If she went to him now, would she be able to let him go? Would it be like that last night on the Moon, when his presence flooded out all rational thought? Sailor Venus was waiting for her... Two kingdoms were counting on her...

Could she even consider leaving without speaking to him, now that she had found him?

The growing ache deep within Princess Serenity answered that question for her before she had even finished forming the thought. Before she could dwell any further on her doubts, her body was leaning forward, her legs were leaping ahead, her arms were reaching out. Tears slipped from her bright blue eyes as she crossed the distance separating them at a run, all concern for her disguise set aside, the rough cloak flying behind her and her dress flashing white in the sunshine. Without a word, she flung her arms around Endymion's neck and pressed her lips against his.

The startled man started to pull back, but the warmth of the young woman against him and the taste of her kiss were more familiar than any face or voice. His arms wrapped around her and he surrendered to her passion.

The Moon Princess was in ecstasy. She was in Endymion's arms again, enfolded in his strength and his scent, wrapped in her own private rose garden with the heat of his lips against hers. Serenity's entire body tingled with the rush of their reunion, her veins pulsing with a heat she had feared she would never feel again. The color and light rushed back into her life and she felt alive again, the clouds of loneliness rolling away and the sunshine bursting through. She wanted it to last forever, but Endymion broke the kiss to gaze at her in ravenous disbelief.

"Sere."

The husky wonder in his voice coupled with the sound of her cherished nickname sent an electric chill through Princess Serenity, and she pulled the Earth-child back down to her before he could utter another word. This time, her lips parted and her tongue pressed against her beloved's mouth until it opened to admit her. She dived into him, consuming the familiar longed-for taste of him, refusing to let go until she had filled the gaping hole that had opened within her in his absence. Endymion's arms tightened around Serenity's waist and he returned her eagerness with equal abandon, moaning against her as he sated his own desperate hunger.

Several giggling and cooing admirers passed by at a respectful distance before the reunited lovers had drank enough of one another to part. Their lips separated, but they did not release their hold on each other, both lovers clinging to one another as if they were illusions that might vanish at any moment. Faces a mere finger-length apart, they gazed into each other's eyes for the first time in what seemed an eternity, blue meeting black in a storm of emotion no words could express.

"Sere," Endymion said again, his voice trembling in disbelief as he hurriedly pulled the fallen hood of her cloak back up over her telltale colorless hair. "What are you... How did you..."

The Princess giggled despite herself, amused to have once again caught her lover off his guard. She ran her fingers through his short black hair, which at that moment seemed softer than the finest silk.

"I have my ways," she teased gently. "I have told you many times, there is much you do not know about me."

The Earth man clearly wanted answers, but Serenity had no desire to spoil the pleasure of this meeting by making him as nervous as she was - although, now that they were together, the Moon Princess' fear had all but evaporated. When Endymion did not press the point, she knew he felt the same way. They were reunited; that was all that mattered. Serenity's very soul was filled with the joy of Endymion's presence, and it was difficult now to remember the agony of their separation.

The smile faded from Princess Serenity's face as she recalled the unhappy events that led to this happy meeting. It was her fault the stable hand had been banished to a strange alien world, away from everything and everyone he knew. All he had done was love her, and it had destroyed his life.

"Endy," she said softly, fresh tears welling up in her eyes as she caressed his face, "I am so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

"You are here," Endymion replied, running his fingers down the slope of her chin. "There is no longer anything to forgive."

He bent down to her again, his lips finding hers as if drawn by magnets. She sighed in rapture, her eyes sliding closed again and sending her tears rolling down her cheeks. After a few brief kisses, Endymion turned his attention to removing those marks of sorrow, his lips and tongue collecting every salty drop from her smooth skin. The Princess' arms tightened around her lover's neck as he continued downward, feathering kisses over her neck and shoulders beneath the hood of her cloak. She had missed this so desperately; the roughness of his touch, the softness of his mouth against her flesh... It was all she had dreamed of since the night he was banished.

"Endymion," Serenity groaned as a familiar ache began to intensify deep inside herself. "So warm..." She gasped for breath as his tongue traced her collarbones and his hands caressed the small of her back. There was something strangely invigorating about being in the Earth-born man's embrace, something that lifted away all the clouds from the Moon Princess' life and brought a crystal clarity to her spirit. He filled her with strength. She felt as if she could do anything, face anything, as long as she had the love of this man. Serenity wanted nothing more than to be there in his arms, with his breath hot on her neck and his lips against her skin, for all eternity.

Her knees were weakening and an insistent heat was rising in a place that longed to be touched, but they could go no further in a public garden. The Princess slid her arms around until her hands grasped Endymion's shoulders, and she reluctantly pushed him upright.

"Is there somewhere we can go to be alone?" The heaving of her chest and the hunger in her expression told Endymion all he needed to know. Gesturing toward a distant exit, he slid an arm around Princess Serenity's waist and guided her down a path.

The former stable hand was eager for a more intimate encounter as well. It was like a dream. Endymion had known the Moon Princess was on Earth, but he had not seriously expected her to find him. He had been so certain he would never see her again, and now here she was, beside him once more. His joy was too great to walk in silence. He needed to hear her speak, needed to hear her voice again after so many nights of hearing it in his dreams.

"What do you think of Earth?" he asked, turning to Serenity as they followed a winding walkway among lilies and violets. "Is it what you expected?"

"Not at all," the Princess admitted, adjusting the hood of her cloak so she could glance sideways at her lover's face. "On the Moon, everyone thinks... Well, you know the beliefs Lunarians have." She found herself blushing, unwilling to even speak of the stereotypes that had proven to be untrue, especially now that Endymion was a part of this world. "The people here are friendly and refined...and it's not only that." Serenity frowned, another difference suddenly occurring to her.

"It's odd," the crystal-haired Princess remarked, gazing around at all the greenery that surrounded them. "From the Moon, this planet looks like a blue crystal ball...but there is scarcely any water here, anywhere. It's all green."

Endymion smirked at this and tightened his arm around his beloved's waist as they headed onto one of the wider avenues that cut through the gardens.

"You're just not looking in the right places." He pulled her onto another path suddenly, as if on a whim, leading her away from the exit they had been aiming for and heading deeper into the gardens.

"Where are we going?" Serenity asked, but she did not expect an answer, nor did she really want one. Endymion's little spontaneous surprises were one of the things she missed most in her structured life without him. She grinned in anticipation as their steps took them into the grass and up a small hill, the hedges falling away as they climbed a slope facing away from the palace.

The Moon Princess was not disappointed. They passed between two pillars and emerged on a green hillside that overlooked a large portion of the Golden City. From here, the land sloped gradually downward for miles, and the heart of Earth's civilization was spread out before them. Sunlight sparkled on roofs and trees and roads, highlighting every clear space in the crowded city. At the very base of it all, the ocean stretched outward to infinity.

Princess Serenity had never seen such a sea. It rolled and tumbled as it played with the wind, white caps topping every wave, the endless swells rocking the boats docked in the harbor. It glistened blue and green in the light, and the shadows of the clouds drifted across its surface in great patches of darkness. The Moon's Sea of Serenity was large, but this was an unbroken expanse that extended to every horizon and beyond. Compared to this ocean, any continent was a mere island.

Just looking at the landscape brought an incredible calm to the Princess' troubled heart. "Feeling the wind blow here, looking at the sea like this...it gives me peace of mind," she mused contentedly. The Earth certainly had a special allure of its own.

As she scanned the far-off waters, Serenity's eyes narrowed. One region of the water was far darker than it should have been. Out on the horizon, a strange darkness was hanging in the air. At first glance it looked like a gathering storm, but there was no lightning, and the clouds were not large and swollen with rain but wispy like outreaching shadows. Just looking at the dark bruise on the sky sent a shiver down Princess Serenity's spine, and she leaned against Endymion for warmth.

"Those..." she began, and stopped, unable to find an appropriate word to describe the darkness that was giving her such an uneasy feeling. "What are those black clouds?"

"I don't know," the Earth-born man confessed. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the shadows in the air. They were concentrated in the north and were a long way off, but it seemed to him the patch was growing gradually larger. He had not been on Earth long, but somehow Endymion knew those clouds were nothing of this planet's nature. When he looked at them, he felt weakened, as if the very sight of them poisoned him.

"For some time there has been darkness over there, and clusters of huge monoliths have appeared." Endymion pointed to a small cave a good distance east of the docks. Tall irregular stones rose out of the sand and the shallow water like jagged teeth, black as midnight and clustered together in a forbidding huddle. The Moon Princess shuddered when her gaze fell upon them and clutched at her beloved's chest for comfort, although she did not know why the rocks bothered her so.

"They appeared suddenly, and from what I've heard, the phenomenon has been spreading over the planet," the former stable hand continued uneasily. Only a few days ago, the odd arrangement of stones had appeared mysteriously overnight, and not even the boldest of the Golden City dared go near them for reasons they could not explain.

While working in the shipyards, Endymion had heard disturbing tales of boats that had vanished after passing too close to the strange monoliths or the northern darkness. Worse yet, some had returned, but the sailors had been reduced to lunatics raving about monsters. There was an evil power rising on the Earth, and it was growing stronger.

"Let's not look at them anymore," Serenity pleaded, turning her face away. "Please, Endy."

Endymion shook himself free of his thoughts and wrapped the cloak tightly around the trembling young woman in his arms. He had not realized how much the ominous sight bothered his beloved. Settling one arm around Serenity's waist, he led the Princess back down the hillside, through the gardens and out into the Golden City.

The lovers were so absorbed in the bliss of each other's company that neither of them noticed the black-haired woman following them at a distance, gnashing her teeth in rage.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Walking through the city was far more pleasant with Endymion at her side, but even so, Serenity was glad when their journey came to an end. The former stable hand had led her to a neighborhood midway between the palace and the docks. The streets here were narrow and crowded with apartment buildings several stories high. The structures were shabby but clearly habitable; there was scarcely a window without a flower box or a line of washing hanging from it.

With so many people about, Princess Serenity was relieved when Endymion finally brought her up a steep flight of stairs to the room where he lived. It was only that, a room. It was smaller than the hut he had had as a stable hand on the Moon, and it had only one window and a thin curtain to separate the bed from the living space. Endymion had not been here long and had few possessions, but a small smile lit up Serenity's face as her eyes fell on a familiar red rose hanging beside the window. The gold star locket she had given her beloved lay on the windowsill nearby.

Endymion bustled about the room for a moment, a faint blush reddening his tanned cheeks as he tidied up discarded clothing and blankets. The despair of his exile had all but destroyed his usual tidy habits, and he had never imagined he would receive visitors here, let alone the Moon Princess. Standing awkwardly just inside the doorway, Serenity lowered the hood of her cloak and searched for a topic of conversation.

"How do you prepare your meals?" she finally asked, noting that there was no fireplace or kitchen space in the room.

"This is a boarding house for single workers," Endymion explained, shoving several rumpled shirts into a basket and pushing the basket behind the wash basin's stand. "The landlady provides two meals a day."

"How is your life here?" Serenity asked next, wringing her hands as she stepped forward. "Is everything... Are you..." Her voice broke as she surveyed the poor surroundings of the life to which her dearest love had been reduced. Endymion had been one of the most promising workers in her mother's stables, and because of his love for the Princess, he had lost everything. It was all her fault.

The tanned Earth-child straightened up and crossed the room to her, his charcoal eyes filled with concern. He caressed her cheeks and rubbed her arms with his rough hands, and forced himself to smile gently.

"I'm all right," he said in what he hoped was a convincing tone. Endymion had so longed to see Serenity again; the last thing he wanted now that she was finally here was to see her cry. She gazed up at him with eyes that were quivering pools of unshed tears, the exiled man her greatest desire and her greatest shame.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, unable to speak any louder for fear her voice would be choked and broken. "I should never have let this happen to you. I should never have let them take you."

"It's all right," Endymion insisted, wrapping his arms around her slender form and pulling her against his chest. "You are here now, and that is all that matters. We are together now." His hands stroked her soft pale hair. Princess Serenity pressed herself against him as the grief spilled over and his shirt became wet with her tears. Endymion's heart pulsed against her ear. They were reunited, but how long could it last? She loved him so desperately; could she bear another separation?

Feeling the dampness on his chest, Endymion drew back slightly and lifted Serenity's chin with his fingers. Again he kissed away her tears, her sorrow salty on his tongue. Now that they were together, there was no need for sadness. Why was her grief so strong?

"No more tears," the tanned man insisted, wiping away their last remnants as he caressed her face. "I love you. There will only be happiness now."

These words brought a fresh rush of pain to Serenity's heart, but she submitted to Endymion's kisses as he bent down to her. Now that they were alone, his passion was enough to drive all of Princess Serenity's concerns away, and she wrapped her arms around the Earth-born man and returned his kisses with equal enthusiasm. His lips and tongue were like melted sweetness against her, and she sighed with contentment as a familiar tingle swept through her body.

Soon the pleasure of Endymion's touch became a desperate hunger as the aching within Serenity returned with a vengeance. She breathed heavily into his mouth, her chest heaving as his hands swept over her shoulder blades and down to the small of her back. How she had missed this feeling! Inside the Princess, a wave that had slumbered in misery was waking, rising in a growing tide that increased by the second. Her heart pounded as she buried her fingers in Endymion's hair to draw him more firmly against her.

Endymion had nearly forgotten the depth and power of the river of passion that commanded him when he was with the crystal-haired Lunarian. He couldn't get enough of her, his tongue exploring her mouth to the fullest and still wanting more, his muscles tensing as Serenity pulled him so hard against her that it hurt. They sighed and moaned together, these kisses forging a unity of shared breath that renewed the bonds of two hearts that beat in time.

Through a haze of passion, Endymion realized Princess Serenity's hands had slid down to his waist and her fingers were now fumbling with the lacings of his trousers. Forcing himself back to reality, he pulled his head back, breaking the lock her lips had held on him. The Earth man stared down into a pale face filled with a ravenous expression unlike anything he had ever seen. The Princess' desire burned like an inferno, radiating from her in scalding waves that would have made her intent obvious even had her hands not been pulling Endymion's shirt off over his head.

"Sere-"

"Don't speak." Serenity pushed her lover back toward the narrow bed that stood in the corner as the lacings of Endymion's trousers finally gave way to her insistent fingers, and she descended upon him.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Their union was every bit as fiery as the first time they made love, and more so, their passion ignited to a new level by the agony of their time apart. They writhed together, every movement increasingly desperate, every moment an effort to unite their bodies so completely that they could never be separated again. This time, there was no mysterious rush of power as their ecstasy neared its peak, but the sheer pleasure of the encounter itself was more than enough.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Some time later they were lying together beneath the thin covers of the rickety bed, Serenity enveloped in Endymion's arms. The Princess' eyes were closed and her mind was empty of everything save the bliss of being in her lover's presence. She listened to his heartbeat with her head against his chest and adjusted her breathing to match his, wanting only to make the unity they had shared last a little longer.

The inner peace did not last long. Before there had only been the longing for Endymion, a burning ache that overruled all other thoughts and feelings. Now that need had been filled, that desire sated, and ration and logic were beginning to return to the surface of the Princess' mind. As she lay against the warmth of her lover's body, Serenity became more and more conscious of the flow of time with every passing second.

How long had she been here? Surely it had been hours since Princess Serenity left Sailor Venus in the garden. More likely than not, the soldier's ruse had been discovered by now and the true Moon Princess was being sought with all haste. Surely they would not advertise her disappearance by sending out town criers, but the palace guards might be making inquiries and the Sailor Soldiers could be anywhere. In her joy at finding Endymion, Serenity had paid little attention to concealing her identity; it was possible she had been seen by someone. What would happen to Endymion if they traced her here?

She glanced up at the exiled Earth-child, who was dozing lightly in the aftermath of their passion. Princess Serenity's eyes filled with tears once more at the sight of his peaceful, lovely face. He was so like an angel, and watching him made Serenity feel more and more like a demon. Her selfish desires had once again put Endymion in danger. It would be wrong to risk the exiled man's new life by staying any longer.

She slid from the bed and collected her dress and undergarments from the floor, clothing herself as swiftly as she could. Feeling the sudden chill at his side, Endymion awoke and sat up muzzily.

"Where are you going?"

"I cannot be found here." The Princess laced up her bodice as best she could; it would not be nearly as tight as was proper but it would have to do for the rest of the day. She hurried to the tiny mirror propped beside the wash basin to untangle her hair.

"It's all right, you're safe here," Endymion assured her, snapping fully awake as cold dread settled in his stomach. She could not be leaving when he had only just gotten her back! Climbing out of bed, the tanned man pulled his trousers on. "There is no need to hurry. I have some money left; tonight we can slip away, we can go anywhere."

At these words, Princess Serenity was overcome by guilt. She had wanted only to see Endymion, without sparing a thought for the consequences or what would come afterwards. Her plan had ceased with finding him; she had not even considered the question of staying on Earth. How foolish she had been not to realize Endymion would assume that was her intent! She turned around, grief twisting her features into a heartbreaking expression.

"I cannot stay here, Endy," she said quietly. As she gazed upon her lover, the Moon Princess' heart ached to remain with him always, but this time she forced herself to put her emotions aside in favor of logical thought. Before Endymion's exile, she had agreed to go to Earth with him, but that was before she had seen the other side of the coin with her own eyes. Now her mind was filled with the faces of the sick and hungry she had passed on the streets of the Golden Kingdom. The people of Earth needed her marriage to their Prince even more than the Lunarians did. Remaining with Endymion would be as cruelly selfish as endangering his life to see him.

"You are leaving me again?" the former stable hand demanded, his hands curling into fists at his sides. He trembled as a storm of emotion rose inside him. Without Serenity, his world lost all color, his life lost all meaning. She could not leave him again, not now, not after everything Endymion had endured. He needed her like he needed the air.

"Oh, Endy," the Princess sighed mournfully, stepping toward him. "There is nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you, but it cannot happen this way."

"Why did you come to me, then?" A dreadful rage was rising to a slow boil within Endymion, pushing the twisting pain aside. Why did Serenity not leave him in peace, if she had planned the entire time to leave him once more? Why had she given him cause to hope again, only to take it away? Something Sailor Jupiter had said on his last night on the Moon popped up in his memory, and Endymion's lips twitched in a bitter half-smile as he realized to whom they best applied. "What do you want of me? Am I a toy, to play with when you will and to cast aside when inconvenient?"

"No!" Serenity cried, genuinely shocked. She clutched her dress to her chest, desperate for something to cling to. Why could this man not understand, why could he not be content with the precious time she had gone to such lengths to give him? "I love you, Endy; I cannot go on without you in my life. When I am Queen I will be able to reverse my mother's decision and bring you home!"

"I am home!"

The words passed Endymion's lips before he even realized what he was saying. The lovers stared at each other for a long moment, equally surprised. Endymion's blood was boiling, and with it, strange thoughts and feelings were roaring through him. On the Moon he had been an outcast, an orphan, a class below even the deepest poverty, a prisoner of his birth. He had been betrayed by the Moon Kingdom's people and tortured by its soldiers. Now he was among his own people, free of the limitations Lunarians had imposed upon him and he possessed a new strength and energy he had never felt on the world that had raised him. On Earth, he felt like a Prince.

"How can you say that?" Princess Serenity gasped. "The Moon is where you grew up! It took you in, fed you, clothed you, sheltered you, loved you-"

"Loved!?" Endymion burst out, his voice so suddenly sharp that Serenity took a step back, momentarily frightened. "After all that has happened, you dare to say that?"

"My mother loves all her subjects," the Moon Princess said in a small voice, shying away from her lover's fierce expression.

"Is banishment an act of love?" Endymion swept his hair back and turned the side of his bare neck toward Serenity. Without the high-collared shirt he had been wearing to cover his shame, the scarred silver tattoo was plainly visible in the sunlight that filtered through the window. "Is this an act of love?"

The white dress slipped from Princess Serenity's fingers and landed in a heap on the rough floor. She stared at the mark on her beloved's skin, her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide with horror. After a moment, she pressed her hands to her mouth and choked on a scream, hurrying forward as disbelief clouded her vision.

"What did they do to you?" she squeaked, her blue eyes locked on the two white lines of raised scar tissue that obscured the mark of her house.

"The soldiers do this to everyone who is exiled from the Moon," Endymion muttered, feeling rather guilty about drawing the Princess' attention to the injury as an attack on her kingdom. He tried to turn away, but Serenity gripped his shoulder with surprising strength. "It would be a security breach to leave open the possibility of criminals infiltrating the Moon Castle under the guise of servants," he explained. The soldiers of Mars and Jupiter had gone much further than was necessary, but Endymion had no desire to reveal that to Princess Serenity, appalled as she was by what he had already told her.

"It's barbaric!" the Princess protested, her gaze still focused unwaveringly on the scar that marred her lover's flesh. "Surely there must be a more humane method of...of..." Her voice trailed off as a detail of Endymion's explanation sank in. "Soldiers..." Serenity recalled aloud. "Not MY soldiers!?"

She stared up at Endymion, her eyes boring into his. The exiled man hesitated just a bit too long.

"How could they?" Serenity cried out, her face filling with grief and anger. She turned away, fuming, and snatched up her dress from where it had fallen. "They will be made to pay for this!" she growled in a dangerous voice.

"They were performing their duties," Endymion reminded her in an attempt to calm the crystal-haired woman. That was not quite true, but the Princess' fury was alarming. He had not meant to spark such a drastic reaction.

"You are not a criminal!" his beloved declared, yanking the dress over her head and adjusting it roughly. "They might have gone a bit easier on you! Had I been there, I would never have allowed it! When did they..." Serenity fell silent, remembering the terrible night of Endymion's exile. She did not need to ask when the Earth-child had been branded. Her thoughts flew back to the white-hot pain that had shot through her neck so suddenly as she lay weeping in her bedchamber.

A deep chill rolled through the Princess' body as she realized she had actually felt her beloved's pain, but she pushed the shock of that revelation aside, concentrating instead on the memory of the agony. It had hurt so badly that she could do nothing but scream, and it had continued for quite a while after Sailor Venus had left the chamber to investigate what was happening to Endymion. There was no reason why it should have taken so long for the brand to be made permanent.

"They didn't go easy on you, did they?" Princess Serenity breathed, her eyes widening. "They were even worse than they would have been with a criminal. Because you loved me, they tortured you."

Endymion tried to speak, but his mind was a blank. He could not lie to her, and he searched in vain for words that might soften the terrible truth. In the end, he could only stand there numbly as the crystalline world of the Moon Princess dulled and cracked, the knowledge that her friends were capable of such cruelty hitting her like a stone to glass. For a long moment she simply stood there, her eyes becoming distant, her face a mirror to the horror and disbelief that were at war within her mind.

"Sere," Endymion finally forced out in a hoarse voice, "are you all right? Please, it is not as bad as that."

"They will not be allowed to get away with this," Princess Serenity said faintly. Her expression hardened. Her eyes focused and flashed with anger, and she began to tremble with restrained fury. "It is unforgivable. I will destroy them!"

The ferocity of the vow set Endymion off-balance. He knew Serenity had a fire that lurked beneath her demure exterior, but never had he seen it flare up in vindictive rage. Was this the same woman he had fallen in love with, her passion now churned into unstoppable wrath? The tanned man finally found the courage to speak again as the Princess pulled the gardener's cloak around her shoulders.

"Do not go," he pleaded, reaching toward his beloved. "Stay with me."

"I must go." A regretful sadness set Princess Serenity's fury aside for a moment. "I can not leave the Moon Kingdom in the hands of soldiers without hearts, nor can I condemn the Golden Kingdom to an isolated struggle. I have stayed too long already."

Princess Serenity gazed mournfully at the handsome lover she was leaving behind, once again forced to choose the path of duty over the pleasure of love. Why did it have to be this way? She loved Endymion; why could it not be as simple as following the path of her heart? If she were anyone else, there would be a choice, some other road but this one. As the Moon Princess, she was the one person in the Silver Alliance for whom there were no options.

Serenity had been truly foolish to come here, knowing she would have to leave again. Her dreams of a life with Endymion had been just that: dreams. Although she could not resist the desire to see him, could not kill the urge to be with him, it would always come down to the same outcome time and time again. They were trapped in a love that could never be. There would never be a resolution to this dilemma. There would never be an end to this pain. Still, the Princess knew she could not say goodbye forever. Endymion was as much a part of her as the crescent moon on her forehead.

Watching her, Endymion knew all this as if she had spoken her thoughts aloud. As much as he hated it, Princess Serenity's words were truth. She was the Silver Alliance's only hope for a ruler that would unify the ten worlds and save the Golden Kingdom from its downward spiral. Endymion no longer cared for the Moon, but he had grown to care for the Earth, and his tryst with the Moon Princess would bring only misery and suffering to millions of innocent people. Although emotion cried for their unity, logic demanded their separation.

One thing was certain. They could not go on like this. A split life would only doom them both to eventual utter disaster and most likely spark an outright war between the Earth and its satellite. It fell to Endymion to shoulder the duty that he knew Serenity would never have the strength to bear, the duty to do what was necessary for the good of all the peoples in the solar system. His expression hardened.

"Then, this is the end," Endymion said quietly. His dark eyes dropped to the floor as the crystal-haired woman froze in the act of pulling up her hood.

"What?" A slight tremble was audible in Serenity's voice.

"We can't meet like this anymore." The Earth-born man wanted nothing more than to keep staring at the uneven floorboards, but he forced himself to look up, to meet the clear blue of his lover's gaze so she would see he was serious. Endymion's heart ached so badly he thought it would burst in his chest, but he could not unsay the words, nor did he truly want to revoke them. Continued visits like this would only bring danger for them both. If Serenity was going to choose her life as a Princess over a life on Earth with Endymion, it would be best if she committed fully to that decision now.

"Why?" the Princess whispered, stepping closer to the dark-haired man. He shied away, and his eyes slid to the floor once more. Serenity's chest tightened. This could not be happening. They could never be married, but she needed Endymion in her life; there was nothing else that could lift the crushing weight of responsibility from her soul. How would she survive, without the Earth man's love to hold on to?

"It's clear now that a relationship between us is impossible," Endymion said wretchedly, ignoring a tiny voice within him that was beginning to scream. "The people of Earth and the Moon should not be in contact with each other. That's the law of the Ancients. They can't fall in love."

"But it's too late!" Tears pouring down her cheeks, Princess Serenity rushed across the floor, seized Endymion by the hands and kissed him desperately. The dark-haired man's left hand came up as if to push her away, but the Princess pushed back, refusing to release his fingers. Finally, his right hand slid around her shoulders and held her close.

Endymion's eyes closed. Tears welled up beneath his closed eyelids as he savored the kiss, knowing it would be their last. This time there were no angry Sailor Soldiers to distract him from the taste and scent and feel of her, and Serenity's warmth seeped into him and redoubled the aching of his soul. The end of every meeting was pure torture. Endymion could not endure it again and again. He had to let her go.

"I love you," the Moon Princess whispered between brief kisses, her soft lips salty with tears. "I love you, I love you, I love you. Please, don't do this."

"Stay with me." Endymion knew his repeated request was in vain, but he had to stand firm. Not only was this best for both their kingdoms, but he was beginning to build a new life of his own now. He was no longer one of Serenity's subjects. He could not spend the rest of his days as a slave to her fancy, sacrificing everything to be there whenever she wanted his love. Either they would always be together and damn the consequences, or they needed to move on with their separate lives.

"You know I can't do that!" The crystal-haired Princess broke away from him, indignance mixing with her anguish. "I can't just disappear into a crowd like you can! Look at me!" she cried, waving her hands to indicate her alabaster skin and colorless hair. She pointed at the golden crescent on her forehead. "This marks me always as the Moon Princess, no matter what I do! Do you want me to spend my entire life in hiding, never able to feel the sunshine on my face for fear of being recognized?"

"Do you want me to spend mine forever waiting for a woman who marries and bears the children of another man?" Endymion countered. Serenity was mistaking the reasons behind his ultimatum, but if she would not accept that their relationship had to end, perhaps there was no other road open to the Earth man but the path of cruel words. Serenity's face crumpled at the reminder of what she would be forced to do for her kingdom.

"I would visit you as often as I could," she protested.

"I would be your private plaything, while you devoted your life to someone else."

"You have my love. Isn't that enough?"

"Not if it isn't enough for you."

"How can you be so cold?" the Princess demanded accusingly, her heart pounding in frustrated suffering. "I do not do this because I want to!"

A sudden burst of loud voices outside on the street cut through the lovers' argument, adding nervous dread to Serenity's emotions. Might they be searching for her? Every moment she stayed increased the risk of discovery. She didn't have time to debate this any further. Princess Serenity wrapped the old cloak tightly around her body.

"Please, give some thought to what you are saying," she begged. "I will return when I can."

"No." Endymion's conviction wavered, but he forced himself to stand firm. "You must decide now. Stay with me or leave forever."

"I must go," Serenity said quietly in a voice choked with grief, "but it doesn't have to be the end. Please, Endy."

The exiled Earth man turned his face away. His eyes closed tightly as he prepared the words he had to say. It hurt more than any physical pain, but it had to be done, and this time for good. It was necessary, for both their sakes and more.

"Return to your kingdom, Princess," he uttered in a voice like cold stone. "I never want to see you again."

Serenity staggered under the sudden weight of her beloved's words, all the strength within her evaporating like smoke. Nearly blinded by imminent tears, she took a step forward, reaching out imploringly toward the man she loved.

"Endy-"

"GO!" The man's head shot up and he glared at Princess Serenity with a fire in his dark eyes that she had never seen before. His face was fierce and more serious than it had ever been; his features as chiseled and compassionless as those of her stoic fiance.

Terrified by the change that had come over her beloved stable hand, Serenity backed away, stumbled through the door, and fled. Endymion waited, motionless, for a long moment. When he was certain she had left the building completely, he wept.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


A few people going about their business in the streets of the Golden City looked up as a door slammed open and a hooded figure rushed down the steps of a building. After a moment, most of the onlookers returned their attention to their own affairs. Only one pair of eyes remained locked on the figure as it plunged into the crowd and headed in the direction of the palace.

Beryl emerged from the shadows beneath the wooden staircase and hurried after the disguised Moon Princess, her agitated hands twisting the white wrap that hung around her waist. She was beside herself with rage. Her beloved Prince Endymion had broken her heart so he would not be unfaithful to his Lunarian fiance, and here was the Moon Princess, consorting with a common Earth man! And in his private chambers, no less! Beryl was disgusted and outraged. Lunarians were supposed to be pure, untouchable goddesses, and their Princess was behaving like a common whore. Beryl's lover was devoting himself to the white-robed heiress, and she was nothing more than scum, violating her betrothal contract in broad daylight!

The Dark Kingdom mage was determined that Princess Serenity would not get away with this deceit. If she was set on taking the Earth Prince, she would not keep her reputation! Had Beryl been free to remain in the Golden City, she could have worked covertly to discredit her rival, but now that she was being recalled to her own kingdom, she was forced to resort to more overt methods. Keeping her eyes locked on the cloaked figure, the dark-haired woman began to mutter an incantation under her breath.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Choking on her tears, Princess Serenity struggled through the crowded streets. How could Endymion be so selfish? Couldn't he accept the necessity of her duty without throwing away their love for each other? After all Serenity had gone through to see him, the Earth-born man had turned her out as if she meant nothing. If she was that easy to toss aside, the Princess was glad she had not chosen to abandon her title! All the Lunarian wanted now was to return to the elite world she knew, and if possible, the Moon.

A slight stab of shame lanced through Serenity's despair as she realized she had overestimated the need for haste. There were no more guards about than there had been when she last passed through these streets, no anxious messengers, no angry women in white gloves and short skirts. What difference would it have made, though, if she had stayed longer with Endymion? The outcome would have been the same. Serenity would still be rushing through these streets alone and heartbroken. She would still be feeling as if she had given up her only reason for living.

Had the journey to Endymion's apartment taken this long? The disguised Princess was hurrying as fast as her legs could carry her under the Earth's unfamiliar gravity, glancing up often to make sure she was headed toward the palace, but the towering symbol of the monarchy never seemed to get any closer. The crowds were growing thicker, jostling Serenity and forcing her away from her path. She found herself tripping over other people's feet and getting caught in the center of moving knots that she could not escape.

Something strange was definitely going on. The Earth-children surrounding the frustrated Princess seemed as confused and irritated as she was, and their annoyed shouts were becoming a din. Serenity was trapped in the center of a mass of bodies. The air seemed to press down on her ever harder, and it felt thick and suffocating in her lungs. She was desperate to escape, but there was nowhere to go. All the overwhelmed woman could do was cling to the gardener's cloak and try to keep from screaming.

Suddenly someone seized the back of Princess Serenity's hood and tugged it off, exposing her pale face and hair for all to see.

"Look!" cried a voice that somehow managed to cut through the chaos of the crowd. "It's the Moon Princess, daughter of Selene!"

There was a dreadful moment of silence. A hundred heads turned toward Serenity. Two hundred eyes locked on the golden crescent on her forehead. The Lunarian whirled around, hovering on the verge of panic. Her eyes scanned a hundred shocked faces - and stopped on one that smiled.

Directly behind the Princess, so close that they were nearly touching, a dark-haired woman in a black dress was sneering at Serenity with a vindictive grin of pure loathing. Her violet eyes sparked triumphantly and her lips parted.

"Long live the Queen."

Then the world exploded. Someone screamed. The black-haired woman vanished into the mob as the people closest to the Moon Princess tried to back away and the people behind them tried to press closer. Several members of the crowd fell to their knees. Serenity's heart jumped as she felt hands tugging at her dress and fingers in her hair. She looked around frantically for an escape, but there was none. More hands were reaching toward her now, turning the crowd into a sea of wriggling fingers, and people were shouting.

"It's the Goddess!"

"Have mercy!"

"Let me away!"

"Forgive us, Selene!"

"Let me through!"

"Heal me, oh Goddess!"

Not all the voices were crying words of reverence.

"Leave us in peace!"

"Enchantress! Release the Prince!"

"We don't want your kind here!"

"Why do you spy on us?"

"Go back to your paradise!"

All the while there were the hands, reaching toward the exposed Lunarian, grasping at her. Some were open in entreaty, and others were closed in anger. Serenity heard prayers and curses, pleas and condemnations. She saw desperation and fear, indignance and fury. And still there was no escape.

"Princess Serenity!"

None of the crowd had yet called the Lunarian by her proper name and title. The Moon Princess turned instinctively toward the sound, hoping against hope to see one of the Sailor Soldiers there. It was an Earth girl in commoner's clothes, with brown hair and hazel eyes. The girl reached out over the people, extending a hand as if to offer help.

"I am a friend of Endou," the Earth-child called out. Serenity's heart leapt, but she hesitated. She was surrounded by hostile, frantic strangers. How could she be sure this girl was trustworthy? Anyone might know the stable hand had been banished to this planet; she had no proof this person really knew him...

"He calls you 'Sere'."

Princess Serenity seized the brunette's offered hand. The girl yanked her forward with surprising strength, tugging the Lunarian free of the grasping hands, and proved herself an expert at escaping crowds. They passed through gaps in the press of people that Serenity would never have realized existed, somehow finding themselves again and again in holes created by those who were frightened of the Lunarian frantically trying to avoid her touch. They dodged outreaching arms and tangles of legs, weaving through the shouting mob in leaps and bounds.

Suddenly they broke free and were running down the uneven street, the Earth girl still pulling the Moon Princess along by the hand. Serenity was exhausted, her head aching and her body weak as water from so much activity under the planet's gravity, but she forced her legs to keep moving by sheer will. There was no time now to prevent the gardener's cloak from flying out uselessly behind her, and from the cries and pounding footsteps at their backs it seemed the entire Golden City was chasing the crystal-haired girl in the white dress. All the Princess could do was trust in the brunette stranger and hope her lungs would not burst.

Who was this girl? Had Endymion sent her to help Serenity? A deep heartache compounded the Lunarian's pain as she recalled their parting. After that dreadful exchange it seemed unlikely the former stable hand would care about the fate of the Princess. Unless, of course, he did care, and was merely unwilling to come himself...

Serenity clamped down on the flicker of hope that arose at this thought. He had told her he never wanted to see her again, and there had been nothing but conviction in his face. Even now, the Princess shuddered to remember that moment. It no longer mattered what Endymion thought of her. Their secret romance was really and truly over. The brightest star in the Lunarian's life was extinguished.

Finally, her Earth-born rescuer ducked into a side street and flung herself against a door. It slammed open, and she pulled Princess Serenity in behind her and barred the door after them. They were not a moment too soon. Almost immediately the hammering of fists on wood echoed throughout the room, accompanied by the shouting of the crowd outside.

The Moon Princess collapsed on a chair, unable to move any further, her lungs struggling for breath. The Earth girl hurried to shutter and bar the windows. All the light was blotted out, leaving Serenity only a shadowy glimpse of what appeared to be a rough office of some sort, with a table for a desk and several wooden chairs.

"The matron's out," the girl said briskly, crossing the room to the Princess, "but we don't have long." Already, there were additional shouts coming from the upper floors of the building and footsteps in the rooms above.

"Who..." Serenity managed to gasp, her lungs still burning with every breath.

"I am Talma," the brunette replied. "I took care of Endou after he arrived here."

"Endy..." Princess Serenity's emotions overflowed. She crumbled into sobs, tears pouring freely down her cheeks as she pressed her hands to her face and bent over, trembling, in her chair. The Princess of the Moon could have borne the madness of the crowd outside, the demands of Lunarians and Earth-children alike, all the responsibilities of her station, had she still had the warmth of Endymion's love in her heart. Without that comfort, it was all too much for her to withstand.

Talma hesitated for a moment. Did she dare cross the boundaries of propriety with the daughter of the Goddess, now that the immediate danger had passed? After a few heartbeats, concern and compassion overrode society's laws. She reached out and took the Princess' slim body in her arms. Serenity clung to her automatically, her fingers grasping Talma's dress as she sobbed into her shoulder. The Earth girl's heart was pounding, but the Moon Princess was as warm as a human woman, her pain just as real.

"It's all right," Talma said soothingly, rubbing the Lunarian's back. The weeping woman shook her head against the brunette's chest.

"It won't be all right, not ever again," she whispered. "He no longer wants me."

Talma took Princess Serenity by the shoulders and pulled away, holding her at arm's length as she studied the woman's pale face. It was all written clearly in the Lunarian's bright blue eyes, everything that had happened that day. The Princess had found Endou, and for whatever reason, he had ended their relationship. Talma was briefly shocked by the depth of Serenity's pain. She had only seen faces like that on grieving widows.

"I'll speak to him," the Earth girl promised. She had seen firsthand how much the exiled man was suffering without the love of his beloved; there had to be more to these events than met the eye.

"Why are you helping me?" Serenity wondered aloud, wiping the tears from her face. After her encounter with the crowd outside, it was odd to be in the presence of an Earth-child who treated her like an ordinary person.

"I don't know," Talma confessed. She straightened up and averted her eyes, focusing on smoothing her rumpled clothing. "The wind told me to, although some would call me traitor for helping someone who steals our Prince to take control of our world."

"I am not my mother," the Moon Princess said quietly.

The two women stared at each other. Talma was surprised to see Princess Serenity looking at her like an equal, without a trace of the superiority merited by her royal blood, even in the aftermath of the Earth-child's bold and potentially dangerous words. This was a Lunarian who actually understood that the value of a person was not determined by blood.

The shouts on the upper floors were growing louder and footsteps were pounding down the stairs. Talma shook herself alert and pulled Serenity to her feet, running toward a door at the back of the room. She threw it open, revealing a long hallway dimly lit by a tiny window at the far end. The two women rushed down the corridor, passing numbered doors that marked different apartments. A few doors opened and their occupants peeked out curiously, but no one stopped the pair's flight.

When they reached the end of the passage, Talma opened an unmarked door. The street outside was nearly empty; they had crossed to the other side of the building, and the Princess' pursuers were still crowded around the front entrance. The Moon Princess looked out at the palace towering over the Golden City. Her best option, her only option, was to return to her guardians.

"Thank you." Serenity gave Talma a small, sad smile, and ducked through the doorway and out into the street. The Earth girl caught her by the wrist. Princess Serenity turned and focused on a face that was a battlefield of confused inner conflict. Talma was burning with questions, but she had time for only one.

"Those people out there, pleading for your help..." The brunette's eyes were suddenly distant and sad, as if she remembered a time when she might have been among them. "You couldn't help them, could you? It wasn't that you didn't want to, or that you were afraid...it was that you couldn't."

Now it was the Moon Princess' turn to look distant and filled with memories of the past.

"I am not my mother," she said again, and this time her tone was not defiant but regretful. Talma released her wrist, and Princess Serenity pulled the hood of the cloak up over her head and hurried off into the Golden City, following the shortest route to the palace.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

End of Chapter Thirteen

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Against All Odds" fanfiction copyright 2006 by dejanatalis@aol.com
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and its associated characters and canon belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. The text of this creative work was created by dejanatalis@aol.com and is her exclusive property. Not to be used without permission. Sailor Moon Says: Don't steal! ^.^