Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ La Morte ❯ La Morte: La Lune ( Chapter 1 )

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

Yookoso Minna Sama,
It's my latest story, La Morte. This one's gonna be about
nine chapters I think. It's AU and just so you know I'll put my
authors notes at the bottom from now on. Just had to say I don't
own BSSM in case the great Naoko-Sama ever reads this. Enjoy
minna!
P.S. Feedback is greatly wanted, needed, and appriciated!!!

La Morte

"Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at
all know whether it would like the name: however, it only
grinned a little wider. "Come, it's pleased so far,' thought
Alice, and she went on. "Would you tell me, please, which
way I ought to go from here?'

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,'
said the Cat.

"I don't much care where" said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.

--Lewis Carrol Alice in Wonderland

Chapter 1: La Lune

Some call her the lady of the lake, the eternal
keeper of the waters, the woman, Spring. The silvery
liquid she offers, youth eternal, has been sought by great
heroes from the beginning of history. Likewise, the sea of
history with it's murky depths and cresting waves has
served as a challenge to all people throughout time. For as
surely as the silvery lady's waters promise eternity, the sea's
fleeting waves do not hesitate to take it away. The war
between the silvery waters of eternity and the murky black
of history has raged on the shores of life for all time. The
year of nineteen hundred and twenty-nine was no
exception, the deadly black waters threatened to devour the
silvery stream forever.

Blue flags flapped in the wind as a band of
colorfully dressed gypsies wandered down the enchanting
promenade. The world sang to them of opportunity and
excitement. Now was the time to be here, time to live this
moment to the fullest. This world with its majestic castles
decked with red turrets, its latticed walkways and flowered
trellises, and its plethora of lights, visible from mainland at
night was their home now.
Children laughed as they skipped through the
fairytale world of Luna Park and the tarot card reader, one
of the gypsies, sighed as she sat down at her table. Pulling
her long black hair out of her face, the gypsy set up her
deck on the red velvet table. Today she would tell fortunes
. . .

Serena Livingston smiled apathetically as the cool
breeze played with wisps of her blond hair. She stared at
the calm blue water from her vantage point on the top deck
of the Coney Island Ferry. The beautiful white boat glided
across the harbor like a swan across a clear mountain lake,
but none of its merry occupants noticed the splendor of
their ship.
"Serena!" shouted a tall brunette as she strode
towards the metal railing Serena leaned against.
Serena turned away from the water and gave a small smile.
"Good to see you, Lita." she said softly.
"I thought I'd never find you on this boat, Sere!"
Lita exclaimed. "But I'm glad you came, when I didn't find
you before we left, I was worried you'd changed your mind.
You're going to love Luna Park."
Serena nodded complacently and turned back to the
blue waters, her mind dwelling on a different shade of blue,
the one that haunted her dreams.

Setsuna looked up as the large white swan pulled
into dock on the island. The gangplank lowered and the
gates of Luna Park opened cheerfully, the magical park
awaiting its first load of adventurers for the day. Setsuna
picked up her deck of cards and carefully shuffled and cut
the deck one last time, a last minute tradition before the
crowds came in. Carefully patting the deck down, Setsuna
placed the thick pile of cards onto the table, face down.
Then, cutting the deck into two uneven piles, Setsuna
slipped one card off of the larger pile and placed it on the
table in front of her still faced down. This was to be her
card for the day, and as always, she would not look at it
until the day was over. This card would answer all the
riddles of the deck for the day. Opening a brown leather
satchel, Setsuna put the card inside of it and then slipped
the satchel back under the table. She began setting up the
cards even as her first customers approached.

"Serena Livingston!" a beautiful blond exclaimed as
she and a tall blond haired gentleman made their way
towards Serena and Lita.
Serena smiled as Lubina Amethyst and her fiancée
Richard Greenston made their way towards the railing of
the boat. Lubina's grace and elegance were almost princess
like and it was no wonder that Lubina was a darling of the
silver screen.
"Oh Serena, it's so good to see you here today. Isn't
it wonderful Richard?" Lubina cooed as she turned to her
fiancée for support.
Smiling briefly at Richard, Serena crossed her arms
in mock indignancy. "I don't know why everyone is so
surprised to see me. I said I was coming, didn't I?"
Lita nodded. "Of course you did, Serena, but,
you've been so serious lately and everyone is just worried
about you."
Lubina reached over to give Serena a hug. "We do
worry about you darling, and considering you've turned
down or avoided every other outing we've tried to take you
on . . ." she paused to give Serena a kiss on the cheek. "Oh
well, happy birthday Serena. May your twenty-fourth year
be your best yet." Lubina smiled earnestly letting go of
Serena as she looked towards Coney Island.
"Well, what is everyone waiting for?" Richard
asked in a deep tone. "Let's go see the most magical place
on earth!"

Molly Banks watched as some of the most well
recognized celebrities of the radio and screen walked down
the red carpeting towards the plaster arch of Luna Park.
Scanning the crowds, Molly looked for a celebrity to
interview. Spotting Serena Livingston, Molly gave a grin.
Today was the siren's twenty-fourth birthday and that
would certainly make an interesting interview. Pulling out
a pad and a pencil, Molly rushed towards the siren and her
entourage. "Miss Livingston! Miss Livingston! A
moment please!"
Serena stopped grabbing Lita's wrist. It was that
vicious gossip columnist again. Lubina shook her head in
distaste as Serena turned to give Molly a withdrawn smile.
"What can I help you with, Miss Banks?" she asked in a
silvery voice.
Serena Livingston, siren of the radio waves had
earned a reputation for being elusive and beautiful. Like
her voice which lured so many men to fall in love with her,
her natural grace and beautiful features were prized
possessions. Although the siren was known for her beauty,
many were of the opinion that she was a snob. Serena kept
to herself for some reason, not eager to participate in the
gossip columnists' scandalous or sensational rumors.
Although Molly couldn't find any real complaint to hold
against the siren, that didn't change the fact that she didn't
particularly like her. The siren's ice-cold demeanor
towards her was well known by all journalists, most of
whom found the situation to be amusing. Molly would get
a story on the siren today if it killed her.
Examining the siren's companions, Molly sighed.
Perhaps Serena was truly as boring as she made herself out
to be. Although her friends were all celebrities, she
wouldn't be able to make much of a story out of it; unless,
of course, the readers wanted to read about her fairytale
friendships. Perhaps knowing that the siren was with the
princess of the motion pictures, Lubina Amethyst, her
handsome prince and fellow actor Richard Greenston, and
Lita Kingsley, the Amazon, a co-worker of the siren's at
WBSH would interest a few housewives, but Molly would
need something more sensational if she wanted to make
front page. Molly straightened out her skirt and cleared her
throat.
"I wanted to wish you a happy birthday on behalf of
the American Star. Readers of the Star simply adore you,
Miss Livingston!"
Molly's voice oozed with fake happiness as she said
this. Serena winced with the knowledge that Molly Banks
despised her.
"So Miss Livingston, how does it feel to be twenty-
four?" Molly asked cheerfully.
"The same as it felt to be twenty-three. Honestly,
I'm only a day older!" Serena said, slightly annoyed by the
silly question. Richard gave her a sympathetic smile.
"Oh, um ok then." Molly said, somewhat taken
back by Serena's attitude. 'I never remembered her being
quite this rude before,' Molly observed as she tried to
formulate her next question. "So, how about the rumor I
heard about your dashingly handsome co-star Evan
Diamando? Is love finally in the air?" Molly asked once
again using her fake enthusiasm.
"I'm sorry, Miss Banks, I don't believe in love."
Serena said icily as she turned sharply on the red carpeting
walking brusquely towards Luna Park. Her hand still
firmly gripped Lita's wrist as she dragged the hapless
brunette along with her.

"Ouch, Sere!" Lita exclaimed once they were out of
Molly's earshot.
"Huh?" replied Serena automatically. Her mind
was elsewhere.
"My WRIST!" Lita yelped as she tried to wriggle
out of Serena's grip.
"Oh . . . " Serena said, releasing Lita's wrist to
reveal a large red mark from where she'd been holding on
to her.
"I'm gonna have a bruise, Sere!" Lita said, her tone
indicating her shock.
"Sorry." Serena said softly. Something was
bothering her again.
Lita turned to Lubina and Richard and her mind
drifted as well. She wished that she could be as in love
with someone as Lubina was with Richard. Theirs was a
true miracle romance, and Lita couldn't help but sighing.
"Well, come on then!" Richard said impatiently.
"We won't get anywhere standing outside of Luna Park.
Let's go IN, ladies!" With that said, Richard took Lubina's
arm and Serena's arm and dragged the two of them into the
park leaving Lita to straggle behind.

Luna Park truly was a place of enchantment. The
piped in music and the lush flowers only accented the
superb architecture and elegant embellishments that made
the park so famous. All around groups of people excitedly
gawked at Luna's large castle, some of the models of
famous places, and the fairytale cottages. Standing around
the promenade, barkers announced sideshows and
merchants sold food and little baubles. The lines were
already forming for some of Luna's more well known rides
like chutes and ladders and the whirling cups. The sun had
risen to a high point in the sky, and according to Luna's
topiary sundial, it was nearing one of the clock.

"Honestly, love!" Lubina exclaimed. "You can stop
dragging us now. Serena and I are perfectly capable of
keeping up!" she giggled as Richard continued to lead them
along.
"I, for one, want to ride on the roller coaster! I have
it on good authority that Luna Park's roller coaster is the
eighth wonder of the world, and I'm sure that Serena wants
to ride it with me!" Richard announced as he let go of
Lubina's arm.
Serena groaned as Richard steered her towards the
large piece of metal and it's long line. "Why don't you take
Lubina instead, Richard? I'm sure she'd appreciate this way
more than me!" Serena tried to wriggle free of his hold.
"Oh no, Serena! Lubina hates heights, and besides,
this is your birthday. I want to take you!" he said softly, his
eyes flashed an emotion that almost scared Serena . . . but
Richard was madly in love with Lubina . . .

Molly Banks watched the multicolor parade of
fashions glide by her. All of the really interesting people
had, no doubt, already passed; however she waited outside
of Luna Park to see if any final stars would appear. So far
her most promising story would probably be the sizzling
romance between Serena Livingston and Evan Diamando.
Although Miss Livingston had been a few degrees beyond
cold, Mr. Diamando had been more than happy to supply
all of the juicy details of their romance. Molly wondered if
Serena would enjoy reading the article as much as she
would enjoy writing it.
A shockingly short red dress caught Molly's eye as
it passed and caused her to look up. Only one person
would dress with such flamboyancy, Ann Williams. She'd
certainly have something scandalous or noteworthy to share
with the Star. Walking towards the flashy red dress, Molly
was pleased to see Ann's dreamy brother Alan and her
charming escort. While Molly did not recognize the
gentleman, she was impressed by his designer suit, well
kept black hair, admirable build, and dark blue eyes. 'If he
weren't with Ann, I think I'd take him myself.' Molly
observed.
Sensing that someone was staring at her date, Ann
turned around quickly. her sparkling green eyes briefly
clashed with Molly's soft brown ones as if to warn her, and
then she turned around. Her date stopped realizing that she
was no longer walking beside her. Annoyance flashed in
Alan's blue eyes as he registered that Molly Banks, gossip
queen, was about to pry into their lives.
"Ann, darling!" Molly purred. She once again
pulled out a pen and pad as she hurried towards the
retreating starlet.
"Oh, hello, Molly." Ann's sugary voice cooed. Ann
wrapped her arm around her date's arm and turned them
both to face Molly.
Alan frowned at the reporter, crossed his arms, and
excused himself from the group.
Molly clucked her tongue in disapproval of Alan
and then smiled at Ann's escort. "So, Ann. Who is this
charming man?"
Ann smiled. It was a self-assured smile that oozed
confidence. "You mean this barbarian?" she asked
playfully gesturing to her date.
"Ann . . ." he complained under his breath,
eyebrows creasing into a disapproving look.
"Shush, Darien!" Ann exclaimed lightly hitting his
shoulder. "This is Darien Reynaud, you know the owner of
Reynaud Investments?" Ann said casually as she waved her
hand at Darien.
"Ohh, of course." Molly said once again
memorizing his features. Readers would be delighted to
hear that Ann had such a gorgeous man as her date. Well
they'd either be delighted or insanely jealous. It would
definitely make a good story. If she could just get some
truly juicy gossip on the two of them she would be set.
"So then, Ann. How come we've never heard about
Darien before?" Molly asked.
Ann smiled and stood on her toes to brush a stray
piece of hair out of Darien's eyes.
"It's just that my darling is so shy, but I'm sure you
can expect to see much more of him in the future." she said
after a carefully formulated moment. Entwining her arm
around his Ann gave Molly a nod. "I'd love to stay and
chat Miss Banks, but we're already so late, and darling does
so hate being late. Why don't you drop by sometime and
we'll talk?" she cooed.
Molly gave Ann a grateful smile as the woman
guided herself and her date towards the entrance of Luna
Park.

It was eons before her ride with Richard was over
and Serena was very grateful to see the ground again for
many reasons. "Ohh, if I never climb into one of those
coasters again, it won't be too soon!" Serena said as she
reached Lita and Lubina.
Lubina gave a sympathetic smile and said "I know,
that's why poor Richard always has to ride those sorts of
thing by himself." Then looking at Richard she gave him a
heartwarming grin. "And it looks like you've lost yet
another thrill seeker from the group, my Pumpkin. Poor
Pumpkin, will you ever find someone who actually likes
those metal deathtraps?" Lubina teased as she grabbed his
hands.
Serena groaned at the mushy sentiments Lubina and
Richard were sharing. Turning to Lita, Serena was
surprised to see that her other companion was also
distracted by someone of the opposite sex. "Lita?" Serena
said as she waved a hand in front of Lita's face. "Hello . . .
Lita? Are you in there?" Serena turned to get a better look
at the guy Lita was staring at. He was tall with blond hair
and blue eyes. He was rather handsome, and he was most
decisively Alan Williams, Ann Williams' charming older
brother.
Lita blinked a few more times before turning her
gaze back to Serena. "Sorry." she said softly. "It's just that
I saw an old friend, and well, I haven't seen him in a while.
Guess I was a bit surprised . . . " Lita trailed off and went
back to staring again.
Serena grinned as she debated whether teasing Lita
would be the best idea. Deciding that perhaps teasing
could wait, Serena waved at the guy Lita had been staring
at. He had been staring back. Looking at the pair, she
decided that this guy was definitely more than just an old
friend . . .
As Alan made his way towards Lita and Serena, Lita
slipped out of her daze and gave Serena a panicked look.
"Sere, WHY is he coming over here?" she asked in a small
voice.
"Well, Lita, if you'd been paying attention to me
instead of staring at *him* you would have noticed me
waving to him. After all, he was staring at *us*." Serena
said as she patted Lita on the head.
"Sere, you are not going to live to make it to work
tomorrow! You know what Molly's esteemed column in
the Star is going to say? I'll tell you." Lita said as her
voice rose in tone. "It's going to say 'Siren killed by
Amazon in a tragic fight on Coney Island'!" Serena rolled
her eyes as Lita's balled up fist hit her other hand. "So how
would you like to die, Sere?" Lita hissed as Alan reached
the two of them.
"Lita!" he said happily as he reached over to hug
her. "My, but it's been a long time, Lita."
Lita who was uncharacteristically speechless
nodded and returned his hug. Her eyes still shot daggers at
Serena.
Serena grew a bit uncomfortable, knowing that Lita
would find a way to pay her back, and that turnabout was
definitely fair play. Trying to disappear from Lita's view,
Serena turned back to the 'lovebirds' and breathed a sigh of
relief. Lubina wouldn't let Lita kill her on her birthday,
would she? She was too nice for that . . .
Lubina's eyes scanned the midway looking for
something to do. Judging from the look on Serena's face,
she'd just caused some trouble again, and they would need
a distraction. Her eyes grazed over a table covered in red
velvet and her lips curled into a sweet smile. The perfect
distraction. "Oh Richard, look! There's a gypsy over there!
See?" she motioned with her eyes towards the table where a
dark haired young woman in bright colored cloth and
bangle bracelets sat, a deck of cards in front of her.
"Pumpkin, we simply must get her to tell our fortunes!"
Lubina said amiably.
Serena rolled her eyes at Lubina's distraction of
choice. 'She would choose a gypsy' Serena noted bitterly.
Not believing in all that hocus pocus, or finding the
romanticism of it appealing to her nonexistent sentimental
side, Serena tried not to seem ungrateful to Lubina.
Fortune telling was a waste of time. However, a distraction
was a distraction, and perhaps this sort of thing would
appeal to Lita. Serena turned back to look at Lita and Allan
who now had his arm around Lita's waist. There was
definitely something between them. Serena smiled as she
saw the look in Lita's eyes. The look broadcasted 'You are
soo not forgiven.' so loudly that Serena could practically
hear Lita say it in her head. "So, do you guys want to go
watch Lubina get her fortune told?" she asked trying not to
make the question seem too awkward.
Lita gave her a big grin and shook her head.
"Actually Serena, I think YOU should get your fortune
told. At least you'll know when disaster is about to strike."
Serena gave a pretty smile and nodded slowly. "OK
then, I'll have my fortune told. But that doesn't mean I
believe any of that sort of thing." she answered as the group
made it's way towards the gypsy.

"I'm so sorry about that darling. Those awful gossip
columnists just won't leave well enough alone!" Ann cooed
in her sickeningly sweet voice.
Darien frowned. "Ann, if you really wanted them to leave
you alone, they would. I certainly don't have any gossip
columnists talking about me yet, and I've had just as many
opportunities as you. It's all a matter of how you deal with
those people. If they don't think there's a story, they aren't
interested in you." he said disapprovingly.
"But, darling. . . " Ann purred. "I honestly can't help it! I've
always been a target of all the gossip columns and fan
magazines across the country. It's just a price of fame."
Ann said with a charming smile, shrugging helplessly.
Darien shook his head. "It has nothing to do with
fame. You bring those rumors and articles on yourself,
because secretly, you want them! I'm beginning to think
my mother was right . . . " Darien said angrily as he
scrutinized Ann.
Her actions and dress were definitely edging on
tasteless, and her ability to draw gossipmongers and
negative attention seemed too much for him to handle. His
parents certainly weren't crazy about Ann Williams.
Perhaps it was time to end this relationship after all.
He drew a deep breath. "Ann, I've been thinking
about this for a while now, and as much as it hurts, I don't
think we're suitable for one another. Our lifestyles are so
different as our are values, and while I had hoped that this
relationship would work out, I think we need to break up."
Darien said as he watched the expression of rage grow on
Ann's face.
"Just like that?" Ann said angrily as she snapped her
fingers. "After four months, you're going to discard me
like last weeks newspaper?" she hissed as she closed the
distance between the two of them. "FINE THEN!" she
shouted as she slapped him hard across the cheek. "If I
NEVER see you again, Darien Reynaud, it will be TOO
SOON!" Ann said as she turned on her heel and went in
search of someone, no doubt her brother.
Darien sighed in relief, realizing that his break up
with Ann had been highly successful. "If I'd known it
would be that easy, I might have done that month's ago!"
The break up had been too easy, almost. Then again,
Darien knew that nothing was that easy with Ann, she'd
have her revenge. However, Darien was beyond caring.
Straightening out his jacket, Darien went off to find Alan.
He hoped to tell him before Ann did. Regardless of Ann,
Darien still considered Alan to be a good friend. He would
try to salvage at least some relationships from the ordeal.

Setsuna looked up to see a blond being escorted to
her table. Her large garnet eyes studied the girl closely as
she read deeper into the girl's unguarded aura. She had
once had a bright and lovely aura, the purest white that had
gleamed like sunlight reflecting off of the snow; but
something had caused it to dim. It was amazing to watch a
soul who had once given off so much light but who was
now covered with murky gray patches all over. Did this
girl even know?
Lita guided her straight to the wooden bench in
front of the gypsy's velvet draped table and forced her to
take a seat. "Hi there." Lita said with glee. "My friend
here wants to know her future." Lita was enjoying
tormenting Serena and it caused Serena to grit her teeth.
Alan smiled at Lita before spotting Darien out of
the corner of his eye. He excused himself from Lita
explaining that he needed to collect the rest of his group
and that this time he would indeed be back. Lita gave him
a trusting and heartwarming smile and then he turned away
to go collect Darien and Ann. Or perhaps he was just trying
to retreat from the intensity of her green eyes.
Setsuna smiled sympathetically at Serena and then
nodded to Lita. She could tell by how the girl remained
silent that she was uncomfortable being there. Without
even using the cards there was so much that the girl needed
to know.
'I wonder if she can still feel the emptiness she carries'
Setsuna thought as she searched deeply into the girls crystal
blue eyes. Picking up her deck of cards Setsuna closed her
eyes and carefully shuffled. Placing the deck on the table
she gestured for Serena to cut the cards.

Darien looked up and down the busy path in the
center of Luna Park. There were too many people there
and he would never find Alan in such a large crowd. His
eyes drifted from the Ferris wheel to the roller coaster and
then over to a pavilion. He wondered what type of ride
would suit Alan. He didn't really see Alan as the fair type,
while he was a great stockbroker, he was rather serious and
Darien was surprised when he'd agreed to come with them
to Luna Park.
A frown creased his face as Darien's eyes wandered from
ride to ride and finally started searching the vendors. A
flash of golden hair caught his eyes and Darien let out a
sigh. Perhaps he should go for a blond like the one having
her fortune told at the gypsy's table nearby. She looked
respectable, her posture held gracefully and her clothes
tasteful. A girl like that would be a breath of fresh air,
Darien decided as he let his eyes linger for a moment
before resuming his search for Alan.

"Hey Dare, where's Ann?" a voice asked as a hand
was placed on his shoulder.
"Alan?" Darien asked as he turned to face the
voice.
Alan grinned. "Don't tell me you've broken up
already!" he teased.
"Uhmm . . ." Darien responded.
"It figures." Alan snickered. "So did she call it off
or did you?"
"Huh?" Darien asked surprised that her older and
usually protective brother was taking the news so well.
"Maybe I just have a gift, but I could tell you guys
were going to break up soon. It just wasn't working out."
Alan said as he gave Darien a pat on the back. "Oh well,
considering how you're acting, I'm guessing you did the
breaking up, so I think I'll stick around with you. I don't
want to know what kind of foul humor Ann is in right now.
Don't worry though, she'll get over it."
Darien nodded and went back to staring at the blond
girl.
Alan gave him a big grin as if amused by some
private joke and then pointed in the direction he had been
staring.
"See that table over there where the blond is sitting?
Would you mind if we joined that group for the day?"
Alan asked happily.
Darien nodded his head slowly, excited to get closer
to the girl, but uncertain of Alan's reasoning.
"Great, Lita will be so delighted!" Alan said as he
pushed Darien towards the group.
"Huh, Lita?" Darien asked, wondering if the name
belonged to the blond.
"Yeah, she's an old friend of mine." Alan said his
voice taking a far off tone.
"Just a friend?" Darien pried.
"Well . . ." Alan trailed off as he noticed that
Darien's attention was on the gypsy and her table and not
his reply.

Serena glanced at the cards on the table in front of
her. The cards, which were still face down on the table
looked yellowed and tattered to Serena. Their back side all
had the same intricate golden design on a black
background. Serena squinted to make out the intricate
detailing of the gold on black. The picture looked rather
familiar, although Serena was not certain of why the
elegant lines of the palace or the flowing fountains in front
of it held any significance to her. She had never been
outside of the United States, much less all the way to
Europe, where this castle was no doubt hidden. She
wondered if the gypsy had even been to this palace.
The gypsy carefully placed three rows of three cards neatly
on the table. Then gesturing to them she looked at Serena
intensely. It almost felt as if the gypsy was looking through
her.
"Each row of cards represents an arc of your life,
the past, the present, and the future." Setsuna said calmly
as she focused on Serena's aura once again. "Just as fate
and chance are a big part of destiny; the past and the
present are very important for the future. So you shall have
three cards for each." Setsuna turned away from the fading
aura and looked down at the table. So far the girl had
completely ignored all the emotions she had sent to her as
well as tuned out her voice when she had explained the
cards.
As she continued talking to the inattentive blond, Setsuna
couldn't help but feel uneasy about this reading. A fortune
was not something to be taken lightly, and if this girl
tempted the fates she would be sorry. Setsuna wished for
the day to end so she could pull the final card out of her
satchel and examine it closely, however, the day was just
beginning.

"Lita!" Alan said happily as he slid his arm around
the brunette's waist. "Allow me to introduce you to my
dear friend, Darien Reynaud."
Lita turned to smile at them and Darien sighed with
relief. His nameless blond was not the object of Alan's
affection. Darien's eyes drifted back to the blond girl as
Alan turned his back to Darien.

Setsuna looked down at the nine cards. She realized
that her procrastination was futile. The blond would not
back out of her fate. For some reason she wanted this girl
to stand up and walk away. Perhaps if the girl kept on
walking and never turned back, her deadened spirit would
not harm her, but the girl sat at the table staring blankly
into the space in front of her.
"We'll start with your past." Setsuna said softly as
she reached out a shaky hand to reveal the first card. Her
bangles made a jingling sound as her hand shook. The
blond still paid no attention to the cards.
Flipping over the first card, Setsuna frowned. A
large white sphere stared up at her and the uncaring girl.
The moon card was a part of her past. Setsuna tried to find
the girls eyes with her own and realizing that the girl really
wasn't at the table mentally, she cleared her throat. Pale
blue crystals gazed into her own garnet eyes and Setsuna
sighed her relief. At least she was paying attention now.
"This is the moon card." Setsuna said as she
gestured to the face up card on the table. "The moon card
often symbolizes bewilderment in one's life. This is a sign
that you have lost your way, child. Heed the advice of the
fates and find your way back to your path."
The blond nodded silently and Setsuna hid her
disappointment. She hadn't fully explained the moon card
to the girl. She felt a strong need to protect the girl from
her own fortune. Her sense of despair was so strong for the
girl. Her eyes expressed her wish. 'I want to warn you
about your fear. It is eating away your soul.' Setsuna
thought even as her mouth forbid her from saying it.

The entire reading proceeded similarly to the first
card, and the whole while Setsuna's sense of dread grew.
After the final card Setsuna put her hand on top of the girls
to stop her from leaving. The girl did not understand how
much power the cards had.
"Please, don't take this so lightly." She said as her
eyes pleaded with the blond. "Your world is so full of fear
that I can feel it. Don't let the fear control you or it will
seal your destiny." She whispered as a tear slid down her
cheek.
Serena was not impressed by the sentimental show .
. .

Rising from the table, Serena turned and walked away.
Lita was standing with Alan and a stranger. Perhaps
stranger wasn't the right word. Serena felt as if she knew
him, but she couldn't figure out where from. Walking over
to Lita, Serena grinned. "I figured you would have hovered
over my shoulder the whole time Lita. After all I just
found out all about my future."
Lita nodded as she devoted her full attention to
Alan. "That's nice, Serena. I'm kind of busy now, Alan
and I have a lot of catching up to do. Why don't you talk to
Darien?" she suggested as she gestured towards the dark
haired man.
Darien smiled at Lita's informal introduction of
Serena, if you could call it that. She and Alan seemed a bit
preoccupied in their reminiscing to pay anyone else much
attention. But he was here to meet Serena, and so he
would. Smiling warmly, Darien kissed Serena's hand and
said "Pleased to meet you, Serena. I'm Darien Reynaud."
Serena resisted an urge to roll her eyes at the
Darien. He wasn't as charming as he thought he was,
however, as she had nothing else to do, Serena decided to
talk to him. "It's nice to meet you Darien. I'm Serena
Livingston." She said with a hesitant smile. In the corner
of her eye she could see Richard staring at them.

Serena spent a while chatting with Darien before
Richard lost his patience with visiting. Serena watched him
stride towards her and tried not to flinch when he happily
said her name.
As Richard reached her and Darien, he placed an
arm on her shoulder. Inwardly, Serena groaned. She'd
wished that she could ignore him, or that Lubina would
keep him busy, or most anything if he would just keep out
of her hair! She was even tempted to latch herself onto
Darien so that Richard would leave her alone, but Richard
had already made his claim.
"Serena, there's a ride I simply have to show you!"
Richard told her with a grin.
Serena returned a smile to Richard. There were a
million things she simply had to do, going on a ride with
Richard was not one of them.
Richard guided her reluctant form up to a marble
pavilion. In the center of the pavilion was a large merry-
go-round with intricately colored wooden horses that
floated up and down as they continued their eternal race to
nowhere. Serena almost pitied the horses because she felt
just like one of them. Constantly racing on the same
circular path, she would never find her way. The gypsy
had at least been correct about one thing, her world was full
of confusion and fear. Although that didn't mean that
Serena really believed the gypsy knew what she was
talking about, the idea of fate and destiny was just a silly
fairytale . . .
As they waited in line for the merry-go-round
Richard chattered about sentimental nothings. Serena
sighed and blew a wisp of her blond hair from her face.
"Richard?" she asked growing impatient with his chatter.
"Yes?" Richard said immediately stopping his
story.
"What's going on with you and Lubina?" she asked
innocently. Perhaps she could drop hints gently. Certainly
Richard wasn't that dense.
"Nothing." Richard said with a frown.
Perhaps Richard was that dense, Serena fretted as
the merry-go-round stopped and let off giggling children
and handholding couples. She would need to approach this
from a different angle, perhaps.
"What I mean, Richard, is why am I on this ride
with you instead of Lubina? It seems to me that you're
ignoring her." Serena said softly.
Steering her towards a white horse decorated with
garlands of flowers, Richard helped her up onto the wooden
horse and took the black stallion next to her. Reaching for
her hand, Richard gave her a longing look.
The merry-go-round went around in its dizzying
circles playing bright giddy music for a while before
Richard spoke.
"I'm not ignoring Lubina really." He said suddenly,
somewhat angrily. "But the thing you have to realize is
that the ring she's wearing isn't even mine." Richard
paused and sighed. "It's all a big stunt by the studio to sell
more tickets. They think that if we're in love on and off
screen, it will make us more appealing to the audience."
Serena felt a pain in her chest as she looked towards
Lubina. She was watching the merry-go-round adoringly.
Perhaps Richard didn't love Lubina, but Lubina was
smitten with Richard. Shaking her head, Serena realized
that it wasn't her place to care about Lubina, after all she
didn't really believe in love.
"But, I realized something today Sere." Richard
said as his eyes searched for hers. "I don't want to pretend
to love Lubina any longer, because I'm in love. For the
first time in a while, I really feel love again. I know you
probably already know this, Serena, but I love you. Please
say the feeling is mutual. If you would, I'd be the happiest
man alive!"
Serena looked into Richard's sparkling eyes and
then out at Lubina's adoring gaze. She moistened her lips
and took a deep breath.

~@~@~@~@~@~~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Sooo, what do you think? Hmm, I'd really like to know.
As you noticed, this story is set in New York in the 1920's.
What a great time to be in New York. (Yes I read the Great
Gatsby too many times as a high schooler) Now, I've
gotten some questions about this Lubina character. Is she
from the SM universe or what? She is actually! She's in
Super S. Princess Lubina of the Amethyst kingdom. That
cute episode where Diana says that Endy and Sere skip out
on royal festivals. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed my
new story and rest assured that I am working on Kiss
Eternal. I also have the second chapter of this halfway
done. So to review e-mail me, IM me, review me,
anything! You don't even have to talk about my fic, I just
like talking with minna.
Till Next Time,
Ja Ne,
Bejiin Ripley
Bejiin@aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/hoshi_no_shita
A IM: Bejiin
4/10/01