Forbidden Hearts
	Part 5/?
	By Elisabeth James
	ejames000@ameritech.net

	Okay Minna!  Here’s chapter five!  Any flames, questions,
praise, etc... can be sent to me at the address above :)  Hopefully
not too many of the flames though, I don’t care for those too
much...  This chapter is filled with angst and not much WAFF,
sorry about that.  I figure I have two or three more chapters until
this thing is finished.  Enjoy and remember feedback doesn’t hurt,
it’s your best friend...

	This feels...
	like something from...
	a long time ago...
	somewhere...
	soft lips...
	warm arms...
	many many times...
	sweet kisses...

	~ Sailor Moon; Manga vol. 1; act 4

	She lay there, soaking in everything around her.  She didn’t
dare move, she wanted this moment to last forever.  She felt
Endymion’s chest rise and fall under her head, his breathing was
slow and even.  His arms were entangled tightly around her waist,
they had been all night long.  The yards of fabric from her dress
were twisted and caught around her long legs.
	He was so warm and the world that swirled hopelessly
around them offered no warmth at all.  She shivered slightly and
snuggled closer to him, trying to block out everything except for
him.  Maybe for just this one moment they could have peace...
	The castle shook suddenly with a force unparalleled to
anything it had ever felt before.  Serenity’s eyes snapped open
from her love induced stupor and automatically she pulled away
from Endymion.  
	“What was that?” she shot out of her bed and toward the
balcony ripping open the curtains in a flash.  Warm sunlight
filtered in but it couldn’t mask the dark mass quickly approaching
the castle gates.  Thousands of people rushed through the fields,
leaving devastation in their wake.  Hundreds lay dead once more in
the green grass, more were being slain as she stood there
helplessly.
	Endymion body soon stood behind her taking everything in
along with her.  His eyes grew cold and his body stiffened even
under her soft touch.  He took her hand without speaking and drug
her back inside.
	“Endy, what are we going to do?” she whispered, she didn’t
trust her voice.  Unshed tears clung to the corners of her eyes, just
waiting for the right moment to overflow onto her pale cheeks.
	“I never thought... there’s so many of them...  nothing left
to do...” he talked more to himself than to the young girl he was
holding in his arms.  Her eyes narrowed at him letting the tears
spill out.
	“Nothing left to do?” her face wrinkled in disgust as she
stared coolly into his midnight eyes.  His face softened and he
touched her hair, she couldn’t help but smile at the gesture.  The
intimate contact was broken as Endymion quickly turned away
from her and started to walk toward the door. 
	“Stay here Serenity and lock the door.  I am going to find
out what is going on, although I have a pretty good idea already. 
Open this door for no one but me.  I will come back to get you.”
she nodded absently and followed him to the large oak chamber
door.  He kissed her quickly on the cheek and dashed down the
corridor.  She slammed the door closed and slid the brass lock into
place.

	“How many troops have we lost?” Queen Serenity’s voice
was tight and as cold as steel.  Her gray eyes studied the man in
front of her with great disdain.
	“I would have to say around 2000 Your Majesty and that
was before they started to release the bombs into the castle
courtyards.” he had to turn away from her, but her eyes remained
fixed on him, boring holes into his very soul.
	“How many can be called into battle?” 
	“I do not have the exact number at this time Your Majesty
but I would say the best approximate guess would another 1500.”
	“How soon could you get them out there?” his eyes looked
shocked and his voice faltered as he spoke.
	“Your Majesty, it would be certain death to these men, the
rebel army is twice their size.  It is over, the only thing we can do
now is protect the castle long enough to get the monarchs from
earth and you and your daughters off the moon.”  The queen shook
her head.
	“I will not give up!  This is my kingdom, my people!  I will
not yield!” she pounded her fist on the wooden table and stood up. 
“Rally your troops General Maximus, do whatever you can to hold
them off.”  she swept out of the room, her long gown trailing
behind her.
	“Yes Your Majesty.” he whispered to her retreating back.

	Screams and cries of terror and pain could be heard from
the fields around the castle.  Serenity watched the events unfold
from her balcony, her body stayed hidden behind her easel and
chair.  Tears ran unchecked and unheeded down her cheeks.  She
closed her eyes and prayed for the scene that she was in only an
hour ago.  Warm and safe in Endymion’s strong arms was where
she wanted to be all the time.
	She heard the pounding on the chamber door and scurried
quickly back into the main part of her room.
	“Endymion, is that you?” she was careful not to use his pet
name in case it was her mother.  A huried male voice called back
but it was not the same as her love’s husky whisper.
	“Serenity, it is Adonis!  You need to come with me, the
queen sent me to get you!” his tone was fierce but she knew he
was just as scared as she was, maybe even more.  Without thinking
she opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.
	“Endymion, he told me to stay here.  He said he would
come back and get me.” Adonis shook his head and took her hand. 
His strides were long and brisk.  He didn’t look back at her as he
spoke.
	“All the guards are dead, our defenses are down, any
moment the castle will be penetrated and then everything will be
finished.  You will be safer with your family and with mine. 
Endymion will understand.” she let out a soft whimper as he
pulled on her arm harder, “We need to hurry Serenity!”
	“Our defenses are down?” she asked him softly, suddenly
he stopped and spun around.  Her arm fell from his grip and she
crossed them across her chest so he couldn’t grab it again.
	“The rebels burned many of the villages as they came
across them.  Your mother ordered more guards to be sent out only
45 minutes ago.  They have all been slain, there is nothing left to
do but leave the moon and come to earth for the time being.”
	She tried to hide the shock, but it was plain as day on her
pale features.  Leave the moon?  Could she do such a thing, she
was a being of the moonlight, it was the source of her greatest
power.  What would happen when she left it behind?
	He started walking again and she quickly fell into step
beside him.  “My mother is going to send Raina and I away to
earth?”
	Adonis nodded quickly, “She can not bear to see either one
of you killed, and Raina is the heir as long as she lives there is
always a chance for the future.” Serenity brushed a long silver
strand of hair from her face.  She didn’t even have time to do her
hair this morning, it ran down her back in silver waves like
moonlight reflecting off a waterfall. “I will not let anything happen
to you.”
	She nodded, she wished that Endymion was here with
them.  Something was going to happen, she could feel it.  The
feeling of fear seized her heart stronger than before and she just
wished that everything was normal again.
	“I trust you Adonis.” she told him softly and took his hand
again.  He started to run down the hallway again, they were almost
to the dining room door.  They would safe there for at least a few
minutes.
	Abruptly another blast discharged down by Serenity’s
room, the large French doors that led out to the garden shattered
into a thousand pieces and a few men from the rebel army started
to stagger in through the black haze.  The ceiling shook and plaster
and chunks of wood rained down upon them.  Adonis stopped in
shock, his dark eyes wide with dread, and Serenity felt the blood in
her veins run cold.  She closed her eyes and clung to Adonis with
all her might.  
	“What is going on?!” it was a stupid question but Serenity
didn’t know what else to say.
	“Just hang on, I will get us out of here!” he told her back,
placing a comforting arm around her.  He turned his eyes to the
ceiling and saw what bad shape everything was in.  A few shots
pierced through the threatening darkness.  Adonis pushed Serenity
to the floor and drew his sword.  He looked down on her, “Run
Serenity!” his voice was desperate and his eyes turned back to the
men that approached them.  Serenity hurried to her feet and
hesitated, watching Adonis fight off the two men that appeared to
brake away from the rest of the pack.  Another shot fired and hit
the crumbling ceiling.  Serenity didn’t have time to move as more
parts of the ceiling poured down.  She covered her head with her
arms and braced herself for something to hit her.  White dust
rained down, covering her from head to toe.  She looked up
apprehensively, checking for any other piece on the brink of
descent.  She broke out into a run, but she didn’t get far.  Another
shot rocked the corridor and the decorative panels that lined the
ceiling shuddered violently and fell in its wake.  
	She fell to the carpet hard as one of the larger pieces hit her
in the head.  She let out a low moan and Adonis spun around, his
attention immediately drawn to her and away from the fight.  One
of the rebels raised a gun slowly and with an evil grin he pulled the
trigger.  The bullet split the air with a loud crack and Adonis hit
the floor beside Serenity with a heavy thud.
	“ADONIS!” she screamed in terror.  She quickly fought
past the pain coursing through her own head and crawled over to
his still body and touched his face.  She brought her tear filled eyes
up to his killer.  At that moment the man realized what he had
done, he had killed one of the princes from earth, the penalty
would be death if they caught him.  He quickly fled through the
large opening that resided where the door used to be, dragging his
friend along with him.  Serenity didn’t watch them go, she leaned
over her fallen fiancée and was talking softly to him.
	“I would have made you happy Serenity...  Tell my brother
goodbye for me...” his head fell into her lap and his eyes closed
with his last shaky breath.  Tears rained down on his face as they
fell from her blue eyes.  She was covered in his blood, the crimson
liquid soaked her dress and coated her silver hair.  She hugged him
tightly, not knowing what to do.
	She shook uncontrollably, the smell of death hung heavy in
the air.  The hallway was spinning and her head throbbed in pain. 
A large gash on her forehead was bleeding heavily and the blood
flowed down the side of her face mixing with her salty tears.  “I
am so sorry Adonis.” she kissed his cheek gently, praying that this
had never happened.  Everything was growing dark around her, she
felt her body ready to shut down, she wanted nothing more than to
have the pain disappear. 
	The black smoke was quickly dissipating and she could see
that her garden was destroyed, the flowers were charred and dead. 
Hope drained from her body like the air she exhaled.  There was
nothing left, no life, no hope, no kingdom.  Footfalls quickly
approached her from behind and she looked back to see Endymion
running toward her.  His black armor gleamed in the sunlight and
his handsome face was marred with worry.
	“Serenity!” relief was evident in his voice, she was okay. 
His heart began to slow down, but he quickened his pace.  She
looked like she was injured.  “What happened...” he trailed off as
he recognized the person she was cradling in her arms.  She looked
up at him and caught his shocked gaze.  His blue eyes were
questioning orbs, not knowing what to say and unsure if he wanted
to hear it anyway.  She gripped the fabric of Adonis’s shirt tighter,
the cloth was wet with his blood.  Endymion knelt down slowly
next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
	“Is he...” Serenity nodded numbly, her breathing was
becoming more and more shallow.  Her vision was started to blur
and the pain was quickly becoming unbearable.  “Are you all
right?” she nodded again, afraid of the words.
	“It is all my fault, he was trying to save me.  Now he is
dead.” she whispered to him, “All my fault... my fault...” Her
words were incoherant and garbelled.  He touched the gash on her
forehead in concern and she jerked away from him.  The sudden
movement only made her head swim even more, she teetered on
the edge of unconsciousness, the darkness beckoned softly for her. 
She looked once more at Endymion’s form in front of her before
she collapsed into his arms.

	Queen Serenity pressed her cool hands against the smooth
glass dome surrounding the softly glowing gem.  It released a light
unrivaled by anything else, it was pure and cleansing.  It hummed
with a resonate power, the subdued sound bounced off the walls of
the small chamber.  The crystal’s gentle radiance grew more
powerful in the presence of the queen.  She took the bauble into
her hands and with a final flash of light the crystal fell into
dormancy.  Holding it between her thumb and pointing finger she
raised it to her eye and examined it carefully.  With a half smile
she tucked it gently into her robes and left the sacred room as
silently as she had entered it.

	Queen Rhea shuddered as a sudden chill flew down her
spine.  She wrapped her arms tightly around her body and closed
her eyes.  Adonis had been gone for over an hour now and the
sinking feeling of dread was steadily settling over her.  Her
husband placed a comforting hand on her shoulder but his face
held a grim smile.  
	“I am sure that everything is okay Rhea, Adonis will be
here soon.” The king of earth tried to sooth his wife’s growing
fears, his voice was even and calm but inside he knew that
something had gone horribly wrong.  
	Raina sat watching the scene unfold from a chair across the
room.  Her lips turned upward in a cruel smirk, her eyes seemed to
burn with the fires of hell behind them.  She knew that Adonis was
dead, she felt Serenity’s grief as if it were her own.  It was the
bond of the silver crystal, all of the women in the moon kingdom
line were connected to it’s power.  It was an indestructible
connection, it would follow death and beyond.  It always surfaced
during times of anxiety and fear.  She let out a lazy sigh and
stretched out, she picked up her wine goblet.  Serenity was still
unconscious, in the arms of Endymion, her true love and protector. 
Raina could feel her dying in his arms.  She scoffed slightly and
brought the goblet to her lips and took a sip.  The taste was bitter
and pleasing at the same time, with a sharp aftertaste.  She tossed
back the last few swallows and then let the glass fall to the floor. 
It shattered on contact, the dull sound echoed off the walls.  Rhea
and her husband spun around, shock registering on their faces. 
	The sharp look of forced surprise crossed her features as
she stared innocently at the king and queen of earth, “So sorry.”
she told them demurely.  They nodded that everything was all right
and turned their attention back to fretting about their missing sons. 
Raina watched her mother step into the room and approach all of
them slowly, drawing out the steps.  Queen Serenity knew what
had happened as well, but unlike Raina, she also knew that
Serenity and Endymion were almost to the docking bay.  With the
silver crystal placed in a state of dormancy for the time being, only
the main holder of the crystal could still harness the bond. 
	“Endymion is coming.” the words were simple but the
voice which spoke them was cold and unfeeling.  Rhea’s eyes lit
up before narrowing.
	“Only Endymion?” Rhea inquired nervously, before Queen
Serenity could utter another word Endymion burst into the room. 
Serenity hung limp in his arms, blood coating every inch of her
barely breathing body.  Long crimson stained hair swept along the
floor as the young prince walked over the small group of people
gathered in the corner.
	He raised a haggard face to his mother and father and
spoke quietly, “Adonis was killed.  He was dead when I got there,
Serenity was barely clinging to consciousness.  She passed out in
my arms and I got her back here as quickly as I could.  The rebel
army is heading this way quickly, we need to act fast.” his tone
was sharp and matter o fact.  His heart shuddered within his chest,
he had left Adonis behind, fearing for his own life and safety.  He
glanced down at the girl he held so tightly in his arms, her skin had
taken on a translucient state.  She looked dead and Endymion
wouldn’t have been able to tell otherwise except for the fact that
he could feel her faint heartbeat almost like it was his own.
	Rhea let out an anguished scream and started sobbing softly
into her husband’s chest.  Endymion felt numb inside, the loss of
his brother had not yet hit him.  He refused to let it until they were
all safe back on earth.  Breaking down now could get Serenity and
himself killed.  Queen Serenity shot a sympathetic glance at her
best friend and walked over to Endymion.
	“How bad is it?” his words had grown softer, Queen
Serenity reached into her pocket and pulled out the crystal.  She
closed her eyes and the room lit up with a ivory light.  The gem
floated harmlessly over Serenity’s dying body, slowly pulsating
with her weakening heartbeat.  Endymion felt something pulling
gently on his insides, a force that was pure and beautiful to feel
touching his soul.  He watched the crystal spin languidly around
them before it faded away.  And then the sensation was gone,
disappearing as quickly as it had come.  Raina’s eyes widened as
she realized what her mother had done.  She sprang from the chair,
amazement and anger played across her face.
	“Where did it go?” Endymion felt the life that suddenly
started to reawaken inside the young princess.  She moved slightly
in his arms, and her face regained some color. 
	Queen Serenity smiled softly and touched Endymion’s
shoulder, “It is inside Serenity now, it will be safe as long as she is
safe.  As long as you are safe, she will be safe.” all at once he
knew what the feeling was, the crystal had bonded him to Serenity. 
It had created a chain stronger than death between them.
	Raina appeared suddenly at her mother’s side, “What have
you done?!” her voice was smooth but full of hostility.  Queen
Serenity stared at her oldest daughter, disturbed by the quiet
outburst.  She could feel Raina’s anger and resentment toward her
sister clear as day. 
	Queen Serenity narrowed her cold grey eyes and started to
speak as if she were talking to a five year old, “Ensuring the safety
of our race.  As long as that crystal exists we can survive.  The
rebels will be looking for it, and when they can not find it they will
assume you have it.  They will never think that Serenity holds it
inside her being.  She can only call it forth in times of great need,
she is the true crystal holder now, it has been soul bonded to her.” 
Raina nodded, she knew that was her mother’s plan.  It didn’t
make her any happier though, she felt cheated, the future queen
was supposed to have the main control of the crystal when the time
came.
	Rhea turned her teary eyes toward her bewildered son,
“Endymion, please let us go home now.  This world is too painful
to remain in any longer.” Queen Serenity patted her friend’s
shoulder in comfort.
	“You will be in my prayers Rhea.” The terran queen
nodded and hugged her friend tightly.
	“Are you not coming with us?” Queen Serenity shook her
head.
	“It is my duty to remain in my kingdom, no matter what the
cost.  Please take care of my daughters.” Rhea smiled a watery grin
at her.
	“Of course dear friend.” Rhea stepped aboard the
spacecraft to take them home and her husband followed suit. 
Endymion cradled Serenity ever closer to his aching body and
walked slowly up the flight of stairs, pausing at the top to look
back at Raina and Queen Serenity before entering the main
chamber.
	Raina kept her attention focused solely on the woman in
front of her, “He is soul bonded to her now, why did you feel the
need to do that?” her eyes were cold as steel, her gaze matching
her mother’s, harsh and unyielding.
	“I saw something inside of him that made me do it.  He
holds a great degree of love for your sister, they are bonded even
without the silver crystal’s help.” she smiled at the daughter that
stood next to her, Raina did not return the warm gesture.  Serenity
opened Raina’s hand and dropped a small charm into the palm. 
“Some day you’ll see.”
	Raina let the cool chain dangle from her fingers and
examined the locket that was suspended at the end of it.  “It’s
beautiful.” she breathed, all anger temporarily forgotten.  Queen
Serenity gave her daughter a quick hug and smoothed the
chocolate brown hair away from her face.
	“I love you and your sister very much.  Some day you both
will come back here and save this kingdom, I have faith in you.”
Raina’s eyes glistened with tears and she turned toward the craft. 
With a quick wave she stepped inside.  The engines fired up and
the doors slid open overhead.  It hovered a few feet above the
ground before slowly lifting off and shooting into space.

	~ To be continued... ~

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