Sweet Surrender		
	Part 1/?
	By Elisabeth James
	squall_no_megami@ameritech.net

	*ducks as objects come at her head*  WAIT!  before you
all call for my head for starting yet another fic without finishing
Forbidden Hearts, I have a good explanation.  *everyone pauses* 
Well... no not really, I just wanted to write something new.  *ducks
again*  But this might cause some inspiration for FH!  *backs
away* I can see where this is heading, I’m outta here!  *takes off*

	Disclaimer: I don’t own Sailor Moon.

	American names disclaimer- this fic just wouldn’t have
worked in Japan so much to my chagrin I have to use the dub
names *shudders* please forgive me.

	
	Serena Bancroft knelt down with a soft groan, the hard
ground was unyielding to her already sore knees.  She could feel
the sweat running down the side of her face and soaking through
her pale purple T-shirt.  She shot a glance toward her left, her
mother was quickly digging holes to place the plants into.  Serena
gave a quick jerk to the handle of the red wagon sitting a few feet
from her and pulled it closer.
	It was overflowing with greenery, flowers bloomed
amongst the branches and it reminded her of a painting the way the
colors flowed together.  She brushed the sweat from her forehead
and let out a soft sigh.  There were far better places she could be at
this moment. 
	Her mother’s work was a place Serena seldom wanted to
be.  She hated gardening, the small green plants she always kept in
her bedroom seemed to die no matter what she did.  She sighed as
she picked up a small flowering bush from the small cart and
handed it to her mother. 
	“What’s wrong Serena?” her mother was a quiet woman,
who rarely spoke to anyone but her daughter or her employer. 
Serena smiled at the obvious concern, but wasn’t about to tell her
mom what she really thought of her job.
	“I’m just tired that’s all, school seemed to drag on this
week.” she picked up a garden trowel and started to dig.  The soft
black dirt gave easily to the metal tool, and she plopped another
plant into the ground.
	“I’m sorry to hear that.” she smiled at her 16 year old
daughter, “I spoke to Mr. Harrison today.  He’s more than willing
to take you on as an employee.” Serena stopped patting down the
dirt and turned to look at the older woman next to her.
	“I thought we agreed that I wouldn’t work with you.  You
know gardening is not my thing.” Mrs. Bancroft barely glanced her
way as she continued to dig.
	“You need the money, you can’t keep painting all the time. 
You need to get out and do something with your life.” her mother’s
voice didn’t rise above a loud whisper, as always, but the
disapproval was there.  Serena shook her head, so that was the
problem.  Painting was Serena’s passion in life, it was the one
thing she excelled at.  Her mother had always frowned upon it,
wanting her daughter to do more with her life.
	“I hate this place mom, you know that.  It’s not just the
gardening I can’t stand.” she glanced at the large house to her left. 
The entire Harrison estate made her sick, they lived in
extravagance while paying their employees next to nothing for
their hard work and loyalty.  Mrs. Bancroft had worked here for
years as the gardener and she and her daughter could barely afford
the apartment they currently resided in.
	“Honey, you hardly know the Harrisons.  One little staff
party-” Serena stood up abruptly and stared downward at her
mother.
	“They didn’t even know your name!  You’ve worked here
my entire life and they don’t even know who you are!  There’s
something wrong with that.” Mrs. Bancroft realized she had lost
the fight to have her daughter accept the job as her assistant.
	“Fine Serena, I will inform Mr. Harrison tomorrow that I’ll
continue to work here without your help.  He’ll be pleased with the
prospect of not having to pay you.” 
	Serena rolled her eyes, “I hate all of them and everything
they stand for mother, nothing will ever change that.”  

	Darien Harrison pushed back the white curtains that
blocked his view of the girl in his yard.  She was fascinating to
watch, a being from completely outside his circle.  He took another
bite from his apple, never taking his piercing blue eyes from her
form.  He could hear someone come up behind him, trying to see
what he was looking at so intensely.  He set the core down on the
table and spotted his little sister looking over his shoulder.
	“Who is she?” his voice was soft with emotion and his
younger sister took a step back.  This wasn’t the Darien she knew,
her brother had always been cold, silent, almost heartless to those
who didn’t know him.
	“That’s the gardener’s daughter.  I don’t know her name,
I’ve never bothered to speak to her.” Mehgan smiled and ruffled
her big brother’s hair, “Maybe you should go out there and
introduce yourself.”
	Darien shook his head, “I would never know what to say to
her, I’m sure we have nothing in common.” his voice remained
steady, not skipping a beat.  A brief smile crossed Mehgan’s face,
that was the Darien she knew. 
	“How about hi, most girls seem to like that.  It should
invoke a response as well.” she smiled sweetly at him and took his
hand, meaning to pull him toward the kitchen door.  He planted his
heels firmly and wouldn’t budge.
	“Mehg, if you were smart you would let go of my hand.”
	She raised an eyebrow in his direction, “And if I don’t?”
	She let out a loud shriek as his arms wrapped tightly around
her waist and began to tickle her.
	“Stop it!” Mehgan struggled out of the vice grip, tears
streaming down her cheeks from laughing.  Darien grinned
boyishly and was about to turn back to the window to watch the
blond in the garden some more when the phone interrupted him. 
Mehgan grabbed the receiver and said a cheerful hello.  She placed
her hand over the mouthpiece.
	“It’s Rachael, do you want to talk to her?” he motioned for
the phone and smiled as his sister walked out of the kitchen,
abandoning her quest.
	“Hi honey.  What’s up?” he leaned against the table, and
resumed his staring.
	“Not much I was just wondering if I could stop by tonight,
there’s something important I needed to speak to you about.” his
eyebrows narrowed at the words.
	“Is something wrong?” he asked, trying not to betray his
confusion in his voice.
	She laughed softly, almost nervously, “No, just want to
talk.  I’ll stop by about 8:30 or so.”
	“Okay, I’ll see you then.  Bye.” he gently hung up the
phone, his thoughts completely torn away from the gardener’s
daughter.  Deep in thought he walked out of the kitchen.	

	Serena let another blob of paint fall onto her canvas before
smearing it around.  She was aiming for something abstract, just a
blur of colors to describe her feelings.  So far it wasn’t working
out.
	She wasn’t in the mood to paint tonight, she felt restless,
she needed to get up and move around.  She set her paintbrush
down carefully on her pallet and walked out of her bedroom.  
	The setting sun cast long shadows around the tiny
apartment, filling the space with a heavenly golden glow.  She
could smell dinner cooking in the kitchen and made her way
around all the boxes of gardening equipment that had secured a
permanent place in their living room.
	“What’s for dinner?”  Serena watched as her mother pulled
out an inconspicuous object from inside the oven.  The older
woman stood up and smiled at her daughter.
	“Barbecued chicken.” her daughter made a terrible face.
	“I’m a vegetarian mom, you know that.” her mother started
to laugh.
	“I always think you’ll give up on that sooner or later.  Does
that mean you don’t want to eat here tonight?” Serena shrugged
and remained in the doorway watching her mother.  “Well since
that obviously appears to be the case, could you do me a favor?”
	“Well I had to go and drop off some of my paintings at the
college for the art show next week.” Serena said apologetically
	“Oh good, you can do this on your way there.  I left some
of my equipment at the Harrison house this afternoon and I need it
for tomorrow when I go to Emily’s house to help her out.”
	“Please don’t make me go, once was enough for a lifetime
today.” she knew she was whining but couldn’t help it, her mother
knew how she felt about those people.
	“I left the box by the garage, it should only take a minute to
grab and then you can be on your way again.” her mother charged
onward, flashing her child a knowing smile.
	“Fine, I suppose I can stop if it makes you happy.” Serena
walked out of the kitchen and back to her bedroom to gather up the
pieces she had decided to enter in the art show.
	
	She drove silently to the mansion on the other side of town,
deep in thought.  She pulled up into the long driveway and parked
her car back near the garage so she wouldn’t have far to walk.  She
stepped slowly out of the car, admiring the way the large house
stood against the night sky.  It was aglow with lights in almost
every room and the silhouette of people could be made out as they
walked past the windows.  She sighed, she loved that house even if
she hated the people inside of it.
	She walked to the side of the garage and saw the large box
almost immediately.  But something drew her gaze to far right and
she saw the tennis courts glowing with harsh white lights overhead
and a solitary figure hitting balls against the chain link fence that
surrounded it.
	Without so much as another glance at the object that was
her reason for being here she started toward the courts, unsure of
what she was looking for. 
	She watched the man before her slam another ball into the
fence, the cold steel reverberated, the ringing sound cut through
the warm night air.  She stopped a few feet, standing in the
shadows, observing silently.
	His muscular back rippled underneath his shirt as he threw
another ball into the air and smashed it as hard as he could.  The
white lights enabled her a better look at his face, and she felt a soft
gasp escape her throat.  
	She took a few tentative steps forward, drawn by his
commanding profile.  His dark hair shone underneath the light
falling over his brilliant blue eyes.  She felt the urge to paint him,
and capture all that beauty on the canvas.  His face was troubled,
she almost smiled at the sight.  What did a man like that have to
worry about?
	She continued around the fence, walking carefully to not
alert him to her presence. She stopped behind him, and placed her
hands silently on the fence.  She didn’t care if he noticed her now,
all she really wanted to do was speak to him and see if this was
real.
	
	Darien let his racket fall to his side as he glanced briefly at
his watch and then at the empty gate at the other end of the court. 
She should have been here by now.  Trying to contain the anger
and uneasiness he felt flowing through him, he plucked another
tennis ball from the basket by his feet and sent the ball flying
through the air.  It clattered against the metal and fell at the foot of
the gate.
	“You know you really should watch where you’re hitting
those things Darien.” a soft female voice spoke up from the
shadows as a petite girl stood at the opening to enclosed space.  He
dropped to the ground and he jogged towards her, eager to see
what her phone call from earlier meant.
	“Rachael, I thought you weren’t going to come.” his face
remained impassive, not showing any of the relief he felt inside at
seeing her and hearing her voice.
	“I said I needed to talk to you about something important. 
Maybe we should sit down somewhere.” he opened the gate and
led her inside to the bench along the side.  She sat down quickly,
eager to get the task at hand done with.  “Darien, I don’t think we
should see each other anymore.” he didn’t even flinch at the
words, it was as if he didn’t hear them.
	After a moment he spoke, “Whatever you want Rachael is
fine by me.” he didn’t look at her, instead he turned around so she
couldn’t see the pain in his eyes.
	“Don’t you even want to know why?” she stood and
touched his shoulder.  He flinched away; she had never expected
this sort of reaction of him, no matter how cold he had acted in the
past.
	“I don’t need a reason, I don’t even care.” but his voice
betrayed him, his words were filled with unknown emotions.
	She continued on anyway, “Everyone told me you’ve been
seeing someone else behind my back, even your closest friends.  I
don’t want to believe them but I not sure about our relationship
right now.  You’ve become distant lately.” she wrung her hands
together, and kept her eyes on the green carpet beneath her feet.
	“How can you say that?  How can you believe those
rumors?  You were the first girl I’ve ever really trusted, doesn’t
that mean anything to you?” he turned to face her and she was
shocked at how adamant he was about proving her accusation
wrong.
	“Do you swear nothing happened between you and anyone
else?” she whispered, touching his cheek.  His strong arms
wrapped around her, pulling her close to his form.
	“I swear Rachael, you’re the only girl for me.” he bent
down to kiss when suddenly she jerk away from him.
	“Then who’s that?!” she pointed a well manicured nail in
Serena’s direction at the other end of the court.  Darien’s eyes
widened at the sight of the angel from the garden standing only
twenty feet away.
	
	~* To be Continued... *~

	*carefully steps in again* I know this was short but I
wanted to see if anyone would be interested in seeing me finish it. 
I have big plans for this fic!  There will be plenty of romance to
come, you have my personal guarantee!

	Special thanks- Clare-chan, Lauren (who helped me write
the end, without her it wouldn’t be done), Adrianne, and Meredith,
my wonderful editor :)
	And a special shout out to all my fellow EMSiTs!!!

Liz-chan