Title: Look for me at midnight (chapter three) Author: Henra Email: HenraM@tuxedomask.com Rated: PG Wow...I loved reading all those emails. A big thankie to all of you...thank you so much. You have NO idea how much I laughed at some of the funny, dramatic comments. ^.^ Again, I’m only using the Sailor Moon characters in the fanfic, I do not claim any right to them. But heck, I claim the right of this story! (no, duh.) By the way...there’s some swearing...but don’t worry about it that much. Chapter three ************** Serena woke up, and found herself lying in her own big, comfortable bed. She yawned sleepily and sat up. Well, tried to. Instantly, before she could push herself to a sitting position, she cried out a little, feeling aches on her arms. “What the--” She breathed in deeply, and closed her eyes again, resting. What happened? Then she remembered, and winced. “Ow, ow, ow...” she murmured as she tried to stand up. The pain was still there, but she didn’t feel as hurt as she had been. Serena stopped, and tried to remember who was it that came to her rescue. “Whoever it was...I own him my life.” She held her head with her left hand, and tried to walk. She opened her bedroom door, and hesitated beside it. She bit her lip, thinking. Did her mother know what happened last night? Did ANYONE know what happened last night? Who was it that brought her out of the garden and up to her room? “Princess!” Serena’s gaze immediately flew to the woman walking quickly toward her down the hallway. She smiled at Bessy. “Hey...anything wrong?” “Princess, where were you last night? Queen Serenity was worried sick!” Bessy exclaimed, while giving Serena a full body look-over. Serena unconsciously hid her arms behind her back, hoping that Bessy didn’t see the little scratches on them yet. “Urr...where is Mother? I would like to talk to her,” Serena answered, pretending to be looking around. Her eyes darted around the staircase, the paintings on the wall...anywhere but the suspicious eyes of Bessy’s. Bessy nodded, and slightly bowed. “She’s in her bedroom.” Serena smiled in order to let Bessy know that there was nothing to worry about, and then strolled down the hallway. She liked the old maid...Bessy was intelligent, calm, and always did things better than they were supposed to be. Serena trusted her, and treated her as an old friend. She slowed her steps when she saw that she almost reached the grand bedroom of her mother’s. She knocked gently on the closed door. “Come in.” Serena pushed open the door and glanced inside. Her mother was standing in front of her full-length mirror, and looked at the reflection when Serena came in. She flung around, eyes wide. “Serena!” Serena lowered her head, and curtsied. “Mother...I’m sorry, I--” “Don’t be,” Queen Serenity interrupted, walking up to her, “My God, I thought something dreadful happened to you! I was worried sick when I went to your room and didn’t see you last night!” Serena smiled at her mother, and walked inside. “Something happened, Mother...” Serenity was silent. She sat down next to Serena on the bed. “Tell me.” Serena took a deep breath, and began. “I don’t know how it happened, Mother...all I know is--I was staying pretty late in the garden last night. I sort of lost track of time, and I was just sitting peacefully there leaning on the trunk, when-when this, this weird feeling came over me. I don’t know how to explain it--but, it was like something chilling. So I stood up, and realized how dark it actually was. There were no lights on, Mother--” “No lights?” Serenity interrupted, frowning. “How can there be no lights? We ALWAYS have lights.” “Like I said, I don’t know.” Serena paused for a moment, then went on. “Anyway, I was walking back, the simple breeze just became stronger and stronger--and it was very cold, too. And suddenly, this pain just hit me... and all these sand and dust and things began to fly around, and I-I just gave in. It hurt too much, Mother...” She whispered the last words, feeling the tears coming. Serenity hugged her daughter, and sighed. She let go and looked at Serena seriously. “Let me see the marks.” “Marks?” Serena repeated. How did her mother know there were marks? She didn’t say anything about the sand and dust leaving scratches behind, did she? She swallowed and extended her arms. Serenity gasped slightly and held Serena’s arms in her hands as she carefully observed them. She looked up, and leaned in closer to look at Serena’s face. “Your face is also--” “I know, Mother,” Serena quickly replied, lowering her eyes. Serenity sighed. She got up from the bed and walked toward the windows. “Oh, God...” and then a sob came out of her throat. “Mother?” Serena also stood up, alarmed, as she walked slowly toward Serenity. She stopped behind her, not sure what to do. Serenity covered her mouth with her left hand, and sniffed. She looked at Serena, eyes red. “I’m sorry, I just--I don’t like this, Serena. Not at all...I don’t like the sound of those sand and dust attacking you last night.” “But, Mother, it might not be an attack. Maybe the wind was too harsh, and--” Serena stopped midsentence, sensing her Mother’s loud sigh. “Serena...this might be a sign of what’s going to happen soon.” “Mother--how can you tell?” “I just got this feeling...it--it’s hard to explain.” Serena bit her lip as she stared at the woman in front of her. Suddenly, she was afraid. Not afraid of what her mother was afraid of, but afraid of who the next victim will be. Was there even going to BE a next victim? And then...she thought of him. That guy that saved her--the guy that brought her from the garden all the way up to her bedroom, and without anyone noticing. Serena thought hard, trying to at least get a mental picture of what he looked like, but she couldn’t make out any features on his face, only his silhouette. “Mother?” Serenity turned around, “Yes, my dear?” Should she tell her? She probably should...but then, her mother was bound to ask more questions, and would start to get suspicious of this guy, and then would want somebody to guard her everyday. And what if it was Simon? He was Serenity’s most trusted guard. The thought of Simon being everywhere with her horrified Serena. “You don’t have to worry that much...” she paused, “I mean, I can take care of myself, you know.” “I know, my daughter.” Serenity smiled. “And...there’s another thing.” Serena swallowed, wetting her lips. “What?” “I--um, fell, when I was in the garden last night--unconscious. And all I saw was blackness until I felt this warmth touching me. I opened my eyes, and saw, barely, this outline of a person. It was dark, Mother, so I couldn’t see his face. And then, I went to sleep again--I think...and when I woke up, I was in the palace again. Bessy told me that you looked for me, and so I think,” Serena continued thoughtfully, “that this person--whoever he is, somehow brought me back into the palace without bothering anyone.” Serenity nodded, taking in everything. “And why, exactly, you think this is a guy?” Serena thought. “I don’t know...the outline of the person looked like a young man.” “Okay.” Serenity smiled and kissed the top of Serena’s head. “Now you go and rest, dear...and be sure to eat plenty, too. I’m sure it drained a lot of your energy last night.” “I will, Mother.” Serena turned to go. “Wait!” Serena turned around again, “Yes?” “Have you been giving any thoughts of the question I asked you the other day?” Serenity asked, looking somehow uncomfortable. Serena turned fully around this time, facing her mother. “No...what question was that, Mother? I’m afraid I don’t remember.” “Your--suitor, Serena.” Serena almost let out an annoyed sigh, but stopped herself. “No, I have not. I don’t want to.” The last words came out of her mouth sounding like whines. “Daughter...please. Just hear me out. When I was young, I got married at seventeen, and you’re seventeen now...so it’s very likely that you should be considering a good suitor. Most royal girls think about marriages when they are fifteen.” “It’s just that--I don’t like any of the suitors,” Serena answered, forcing herself not to run out of the room and out of this conversation. Serenity half-smiled. “You didn’t even meet any yet, so how can you say that?” She walked over to her bed, and sat down, eyes still looking at Serena. “Tell you what--I will schedule a meeting next week, and I would invite all the suitors that I, personally have already looked at and think are considerable...and you can pick one. If not, at least take a look at them.” Serena didn’t know what to do. Things were happening too fast, her head was beginning to spin. How could she say no when her mother was looking at her expectedly like that? God, she just wanted to have fun and enjoy being young, and--suitors already? But, it wouldn’t hurt to just look at some of them, would it? Besides--Serena forced the words into her brain--she might like one. “Yes, Mother...” she nodded nervously, “I guess you can do that.” “Great!” Serenity seemed relieved, and her smile widened. “So--um, next week?” “Yes, my dear, next week.” Serena nodded again, as if to confirm the decision in her head. She nervously looked at her mother, then started toward the door. Next week... ... Serena distractedly opened the door and stepped out. Suddenly, the hallway seemed so dark...she didn’t see the beautiful portraits hanging on the walls today--she could only imagine ugly suitors walking between them next week...she held back a sniffle. She closed her mother’s bedroom door with a bang. “Get over here, boy...look at it--the soil’s not soft enough! How can we plant flowers if the soil isn’t good?” the head guy in the yard shouted. Darien shut his eyes briefly and breathed in and out. It was all he could do to keep himself from spinning around and punching the guy in the jaw. He sighed impatiently and turned around, head down. It certainly wouldn’t help anything if the guy saw what hateful expression he had on his face. “Where?” he asked in a rough voice. “That spot over there, by the fence. Better dig them up,” the guy told him, carelessly pointing with a finger. Darien glanced up from the ground for a second just to see the place, and then quickly lowered his gaze again. He held the tool in his hand, and walked over. He bent his back, and started softening the soil. “This is just plain hell. Of all the places I could be right now--I have to be HERE...” he shook his head, “doing some hard ground-digging work.” He tried to concentrate on working, but his thoughts were flying around in a swirl...all messed up and unfocused. His gaze flew around him as he worked, and he studied each and every one of the working servants. Some were tall and dark, with strong builds and very serious expression pasted on their faces--it looked almost as if they never laughed. Some were short, with round stomachs; Darien guessed they were in their mid forties or something. He wondered why so many men came here to work their butts off, just for some money. But, of course--he wouldn’t understand. After all, HE hadn’t come here to work just in the hope of getting paid in big money, so why was he thinking about these things? These men all had families, he could tell, from the expressions on their faces. Sure, they were working, but their faces all showed concerns--always distracted. They weren’t concentrating on working, they were thinking very deeply into things. And then, he started--as he always did these days, it seemed--to think about his own family. A scowl started working its way to his face, as it always did when he thought about his family. Were they okay? Were they thinking about him? Did they know where he was? Were they worried about where he was? Darien sighed. How was his family, anyway? Then, suddenly, out of the blue--he thought about Serena. The princess. He couldn’t help but smile as he remembered her beautiful face. Her eyes always seemed so serene and innocent...when she looked at him, it looked they were always sparkling with some sort of light. He loved that blonde hair of hers--he found the peculiar hairstyle amusing. He knew he couldn’t say anything about it, since that was the same hairstyle the queen wore...yet, he couldn’t help but wonder where on Moon they got this idea from. Or, maybe...it was tradition. Again with the family stuff. Darien sighed impatiently and tried to focus his eyes on the dirt underneath him. It was still hard to concentrate, but now his thoughts weren’t on several things at once anymore...they were all now focused on Serena. And--he allowed a small smile to form--he liked focusing only on her. Serena smoothed the bottom of her skirt, and sat down on the grass. She opened the heavy old book and put it on her lap. It was something she just found when she was browsing through the old library today. It was a cool day, not too sunny...just perfect for outdoor reading. She smiled slightly and got herself comfortable in her place. She flipped through the first couple of blank and introductory pages, and began to read. “So, I see a princess also entertain herself with books, huh?” Serena was barely into her fourth paragraph, and she looked at annoyingly at the person who interrupted her peacefulness. She half expected Simon, but at the exact moment when she looked up, she knew it was not him. His voice wasn’t as deep as that. Darien smiled. “Remember me?” Serena gulped, and tried to get up. But found that her legs were too numb to move. “I...” His eyes stayed on her as he came closer. Serena tilted her head back from where she was sitting to look up into his eyes. She didn’t say anything, and he stayed silent, too. She somehow knew that he had been looking for her, and couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Darien smiled back, though he had no idea why. He sat down on the grass in front of Serena, and looked down on the book in her lap. “What is that?” “What?” Serena looked down, and grinned sheepishly. “Um...that’s a-a book.” “I know that. What kind of book?” “Um...” Geez, what was the name of the book, anyway? She couldn’t remember it now. Serena flipped to the cover page, and quickly scanned the long title. “It’s--The Book of Ancient Sayings of Love and Friendship.” She returned to the page she was on, and looked at Darien. “Love and friendship, huh? Why are you so interested in that?” Serena stared at the book in her hands. “I don’t know. It just grabbed my attention, I guess. It’s really thick, you see--and I was really drawn by the title and the cover.” “Really? How?” Serena thought furiously in her mind. She breathed in, and allowed herself to be calm before she spoke. “The design. The way the people did the writing of the title. The colors of it. Everything.” Darien nodded. He studied the book in her lap for so long, Serena felt uncomfortable. She decided to push it aside to the grass beside her. She bended her legs and put her arms on her knees, chin on her arms. “So...what’s going on with you?” “Uh--nothing. The usual work. Digging, softening the soil, cleaning--all those crap,” Darien answered with a hint of anger in his voice. “Oh.” Serena’s gaze was cast to the ground. “Is it really that bad?” “Yes. That guy is watching me all the time.” “Who-who’s that?” “That stupid restless guy who’s in charge of the field whatever.” “Uh--” Serena mentally searched her brain, trying to come up with the name. “Jacob?” At the sound of the name, Darien’s whole body tensed--Serena even felt it. “Yeah. That’s right--Jacob. That’s the name of the creep.” Serena suddenly felt very uneasy. Up until now, she thought that Jacob was a nice and trusting worker. He was an old friend of her family. “Um, how-how was he bad?” The sudden flash of fury that appeared in Darien’s eyes almost made Serena gasp out loud. It was weird. It was almost as if he had some sort of PERSONAL problem with Jacob--she never seen any servant this mad at Jacob--or any head--before. He stayed silent, not answering her question. Serena studied him. He still had messy hair, there was some dirt on the tip of his nose, and his trousers were all wrinkled, with bits of wet grass on it. The bottoms of his boots were muddy, and she knew that if she were to run a finger on it, her finger would be covered with layers of dirt. Serena looked up, and observed his face. His lips were set in a straight line, jaw snapped tight, eyes narrowed at the ground. “Was--was he being extra hard on YOU or something? I mean, from what I know--Jacob isn’t that bad. Maybe he just seems hard on you because you’re new here,” Serena said hesitantly. Darien’s eyes flew to her in an instant. His gaze hardened. “You are mocking me,” he stated simply. This time Serena really gasped out loud. “What?” she breathed. “You should know how Jacob is toward us--SERVANTS. What did you even mean by ‘was he being extra hard on you or something?’ Please, Serena--I don’t need that right now.” He narrowed his eyes on her again, and then turned to stare at this boots. Serena was speechless. What was he talking about? “You don’t need WHAT, Darien?” “You. Acting like an innocent girl. I know that you know. Don’t pity me.” “WHAT?” Serena glared at him, annoyance welling up. “I’m not pitying you! God, what did I say? I was just asking a simple question, and trying to figure out the correct explanation!” She turned away. A shadow blocked the sun from shining down on Serena. She looked up, and saw that Darien had stood up. There was a deep frown on his face, and she could only stand up, too, to see his face clearly. “What?” “I’m going to go.” This time the fury in his voice was gone, replaced by definite coolness. “It was nice to run into you again, Princess Serena.” Darien bowed and turned to leave. Serena almost shivered under those two short sentences he spoke. They were so cold and distant--and his eyes...the warmth that she once saw in them was nowhere to be seen...now she can’t even read what his eyes told. “Wait!” she exclaimed, before she could stop herself. She half ran to catch up with him. “What is wrong? Why won’t you answer my question?” Darien stopped walking, but didn’t turn to her. “Nothing’s wrong, your majesty, nothing that you should be concerned about.” “Darien, what is it that I said? Tell me. I know something’s wrong--but I don’t know what!” Serena bit her lip, stopping herself before she could go on. She couldn’t handle being treated this coldly. She was a princess. No princess should be treated like this. “Look, princess, I already told you--there’s nothing wrong, and even if there was, it wouldn’t concern you.” “Why?” He hesitated before going on. “Because--you won’t understand any of it.” “Any of...what?” “The problem.” “See! I knew there was a problem. What is it?” Serena took a step closer to him, searching his eyes for anything that his lips won’t tell. “You wouldn’t understand.” “God, Darien!” Serena exclaimed, holding back frustrating tears. “You keep on saying that! How do you know? You didn’t even tell what is it that I wouldn’t understand.” “I don’t need to tell you in order to know that you wouldn’t understand.” Serena glared at him, a tear rolled down her cheek, but it went unnoticed. She decided to give it one last try. She didn’t know why she kept on insisting a servant to tell her his problem--usually she wouldn’t even care. “That’s it. You are making me do this. Fellow servant by the name of Darien, I, as Princess Serena, command you to tell me what’s bothering you.” Darien finally glanced at her for one second, then looked away again. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked in a chilly tone. “I’m commanding you to tell me. You have to now. I’m not asking you anymore, Darien--I’m commanding you. There’s no choice but to tell me.” Serena knew she sounded like a whining kid, but she didn’t care. He was being too stubborn. Darien slowly made eye contact with Serena. She had to suck in big breaths of air when she looked into those blue eyes. His gaze darkened. “You are commanding me now, aren’t you, princess? What, you don’t have any other ways but to use your little useless title to get a servant to talk? Aren’t princesses supposed to be warm and nice to everyone? I always thought that the Princess of the Moon never COMMANDED anyone to do anything.” Serena flushed. She couldn’t help it. He hit a point. She never did command anyone to do anything for her--she always asked. And nicely, too. But now--Serena swallowed--that didn’t matter anymore. All she wanted to do now was to shake the truth out of him. “What would you know? Now...aren’t you going to answer?” “And what if I don’t want to?” “Tha-that’s--that’s disobeying a princess!” Serena stuttered, eyes widening. Darien snorted. “So? Do I get hit if I disobey a princess?” Serena didn’t know what else to do but stare at him. Honestly, she didn’t know what to do--no one...NO ONE had ever done this to her before. Deliberately not answering a question she asked...even saying it straight that he didn’t want to answer. While all the time being cold, when she knew he could be warm if he wanted to. “You speechless now? Are you going to COMMAND me to apologize, make you feel better? Are you just going to use that title Princess of yours again?” Darien’s voice asked sharply. “Wh-why are you suddenly like this? I just want to know what I did to make you abruptly angry all of a sudden.” Serena said quietly, ignoring his harsh remarks. She heard Darien sigh. Serena slowly, slowly let her eyes travel to him. He was staring at her. “You didn’t really do anything, okay? You just...acted like a princess, that’s what.” Serena narrowed her eyes at him. “What did you mean by I acted like a princess? I AM a princess, Darien.” “Look--the way you said things...it reminded me of...something. And that something reminded me of something else.” Darien sighed, and ran a hand through his tousled hair. “I just didn’t like the way you said ‘Was he being extra hard on you.’ I don’t want your pity. It makes you--arrogant.” “Arrogant?” Serena exclaimed. She looked at him up and down. “Who do you think you are?” A flash of something crossed his face, but it was gone in an instant. “I’m just a simple servant, your majesty, who doesn’t deserve this much of attention from you.” “I--” Serena took a deep breath, and calmed herself. “Look,” she continued more coolly, “I just want to know what is it that made you suddenly think what I was saying was mocking you. I know that we don’t know each other that long--but, could you consider telling me what’s bothering you? I know it’s much deeper than what you are really telling.” “Oooh...back to asking, aren’t we? Didn’t get your way when commanded, so think that by asking would get the upper hand again, huh?” Darien smirked as he crossed his arms in front of him. Serena sighed loudly. “That’s IT. I am not going to talk to you anymore. I can’t believe that you have...THIS side of you. I came here to read a book peacefully, and I would like to continue now. So if you don’t mind, move please.” She walked back toward where she was sitting before, grabbed the old book, and pretended to read again as she slowly slid down to the grass. Darien didn’t move. Instead he walked over to her carelessly. Serena couldn’t help but bring her eyes up to meet his again. “What?” she asked, careful to let her voice sound annoyed and cold. “You really are an arrogant little princess. A spoiled brat.” “What???” Serena snapped shut the book with a loud noise, and glared at the figure before her. “I think you forgot something, Darien--that you’re a SERVANT. Servants can’t talk to a princess this way. You just wait--I’m going to tell whoever brought you here to work how you behaved, and he or she would then bring you back to where you belong. Which ISN’T here, by the way.” “Be my guest to find that person.” Serena glared at him, and he expressionlessly stared back. His eyes were readable now, but they contained some sort of anger, frustration...and hatred. Then, as if he just realized that she could read into him, Darien turned his gaze away. He brushed off some grass on his trousers, and began to walk away. Immediately, Serena panicked. He was just going to walk like that? No. She couldn’t let it. She had wanted him to leave...but now, watching him walking away, Serena somehow got the feeling that if she let him, things would never be the same. “Wait!” she called out. Then, realizing she might sound too desperate, she cleared her throat, and added coldly, “You’re just going to walk away like this? Don’t you even KNOW what kind of palace rules you just disobeyed?” He stopped. He turned around, anger flashing in his eyes. “No. But would you like to list them out for me? Let’s see...do they include things like, ‘not wanting pity from a princess,’ ‘not wanting to talk about things that one feels uncomfortable in?’ Well...if they are the ‘rules’ you are talking about, then I’m sorry--but I don’t think that’s breaking anything.” “I...you--you...” Serena stuttered, temporarily forgetting what she was going to say. “You--GOD, you are so one of the WORST servitors I’ve ever met!” she finally blurted out, her lips saying the words without any thinking. “Thank you for sharing,” Darien replied emotionlessly, as he narrowed his eyes. “You know what--forget it. Forget EVERYTHING. Forget I ever saw you, forget you ever met me, forget that talk we had, forget--” Serena stopped in midsentence when suddenly the whole sky darkened. “Oh...crap.” Serena glanced at Darien, and felt panic. Total, utter panic. She looked up at the sky, and felt a chill going through her. Clouds were moving in as quick as lightning, covering every inch of light, engulfing the sky in heavy darkness. “Oh, crap,” Darien repeated again, his voice lower this time. He looked around him, face alert as he scanned for any unusual object. Everything seemed pretty okay, much to his relief. But--the sky. It was pitch-black now, and Serena couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything, except maybe the beating of her racing heart. “Darien?” she called out shakily, extending a hand toward where she thought he was. At least, where he was standing before. Hearing her voice, Darien immediately turned toward it. He squinted his eyes, catching some sparkles--from her blue eyes. “Serena, don’t move.” Serena dropped her hand. She licked her dry lips. “Darien?” she said again. “Don’t move. Just stay still. I’m coming to get you.” She nodded, even though she knew he couldn’t see her. It felt like she was blind, since she was unable to see anything. She rolled her eyes around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the moving figure of Darien’s. She thought she sensed a movement to her left. “Darien?” “I’m here. Hold out your hand to where you think my voice is coming from.” His voice was commanding, and for a moment, Serena felt annoyance welling up inside her. “Can’t you at least ask me? I AM a princess, you know, and you’re a--” “SERENA!” The sudden outburst almost made her jump. She swallowed the words that were about to jump out of her mouth back. “Just do what I say, okay? It’s not going to help either of us if you keep thinking that you’re high above me.” Serena was just about to say ‘But I am above you” but thought better of it. She slowly and hesitantly extended her hand. “Darien?” “Yes. Okay...” Darien’s eyes desperately concentrated on seeing a motion, and he slowly made his way toward Serena. His chest touched suddenly something, and he jumped back. Serena pulled her hand back, gasping. “What was that?” “What?” Darien turned to look at her--or rather, tried to. Her voice was close now. Very close. “Extend your arm again. To the same place, Serena.” She did as she was told. And touched something again. Darien grabbed it immediately, seizing it even tighter when he felt it pulling back. “Is that your hand?” Serena sighed, relieved. “Yes! Yes, that’s my hand.” Darien stepped closer, and he felt Serena’s breath on his neck. He let go of her hand, and held out his hands. His cupped her face in them after a few hesitating moments. “Serena.” “Oh, god...” Serena fell into his arms. She clutched his shirt, holding on to it as if she was afraid he would disappear. “I can’t see anything...” “I know. I can’t, either.” Darien put his head down on top of hers, and pulled her closer. “If you hear any unusual sound at all, Serena, tell me, okay? Or if you catch anything that’s worth mentioning in the darkness...tell me. Otherwise, stay still and wait until it’s all over.” Serena could only nod. “Darien? What’s going on?” She heard him sigh deeply. “Trust me--if I knew, I wouldn’t be here right now.” Serena didn’t understand what he was saying; she just snuggled closer into his arms. Everything was silent around them--Serena had never heard such quietness in her life. It was almost as if all living things stopped in motion, waiting...waiting for something to tell them it was okay again. She sighed, and closed her eyes, not sensing anything different, since she saw the same blackness when her eyes were open. The warmth from Darien grew on her now. Serena found herself liking it more and more, enjoying it more and more. Now in the silent darkness, his warmth was the only comfort to Serena that somehow things could be okay again. Suddenly--Serena thought of her mother. Her friends...were they all okay? It scared her, the sudden chill she experienced. Tears rose in her eyes, and she blinked furiously to keep them from coming out, but no success. A drop landed on her forearm, which was pressed against Darien’s chest. Another dropped, and another, another... Darien felt something wet on his arm, and automatically looked down, but then remembered that he couldn’t see anything. He felt it then--again, and again...until a small liquid ran down his arm. He realized instantly that Serena was crying softly. At first he panicked--he never had a crying young woman in his arms before. But then, his mind took over, and he tightened his arms around her. “I wish this would all be over...” Serena whispered. Suddenly, she wasn’t crying about the darkness anymore. She was crying about her life, her father, her place as a princess...her future suitor. Emotions flowed through her as tears rolled down, and Serena was powerless to stop them. She knew they were landing on Darien’s arm, and she wondered why he hadn’t made any move to wipe them off. He didn’t say anything. He couldn’t find anything intelligent in his mind to say to the weeping girl. It never once crossed his mind that he was actually holding the Princess of Moon in his arms--he only thought of her at that moment as a sad young woman, needed to be comforted. “It will be. Soon.” The words stung him. Those words were exactly the words his mother had spoke to him in that always calm voice of hers whenever she knew that something WAS terribly wrong. And then, unexpectedly, Darien saddened. He knew in his heart that Serena was crying because she was thinking of her family, her friends...maybe something more. Darien shut his eyes, wiping away all mental images he had of his family. But then--just as he squeezed, tears came pouring out. He didn’t realize that they were gathered in his eye sockets, just waiting to come out with a gentle push. Since he was holding Serena, Darien couldn’t move his hand to wipe the tears away, so he let the remaining ones drop, and fought to have control over himself again. He felt more wetness on his arm, but ignored them. But, of course, things weren’t ever going to BE normal again. Darien knew what the sudden darkening of the sky meant--his father didn’t make him memorize all those ancient books for nothing. He knew that danger was creeping closer and closer in a steady pace. It pained him to think that someday...someday this whole palace...this whole area...would-- Darien kept himself from groaning out loud at the thought. “Darien?” Serena’s sudden shaky voice sounded like thunder in the silent night. “Yes?” “How long has it been now? I mean...since the sky went black.” “I don’t know, Serena. Probably half an hour or something. It seems long, I know.” “What is this, anyway? What is going on?” She sought for some logical answers, he knew. Answers, unfortunately, Darien couldn’t provide for her. “I don’t know. But don’t worry about it, okay? Come on...let’s try to sit down on the grass or something. I’m getting sort of tired standing.” Darien felt Serena nod to his chest. He let go of her, but still clutched her hand tightly. Just as he was about to kneel and try to feel the ground, the sudden burst of light nearly blinded him. The sky was lighting up. Again, the clouds were moving, but they were moving away from their sights--disappearing--almost. Darien narrowed his eyes as he watched them. His right hand was still clutching tightly at Serena’s left hand, and he turned his back to her to watch his left. While Serena turned to her right, desperately trying to see the palace. Darien was amazed at how everything seemed to be in place--he expected damages. But he wasn’t. Nope--he was far from it. He knew THAT woman’s way of doing things. He was suspicious. All of a sudden, he remembered the girl by his side, and immediately turned to her...at the same time she turned to him. Darien stared into her sky blue eyes...eyes that were full of emotions right then--that were too much. Too readable. He never experienced so much radiating energy and...passions at the same time in his life. She could see now. Anger, hatred, frustration, sadness, happiness, longing--all those feelings were swirling in Darien’s eyes. For a moment, she felt as if she herself had experienced something--something dramatic and too much to handle. Though...she somehow knew she was only feeling part of what Darien had felt. Darien dropped Serena’s hand, and she felt the cold air flying against her falling hand. She held his gaze, not letting it wander to anywhere else. “Darien--” He was scared. He saw reflecting emotions in her eyes...he knew that she knew what was inside him. He cleared his throat, and tried his best to look nonchalant. “You--uh, you should probably go back to check if your family and...other people in the palace are okay.” He forced his eyes to wander somewhere else. Serena nodded. She didn’t move. “And I...uh--I’d better go check if, um, my things are okay.” She nodded again. Darien turned his gaze back to her. “Aren’t you going to...?” “Yeah,” she finally said. “I am.” Serena hesitantly looked down at her hands, which were now cold. She still didn’t move. “Don’t, uh, don’t worry about wh-what happened, okay? You should probably ask Queen Serenity or something...maybe she knows a thing...or two about, about it. You know, since she’s the queen. And all.” Darien almost smacked himself, hearing how dumb he sounded. “Yeah. Mother probably knows,” she answered. “Yeah.” Darien stole one last look at her, and awkwardly walked away, half-expecting her to call out after him. She didn’t. He walked and walked, gaining speed with each step. Suddenly--he was furious. He knew he and his family had something to do with that abrupt darkness. Why did he even get close to Princess Serena? Why couldn’t he just stay out of everything? He hadn’t expected someone who...who could read him like that. Darien cursed under his breath. He was going to stay out from now on. Serena took a deep breath. She walked inside the palace, looking around for anyone she knew. Everything was eerily silent. She walked up the stairs, and could hear her heart beating loudly in her chest. No one was in sight. Usually, even before she walked inside the palace, she could hear noises. Laughter, small humming, talking...now, not only were there no sound, there was no people. She shuddered at the thought. Then, she heard voices. Relieved, Serena called out, “Mother? Bessy?” A door opened down the hallway, and she hurried toward it. She peeked inside, and found Queen Serenity numbly sitting on the edge of a chair, staring at the open air. “Mother?” At the sound of her voice, Serenity’s head immediately snapped up and her gaze was focused on Serena. She watched as her mother’s expression turned from sad to relieved, then broke into a huge smile. Serenity stood up from where she was sitting and practically leapt toward Serena. “Oh my daughter...thank goodness you’re okay.” It was at that moment that Serena noticed four other forms in the room. She gently broke away from her mother, and ran toward them. “Raye! Mina! Amy! Lita! My gosh, you’re all here!” She hugged each one of them tightly. Even though they were happy to see her, Serena noticed that they all looked serious. She took a step back, so she could look at them all at once. “What’s wrong?” “I’m sure you experienced the sky blacking...” Raye said, hesitantly. Serena suddenly remembered what happened with Darien, and flushed. She turned her head slightly away, in hope that her friends didn’t catch her expression. She nodded. “And we have to do something about it, princess,” Mina told her. Serena stared right back at her friend, not caring if her face was pink or not. She never heard Mina address her by ‘princess’ before. She was not sure if she liked this formal name-calling. Queen Serenity walked over to them, a worried yet cold expression on her face. “Whatever’s causing that is going to do much more.” “Your majesty...” Lita began. Serenity held up a hand, silencing her. “I know what you’re thinking. I know we have to protect the kingdom and...its princess.” She glanced at Serena, then turned back to look at the four girls. “But the thing is, no one knows the cause for everything. You see, what’s happened so far--the sand and dust to Serena, the sky blackening--all had something to do with the nature. Or maybe they are just plain coincidences...we never know. There IS someone behind all of this, but we don’t know who. He or she hasn’t showed his face yet...and we can’t possibly fight against the weather, can we?” Amy looked down on the floor, and looked thoughtful. Lita clenched her fist and narrowed her eyes. “We’ll fight it if we can find a way.” “No, Lit.” Raye looked at Lita. There was a serious frown on her face. “There is no way--you said it, right, Queen Serenity?” Mina asked, turning her gaze away to look at the queen. “No. Not right now, anyway. The first thing we got to do--we got to get the person to show his or her face. THE one. The one that’s behind everything.” Serenity walked to the window, her eyes staring at something far away. “And how are we suppose to do that, Mother?” Serena asked. Everyone was silent. “But for the time being,” Serenity started, “I want all of you--” she pointed to Raye, Mina, Lita, and Amy. “to stay with Serena. You guys can protect her.” Serena frowned slightly. “Mother...they need protections, too--” “You’re more important.” Raye interrupted, speaking for them. Serena stared back at her friend. “Right now, everyone, I want you to stay alert,” Queen Serenity said seriously, making eye contact with each girl in the room. “Anything unusual...tell someone.” Five heads went up and down, understanding clearly. She watched them. She watched as the girl and young man held on to each other during the blackening, she watched as the girl talked with her family and friends, she watched as the guy sat on his bed in the small room of four servitors, a thoughtful expression pasted on his face. She grabbed a lock of her red hair, and played with it with her fingers. She smiled, showing a row of white teeth. They had no idea what was coming toward them. So...the queen was telling everyone that they should coax her into showing her face, huh? She smiled again, wider this time. “Don’t worry. I will show my face...when you least expect it.” Then she laughed. He shouldn’t be here, he knew. He had wanted to stay away, didn’t he? So why was he still standing in the middle of her garden, even after his work was done? Darien sighed, exasperated at himself. He looked down on the ground. He already finished what he was told to do...and that was to plant some flower seeds to the empty ground space near the tall lamp. He knew, somehow though, that if he were to stay here a little big longer, he would see her. He sighed. His feet didn’t move to where his mind commanded them to do. He had wanted them to walk toward the small opening gate, which showed the way back toward the working room, but his feet turned away from that direction and began pacing around the garden. HER garden. Serena’s garden. Darien pushed back some black hair, and allowed his feet to lead. He observed all flowers that appeared in his vision, and was almost fascinated by how delicate they were. How...she really took care of them. ‘You planted them all by yourself?’ ‘Of course! It’s MY garden...who do you think takes care of flowers in MY garden?’ “And you have, indeed, taken very good care of them, princess,” he whispered, almost inaudibly. His feet stepped on something soft, and Darien looked down on the ground. It was a fallen flower, and he bent to pick it up. A sudden wind blew by, and since he was holding on to the flower very gently, the flower flew from his hand. His gaze followed it as it flew toward the sky, and then floated down...right into the palm of another person. Darien’s vision blurred. She was here. “Hi, Darien,” Serena greeted, in an almost shy kind of way. He swallowed. And swallowed again. “Hey there, Serena.” He then remembered a rule. He immediately bowed, respectfully saying a single word. “Princess.” Serena smiled. “No one’s looking.” “What?” Darien lifted his head, standing straighter. “Oh...” He realized in time what she was referring to. “How...are you?” She asked, desperately trying to fill the awkward silence between them. “I’m fine,” he replied, a little bit startled at her question. “How are YOU?” “Oh, I’m doing okay...except for the fact that my four close friends might need to guard me night and day.” He raised a curious eyebrow. “Really?” She nodded, and sighed. She lay down on the grass, her skirt spreading around her, her blonde curls catching some sunlight. His heart almost stopped. She looked beautiful. That pale pink dress she was wearing today totally clung to her body, showing off every curve. He cleared his throat, hoping that the warmth he felt on his cheeks was just from the hot day. “Um--I got to get back to work.” Serena rolled on the grass so that she was lying on her stomach, and looked up at him. “You barely got here.” Darien couldn’t suppress a smile. Was that disappointment he heard? “Uh, correction--YOU just got here. I got here a long time ago, planting those flower seeds.” He gestured toward that direction. She followed his pointing finger, and smiled. She looked back at him with grateful blue eyes. “Thanks. I had wanted to do that by myself, but Mother said that after what happened, I should just relax and rest my body.” “What’s ‘what happened’?” Darien couldn’t help but ask. “You know...the sky...” Serena’s eyes stared at the ground, as a small blush appeared on her face. Darien flushed, too--when he remembered her closeness to him that day. “Anyway, hope you enjoy your relaxing day,” he said, as he turned to leave. His eyes were looking at the path before him, but his vision was still filled with that picture of her...lying on the grass...with that dress...with that hair... “Darien...?” He stopped, hearing the voice. He turned back to look at her, blue meeting blue. “Thanks,” she said softly. He nodded. He didn’t need to ask what the thanks was for--he already knew. ___________________________________________________ Err...email, please! I WANT EMAILS! Moonieround - http://www6.ewebcity.com/moonieround