Chapter 3 
Interludes
	

	As she curled her fingers around the some strands of grass on the hill, the wind 
whipped through the blades with the voice of memory.  She closed her eyes to the 
night sky and felt the breeze kiss her eyelids.  Her mind drifted backward, 
reflecting.  
	What if the visions had lied?  The polished silver scrying mirror had 
spun images of a distant future, a golden girl with a ridiculous hairdo, a marble
 palace, and Endymion.  Through the mirror, Selene found the answer to her haunting 
dream of Endymion and the mysterious Serenity.  The truth had not been kind.  
	She recalled the look of mingled confusion and disappointment on Endymion's
 face when she told him that his true love waited for him in the future, a thousand 
years hence.  Her eyes burned when she remembered the innocent hope on his face when
 she told him of the thousand years sleep that would carry him unaging into the future.
  That look of hope had broken her heart.  
	Selene dropped her eyes to the face of the recumbent man beside her.  
Moonlight pooled around features as still and pure as marble, caught in shadowy 
lashes, and gleamed from ebony hair.  Only a whisper of pink in his cheek spoke 
of life. 
	The spell to bring a thousand years sleep was perhaps one of the most difficult.
  She had wrestled not only with the forces of time, but with the laws of physical 
existence and life.  It had drained her to the point of exhaustion, but at the end, 
Endymion rested in his near-eternal sleep.  There was no pride in the accomplishment; 
Selene felt only the ache of loss.
	From the first moment, he had caught her imagination.  He was perfection, 
failure was unknown to him, and as his reputation grew, Selene became fascinated.  
Her admiration led naturally to emulation with unsuspected success.   However, her 
hero greeted her attempts with scorn and ridicule.
	A slight smile tipped Selene's lips as she remembered how her earlier worship
 had led to heated competition.  His insults propelled her on even further.  In the 
fury of combative wills, respect had blossomed, along with understanding.  It was their
 own unique sort of love, perhaps not the truest sort of love… but it was all she knew.

	As tears trailed warm paths along her cheeks, she knelt to kiss the still face.  
Slowly she rose, legs unfolding, and eased away from the supine form.  Briefly she closed
 her eyes, concentrating a moment before she began to release her magic.  At the curling 
of her finger, piles of stone began to slip through the grass and soil, rising higher and
 higher in a circle around the slumbering Endymion.  A wave of her hand formed smooth walls
 from the riotous stone while another motion created panels of smooth crystal in arching 
niches.  The final surge of power closed the walls into a roof, finishing the tiny temple
 that would shelter Endymion until his awakening. 
	Selene's blue eyes drifted over the temple once more before she turned.  Setting
 her back to the lonely monument, she eased her way down the hill.  It was time to go home.     
	 
                                     ~ * ~

	Kore shifted her feet, her eyes glancing towards the long rows of shiny black 
countertops in the laboratory. She closed her eyes and steadied herself with a deep breath.  
Before her sat a luminous, blood red garnet, a long silver shaft, a sprig of thyme, 
and an hourglass.   Though history on earth had just dawned, the technology on Pluto
 had progressed far enough to fit both the scientific and arcane needs of the tall, 
olive skinned woman.  Still, despite progress, the scroll she held in her hands was 
yellow and ancient.
	As she concentrated on the faded words, sweat began to form on her forehead. 
 She lit a fire in the grate on the far end of the countertop by turning a knob.  Then 
the spring of thyme was thrown in, Kore chanted feverishly until it was mere ash, which,
 considering the intense heat of the blaze, was not long.  Then taking the silver shaft, 
she placed it in the grill till it glowed dully red.  Then placing it on the countertop,
 she chinked at the softened metal with a small pick, her hands blurring as she moved 
with swiftness and precision.  Finally, the silver shaft was ornately carved, swirls,
 and infinitesimal patterns sheathed its length.    The far end swept out in a double 
crescent, forming an incomplete heart shape.  The opposite end was shaped like a 
key.  
	"Guardians of Time: hear me," she cried loudly, but despite the authority
 in her voice there was a small waver.  She closed her eyes, drawing on the energy 
that fed her, the energy of her planet.  The red waves of her aura lapped around her
 figure growing stronger.  She lifted the garnet orb.
	"Invest this with your power, lord of time and space!"
 	She set the orb in the center of the heart, and though there was no 
catch, it fitted snugly with only a faint snitch to indicate that anything was
 holding it in place.
	"Her face was quite pale now, and the waves of energy were growing more 
erratic.  *something is wrong here, I shouldn't be having so much trouble with the energy*    
	Swiftly she lifted the hour glass and threw it to the ground, smashed glass and 
dripping sand glittered on the immaculate floor.  
"Give me the power of time!" 
And then she fainted

	When Kore awoke she felt a tingle, as though something were unutterably different
	Time had frozen.
	Kore had not.
	How long it took for her to amend the error, even she could not guess.  Weeks possibly,
 simply spent shaking the garnet topped rod.  Wandering around the palace, trying 
to waken the frozen mortals clustered around like statues.    Finally she prayed.
	*god of Pluto, I call thee.* 
	*he cannot hear thee child, speak instead unto me*
	*Who art thou?*
	*I am the god of time, I am Kronos.  By the line of thy father, thou hast the ability to 
guide and perceive time with greater precision than other mortals, but thy tampering hast 
caused a paradox.  Thou art the daughter of Pluto, and thou wove the energy of that planet
 into a spell of my spirit.  Thereby, thou hast now control over both time and death.  
During every moment throughout the infinity of time, you will be the same as in the very 
moment you cast that spell, never aging, never dying, never changing.  But time, as you see,
 is at your feet.*
	*I- how do I get back to-- to normal?*
	*Thy world of moving time is but a command away, but thy life is gone forever.  
Thou perish not, thou livest not, thou merely exists in one moment for all eternity.  Now 
command thy ill fated staff to take thee home*
	Kore did. 

(p.s. please ignore my pathetic attempts at archaic speech)

                                       *~*~*

	Tiny bubbles glistened on the marble floor and periodically burst into iridescent
 nothingness.  She leaned forward on her arms, vacantly staring at the gold veined 
patterns weaving their way through the white marble.  Sometimes the strangest things, like 
soap bubbles on a floor, could be breathtakingly beautiful.  A wisp of sea colored hair 
fell into the soapy puddle, calling her back to her mundane chore.  She arched her back,
 straining the aching muscles, and rubbed her reddened palms on her skirt.  She was new 
to scrubbing floors, but as her fellow maids gleefully assured her, she would get used to 
it.
	She had once been a glamorous gem of the empire, a symbol of its promise and wonder.  
The granddaughter of Poseidon, the ruler of Neptune, she had received a full education.  
Her works of art were famous, her skill at music, unsurpassed, and her grace and beauty 
renowned.  But as rumors of an upstart ruler from across the universe grew, Chronos, 
emperor of the outer planets, had become increasingly nervous.  
	Chronos had overthrown his despotic father, Uranus, at the young age of 14.  He left Gaia, his 
mother, the limited rule of the planet Uranus, under the condition that she would keep 
her husband in check.  Chronos then expanded his empire by conquering more planets, first
 Saturn, which he kept as his own, then Neptune, Pluto, and Jupiter.  He gave rule of 
these planets to his children.  Poseidon, his oldest son, received Neptune, his dark, 
brooding son Hades received Pluto, and Hera, his youngest daughter, gained Jupiter.  
However, the power of his children was limited, Chronos soon became as despotic as his 
father.  
	Then it was prophesied that Chronos would also be overthrown by one of his sons, a punishment 
for his earlier crime.  Chronos became dangerously paranoid, distrusting everyone.  
This was the state of the outer empire when Chronos received news that Jupiter was under 
siege.  Years of distrust and coldness had not firmed the loyalty of his children, and 
Chronos well knew it.  Therefore, the youngest child of each royal house was to be held
 hostage on Saturn.  This measure would safeguard the security of the empire, or so he 
thought.  
	So this was why turquoise haired Pero was scrubbing floors, rather than plucking at her 
lyre, or painting watercolors.  
"Hey, girl," a deep voice barked, "leave off that scrubbing and help me get dressed."

	Pero glanced up to see a tall, strong figure of a young woman.  The woman in 
question had shimmering white hair and dark blue eyes.  Pero smiled slightly at her friend.
  Rhea was herself little more than a hostage, like Pero, but she received much better 
treatment, partly because she was Chronos's only sister, and partly because she wouldn't 
allow any less.
	Rhea lifted Pero with a strong, callused hand.  Pero's smile vanished as she
 witnessed the serious look in Rhea's darkened eyes.  
"Come, I have something to tell you"

	Once in her room, Rhea carefully shut the door.  Everything was hung with dark blue
 draperies, strategically placed to muffle sounds.  
	"Jupiter is lost, the planet was finally taken," Rhea spoke in a low voice, her blue 
eyes flat and grave.
	Pero started, as the words sank in, her sea colored eyes widened.  "gods... Chronos will
 go crazy...  it's going to get worse."
	Rhea embraced her before she could panic.  "Shh, Pero, it'll be okay."

*Okay, I have a few notes to add to this chapter.

At some points, mythology begins to look like a particularly bad episode of Jerry Springer.
  Please keep in mind that not all of this is the product of my warped imagination!  I will
 explain mythological backgrounds as the story continues.

Kore of this story is a character I have invented.  Here, she is the child of Hades, and 
his queen Persephone.  Kore is Greek for "girl"  and another name used for Persephone.

	 
Pero is a mythologically based character.  She is the daughter of Poseidon's son Neleus.  

Rhea is actually Chronos's sister, but she is also supposed to be his wife, and the mother 
of his children.  To keep down the incest, I''e altered the story a little.  Don't worry, 
I'll explain the myth later, but for know, I'm taking liberties….  Also, she is quite a bit
 younger than Chronos (who is about 60 by now), Rhea is 25.  Ancient people had children at 
young ages, like 15 or so, and could keep going until a normal age.  Therefore, some of the 
ages may look funny, but just go with it :)

Poseidon is the Greek equivalent of the Roman god Neptune, god of the sea.

Hades is the greek equivalent of the roman god Pluto, the god of death.

Chronos is the greek equivalent of the roman god Saturn.  Please note, Chronos is NOT Kronos, 
the god of time.  Saturn and the god of time have two similar names, but are completely 
separate people.  If you were wondering, this is why Sailor Saturn doesn't control time, 
while Sailor Pluto does.  Naoko Takeuchi researched her stuff :)

 Finally, the myth of Selene and Endymion is quite well known.  
Here's Edith Hamilton's version: 

She writes...

I have taken this story from the third century poet Theocritus.  He tells it in the true 
Greek manner, simply and with restraint.

This youth, whose name is so famous, has a very short history.  Some of the poets say he was
 a king, some a hunter, but most of them say he was a shepherd.  All agree that he was a 
youth of surpassing beauty and that this was the cause of his singular fate.

Endymion the shepherd,
As his flock he guarded,
She, the Moon, Selene,
Saw him, loved him, sought him,
Coming down from heaven
To the glade on Latmus,
Kissed him, lay beside him.
Blessed is his fortune.
Evermore he slumbers,
Tossing not nor turning,
Endymion the shepherd.

He never woke to see the shining silvery form bending over him.  In all the stories about 
him, he sleeps forever, immortal, but never conscious.  Wondrously beautiful he lies on 
the mountainside, motionless and remote as if in death, but warm and living, and night 
after night the Moon visits him and covers him with her kisses.  It is said that this 
magic slumber was her doing.  She lulled him to sleep so that she might always find him 
and caress him as she pleased.  But it is said, too, that her passion brings her only a 
burden of pain, fraught with many sighs.

Obviously, I altered the myth slightly to make it fit the story of Sailor Moon, and the 
love story of Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion.  So, in a thousand years, my Endymion 
will be fighting Queen Beryl in the Silver Millenium.

If you have any, preferably nice, comments or questions, e-mail me at firefly9@glaive.zzn.com.