Chapters Sixteen through Twenty

I saw the look on her face. She was terrified. I realized I was in the dark and quickly stepped into the light. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was me.

She was stunning. It was the first time I had seen her hair down. She was beautiful as always but this way she looked more natural. And that nightgown... Oh my God! She was even more sexy in that nightgown than in her day gown. My mind and heart could have stopped right then and there and it wouldn't have made any difference. I snapped myself out of it.

"So what do you think of my new toy, Princess? Better than the knife?" I said demonstrating my new found weapon's capabilities. I was like a child getting a new toy. It's a guy thing I guess. We're into weapons and tanks and guns, even if I didn't like what they were used for. Serena, still recovering giggled.

"Serena, I came to tell yo that I think we should just be..." Serena ran towards me

"Oh Tuxedo Mask! I am so glad you are here!" She wrapped her arms around me. I dropped the sword and hugged her back. "Serena, what's wrong? I heard you were not well. What happened?" I could no longer have any hope of telling her that we must only be friends tonight, for she started sobbing into my shirt and it tore my heart in two.

"Oh, Serena." I petted her hair with one hand and laid my head down on hers. I pulled her to the couch where she crawled in my lap and hid her face in my chest.

"Oh Tuxedo Mask. I was terrible! He did it again! I do not know how to stop him. When I saw you, I thought it was him and I realized how easily he could get to me."

I was puzzled.

"Serena, who are you so afraid of?" She sobbed for a while longer and I sat there petting her head and telling her it would be alright. I had never seen her cry and I wanted to die, myself. I couldn't bare to see her like this. Finally she stopped and slowly moved away from me. I reached for a tissue box and I handed her one. She thanked me and dried her tears. She would not look at me in the eye. A sure sign that Serena was not sure or knew I would not like the words I was about to hear.

"Do you remember the man you jumped on and saved me from that night in the theatre?" she started.

"Yes, of course."

She continued. "His name is Micah. He is the Prince of Saturn. He and I are... engaged."

My life was over. When I left here, I would fall on the very sword I had stolen. I could not do it in front of Serena, though. She was so innocent. I could not allow her to see her acquaintance kill himself. That is what I was to her. An acquaintance. The saddest part was is that I knew I would never be more.

Serena went on to tell me everything Micah ha done and said. Needless to say if a thought could kill, Micah would have died a thousand deaths in under a second. She leaned over to me again and crawled back in my lap. This time she laid her head on my shoulder. "You are the only one I have told, Tuxedo Mask." She was looking into my eye with her own big teary blue ones. "You are the only one I feel I can trust."

A fire went though my body. She doesn't love him, and she trusts me most! I was elated! Talk about emotional roller coasters. Well, if she wouldn't tell her Mother, I was the only one who could do anything. But what could I do? Me take on a Prince. I would be laughed out of the Court room before I had even spoken a word.

Despite my new found confidence, I still knew now that Serena could never love me. She was a Princess and I, a lowly commoner. The royalty of the other planets could marry whomever they chose. But Serena was bound by law because of her status. They had to keep the powerful bloodline pure. I looked down at the girl in my arms. It was then that I realized she had stopped avoiding eye contact. She was looking straight at me. I tried to lighten the conversation.

"You must think my place is disgusting if this is what you're accustomed to." I stated with a laugh. She smiled. That was a good sign.

"No. I like your house because it is so different from mine. Besides, it is yours. It is not digesting."

"Mind if I come HERE more often?" I asked her. It felt so good to get out of the center. Sure, it was a nice place, but I didn't realize until now that I had so much to see.

"No. Please. Come over as much as you like." Serena told me emphatically. The way she said it made her sound like she was practically begging me to come back. Maybe she did have feelings for me? No. Impossible.

"How about tomorrow night then?" I asked. I was anxious to see her again. I knew now that I could never tell her the way I felt about her. But at the same time, I knew I couldn't tell her that we should just stay friends. I decided to just take things one day at a time, and whatever happened, happened. I knew I would always love her, whether or not she loved me. I did not know how I was going to react when her wedding day came. I would die. Especially if she told me she loved him after all. I never wanted to hear her say she loved anyone but me. However, I wished for her to be happy above all else. If Micah made her happy, then that's the man she should be with.

I left over the balcony's edge and headed home.

Tuxedo Mask started to leave. I caught his arm just before he left. He turned to me.

"I am sorry, Tuxedo Mask, what was your reason for coming here? I was so caught up in your being here when I needed you, I simply forgot my manners and did not ask why you paid your visit." He turned to me and put his hands on my shoulders. Our eyes met for a long moment. The eyes that I could see was the most beautiful blue I had ever seen and his lashes were the longest I had ever seen. As he looked at me he said, "It no longer matters."

With that, he made his way down the balcony to the outside corridor and made his way down the steps. It was early morning by now and he paused as he passed by the gardens. I knew he would love them! I thought.

I crawled in bad and tried to sleep. I drifted in and out of consciousness. I dreamed of when I was two and I was meeting Prince Darien for the first time. I saw myself walking over to him in the corner and kissing him. Except this time, Darien kissed me back.

I awoke to the sound of "SEREEEENA!!!!"

It was Lita.

"Yeah. Great way to wake up a sleeping Princess, Lita." I heard Mina drawl, chuckling with mock.

"What are you doing here?" I asked yawning and slowly starting to sit up and stretch.

"Did you forget? We were supposed to go to Earth today, Hon." Mina giggled and smiled.

"Yeah, we're going to Hawaii. So get up! Move it! Let's get going!"

Before I could protest Lita picked me up and threw me over her shoulder. I was definitely awake now! Mina chose a cute summer outfit and bathing suit and set them on my bed. Meanwhile Lita had set me down in the bathroom and started a shower for me. I put up my hair considering I had just gotten a shower not seven hours ago and got in quick. I dressed and we transported to Earth using the Silver Crystal.

We set up beach chairs and umbrellas on a beach and began covering ourselves in suntan lotion.

We swam in the warm waters for a while. We did not bring anything to play with in the water, so we tired of that quickly. We got out and rinsed off the sand and salt in the public showers along the beach. We then went back to our chairs and decided to get a great sun tan.

It did not take long for conversation to turn to my affair with Tuxedo Mask.

"So how are things going with you and Tux?" Mina inquired without looking at me. She had put on shades and was now sitting with a sun reflector in her lap. I told them the goings on of last night, starting with Micah and ending with Tuxedo Mask. I informed them that he genuinely cared about me and that Micah was hurting me. I knew he hated to see me cry. I was just so glad that he was there for me.

They both expressed that they were glad I had found someone to care about me. Mina said she had talked to Raye about the situation with Micah and that she and Sharon were plotting something. After all, that is what they have been doing since childhood. They were always planning one scheme or another.

Then I mentioned my dream.

"Hey. Isn't Prince Darien's Memorial close to here?" Lita asked.

"Yeah. I haven't been in a while. We should go." Mina added.

We packed up and headed off to the memorial. When we got there all of us got very quiet. Lita looked especially sad. She and Darien used to be best friends. I felt a pit in my stomach as I remembered Darien. We stayed there a while and then Mina said, "Listen. I think we should all treat ourselves to some ice cream. We're supposed to be having fun. Not that Darien didn't mean anything to us, but I can't take all this sadness right now."

I agreed with Mina and we left. We went to a famous ice cream parlor. It was Amy's favorite place to go. That gave me an idea.

"Do you think we should invite Amy, Raye, and Michelle down?" I suggested.

"Sounds good." Lita agreed nodding her head slightly as she sipped her milkshake.

Soon they all arrived.

"So where are we off to?" Raye inquired. Raye was always the one looking for adventure and always on the move.

"Just relax, Raye." Michelle said, "We are in one of the most beautiful places in the whole universe."

"Not quite as beautiful as Venus." Mina corrected, shooting a look at Michelle as if to say, "My planet's the best."

Amy came back to our table and sat down. She had a huge hot fudge sundae in her hands. "That looks good!" Raye said, grabbing a spoon. Soon everyone had a spoon and, to Amy's dismay, her Sundae was gone.

Amy was always the forgiving one, though. She picked up a magazine and started to read. "Hey you guys! This looks like so much fun! We should all go to the beauty and health spa. It's doesn't seem to be far from here. What do you think?"

Needless to say we all opted for the spa. We got up and started to leave when Raye exclaimed, "Hey! Where's Lita?"

We stopped and looked around. "There she is!" Mina cried out pointing.

Lita had stopped to flirt with a boy in the ice cream parlor and was now writing his number down on her hand. She ran to catch up to us.

"Who was that?" Mina asked pointedly.

"His name is Andrew! Isn't he cute? He reminds me of my old boyfriend Freddy!"

The group groaned. If Frederick had never graced the planet Jupiter, our lives would have been better off.

We made it to the Salon. I got my nails, hair, and make-up done for the first time in what felt to me like ages. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. I had forgotten what it was like just to be with my friends and not have to attend to business. It seemed I never saw the other Princesses except at royal social functions and to have class. Then there of course was the never ending Court sessions. It was tedious work. But now I was just out to have a good time.

After the spa, we went to Michelle's favorite mall... on Neptune. I had not been to Neptune since I was four. It was nice to see it again. It was always so lush and green there. We shopped for the rest of the day. I bought a new pair of earrings and a pair of sunglasses. It was so unlike me just to let myself relax. I could not remember the last time I had done anything that was truly just for pleasure.

We were about to leave the mall when I spotted a nightgown. It was pure white satin. It had The nightgown had lattice ties up the sides and spaghetti-straps with a low neck (actually, it came down so far, it barely covered the mannequin's bust). With it's high side slits, it was the perfect gown. I ran into the store and tried it on. It was stunning. I am sure to get Tuxedo Mask to notice me as more than a friend in this.

I bought it. I left the store and returned home. My friends stayed for dinner. I was not really paying much attention to the conversation, though.

My mind was already with Tuxedo Mask. I could not wait until I had him all to myself, tonight.

When my friends left, I raced to my room. I went in the bathroom and stated retouching my make-up. I could hear the rain and thunder outside. I was relieved that I had gotten home in time. I undid my hair and let it fall over my back and shoulders. I undressed from my day's clothes and put on my bathrobe. Luckily, I had gotten a shower in the spa, so I did not need one now. It was then that I heard the knock on my balcony door.

It was seven. I had been squirming all day. I had drifted in and out of sleep until one in the afternoon. I finally gave up on sleep and got up. If someone had told me, a year ago, that I was going to fall in love, I would have laughed in their face. I could have never pictured myself losing sleep over a girl, much less one that didn't even return my affection. Finally I decided enough was enough. I was going to head over to Serena's. I opened my door and managed to slip out unnoticed. I was no more than five minutes into my walk when a terential down pour commenced. I wondered if I should not turn back and wait for it to let up. Then I thought that I was already wet, so what good was waiting. I kept walking.

I got colder and colder as I continued. I felt my hands start to go numb. This was terrible. I was almost half way to the palace, so there was no use turning back now. I crossed my arms for warmth and kept on. About twenty minutes passed and I was freezing. The temperature had dropped dramatically and I was soaked. I began to shiver and I struggled to keep warm. Finally, the palace was in sight. I was now shaking uncontrollably. I could barely walk.

After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the palace. I went around back and slowly was able to scale the stairs. I knocked on her window.

I opened the bathroom door. That is when I saw him. He could barely stand up. I quickly ran to the door to let him in. He was soaked and freezing. I have never seen anyone shake so badly. I was worried. He could have died out there from exposure. His hands and face were red, a definite sign that he was nearly frost bitten. I helped him into my room and led him to the bathroom

"Tuxedo Mask, are you okay? I am sorry! I did not even think about the rain. You could have died out there. I do not know what I would do if you were no longer here. I need you, Tuxedo Mask. I can not live without you! I am so sorry!" I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes as I said that he could have died. I would never forgive myself if he was hurt because of me. I helped him to the sitting chair in the bathroom. I felt his cheek and forehead. It was like touching ice itself. I did not think it was possible to get that cold. I walked to my bath and turned it on luke warm. As soon as the water felt like it was warming, I helped him take off his shirt and pants. I took them out to dry in the dryer down the hall. I wanted to do it myself so that none of the servants got suspicious.

"Just take off your boxers, get in the shower, and turn up the water temperature as you warm up." I shut the door behind me. Then I realized I could dry them by using telekinesis. It would be safer than risking a servant catching me. I dried them and cracked the bathroom door enough so that I could slip the clothes onto the counter. I then noticed his boxers were sitting at my feet. I dried those quickly and set them on top of his pants. I glanced up briefly and saw his nude form through the shower glass. It had fogged up, but I saw the color of his skin and his slow movements as he tried to warm himself. I quickly looked away and scolded myself for being so horrible. Here the man was, almost dead, and all I could do was peek in on him during his shower? I shut the door again and sat down on my bed. Why would he walk through that big of a storm just to see me. He could have come another day and just explained. Surely he knew he could have done that.

Then it occurred to me. He had the same feelings for me and wanted to see me as badly as I wanted to see him. I reached for my new nightgown. Well, if the shower does not work, this sure will!