Title: Apples & Oranges
Author: Marie J.W.
Chapter: Seven/ Coming Together
Rated: G
Email: angellady41@hotmail.com
URL: www.mariejwfanfics.homestead.com

Next chapter is out! Hope you like it.

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

"Two."
"Three."
"Too much."
"I don't care! I want three ions." Beryl grabbed the man's neck,
"Now."
The man nodded against her tight grip; "Three... but it will 
cost more."
he choked.
Beryl glared at the man before dropping him. The man held his 
neck,
breathing in hard gasps.
"Fine..." Beryl turned from the man, "Any price is good enough 
to pay
for the Moon's destruction."
The man motioned his servant to take care of the order, "It will 
be
here in three days."
"Very well. Now leave."
The man quickly turned and left. He would never do business with 
that
witch again. He thought as he still held his hand to his neck.

``````````````````````````````````

Serenity grabbed onto the grass. Why wouldn't the song leave 
her? Why
wouldn't it stop? It went around and around in her head like a 
plague.
Turning her brain into mush.
"I don't want to hear it!" The princess screamed to the sky.
Darien stopped and spun around.
"Go away!" Serenity sobbed, "Just go away..."
However, the song continued to torcher her.

'...It will be your garden, all your own garden...' It played in 
her head
all too happily.

Darien's mouth dropped open as he caught site of the princess's 
forehead.
The symbol there burst with light.
"Darien! Down!" Ray tackled him.
The strong beam of light spread out across the orchard, casting 
sprinklings
of flickering light showing down on the apples and orange trees.
Darien sucked in warm air and dirt as his face was pressed to 
the ground.
"What's going on?"
Ray tried to look up, but the light was blinding. The princess 
had resorted
to silent sobs and her soft crying seemed to be beckoning 
nature's
forgiveness.
Mina crawled up next to Ray, "We found her, Ray..."
Ray's eyes widened against the ground. The princess was here! 
Mina is right.
Who else could do that other than the Queen of the Moon?

Serenity hardly knew what was happening. All she could 
understand was the
pain and longing in her heart. It tore her apart. Why is this 
happening to
me? Who is that voice? What does she want?

  '...You will still love me...'

The voice, the song was so real and so familiar.

"Serenity!"

Serenity's head shot up and her crying stopped in her throat.
That voice! Serenity looked around blindly. All she could see 
was white
light and tinny sparks of gold dust. I know that voice... 
Serenity relaxed
as the song finally stopped.

'Serenity, it's time for bed.' A beautiful woman stood over her. 
Her smile
was gentle and her eyes held comfort that only a Mother could 
hold.
'I don't want to go to bed! I want to see all the people down 
stairs!'
Serenity begged as her pretty Mother tucked her into bed.
The silver haired woman shook her head, 'Maybe when you're 
older.'
Serenity pouted, 'I'm older! I'm three!'
The woman smiled, 'Yes, you're three...'

Staring at the ground, the dirt and grass finally came into 
focus as
Serenity fell out of her dream. That woman... she was my 
Mother...
Silent tears fell down the girls face.
My Mother...

The ground began to shake against the power of the Moon. It 
pushed and
shoved but it finally gave out.
Darien tried to get up to go to Serenity but Ray held him there. 
Why
wouldn't she let him go? Serenity was in trouble! Wasn't she?

Wind and light circled about the orchard. It pulled at 
everything in site
and showered it with crystal dust.
Mina turned to Ray, "She's not going to be able to do this on 
her own."
"If she knows what she's doing-"
"She doesn't, Ray, she doesn't know what she's doing." Mina 
looked Ray
in the eye, "She needs our help."
Ray nodded.
As Ray moved to stand Darien grabbed her hand, "Where're you 
going?"
"I need you to stay back, your Highness." Ray looked down at 
him,
dead serious. "We'll be back."
Darien hated being left out or thought of as weak. What ever was 
going
on, he wanted in too.
However, Ray's firm look stopped him.
Whatever form of power was happening, she knew more about it 
then he did.

As the two girls stood, they finally got a good look at what was 
happening.
The trees were being put back together. They were literally 
flying
together piece by piece to their rightful place. Already some 
trees stood
tall and green.
Taking their eyes away from the trees the two princesses grasped 
hands
and concentrated on their symbols of Mars and Venus.
They both knew they could only do so much without Princess 
Mercury
and Jupiter's help but they would have to do what they could.
They focused on their princess and gave their energy to her.
"Venus Star Power!"
"Mars Star Power!
In a bright flash of light two other colors joined Serenity's 
white and
gold; red streamed through the air and burst into flames before 
falling
in sync with Serenity's power while yellow flew through the mist 
of white
lace and hugged it before intertwining with Serenity's.

As the power increased, Darien had to grab onto the grass until 
his
knuckles hurt. He pushed himself down to the ground with all his 
effort.
He tried to look up, he tried to figure out what was going on, 
but the
energy kept his body as well as his mind distracted.

`````````````````````````````````````

Chad stopped his horse as the site of the orchard came into 
view.
Nat stopped as well beside him. He could feel as well as see an
incredible amount of energy coming from it.
"What's that?" Nat looked at Chad as if he would know.
"I don't know but it doesn't look good." Chad kicked his horse 
into a
gallop, "Let's go!"
Nat raced after him. 'That energy feels like Serenity's...'

`````````````````````````````````````

Lita propped her feet up onto the table, "Where do you suppose
everyone went?"
Ken looked at her and her feet before raising an eyebrow, "Do 
you
always sit like that?"
Lita shrugged her shoulders, "Does it bother you?"
He shook his head, "No, not really..."  He turned away and 
picked up
another sword. He polished it until it shone, every now and 
then,
looking at Lita's
feet on the table.
"If it's bothering you, say so."
"It's not."
"Then stop looking."
Ken sighed before setting the sword back on the wall.
The doors to the armory room flew open as a servant walked 
swiftly in.
He came to a stop at Ken and did a quick bow, "A woman is here 
to see the
Queen and she won't take no for an answer, sir." Announced 
nervously.
Ken sighed, "Great, send her in."
The servant didn't even have to walk all the way back to the 
main palace
doors. The woman he spoke of walked in with her head held high. 
She wore
a purple gown and her short black hair stood out as it fell 
strait against
the sides of her face.
"I am Natia, Princess of the Dark Planet. I demand to see your 
Queen."
Ken stared at the girl. Who in the heck-?
"May I ask why?"
"I believe my Step-Sister as well as my Brother are here. I am 
ordered to
bring them home."
Ken looked at Lita confused.
"We don't have anyone here that is related to you, I'm sure." 
Ken looked
at her, "Maybe you were miss informed."
"Hardly. Maybe you know my brother Nat."
"Oh, you mean Natian." Quipped Lita.
Natia looked at Lita disgusted, "No, his name's Nat."
Lita shrugged her shoulders.
"Fine, then have you heard of a princess named Serenity?"
Both Lita and Ken perked up.
"You mean that you're her sister?" Lita asked.
"In a matter of speaking, yes."
Lita took closer look at the girl. 'No wonder she ran away from 
home.'
"Where is she? I am ordered to bring her back to the Dark 
Planet."
Lita stood up and walked up to the princess. The girl was much 
shorter
than her, "Well, please go back and tell your Queen that 
Serenity is in
good hands."
Natia glared at Lita, "I am ordered to bring her back."
"She's 'our' guest." Lita stepped closer to her.
"Are you challenging me, woman?" Natia spat.
Lita stepped back and smiled, "Do you think I am?"
The two girls stared each other down.
Ken cleared his throat, "Ladies, please! I'm sure we can make an
agreement."
Lita looked at Ken before nodding and sitting down, "Sounds good 
to me."
"I don't make agreements, if you won't tell me where she is then 
I want to
speak to your Queen."
"She's in a meeting." Ken informed, "Besides, I think we can 
solve this
matter for ourselves. Does Serenity have to be back at a certain 
time,
Princess Natia." Ken tried to get on Natia's good side and 
succeeded.
Natia smiled at him.
Lita almost gagged. The smile only made the Dark Princess look 
worse.
"No... not particularly, but-"
"Then I ask you wait a few days while we decide what to do. 
Serenity is not
here and we don't know where she is just yet. But I assure you, 
when we do
know, you will be one of the first to talk to her."
Natia stepped up to Ken, "Thank you for your hospitality. I 
think I can
wait a few days. Now, if I'm going to stay here..." she trailed 
off.
Ken nodded and motion for the servant, who had been standing in 
the
doorway looking nervous the whole time, to step up, "Please show
Princess Natia to her room."
The servant nodded and led the way. Natia left the room.
Lita put her feet back on the table, "Are you really going to 
let that
freak of a princess take Serenity?"
Ken picked up another sword and inspected it, "Of course not." 
He
looked up at Lita and smiled, "Please put your feet down."

````````````````````````````````````````````

Queen Agasta finished off her letter to the Moon Queen and set 
her
quill aside. The Queen looked around her bedroom. It was so 
silent.
"I hope they don't stay until nightfall..." Queen Agasta sighed 
and
stood up.
Just then, Queen Serenity and her cat adviser Luna appeared 
behind.
Agasta turned and nearly called for the guards, "My goodness, 
Serenity,
please give me a warning next time." Queen Agasta tried to calm 
her
beating heart.
Queen Serenity didn't give any heed to Agasta's distress. She 
ran up
to her good friend and grabbed her by the shoulders, "She's 
here! I
felt her, Agasta!"
Queen Agasta stared at Queen Serenity, "Who's here?"
"My daughter! Serenity!"
"Ser-" Agasta went white, "Are you sure?"
Queen Serenity nodded, "I felt her and I know she's on Earth. 
You must
help me find her. Where is Terren? Is he go off? Oh..." Queen 
Serenity
let go of Agasta in worry, "Earth is so big! It could take 
decades.
Are you're men free? There's not any kind of war going on, is 
there?
No, of course not, you would have told me."
"Serenity."
"Luna, maybe you can go back and, no- that would take too long."
"Serenity."
"I should have come more prepared but I was so excited. Drats!"
"Serenity!"
"Agasta, tell me, what do I do?" she stared at the Queen of 
Earth
pleadingly.
"My goodness! You're all a jumble." Agasta sat down, "You don't 
have
to worry; I know where she is..."
  "Oh good!" Serenity smiled then stared at Agasta, "Excuse me? 
Did
you just say you know where she is?"
Agasta smiled warily, "I think so. If only I had known..."
"What? What? Is she in danger? Is she all right? Have you seen 
her?
Is she healthy? How old is she? Oh, so much time as past! 
Please,
Agasta, you have to tell me everything you know about her!"
Agasta tried to sort all her thoughts through. She didn't know a 
lot
about the girl. She knew that her son had taken an interest in 
her
welfare but other than that... she was practically clueless.
Queen Serenity bit her lip impatiently.
Agasta sighed, "Maggie has been taking care of her..."
"MAGGIE!" Queen Serenity burst out.

`````````````````````````````````````````````

Serenity felt light as new energy seeped into her. She felt calm 
and
she slowly let off her powers as the energy guided her. For the 
first
time Serenity had used her own powers and she was beyond capable 
of
controlling them. The only thing that kept her power in check 
before
were her strong emotions.
Princess Mars and Venus worked hard to guide the princess to a 
stop.
She couldn't use that much power so fast; it would drain her.
'Just a little bit more...' Mina strained to fight off her dizzy
mind.

Finally, Serenity felt light, extremely light, as if she were 
floating.
She hadn't realized it before, but she had felt exceedingly 
heavy with
all that powers going through her.
Ray and Mina fell to their knees, gasping for air.
The magic stopped, the wind fell at ease, and the air was calm 
again.
Darien lifted his head and looked around. The two princesses 
were on
the ground, exhausted. Darien stood up, in awe. The trees... all 
of them...
were whole. Every single tree looked as if nothing had happened 
to them.
Their braches stood tall and spread out, sending out cool 
shadows on the
green grass. No fruits hung from them but they were safe and 
they would
bare fruit next year.
Andy, the whole time, had been behind him.
"What was all that?" Andy asked, "And how-?"
Darien shook his head in awe; he had never seen such power. 
Never.
Seeing Mina on the ground Andy quickly forgot his confusion and 
ran over
to her to make sure she was all right.
Darien slowly stood up as he stared around the orchard.

"Darien! What happened? We saw magic-" Chad stopped when he 
noticed the
trees, "They... they weren't like this... this morning..." Chad 
almost
fell off his horse as he descended.
Nat stayed on his horse. What was wrong? He didn't see what was 
so bad.
Just then, he saw Serenity. She was on her knees under a 
beautiful green
tree, with her head bowed. Nat looked around. These humans were 
strange...
He looked at the sky. The sun was at three-o-clock. Nat was 
suddenly struck
with the remembrance of Beryl. He looked down at the scattered 
humans and
he suddenly lost interest in them. They were weak now.
Nat pushed his horse forward and galloped up to Serenity. He 
bent down,
picked her up by the waist, and pulled him up in front of him.
Serenity made no protest.
Nat turned the horse around, "Farewell, humans!"
Darien snapped out of his awe struck mind and focused on the
disappearing Prince Natian.
"Hey, where's Serenity?" Mina asked as she looked around.
Darien started, "Natian... he took her."
"What?" Mina and Ray yelled together.
"He can't take her!" Ray stomped towards the prince's horse.
"Where are you going?" Chad asked as he quickly climbed onto his 
horse.
"To get Serenity back, she doesn't belong to him!" Ray was 
almost to the
black horse when Chad grabbed her waist and heaved her up in 
front of him,
"I'm sure the prince has the same thing in mind and I don't 
think he wants
his horse taken from him." Chad informed as he started to horse 
into a
run.
Ray didn't argue and let Chad do the riding.

"That's not fair!" Mina wined. Feeling left out. First Serenity 
is whisked
off then Ray! What about me?
Darien ignored Mina's fit and got onto his own horse, "Go back 
to the
palace and inform the Queen what's happened." With that, Prince 
Darien
ran after Serenity.
Andy turned to Mina, "We better go. The Queen will want to know 
as soon
as possible what happened."
Mina nodded dejected, "Wait. What about Amy and Greg?"
"We'll worry about them later." Andy motioned her to get on her
horse.
Mina sighed and pulled herself up. 'Great.'


(To be Continued...)


````````````````````````````````````````````````

Will they get Serenity back? Well...

Okay. Thanks for read'in!





---------------------------------------------------------------------------------