Love Beyond Fate By Scutter I wrote this after reading Moonlight Midnight Glory, by Lady M. Harris. The story inspired me as I was intrigued by the idea of a Darien who was a little less elegant and noble than the one usually presented in Sailor Moon, and though I know this is nothing like what happened in the Silver Millennium, I thought it would be an interesting path to explore. This is mostly mushy romantic stuff, so you have been warned. I hope you enjoy it. Except for the extra ones I made up, none of these characters are mine, they belong to whatever company/companies made or own Sailor Moon. All the usual disclaimers apply, etc. This is rated PG-13. It gets pretty steamy sometimes, so younger readers, be warned. Nothing is too graphic. It's mainly just implied. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 4 - Part 1 A Mind Divided The Prince was in a stormy mood. He had been sullen and angry ever since his meeting with the Princess, and whole court was feeling the effects of it. Though few people knew the particulars of the meeting, everyone had heard about their sudden falling out, and the Prince's reputation for bad moods was enough to keep most people away. There was, however, one exception. Darien sat in a chair in his room, his feet propped on the dresser, and glowered out the window. His guardian Sebastian, a well built but aging man, stood at the edge of the room, regarding his charge with scrupulous eyes. At length, Sebastian spoke. 'Perhaps if you were to speak to the lady, you would gain some insight into . . ." "She refuses to speak to me." Darien's voice was harsh and impatient. Sebastian paused. "I see, sir." Another few seconds passed, then he said, "Perhaps if you spoke to her mother, then. They say that women often . . ." "I have. The Queen knows less than I do." "Is that so, sir?" "You're not being very helpful, Sebastian," Darien snapped. "Go away." The old man did not reply. After a time, he quietly withdrew from the room, returning a few minutes later with a glass in hand. "I thought perhaps a glass of iced tea would refresh you, sir." Darien didn't answer, but he accepted the glass when it was offered. He took a sip, then chewed the edge of the glass thoughtfully. Miniature rivulets of condensation trickled down the glass. "I don't understand it," he muttered. Though he was talking to himself, Sebastian's ears pricked up. "What did I do wrong?" Condensation collected into a droplet around the base of the glass. "I know I was rude to her. But that wasn't the problem. She was so . . . conscientious about being a Princess. So loyal. But that's not how she was that night." Sebastian's eyes opened wide at this. he thought, alarmed. "Or was she?" Darien continued. "She said she *would* be loyal. She said she would marry him. So why then . . . ?" The drop of icy water fell spinning from the glass, splashing onto Darien's pants scant millimetres from his fingertips. He felt he was missing something important. What was it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Oh Mina!" Serena sobbed. "How could he do this to me?" Serena had hardly spoken at all since she had run crying from the gardens earlier that day. Queen Serenity had been unable to get her to talk about the incident at all, and now Mina was trying - unsuccessfully thus far - to understand what had caused this deep distress. Never in her life had Serena cried like this. She had always been optimistic, looking for the bright side even in misfortune, but now, she seemed to have given up hope. She had spent the last half an hour telling Mina everything about the meeting with the Prince - omitting of course the details concerning her activities the night of the ball - and it seemed to Mina that Prince Darien had been as charming and irreverent as only Serena could have hoped for. "Serena, what *did* he do to you?" The Princess didn't answer, causing Mina to roll her eyes in despair. Then, an idea occurred to her. "Serena, did he suggest anything . . . inappropriate?" "Inappropriate? Oh!" Serena blushed as she realised what Mina meant. "No, nothing like that." Mina was at the end of her tether. "I though I understood him. I thought he was so . . . alive. I thought he could make me happy. But he can't! Oh Mina! It's not his fault, but I can't go with him. I thought I wanted to but I can't. But I still want to and I don't know why!" Mina just held her, rocking with her as she sobbed. But while she remained compassionate on the outside, he mind was ticking over more quickly. Serena also fell silent, shuddering as cold, salty tears slid down her face, but a little voice inside her head continued to torment her. it chided. What she wanted? To cause her mother and friends so much worry? To have them panic when they couldn't find her anywhere? No, that wasn't what she wanted. But he had been so compelling . . . the two opposing thoughts refused to resolve themselves in her mind, in a silent war of torture. her mind screamed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Queen Serenity sat in her study, lost in thought. She couldn't understand why Serena would have suddenly become so upset, with a man she had obviously been impressed with only minutes before. Something was wrong, Serenity thought. And she had a nasty feeling that it all came back to the night of the ball. Mina had told her that she had arrived at the ball *with* Serena, but the Princess had disappeared soon after. And Queen Deilia had said she had seen Darien dancing with a beautiful woman. 'So beautiful, like a rose in spring' had been her words. Could it have been . . . Serena? That would explain Prince Darien's curious behaviour at their meeting. But it left unsolved the mystery of exactly what had happened that night, or what had followed the next morning to upset Serena. Serenity sighed. The whole confused mess was just giving her a headache. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien stuck his head around the door, looking both ways along the corridor. Sebastian stood at one end, facing the other way, and the other end - the door leading down to the garden - was clear. Darien grinned, and slipped quietly out of his room. It probably wouldn't have actually mattered if anyone had seen him. The point was, he wanted to be alone, and as a Prince, that wasn't always an easy thing to accomplish. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he pushed through the door into the bright sunlight, and immediately took a path to the right - away from the palace. Darien loved this garden like no other - the moon had such new and curious flowers - he simply had to explore it. His search was to be rewarded. A stone archway, half hidden by bracken appeared on his right as he rounded a corner, a cool breeze circulating the entrance. Curious, he pushed through the gap, noticing as he did that the temperature dropped several degrees. Once through, he was greeted with the most beautiful place he had ever seen. High greystone walls surrounded a squarish courtyard, vines and ferns adorning the walls. A bird bath stood in the centre, its white ceramic form clean, and decorated with carvings of small birds and butterflies. Around the edge of the courtyard, low bushes of flowers - red, blue, purple and yellow - all in bloom. Water dripped in tiny rivulets down one wall, and when Darien looked up, the sky overhead seemed more blue than ever in contrast to the grey of the walls. The floor was tiled with slate, uneven, but smooth. Unable to believe his eyes. Darien ran his hand along one wall, revelling in the smooth-rough kiss of the stone on his fingertips. The garden seemed to respond to his presence - the bushes seemed to lift their leaves, and the water glistened more brightly. Darien crouched by a bush of blue petalled flowers, inhaling their scent deeply, and smiling. "We call this the Autumn Palace. Most things in the garden bloom in Spring, but all the plants here were selected especially for autumn." Darien turned, and rose to his feet as Princess Rei stepped slowly through the archway. She smiled at him, though she seemed sad. "Most people find their was here eventually. I'm not surprised to find you here." Darien didn't return her smile. "Well, we both know why I'm here. But what brings *you* here?" Rei hesitated. "I was looking for you." Darien sighed. "I see." "How long will you be staying at the Palace?" she asked, moving around the courtyard, examining various flowers.. Darien looked up. "Anxious to get rid of me?" He was only half joking. Rei laughed. "No, not at all. I just . . ." Her voice became quiet. "Things don't seem to be going all that well, that's all." Darien nodded. "Queen Serenity doesn't want me to leave until one of two things happens." "And what are they? "Serena figures out why she hates me, decides to get over it and marries me." "Ooh!" Rei cringed. "I don't like your chances with that one. What's the other option?" "Serena figures out why she hates me, decides *not* to get over it, and makes me leave the palace." "Ah." Rei was at a loss for words this time. "I guess the waiting is as difficult as anything, isn't it." "She can take as long as she likes," Darien whispered quietly, fingering a vine. "Oh?" Rei couldn't hide her surprise. "Could I ask why the sudden show of generosity?" "I'm hoping the longer I'm here, the more likely she is to accept me. I think that's better for all our sakes." Darien didn't usually enjoy this sort of conversation. The only reason he was putting up with it was in the hope it would help him figure out why Serena was so angry with him. Rei was, after all, one of Serena's guards, and one of her closest friends. Rei raised her eyebrows. "You . . . *want* to marry her then?" Darien nodded, a frown creasing his forehead." "Darien, even if you aren't married, the Moon and Earth Kingdoms will still reach an alliance." "I don't care about the alliance," Darien's voice was harsh and bitter. "I don't just mean I would be willing to marry Serena because I have to. I love her, Rei." Suddenly, he seemed very agitated, taking a few quick, angry steps away from Rei. "I just don't understand it. What did I do wrong?" Rei sighed. "Darien, as you may or may not know, Serena refuses to talk about what happened. If I'm going to help you, I need you to tell me exactly what happened that day. Can you do that?" Darien was silent, then he suddenly looked at her sharply. "Rei, can you . . . keep a secret?" Rei stared at him in astonishment, then nodded, lowering her voice. "Of course. What is it?" "That day, when Serena and I met. That wasn't the first time we'd seen each other." Rei's jaw dropped. "What?!" Then she lowered her voice again, and glanced quickly around. "Tell me more." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The second half of chapter 4 is coming soon. Sorry it's taking so long, but I'm trying my best to get it done. Give me comments at d-boy@intercoast.com.au