Love Beyond Fate
By Scutter

Except for ones I made up, these characters belong to whatever company/
companies made or own Sailor Moon.

Rated PG-13.

This jumps in in the middle of nowhere, so it should be read immediately
after chapter 4 part 1.

                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 4 - Part 2
A Mind Divided

"So I asked her to come away with me. Away from the palace. And she just
got angry and upset, and ran away. And I've been confused as hell
ever since," Darien finished.
Rei nodded. Darien had told her everything, from the time he and Serena
had danced together, to her sudden flight - leaving out certain details
along the way, she was sure. Though she had been a little taken aback at
times, none of it had really surprised her. She knew all too well of
Serena's impatience with Palace life. "I see. Well, Darien, I can
understand why you're confused. But I can also see why Serena's upset.
"Serena takes her duties as a Princess very seriously. It drives her
crazy sometimes," Rei conceded, "but she takes it seriously. If she was
to run away without anyone knowing where she was, the whole palace would
be in chaos. I know that, as a Prince, you could probably get away with
it, but as a woman, Serena would be a lot more vulnerable than you. She
does love being free, and I'm sure she at least considered accepting
your offer, but she would never go against her mother's wishes, or risk
upsetting so many people."
Darien's face fell, his disappointment clear.
"Don't go giving up yet." Rei continued. "I think," she said, with a
cunning glint in her eye, "I could help you.
"The only way I can think of that would make Serena go with you was if
someone else knew where she was going. You can't ask the Queen. She'd
just say no. She tends to be a little over protective," Rei added, when
Darien gave her a curious look. "But the Sailor Senshi rotate shifts for
guarding the Princess at night. This Thursday, it's my turn. Most people
don't know this, but the door from the passageway isn't the only way
into the Princess's room. There is a stairway from the gardens. The
door is almost always locked, but I could leave it open . . ."
Suddenly, Darien became very suspicious. "You're supposed to *guard*
Serena. Why would you help her run away?"
Rei blushed deeply. "Well, I . . . I also know what it's like to be in
love, and I . . . wanted to help."
"Oh, your engagement. Of course," Darien nodded with understanding.
"Besides which," Rei added, in a much bolder tone, "I refuse to believe
that you have managed to pull off so many stunts and escapes as you have
without the aid of a certain *someone* in your own court."
Darien shrugged, smiling slyly. "So I have an ally. So what?"
"*So*, why shouldn't Serena have someone to help her?"
"Point taken," he agreed. "So tell me. How do I get to this door?"

                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prince Darien crouched at the back of a bush, watching the guard at the
palace doors move with agonizing slowness around the corner. Once he was
gone, he crept out, onto the path, and ran silently across the grass, to
a low wooden door half hidden by vines, set in the grey stone wall. As
promised, the padlock was open, and he cautiously pushed the door open,
fearing it would creak. But there was no sound, so he pushed it open
further, slipped through, and secured it shut behind him. The stairwell
he was in was now utterly black, but Darien had done enough sneaking
around in his life to be able to find his way in the dark.
Reaching the top, he once again slipped carefully through the door, and
emerged into a large bedroom.
He pushed the door closed with the slightest sound, and tried not to
breath as he crept to Serena's side. He knew that, despite Rei's
promise, too much noise would create problems, and so he moved quickly
and silently, waking the Princess as gently as possible. He was
painfully aware of the blue light grazing the horizon. Dawn would be
coming soon.
"Serena." The word he breathed was almost silent, bringing her awake as
if by sheer force of will.
Serena dragged her reluctant eyes open, gasping as she saw a pair of
shocking grey eyes staring into her own. Instantly, his hand was on her
lips. "Shh, Princess." He grasped her hand and pulled her into a sitting
position. "Don't be alarmed. It's me, Darien."
Serena felt a skip of delight at the name, but also a slow fear.
"Darien, what on the Moon are you doing here?"
"Dress quickly, in pants. We're going riding."
Serena stared at him.
"You do have pants, don't you?"
Serena looked around, confused. "Er, yes. Of course. Where are we
going?" she mumbled through her tiredness, as she pulled out her riding
clothes.
"You told me that you had dreams - that you longed for wild adventures.
I'm not going to let you sign your life away before you've had the
chance to live." Darien looked at her, aware of how confused she was
becoming. "You said you wanted to ride horses through the forest, and
swim in the wild rivers. I'm going to give you the chance to do that."
Serena frowned. "But Darien, there are no rivers or forests near here.
The nearest are several days away."
Darien nodded. "I know." He looked at her grimly. "That's why we're
going to Earth."
"Earth?!" Suddenly, Serena woke up fully, realising exactly what it was
he was proposing. "Hold on, Darien! Just what do you think you're doing?
I told you before, I'm not running away from the palace. How did you get
in here?" Serena had suddenly realised the absurdity of the situation.
Darien took both her hands in his. "Serena, listen to me. Rei is
guarding the door tonight, right?"
Serena nodded.
"She knows as well as I do that you get tired of Palace life. And she
knows I'm taking you to Earth. She's going to tell your mother in the
morning. She knows exactly where we'll be all day."
Serena shook her head slowly. "Darien, this is crazy. I've never done
anything like this before. I don't think . . . I don't think I can go
with you."
Darien locked her gaze onto his, his eyes burning brightly. "Is that
your heart speaking? Or is it something else?"
She didn't - couldn't - answer.
"Serena." He stepped forward, cupping her chin in his hand. "You want to
live in freedom. You told me so yourself. Please, take the risk of
coming with me now. Rei will know exactly where you are, and you'll be
perfectly safe. I promise."
Serena pressed her mouth into a thin line, considering this seriously,
then she nodded firmly. "All right. I'll come."
She allowed him to step in close to her, wrapping a strong arm about her
waist. He took out a glowing blue crystal, the Ocean Gemstone. Serena
had heard of it's existence - it was the Earth's equivalent of her own
Emperium Silver Crystal. Concentrating hard, Darien held the gem between
them, and suddenly, they were both enveloped in a blinding flash of blue
light.
The curtains flapped a little in the breeze, then the room was still,
and empty.

                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Falling.

Floating.

Floating and falling and turning . . . it was dizzy . . . and soothing
. . . there was nothing but air all around her . . .

Darien caught the limp girl in his arms as she collapsed on the leafy
forest floor. <I should have warned her> he realised. Travelling across
space like that could be very disorienting. Opening her eyes, Serena
stood, trembling slightly, then sank to the ground again as a wave of
nausea overtook her. "Gently, my sweet. Take it slowly." She didn't
recognise the voice for a moment, her vision still clouded by the
strange journey, the spinning in her mind and her own tiredness. Her
head gradually cleared, and she opened her eyes, blinking in the
sunlight.
Then she realised she was sitting on a leafy floor. A forest floor.
Serena turned to Darien in surprise. "Where are we?"
Darien grinned as he helped her up. "We're on Earth, Serena. In a
forest."
Serena looked around in amazement. "It's all so different! It's . . .
beautiful."
Darien waited for her to calm down, then took her arm. "Come on. Our
horses are this way."

The undergrowth was thick in this part of the forest, and Serena didn't
see the three horses until they rounded a sharp bend in the path. An
aging man stood in the path, holding the reins of a black gelding - the
royal crest on the saddle told her he was Darien's -  a chestnut mare -
presumable hers - and a bay mare, not equipped with the saddlebags which
adorned the other two.
Darien walked straight to the man, taking two sets of reins from him.
With a nod, the man quickly turned, mounted his own horse and rode away,
while Serena still stood, recovering from her surprise.
The man had seemed familiar somehow . . .
"Serena?"
She blinked, turning her thoughts back to Darien.
"Are you going to be riding today, or are you going to stand there
gaping?"
Serena flushed. "Oh, I . . .er . . ." She reached for the offered reins
and mounted the horse with ease, grinning as she settled comfortably
into the saddle. She looked up, and smiled at Darien. "Lead on, please."
Darien returned her smile, and nudged his horse into a trot, heading
further into the deep green forest.

Unlike on the moon, the day was well into the morning here, and Serena
was repeatedly dazed by the wild freedom of the wood. Plants grew at
random, lending a synchronised chaos to the scene, which at the same
time, seemed to fit it very well. She was thrilled at the feeling of
being encased in the green gold of this natural palace - and it was, she
was sure, a palace, its multi-coloured secrets glittering before her.
The silence, accompanied by their horse's breathing and the steady creak
of leather, was finally broken. "Darien?"
Darien turned, still surprised by the sound of his name on her lips. She
had only called him by his name a couple of times. He smiled. "What is
it?"
"That man this morning. He was . . . your guardian, wasn't he?"
He nodded an affirmative, a hint of a grin twitching the edges of his
mouth. "You don't think all my childhood escapades were merely an
accident, do you?"
Serena was stunned as she realised what he meant. "You mean . . . he
helped you? He . . . he let you run away?"
Darien nodded. "I told you this morning that Rei knew where we were
going."
"Just where *are* we going?" Serena interrupted.
Darien grinned. "It's a surprise. Anyway, in the same way as Rei helped
you, Sebastian invariably knew where I was going. He grew up in the
Palace," he continued, as they made their way down a leafy slope to a
small stream. "He understands how I feel and that I get sick of it
sometimes."
"Didn't your parents ever suspect him, or find out he was helping you?"
Darien frowned thoughtfully. "I think they must have done - they're not
stupid and sometimes it was . . . too unlikely to have been coincidence.
I think they must have understood why I did it, though. Sebastian and I
would make up lame excuses, and my parents would accept them, and wait
for it to happen again.
"I think they'll be pretty annoyed this time, though." Darien cringed.
"They'd kind of assumed I'd grown out of this phase. The last time I
pulled a stunt like this was . . ."
"The night of the ball."
Darien stared at Serena, realising what she had said. He blushed. "Er
. . . yeah. I forgot about that." He cleared his throat nervously.
"Well, er, before that, it would have been about three years." He
looked away, vaguely embarrassed.
Serena smiled to herself - he was so charming when he was embarrassed -
and looked around the forest to hide it.
Changing the subject, she asked, "Do you know the names of these trees?
They're so different to Moon trees. I've never seen *any* of the plants
here."
Darien's smile returned. Her enthusiasm was contagious. "That's an oak,"
he said, pointing, "these here are silver birch, and that young one is
a chestnut. I don't know all of them," he added, "but I'd recognise a
good number." He looked up at the path again, and saw the clearing ahead
of them. "Come on, Serena. Let's do some *real* riding," he called, and
urged his horse into a canter. Serena grinned, and followed his example,
racing with delight through the open forest.

                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reigning his horse to a stop, Darien slid out of the saddle, and led
his mount to the edge of the river, allowing him a small drink.
Watching him, Serena was about to follow his example, when she suddenly
looked up at the river. Stunned, she realised it was the most beautiful
scene she had ever laid eyes on. A wide pool lay before her, and up
river a little way, a small set of rapids shimmered in the dappled
light. Red and blue breasted birds darted in and out of the scrub, and
all the while, the impossible blue sky glittered through the deep green
leaves overhead.
"It *is* beautiful, isn't it?"
Serena looked round to Darien, her eyes reflecting her deep wonder.
"Yes." It was all the reply she could manage. Gathering her senses, she
watered her horse, then tethered it next to Darien's.
Searching through his saddle bags, Darien pulled out a blanket, and laid
it on the ground next to the river, motioning for Serena to sit down.
Then he went back to the horse, returning a few moments later.
"Here," he said, offering a bread roll, filled with salad and what
Serena could only assume was cold turkey. "It's not a banquet," he
added, "but there's a limit to what you can bring on a horse."
Serena laughed. "Please, don't apologise. There's absolutely no need."
She was still enraptured by her surroundings, and ate the roll
unthinkingly.
Darien sat next to her silently, watching her with subtle glances while
she took in everything she saw.
Finally, he felt the need to speak. "I know that what I did this morning
must have been unnerving. I hope you don't hold it against me."
But Serena shook her head. "No. You've given me more today than I could
have imagined." She looked down. "I like having a choice about what I
do. With people watching me all the time, I feel I don't get that
opportunity very often. It's like all the choices have been made for
me. Here, it's so different. Even if it's just for one day, I am
grateful." Stirring herself, Serena brushed the crumbs from her lap,
and looked at Darien expectantly. "Well, now where are we going?"
But Darien grinned. "Nowhere."
Serena frowned, confused. "We're not ending this here, are we?" She
sounded disappointed.
Darien looked at her meaningfully. "You said you wanted to swim naked
in a river, didn't you?"
Serena stared at him, then looked at the river as she realised what he
meant. A blush rose in her cheeks. "But you . . . you're . . . er?!" she
stuttered, undecided.
Darien softened his gaze. "We *are* betrothed, Serena."
Her eyes opened wide. "That's hardly the point! What would people
think?!"
Darien looked at her in amused confusion. "What . . . Serena! What
people?" He looked around pointedly.
Like a shock of electricity, Serena suddenly realised the situation. She
was here, in the middle of a deserted forest, free for the first time
in years to behave as she wished, and she was going to turn it down? An
uncharacteristic boldness sped up her spine, and a grin burst out on her
previously somber face. She opened her mouth to accept his offer . . .
until she realised Darien was watching her with the eyes of a wolf.
She returned his gaze seriously. "Darien, you must promise me . . ."
"I won't touch you," he interrupted her. "I promise. Though," he added,
with a wry grin, "I *am* going to join you in that river."
Serena hid a grin. <I was hoping you might.>

Quickly stripping herself of her clothing, Serena reached her
undergarments, and paused. Should she take them off . . . ? But yes,
she realised. After all, the whole point was to be naked. Flushing
slightly under Darien's gaze, though he did his best to remain
discrete, she tore off the remaining scraps and raced for the water,
hoping to be submerged as soon as possible.
The water was cold, but so refreshing she found it impossible to be
unhappy. She had to gasp as she dove into the coldness, but she got
used to it quickly, but remained flushed as Darien followed her into
the river.
Darien smiled quietly at her shyness, but even he had to admit that
this was a little on the risqué side of things, and he strengthened his
resolve to respect her.
She swam right to the other side of the pool, floating on her back as
she drifted slightly downstream, all the while a grin plastered to her
face. Eventually, she turned back over, swimming to where Darien was,
smiling at him.
"You know, there are eels that live on the bottom of this river," he
commented idly, watching her for a reaction. He got one.
She half leapt out of the water, only to fall back in, and started
kicking madly. "Are you serious? You're joking, aren't you?"
Darien laughed outright. Seeing his reaction, Serena calmed a little,
though she still wanted an answer. "I'm serious, Serena," he replied.
"There are eels, but they stay much further down river. I've never seen
one up here."
Serena relaxed, laughing slightly, and let her feet touch the bottom
again. "I'm glad."
"Serena," Darien said gently. "You must know by now, I'd never let
anything happen to you."
Serena's face went white suddenly, and Darien fought hard to keep a
straight face as he slithered one of his legs around Serena's, unseen
by her in the dark water, but certainly felt. Pretending not to see her
distress, he continued talking. "Of course, if there were any eels here,
they wouldn't do you any harm. The best thing to do is just stay still
and let them swim past." He raised his foot slightly, circling her knee.
Serena was hardly breathing. "Darien?" she whispered in terror. "I think
there's an eel . . ."
She never got to finish her sentence, for at that moment, Darien swept
her legs from under her, tipping her fully under the water, as she
screamed blue murder at him.
She tried to kick him, but the water limited her movement, and it turned
into more of a push. It was enough to give her a bit of distance, though,
and she splashed him with an expert funnel of water. He was laughing at
the time, and got a mouthful, choking more than she had done, while she
just laughed.
"Serves you right, you monster!"
He laughed, and splashed her back, but she was too quick, and reached out
to dunk him under the water. He retaliated by literally picking her up
and dumping her in the middle of the pool.
She screamed, but the pool was too deep when she tried to put her feet
down, and she sank under the water, gasping for breath. Accidentally, she
inhaled some water, and came up choking. Seeing she was actually in
distress, Darien swam out to her, supporting her in the water until she
could breath. Although the pool was too deep for her, he could stand
easily.
When she finally recovered, she smiled weakly, breathing hard. The
comparative stillness was a blazing contrast to their previous laughter.
Darien became aware of Serena's hands on his arms as she kept treading
water, and he felt a mildly disturbing response in his groin. He swirled
her away from him, deliberately stirring the water between them. <This is
going a little too far> he thought urgently. His body was beginning to get
more demanding, and his mind was losing the argument. <Enough> he decided.
<Swim's over.> And with that, he deliberately turned away from Serena, and
swam for the shore. At a "safe" distance, he turned back to her. "Come on,
Princess. The day isn't over yet. I've got more to show you."

Sitting astride her horse again, Serena followed Darien with a blind
expectation. Again, he had refused to tell her where they were going, and
she felt an excited apprehension. What could she possibly see now, after
all the events of today?
Serena's anticipation grew as the forest thinned, and suddenly they broke
from the forest onto a worn dirt road. Serena looked up, and was stunned.
One hundred metres in front of them stood a castle.
She blinked, but the image remained before her, and, gradually recovering
from the shock, she was able to take in the rest of the scene.
Before her was a broad field, the setting sun covered the grass in bluish
shadow. Beyond the field, the ground rose in a moderate slope, and above
this, the red-brown walls of the castle rose to four turrets. From where
she sat, Serena could see the beginnings of a garden to the right of the
castle. The clouds above them glowed with a golden aura, turning pink as
she watched. She could not believe such a perfect sight could exist on
Earth.

Darien watched quietly as Serena stared at his home. He loved the way it
suddenly appeared from beyond the forest, and even he was again struck by
its beauty. It was no arrogant sense of possession he felt - the castle
was genuinely magnificent, and he couldn't help but admire it.
Eventually he turned to Serena, pulling her from her silent observation.
"Come on," he urged softly. "I want to show you the gardens. They're
nothing so grand as you've been used to but . . . well, I think you'll
understand why I like it.
Serena nodded, then smiled. "Lead on."

Upon arriving at the castle periphery, Darien and Serena dismounted, and
Darien smiled as his guardian came out from a small service door.
"Welcome back, Sir," he greeted, as he took their horses. "Dinner will be
served in an hour, if it suits your leisure."
Darien nodded. "Thank you, Sebastian. Oh, Sebastian?" he added, as the
man began to leave. "Will you be joining us for dinner."
It was not a question, and Sebastian merely smiled. "As you wish, Sir."

Darien led Serena to the gardens, taking her down a red gravel path to an
arch-like opening between two trees. He stopped at the entrance, and
gestured 'after you'.
After a moment's hesitation, Serena stepped through into the garden, to be
greeted by the ninth miracle of the day.
A round pool, filled by a trickling rivulet lay before her. Rocks
surrounded the pool, not more than four feet wide, and all around it grew
deep green, exotic plants. Though the pool was constantly being filled,
Serena could see no outlet for the water, and wondered how it remained in
equilibrium. It was almost a paradox, and she could instantly understand
why Darien found the place enchanting.
"The water comes from a natural spring. It disappears back underground
beneath the pool," he explained. "It's never dried out in my life. Even
in the height of a drought, it keeps flowing. All this," he gestured to
the multitude of plants, "grows because of the pool."
Serena nodded. "Yes. I can see why you like it. It really is beautiful."
At length, Serena began to shiver. She and Darien both realised how dark
it had become, and Darien gently took her hand. "Let's go inside. Dinner
will be ready soon."
Serena smiled, and willingly followed him in.

As promised, Sebastian joined them for their meal. Serena was cautious of
him at first, wondering how far to trust a man who so willingly disobeyed
his king and queen, even if it was to obey a prince, but he had just
smiled, and winked at her. "Don't worry, m'lady. I never let Darien get
into more trouble than necessary."
As the meal went on, Serena relaxed, enjoying Sebastian's stories of his
life - his childhood as the son of a Baron, his service in the army, and
the tales of Darien growing up. She was sure many of the tales were
embellished beyond the truth, but she laughed and enjoyed the telling
none the less.
But all through the meal, Darien had seemed strangely quiet, almost
subdued if that was possible, and Serena hoped that later, she would be
able to ask him what was bothering him.

As it turned out, she didn't have to ask. After dinner, he took her up to
the roof of the castle, the night sky above them now brilliant with stars.
"Serena," he began, once they were alone. "In the past few days, a lot of
things have happened that I'm not certain about, and I know you're not
happy with. The reason I brought you here today was to show you that you
have a choice. *I* know what I want." He turned her face to look at him.
"I've known how I've felt since the night I met you. But now you have to
decide. Whether you do want what you told me, that first night in the
garden . . . or if you want something else.
"I will show you the world - first had, in vivid, screaming detail. You
can come with me, or you can run from me. But no matter what your mother
says, or what the court thinks, that choice is yours. And it will always
be yours."
Serena wrapped her arms around herself against some intangible coldness.
"I understand," she whispered.
She looked away from him, across the fields as the strength of this
decision sank into her mind. Her gaze wandered, and eventually, turned her
eyes up towards the sky, where the full moon - her home - rested
majestically in the blackness.
Serena was awe struck by this beautiful, magical sight, but also felt a
tinge of fear. Fear, she thought. Why should I be afraid? Then it struck
her, with full force, just how far away from home she was. The sheer
physical distance of it forced its way into her mind and overwhelmed her,
and she felt a painful pang of homesickness. This place was so strange,
so different from her home. Her home.
"Darien?"
He nodded. Her voice sounded small and frail. "Take me back to the moon."
He gazed at her shrewdly, suddenly aware of how tired she was. Then he
wrapped his arms around her, gently stroking her hair. "All right,
Serena," he replied, unquestioning. "Come downstairs. We'll go from
there."
She nodded, leaning against him for comfort. She was tired, emotionally
exhausted and confused. Sighing softly, she allowed him to lead her back
inside.

Less than 10 minutes later, Darien and Serena appeared back in the Moon
Palace Gardens, outside Serena's window. The Moon day had faded into dusk,
the gardens were deserted. The exhausted Princess collapsed into Darien's
arms, simply unable to stand after the dizzying journey across space, and
he swiftly swept her into his arms, and carried her up the narrow flight
of stairs to her room. She leaned gratefully into his shoulder. By the
time he pushed the door open, she was barely awake, so he carefully laid
her on her bed, smoothing her hair before he gently removed her shoes,
and covered her with the sheets.
Before leaving her, he bent down, kissing her forehead lightly. "You're
home, Serena. Sleep well."
She mumbled an unintelligible reply, and Darien smiled down at her
innocent expression, then quietly slipped out into the corridor.

                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't miss the exciting conclusion in chapter 5.

E-mail me at d-boy@intercoast.com.au Please? I REALLY want to know what
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