<simone@coastal.net.au>

A fan fic by Caleyndar.
Rating: PG.

Notes: The characters Diamond and Sapphire in this chapter
are of course Prince Diamondo and Safiru of the Black Moon
family. Ruby and Emerald are adapted from the characters in
the television series, and they will have a larger part
later in the story.

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me; only the
few I make up. The story, however, is mine.

The Name Endymion...

Part One: Innocent Life...

Chapter Four...

        "Do you really think this IQ competition is
necessary?" Nick asked me at the front gate while we waited
for our loves to arrive.
        "The question is, what is really necessary?" I
replied. "But no, I think it's a waste of time. On another
topic; are you and Dawn going out now?" I asked, grinning
at him.
        He blushed, and answered in such a small voice I
did not hear him.
        "What? I didn't hear you," I said, enjoying his
embarrassment.
        "Yes," he said, a little louder this time.
        I laughed, and he reddened even more. "Well, looks
like you finally won her heart. Now, just don't loose her,"
I said, looking seriously at him.
        The bus which Dawn and Serena caught pulled up then,
and Nick and I stopped our chatter. We watched with happy
expressions on our faces as the students got off the bus.
        But a frown suddenly appeared on my face as I felt
a presence. A dark presence.
        Nick left my side as Dawn got off the bus. He
greeted her in a friendly manner, all childish tactics gone
and replaced by a much more mature nature. Dawn smiled at
him, and they waited by the bus for Serena to get off. I
walked up to them, looking at the stream of people getting
off the bus.
        "She was talking to these two boys when I got on
the bus," Dawn was saying to Nick. "They're new. The
strange thing is, they are brothers, but they look so
different."
        Serena finally came off the bus, looking rather
uncomfortable. I helped her off the last step, smiling up
at her face, telling her with my eyes that I had missed her.
She gave me a soft smiled, but glanced back behind her, as
if she was afraid.
        I looked past her, and into icy cold pale blue eyes.
They glared at me with a hatred I did not understand. How
could anyone hate me so much when we had only just met?
Framing his pale face was longish white hair, tinged with
blue. His whole expression was cold. In his ears, he wore
an earring, a diamond, which sparkled in the sunlight like
an ice crystal. He stepped off the bus, and stood opposite
me, watching me with his glacier blue eyes. For a moment, I
felt hate from him. And jealously? I did not have time to
consider it, for the last person came off the bus.
        It was his brother. Dark blue hair, almost to the
point of black, and dark blue eyes, which were cold as well.
He wore a pair of sapphire earrings, small studs in his
pale ear lobes. He looked past me, to Serena. He glared at
her, but did not let his brother see this.
        The bus pulled away, leaving the six of us standing
on the side walk. I seemed unable to look away from the
cold gaze of the first boy, who stood there, his slender
white arms crossed over his chest. Nick and Dawn stood
there too, wondering what they should do.
        Serena finally spoke up. "This is Diamond," she said
in a small voice. "He's an old friend," she gestured to the
boy with the bluish white hair. "And this is his brother,
Sapphire."
        The two brothers bowed, but it was mocking.
        "Darien, I think Dawn and I will be leaving now. They
are just a little too weird for us," Nick whispered in my
ear, and walked off quickly with Dawn by his side, either of
them looking back.
        "Serena, we can go if you want. We don't have to
stay here and suffer this," I said to her softly, taking her
hand in mine.
        "Serena? Is that what you call yourself here?"
Diamond said, glaring at our touching hands. Sapphire
placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, warning him. "But
then, I suppose you real name would be a little strange on
this planet," he said, smiling at me evilly.
        "You can talk with your names. Just leave her
alone," I said, stepping in front of her. "She is my
girlfriend, so you two can just go to hell," I said,
feeling angry.
        "You don't know who we really are, do you, human?"
Diamond asked, holding up his pale hand, palm up. A small
ball of energy grew there, silvery white, lightning running
over it.
        "No, I don't," I admitted. "But I don't care for
your petty tricks."
        "Diamond, stop this. You know the rules!" she said
harshly to Diamond.
        "Serenity, what does it matter to you? He is just a
human. He isn't worth your attention. Let me kill him,
since he has seen my power," Diamond said softly to her.
        "No!" she said, loudly.
        "It's alright, Serenity," I said, calling her by
her real name. "I can defend myself." I held up my own hand,
palm up, and gathered my energy there. A blue ball of power
grew there, matching Diamond's. "You see, I am not a human.
I don't know who I really am. But my name is Endymion."
        Sapphire let out a small gasp as he recognised the
name.
        "The great Prince Endymion. Well, it is an honour
to meet you. Everyone thought you were dead," Diamond said
sarcastically, looking up at me and letting his hand drop.
"I should fight you here and now, Endymion. If it was not
against the laws. But one day, those laws will not matter.
Then, I will destroy you, and take from you what you most
treasure." Diamond turned and walked off, his brother
following him, two menacing figures in the early light.
        I turned back to Serenity. "Are you alright?" I
asked her, holding her close.
        She nodded, looking up at me with her large blue
eyes.
        "Who are they, really?" I asked softly.
        "Prince Diamond, and Sapphire is really is brother.
Diamond is the prince of the Black Moon Kingdom," she
replied, her head on my chest, my arms wrapped around her
small frame.
        "And you?" I asked.
        "I would rather not tell you," she said softly.
        "Alright, Serena," I said, holding her tighter.
"It doesn't matter. I love you, and that all that counts.
Come on, let's go inside. You knew who I was all along,
didn't you?"
        "Yes, ever since we first kissed," she replied,
blushing.
        It made me blush too. "And I suppose we tell none
of this to our friends."
        "Yes. No human must know of our powers, of our
existence. Only when they are ready, are we to show
ourselves," she said.
        "Then why is Diamond and Sapphire here?" I asked,
leading her through the school.
        "Diamond has a, well, what humans would call a
crush, on me. He likes to follow me where ever I go, and
serves as a protector for me. I hated the idea, but it was
the only way my Mother allowed me to travel. I slipped
through his grasp a few weeks ago and came here. He found
me just yesterday. And he doesn't like you because I do,"
she said.
        "And Sapphire? I noticed earlier that the two of
you didn't exactly get along," I said as we came to the oval.
I looked across it, seeing our little group sitting under
our tree.
        "He is devoted to his brother, and accompanies him
whereever he goes. He dislikes me because he thinks I have
bewitched his brother," Serena said seriously.
        "I understand that. You've bewitched my heart. And
as for Diamond, he doesn't frighten me. I'll fight him, and
defeat him, if he ever tries to take you away," I said,
brushing my lips on her forehead. "Anyway, on a lighter
note, what do you think of Nick and Dawn? They're finally
going out."
        "Nick must be happy," Serena said as we walked into
our group's area. "After all, I'm going out with you, and I
feel as if I had died and gone to heaven."
        Everyone else had already arrived, and Luke and
David did not look happy.
        "Why the long faces?" I asked as Serena and I sat
down on a bench underneath the tree.
        "All the girls are talking," David started.
        "About the cute guys in our grade," added Luke.
        "Well, shouldn't you be happy about that?" I asked.
"After all, aren't you considered as the 'cute' guys in our
grade?" I mocked, grinning at them.
        "Not anymore," Luke said mournfully.
        "They think the two new guys are way hotter than
us," David finished.
        "Diamond and Sapphire?" Dawn spoke up. "Well, they
are beautiful. In a dangerous sort of way. And some girls
do like that in men. But they are so cold!"
        "Dangerous is right," I muttered under my breath.
        "I bet they are rich too. For heaven's sake, they're
wearing real diamond and sapphire earrings to school!" David
exclaimed unhappily. "Even their names say they are filthy
rich!"
        Serena and I looked on, raising our eyebrows. "Money
isn't everything," Serena said, attempting to sooth them.
        It didn't work.
        "Tell that to all the girls swooning over them! Even
Claudia is over there!" Luke cried, pointing over to a
large group of girls across the oval.
        "It's too bad their sisters didn't come too. Then
we wouldn't have to put up with this complaining," Serena
whispered in my ear whilst everyone was looking at the group
of girls.
        "Who are they?" I asked, looking at her with my blue
eyes.
        "Ruby and Emerald. And their beauty has made many
powerful men in the galaxy fall at their feet," she replied
in a hushed tongue.
        "But they are only our age!" I said, a little
shocked.
        "You are so naive," she said, standing up on her
toes and kissing me.
        I closed my eyes, loving every second her lips were
pressed against mine.
        We were interrupted by the bell. I pulled back, even
though I hated doing so. We said goodbye and walked to our
roll call classes. The student news said that year ten were
to report to the hall after roll call for their IQ
competition. I inwardly groaned at the thought of sitting
in a hall for hours. Having Diamond glaring at me throughout
the whole thing dampened my spirits ever more.
        The few year tens in my roll call class walked down
to the hall when the bell rang. No one was chatting happily.
And the sky was overcast too. Talk about setting the mood to
a scene.
        When all of year ten had gathered in front of the
hall, the teachers directed us in, seating us in single
chairs at single tables. Diamond was sitting behind his
brother across the hall from me. What really maddened me
was that Diamond was sitting next to Serena.
        The competition started, and since it was under test
conditions, silence reigned over the hall. There was the
sound of wind blowing outside, cars passing by on the
street, and the annoying ticking of the clock. Otherwise,
nothing. Not even the rise and fall of breath, or the
occasional sneeze or cough.
        Three long boring hours passed. The competition was
quite hard, but since the answers were multiple choice, it
was not too difficult to deduct the answer from the given
information. When the teachers said we could talk again,
the roar of conversation was almost deafening.
        Nick turned around from his seat in front of me,
looking bored, but happy now that the competition was over.
"Well, that was a waste of time," he said, packing up his
things.
        "So true, so true," I said, sighing. "But now, it's
clear sailing to the camp."
        "Yeah! It should be great fun! We'll have a
welcoming party on the first night, and then a two day horse
trek for the second and third day. Then it's a games day on
horses on the fourth, with a dance party at night! It should
be absolutely cool!" he said, stars in his eyes.
        I smiled at my friend. "Yes, it should be cool. And
hopefully, I'll enjoy it. But I won't if I lose my only
love," I said, looking over at Diamond and Serena. They were
talking, and Sapphire was listening in, but did not
contribute to it. Serena seemed to be telling him off, which
brighten my spirits a little. "You and Dawn still going
strong?" I asked, turning back to look at him.
        "Yeah. She says that Diamond and Sapphire and
totally suck up. I think they are too. They must think they
are royalty or something!" Nick said with anger in his voice.
        I wanted to say to him he wasn't far off when he
said that.
        We were let our after everyone's paper had been
collected. Nick and I walked down to the oval, finding
everyone there except for Serena and Claudia. I was
immediately concerned, and went off to find Diamond. Nick
tried to ask me what was wrong, and I merely replied I
needed to go to the toilet, which was a very lame excuse,
even for me.
        I ran off to the canteen area, where I had seen alot
of girls heading before I had gone down to the oval. I was
a quick learner; where ever Diamond and Sapphire was, there
were always a lot of girls to mark it. When I reached the
canteen, I was rather disappointed to find no trace of
either Diamond or Sapphire. Yes, there were alot of girls
there, but no cold eyed boys with unusual coloured hair.
        I turned to go, but a flash of dark blue light in
the corner of my eyes made me stop. Sapphire stood there,
leaning up against the wall, his tall lean body shown off
to advantage. He eyed me coldly, and we stood there,
looking at each other for a moment, assessing each other.
        "Diamond asked me to speak with you. You are
looking for Serenity, are you not? Don't be concerned about
her. Diamond would rather die than hurt her. They just need
some time to clear the tension between them," Sapphire said
to me, his voice as cold and emotionless as his expression.
        "Does Diamond really love her?" I asked him suddenly.
The question surprised both of us.
        Sapphire was silent for a moment, but then his
expression softened. "He thinks he does. I think he is
merely captivated by her beauty, her power. That doesn't
really concern me though. If it is what he truely wants,
and if he is happy, then so am I."
        "Do you love anyone?" I asked, seeing him open up
to me.
        He smiled at me, turning his hard cold face warm,
like a flower opening up after winter. "No. I am not so
foolish as to fall in love. It only hurts you," he said
strongly.
        "Haven't you heard the expression 'it is better to
have loved, and lost love, than to never have loved at all'?"
I asked, quoting what David had said to me awhile ago.
        He shook his head slightly. "You are an unusual
being, Endymion. But I suppose growing up on this planet
is the reason for it. It is a pity we are enemies. Otherwise,
I think we would have been great friends. Perhaps, when the
war is over, and if we are still both alive, we can continue
with our conversations." With that, he turned and walked
away.
        I stared after him, regretful also. I knew then
that I had made a friend, and then lost one.
        The rest of the week passed in uneasy peace.
Diamond and Sapphire kept to themselves, leaving Serena and
me alone. When the weekend came, I invited Serena to go
riding with me, and Nick did the same with Dawn. Serena had
never been on a horse before, and the three of us agreed
that she would need to practice if she wanted to have a good
time at the camp.
        At the riding school, I showed her how to tack up
her own horse, as she would need to know on the two day trek,
and then how to mount by herself. I showed her other various
things, like picking stones out of her horse's hooves,
grooming, rugging and washing. She seemed to enjoy herself,
and loved riding right away. In the afternoon, we went on a
mountain trail. I pointed out the native animals we saw, and
the birds. Serena was delighted at seeing them. The three of
us also showed her the joy of bolting up the hills in a
wild gallop.
        The next school week was uneventful as well. Except
for the time David and Luke got into a fight with Diamond
and Sapphire. Luckily, Serena and I was there, so Diamond
and Sapphire used nothing more than their human powers; none
of the power Diamond had displayed to me when we had first
met. Unfortunately, Luke and David got the worst of it.
Serena told me afterwards that they were trained in martial
arts, and that they had gone easy on Luke and David.
        After the riding lesson with Tom on Saturday, Nick,
Dawn, Serena and I rode over to Luke's place so that I could
show Serena how to jump. Luke and David where there, but
either was riding. Luke had a sprained ankle and a sore arm,
as well as alot of bruises. David's shoulder had been
dislocated, and it was still sore now after it had been put
back. Neither of them was too happy.
        I rode Wild Spirit over the course, and we were
great, as we had been the first time. I even let him jump a
six foot fence again, showing off. Serena was quick to pick
up on jumping, and she did quite well on the course herself.
        There was only two more weeks to the camp, and every
one was exited. That was what everyone talked about at
school. Well, besides from the constant glossip of who
Diamond or Sapphire liked, or was going out with. The truth
was, they weren't going out with anyone, and Serena said
that either of them were the kind to take advantages of
their looks.
        In the last week of school before the camp, we had
two meetings. One was for the camp, telling us that everyone
had to be at the front gate of the school by eight in the
morning, and those who were taking their own horses were to
met the rest of the year at the camp site at nine. It also
told us what to bring and so forth. The second meeting
concerned our results for the IQ competition.
        Once again, everyone was in the hall. At least this
time, I was sitting next to Serena and Diamond and Sapphire
were way over the other side of the hall. There was a
representative from the IQ competition. He was dressed in a
black uniform with an insignia on the front of it. It looked
like a black dragon outlined in silver, but from so far away,
I was unsure.
        Our year adviser was up on stage, saying he was very
pleased with our results, and that some of use had scored
highly enough to receive prizes. A few names were called out.
I heard Dawn's and Nick's and two other's I did not know.
And then mine. I was too shocked for a moment, but Serena
pushed me up and towards the stage.
        I was given a certificate that said I had scored in
the top one percent of all the participants, and a prize,
which was a very expensive looking watch. I half heartedly
wondered just how many people took part in this competition.
        Serena congratulated the three of us when we came
off stage, but she seemed distracted. Nick and Dawn at once
put their watches on, and I did the same, having forgotten
mine this morning. It looked nice, sitting on my wrist, with
it's black leather band and silver watch face with the
golden hands, and small fake jewels set into where the
numbers should have been.
        When we were outside the hall, Serena left my side,
and it was a few moments before I realised she had gone to
talk with Diamond and Sapphire. I walked up to them, forcing
the strange feeling of jealously from my body. Nick and the
others did not follow. Luke and David had learnt not to
cross Diamond's and Sapphire's path.
        I came up beside Serena, and stood there, listening
to the conversation.
        "We should leave, Serenity," Diamond was saying in a
serious voice. No sign of coldness; only uneasiness. "That
representative was from the Dark Dragon Kingdom. You saw the
insignia on his uniform. If they know we're here, we have
to leave."
        "They don't. I am sure of that, Diamond. And I have
no intention of leaving yet. I dislike that fact that we are
always running away from that accursed kingdom! We are as
strong as they. Why do we run as if they are a wolf and we
nothing more than mere prey?" Serena demanded.
        "We can't risk up setting them. You know that. We
can't risk angering them into another battle. After the last
one, even with our two kingdom's power combined, we could
not beat them! Until we have a truce or an alliance with the
Earth Kingdom, we do not have the power to stand up to them!"
Diamond said, sounding almost desperate, unlike his usual
cool self. He glanced at me when he mentioned the name of
my kingdom.
        "I thought the Earth Kingdom was destroyed," I said
softly.
        "It was weakened badly at the beginning of the war.
After that, it split into two. One is neutral, the other is
at war with us," Serena told me.
        "And what of my parents?" I asked.
        "No one has heard from your parents since you
supposedly died," Diamond said sharply.
        I did not reply.
        "It is your choice, Serenity. If you wish to stay,
I will protect you. But I have warned you of the danger. If
they find out we are here, they will not hesitate to
eliminate us. That would deal a deadly blow to both our
kingdoms," Diamond said, and then walked away with his
brother.
        "I hope you stay, Serena," I said softly, taking her
hand and walking down to the oval. "I would miss you
terribly if you leave me. But if you know you'll be in
danger if you stay, please go. It would hurt me more if you
were hurt because of me."
        "I shouldn't be hurt, Darien. Don't worry about me.
You should be happy that you scored so highly, even if the
organisation who ran it is at war with my kingdom. And at
least you got a watch," she said, smiling happily up at me.
        I smiled back. "Yes, at least I got a watch."
        The rest of the week and the weekend passed with
agonisingly slowness. Though I always loved riding, the ride
on Saturday was annoying. It seemed to last forever, and to
make things worst, Serena did not come as she had to do some
last minute shopping for the camp. Sunday was just as bad. I
took Michelle to see a movie, but she fell asleep in it, and
I was left to watch a child's animated movie all by myself.
What's more, it was a very unexciting one.
        When Monday came, I could hardly get up when my
alarm went off at six in the morning. The night before, I
had been unable to get to sleep, and I was dead tired still
in the early hours of the day. Never the less, I got up and
changed into my riding cloths, and then ate a quick
breakfast. Only my Mother was up at that hour. She helped me
make sure I had everything, and carried my bag to the front
door to wait for Nick's parents to pick me up.
        They arrived at six thirty, and I kissed my Mother
goodbye, and asked her to say goodbye to my Father and to
Michelle. With that, I climbed into the car, only to be
greeted by a sleeping Nick. The float was already attached
to the car, and we drove off, the two horse trailer rattling
behind us.
        When we arrived, I shook Nick awake, and the two of
us got out of the car and walked to the stables. We gave out
horses a biscuit of hay each whilst we loaded all their tack
into the back of the car. I packed a double saddle bag with
a body brush, hoof pick, a few first aid items, and a few
sugar cubes. I pulled on my gloved then, and put my hard hat
in the car. While we waited for our horses to finish their
breakfast, we took off their rugs and gave them a groom.
Since the whether was quite warm now, we only packed a light,
water proof rug with hoods for each of them.
        Once they were finished, we led them with their
halters and lead ropes onto the float. Both didn't give us
too much trouble, so by a quarter to eight, we were ready to
head out to the camp site.
        The ride there took an hour. Nick and I talked
about various things along the way, but mostly we talked
about our girlfriends, and the activities at the camp.
        "I only hope the food is nice," Nick said as we
drove along the road with the trees flashing by.
        "For heaven's sake, Nick, food does not matter!
Rather, I hope it doesn't rain. That would really dampen
our spirits," I said, looking up at the sky which was
spotted with clouds.
        "Please don't try to make a joke again! That one
was pathetic!" Nick said in a disgusted voice.
        "What?" I asked him, confused.
        "Never mind, Darien. Some people just don't have a
sense of humour," Nick replied, looking out his window. "But
you're right. I hope it doesn't rain. Well, here we are,"
Nick said as we turned off the road and swung into the camp
site.
        We both got out, unloaded our things and then our
horses.
        "Thanks for the ride, Dad. We'll see you of Friday
afternoon," Nick said as the car drove off.
        It was only quarter to nine then, so we tacked up
our horses. Wild Spirit could hardly stand still; he was
looking around with interest at his new surrounding, ears
pricked and liquid bronze eyes wide. I finally finished
tacking him up, finishing with wrapping the bandages around
his strong but slender black legs. I kissed his nose, and
hugged him.
        "I hope you'll enjoy this camp as much as I will,"
I whispered into his velvet black ears. "When I am gone, I
hope you fine someone who will love you. I hope you'll have
a happy life."

End of Part One, Chapter Four.


