Affair - Chapter 10
by Sereko
sereko13@yahoo.com


Whew! *whips sweat off of brow* It's only taken me...what? Two 
months?...to get this chapter out. Needless to say, life got
quite a bit demanding. I hope you like it...I hope there are
still some people out there who remember the rest of the story!
^_- Sorry for the delay! Chapter 11 will most definately be out 
next week. It's done and formatted. I would post it this week
except that I take insane pleasure in drawing out my stories.
Plus, if I posted it this week then (and there is no way that 
I would have Chapter 12 ready for next week) I wouldn't have
anything for next week and I really want to have something to 
post for more than just one week in a row. Forgive my oddball 
quirks! Enjoy Chapter 10!



Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the characters
associated with the story (Well, maybe Prince Arian). I merely 
use Naoko Takeuchi's genius as a starting point for my own 
storytelling.




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Chapter 10
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	She was a fool. In the emotional state that she was in, she 
should have known better. She had been frantic when she arrived and 
was forced to scurry in an unknown direction when a pair of guards 
blocked her usual path. And now she was lost. 
	The forest around her was aged and creaking in the evening 
wind. None of the trees looked familiar, none of the alcoves she had 
passed sparked her memory and none of the noises surrounding her 
hinted that she was near the river she so often visited. She had been 
told that the river ran along most of the Eastern section of the 
forest, which meant that since she couldn't hear it, she must have 
been far to the West. 
	A rather rabid looking squirrel pounced down from a tree to 
land near her feet. With a barely concealed scream of fright, she 
sped up her pace to get away from it. Unfortunately, she didn't know 
in which direction she was headed and by looking around her she seemed 
to think that she was moving in the opposite direction than what she 
wanted. Taking a moment to pause and collect her thoughts, her hand 
reached out to press against a tree. 
	Since when did trees have solid, sleek bark that was cool to 
the touch?
	Never, the girl decided and immediately retracted her hand. 
Turning her head to the left, she was met with the gruesome face of a 
corrupted Terran. His armor was what she had touched. Her eyes widened. 
There was a black mark emblazoned on his forehead that she knew to 
mean only one thing: he was a soldier for the evil powers of Earth. 
	It took less than a second for her survival skills to kick in. 
She was out of sight and ten feet down the path going at a speed 
faster than anything she had ever run. 
	Several pairs of feet could be heard not too far behind her. 
They were heavy and told of at least some form of battle skill. Even 
with her trusty sword and self-sacrificial magic powers she wouldn't 
have stood very much of a chance against the ten or so men that she 
could sense behind her. Her heels pounded harder on the ground beneath 
her as she ducked to dodge a low tree branch. 
	'You are better than them, Serenity. They may have the dark 
powers behind them, but they are just minions without a mind of their 
own,' the fleeing girl thought as she weaved in and out of trees and 
shrubs. A few pine needles and stray branches nicked her cheeks and 
arms as she ran, but nothing injured her enough to stop her. Her 
heartbeat was jumping against her chest so desperately that she 
thought it would burst and her limp body would be left for her 
assailants. 
	A dark feeling passed over her. At first she thought it was 
coming from Endymion until she remembered that he had shut himself off 
from her when he thought she was getting married. Before she could 
imagine any other reason why such a creepy feeling was crawling up her 
spine, something clasped the back of her dress. The grimy hand was 
quickly followed by another that wrapped its fingers securely around 
her right wrist. 
	Serenity's body tensed exponentially and then started to 
shiver uncontrollably. "Get off of me!" she screamed with everything 
she had in her. "MAMO-CHAN! ARIAN! AMI! VENUS! SOMEBODY!" Without 
warning a warmth exploded inside of her and she vanished from the 
face of the Earth. 

-----

	She was in her room. A deep moan tumbled out of her throat. 
Her heart was still racing and her body was starting to ache terribly 
from the long sprint she had just put it through. Why her room? 
	"Hello?" said a feminine voice from the balcony.
	Serenity's head shot up. 'Of course. The last name that I 
called was Venus. I was sent to her and she is tending to my room...' 
Her hands came up to grip her head tightly. 'What luck is mine! All of 
that trouble and I end up back on the Moon anyway!'
	Light footsteps started to approach. "Is there someone here?"
	She was on her knees. She didn't remember falling down upon 
them, but she passed it off as having too much on her mind to worry 
about bodily functions. 'What to do now...'
	"Princess!"
	Suddenly, the Moon Princess shot up from her position on the 
floor. Her hands harshly clutched Venus' shoulders and her eyes went 
wild. "NO!" she yelled. Her lungs heaved as she took a deep breath. 
Her mouth opened again started to cry out, "MAMO-CHAN!" The loud call 
was cut off almost before it had started for Serenity suddenly seemed 
to glow and in the next instant she had vanished from Venus' sight. 
	"Sere!!" the senshi called out frantically. Her arms reached 
out not comprehending what had just happened. "Wha..what...princess!" 
What should she do? Should she tell someone? Her liege hadn't looked 
in the best shape, torn clothes and reddened arms and mad eyes. 
	Then there was an earsplitting noise that emanated from the 
throne room. Venus could have sworn that it sounded like...
	"SERENITY!"

-----

A few minutes later...

	Endymion knelt down and carefully rubbed his fingers over the 
soft, red rose petals before him. He let a serene smile grace his face,
 temporarily forgetting the deep anguish that lived in his heart. A 
soft breeze brushed past him ruffling his bangs slightly. Abruptly, 
the wind picked up and began to swirl around him in a frantic fashion. 
	"I will be."
	Endymion stood up quickly and turned around. 
	There she stood. 
	He couldn't believe his eyes! 'Could it...could it really be..
her?'
	The vision before him let out a relieved sigh. She took a 
stumbling step forward. "I will be happy, M-Mamo-chan...with you!" The 
desperation in her face started to slip off into a faint smile. Her 
heart kept its intense beat, possibly even increasing at the sight of 
him. "Mamo-chan!" The tears in her eyes spilled over her cheeks and 
she threw herself at the prince before her. 
	Endymion grasped the girl with all of his strength. He buried 
his hands in the hair that tumbled down her back and nuzzled his head 
against her neck. "Usako," he breathed out. 
	Soon enough, the princess's body started to shake and go limp 
all at the same time. The stress of a few minutes before was catching 
up to her. Endymion had to clutch her in a firmer grip to keep her 
upright. "What happened? Usako!" he shouted more urgently when 
Serenity's head lulled to his shoulder.  
	"Oh, thank the gods that I made it to you. I needed to see you 
so much, my love," Serenity whispered, oblivious to her prince's 
concerns. "So very much." While wrapping her arms more securely around 
his neck, she pressed herself closer to the man in her arms. 
	"Please, Usako, tell me what has happened!" He carefully 
pulled away a bit to look into Serenity's face and used a calloused 
finger to smear a trickle of blood from a cut under her eye. He leaned 
forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "My dearest...how 
did you manage to get here?"
	Serenity opened the eyes once closed in bliss and stared up at 
her lover. A wildness came back to the blue depths. "I-I wanted to! It 
was easy to get past the guards, almost all of them were protecting 
the throne room and then I was in the transporter room. But, but your 
guards were roaming and they blocked my path to you and so I had to 
take a different route which led me outside where I've never been 
before and...and then the monsters. The monsters!" Her hysterically 
wandering eyes shot up to Endymion's for a moment. "There were too 
many, Mamo-chan. I would have fought, but there were too many so I ran 
from the first and they were just a few feet from me for so long. So 
long! And then the one caught me and I could barely get away. I was 
so scared that I started calling out for anyone I could think of that 
might help and...and...and I was foolish and said your name first and 
Minara's last and because of it I ended up in my room with Venus 
instead of here in the gardens with you! I needed you, Mamo-chan! I 
needed you!" She reached out a hand and traced his jaw line. Her hand 
wavered as a shiver went up her spine. "Something knew that...
something inside of me was so mad that it had gone to the wrong place 
and it happened again. Again! And then I was here! Here with you!" 
	The prince took no time in removing one arm from around the 
girl and securely fixing it onto the side of her neck underneath her 
jaw. He would have tried to move both of his arms, but feared that 
Serenity would fall without his support. With his new leverage, he 
forcefully stopped her head from turning every which way so that he 
could try to grab her attention. "Usako! Look at me, Usako." Her 
eyelids started to fall instead. He shook her a bit and then her eyes 
looked everywhere but at him. "Serenity!" The formal call immediately 
stopped all of her movements. Using the patience of a parent, he 
continued with emphasis on every word, "You have to calm down, all 
right? I need you to calm down for me. No one is after you anymore," 
he breathed. "You are safe."
	His tenderness returning, Endymion pressed a chaste kiss to 
her cheek and whispered once more, "You are safe now."
	"Yes, safe now," the blonde purred in a less than sober voice. 
Her head turned to lie within the crook of Endymion's neck. Just as 
the haziness around her eyes began to seep away, so too did the 
insanity slip from her mind. 
	"Are you injured?" he asked while calming her pulse with a 
stroking of his fingers. 
	If her heart had not yet quieted, her voice certainly had. 
"Just scratches from the tree branches."
	There was a moment of silence. Time enough for Endymion to 
fully realize that the woman he had minutes before been mourning was 
now molded against him. 
	"I love you," came an abrupt and drugged sigh.
	A frown creased the lord's brow for the first thing that went 
through his head after his angel's confession was thoughts of the 
wedding. "I need to know what happened at the wedding. Does your 
mother know of your flight?" his commands came with a touch of steel. 
	"No one...Venus knows," Serenity corrected amidst mumbles. "I 
slipped out after incapacitating my attendants and guards. Then there 
was all that nonsense I was rambling on about before. Venus saw me 
vanish before her very eyes so I am sure that she at least has a good 
idea of where I went."
	He hated to be insistent, but he had to be if only this once. 
"The wedding, Usako. I need to know what happened at the wedding."
	The response was quiet, but well heard. "There was no wedding." 
Endymion's heart swelled. "I made it to the transporters mere minutes 
before I was to be escorted down the aisle."
	"What of the queen? What will she do once she learns of your 
departure?"
	He expected a heavy sigh, but instead felt a nuzzle against 
his neck. "She will send the universe after me."
	"And if you return?"
	That's when he heard his sigh. "It will take all of her 
strength not to kill me in front of the entire court." A shudder went 
up Serenity's spine. "She will never kill me. Harm me and humiliate me, 
yes, but never kill."

-----

	He thought he had seen her angry. He thought he had seen the 
worst temper tantrum that her prim, little body could generate. But 
the explosion that had just come from her had sent a violent shiver 
down even the sturdiest guard in the room. He, himself, wasn't sure if 
he should have been elated or worried when the ivory doors to the main 
hall opened and no one stood behind them. The shrill screech to his 
left quickly reminded him that he should be worried, very worried.  
	"SERENITY!" The call was loud enough to echo throughout every 
major hallway in the vicinity. As if the last scream had vented all of 
her frustrations, the queen fell back in her throne. She motioned for 
her legion of guards as well as the Sailor Senshi to approach her. 
They all did cautiously and were sure to drop into a low bow once at 
her feet. 
	Though she appeared calm, her voice held venom and there was a 
bright fire still burning in her eyes. "Find her. I do not care what 
methods you use and do not care what condition she is in when she is 
brought to me, but she will be brought to me. No one may sleep until I 
see the whites of her eyes. Any men on vacation will be brought back 
to the palace immediately to help in the search. I want everyone on it.
Now." The last word was meant as a dismissal and everyone was speedy 
in fleeing the throne room after it was spoken. 
	Any guests or nobles still braving the room followed the 
guards out the door. Within a few minutes the only one left in the 
vast, ornate room with the steaming queen was Prince Arian. 
	She turned to him slowly. Her eyes were dulled in defeat. They 
swam with apology when they looked upon him. Arian nearly stumbled off 
of his feet for he had never seen the great Queen Serenity quite so 
vulnerable before. "I am sorry to say that your wedding will have to 
wait for another day. I send you my extreme sympathies that my 
daughter is so without honor."
	As the young prince walked away, he had an inkling of a 
feeling to pity the queen. Serenity was a lot to handle and maybe that 
was what ate away at the queen's moral sense. The auburn-eyed man 
shook his head. No. Serenity would not have been a lot to handle had 
it not been for the queen's intense desire to mold her and use her. 
Plus, the thought hadn't even crossed her mind to tell Arian that she 
would understand if he wanted to break the engagement seeing as how 
his bride had fled the altar. 
	He walked on.

-----

	Her blood cooled slowly. Being in his presence was always 
enough to bring her back to the calm envelopment of sanity. A touch of 
starch filled her legs again, as well. She wasn't quite the dead 
weight that she had been moments before. 
	Endymion kissed her fingers and smoothed a fingertip over her
knuckles. His breath played with the soft hairs behind her ear when he 
leaned forward. Cheeks rubbed as he dipped his lips to the junction 
of her neck and shoulder. In turn, her slim fingers slid down one arm 
until they reached his inner elbow where the blood rushed heatedly. 
Their minds meshed in a slow dance, thoughts forming as one and 
emotions blending until they were almost indistinguishable.
	His nose brushed hers in a tender caress and then his head 
lowered to gently capture her lips. The kiss was slow and sweet with 
an undertone of deep passion. Endymion was about to deepen the 
intimate connection when a loud voice startled him. 
	"Prince?!"
	Serenity immediately took a step back as Endymion whirled 
around to meet none other than... "Jadeite!" The conversation stopped 
there as another voice tore through the night. 
	"Intruder! Intruder!" An armed guard was running toward the 
prince with other guards quickly joining him from all sides of the 
garden. Endymion's head shot around to each soldier with frightened 
movements. It took him a while, but his voice finally came back to 
him. 
	"No! No, she is not an intruder! Stop!" The guards did not 
seem to hear his call and continued towards Serenity. Endymion splayed 
out his arms in front of her, backing her against a palace wall in an 
effort to protect her. "No! Stop! She is not going to harm me! STOP!" 
Some guards finally took note of the prince's words and began to slow 
their pace, but the others continued their advance. "I said STOP! 
PLEASE! DO NOT HURT HER!!" 
	Serenity's breath caught in her throat as one of the guards 
came up next to her. The man raised his heavy sword above his head. 
That's when Endymion realized what was happening. The frightened 
prince screamed out and the garden suddenly blazed with power. The 
guard with the sword was temporarily blinded and he stepped back, 
completely stunned. All of the other guards also stopped their advance 
as Endymion burst with power. A transparent blue shield formed itself 
around the prince and princess. The defensive barrier clashed with the 
soldier's raised sword and the weapon bounced back and out of his 
hands. 
	The men were too shocked to do much other than quickly lift 
their jaws from the floor and flee the garden as fast as they could. 
Once the last of the soldiers was gone, Endymion relaxed his energy. 
He heaved an exerted sigh and the blue shield shimmered to nothingness. 
Jadeite, along with the prince's other three guards who had come after 
hearing all of the commotion, were the only ones still standing in the 
area. They were struck speechless to say the least. 
	Endymion barely had enough energy to stare up at them. That 
didn't matter, though, because they had plenty of questions to keep 
them occupied. 
	"Endy, what was that!?" The longhaired, strawberry-blonde 
screeched out first. 
	"I did not think that you knew how to...how to..." Kunzite's 
sentence fell away.
	"How to totally kick some ass!" Jadeite supplied for his 
leader.
	"Yes, I was also not aware that your powers had increased so 
drastically. Or even that you were able to access such large power 
sources and remain standing," the brown-haired general concluded. 
	Endymion's mouth barely seemed to function. "I...I..." He, 
himself, was speechless. He didn't know how that had happened. 
	"Are you-"
	Kunzite was quietly interrupted by the sweet and broken 
whisper of, "Mamo-chan..." All of the generals finally turned their 
attention to the woman pressed up against the wall. Their eyebrows 
rose at bit at the name that she had called out. Who was she referring 
to? Who was this 'Mamo-chan'? Unless...
	Endymion's body immediately kicked back into gear. His eyes 
widened and his hunched shoulders straightened as he whirled himself 
around. His black cape slowly swayed to a stop as the prince halted 
his twirl to stare at the woman before him. Without a second thought 
to his friends, Endymion's eyes softened and he stepped directly in 
front of his princess. 
	The angel just stared up at him with shivering eyes. Her hands 
were practically imbedded in the wall behind her because she was 
pressing herself back so harshly. The first words out of her mouth 
were, "I am so sorry, Mamo-chan. I did not mean to startle everyone." 
	Endymion shook his head. "Do not worry about it, dearest. No 
harm was done." He reached out a hand to her face and caressed her 
cheek with his thumb. The pad of his finger made a soothing circular 
motion and soon the princess no longer had tears in her eyes. Gently 
moving his hand to her chin, Endymion lifted her face up and placed a 
soft kiss on her lips. He then wrapped his arms around her waist and 
held her closely. "It is okay. It is all over, now. You are safe, my 
love. I would never let any harm come to you." 
	Serenity whimpered as she tightly grasped his shoulders. She 
then let out a sob as she buried her face in the crook of Endymion's 
neck. Too many surprises had fallen upon her that day. She just 
couldn't take any more. Her lover responded by rubbing one hand 
soothingly up and down her back as the other hand cradled her head 
close to him. "Shhh, Usako. Shhhh..."
	The generals were once again struck completely speechless. 
This time it was not by a brilliant display of power, though, it was 
by the compassion and love that their liege was exhibiting towards 
this golden-haired princess...this 'Usako'. Kunzite glanced at his 
comrades to see if he could read their reactions. Shock. Confusion. 
Suspicion. Nothing he wouldn't have guessed. He carefully slipped out 
of their site so that they would not question his lack of surprise. He 
was slightly surprised, though. Wasn't someone supposed to be getting 
married? A smile slipped onto his face. 
	"Endy...?" After a few moments, Jadeite reached out a hand to 
his prince as he stepped towards him. 
	Endymion sighed to himself. 'I will have to explain myself 
sooner or later.' He reluctantly and carefully pulled away from 
Serenity so that he could turn himself around and regard his comrades. 
However, he made sure to latch onto one of Serenity's hands with his 
own in order to keep his (and her) bearings. "Yes, Jadeite?" He 
glanced back at his beloved when he heard some sniffles, but noticed 
only that she had completely collected herself again and was brushing 
away the last of her tears. 
	"Endymion, what is going on? Who is this girl? And why did it 
seem like you could have blown up the entire palace just a minute ago?" 
All wisecracking aside, Jadeite's voice was etched with serious 
trepidation. 
	The rest of his guard seemed equally confused and concerned. 
Endymion brought a hand up to his face, resting it there for a second 
before slipping the appendage through his hair. "I am sorry. I meant 
to tell you about all of this long ago, but..."
	"But what, prince?! You nearly scared me half to death with 
those fireworks that you were spewing earlier!" Zoicite clenched his 
fist quickly to stop his outburst. 
	"Well if you would let me finish what I was saying then 
everything would make a lot more sense!"
	Nephrite, noticing his prince's increasing distress, spoke up. 
"We are sorry, Endymion. You must understand, though, that of all the 
things for us to expect this was on the bottom of our list." The 
stargazer's calm tone helped to sooth everyone and soon the tension 
in the air had nearly vanished. 
	"I am aware of that," was Endymion's reply. He paused and gave 
Serenity's hand a squeeze before he continued. "I really did mean to 
tell you earlier, however...certain things...came up. This situation 
is even more complicated than it should be and that has only increased 
the amount of caution that we take when...when meeting each other."
	Zoicite raised a critical eyebrow, "Just how long has this 
been going on?"
	Not being able to hold his friend's gaze, the prince dropped 
his eyes to look at the ground. 
	"Four months," was the solemn reply.

 





End Chapter 10
--------------

Sorry for the random ending point. 
Chapter 10 and 11 are actually 
supposed to be one chapter, but my 
computer got all mad at me when I 
tried to make a 20 page notepad 
document, so I had to chop things 
up a bit. Also, random note: It 
occurred to me that I never really 
said how old anyone is. It was an 
awkward thing for me to integrate 
into the story, so in case anyone 
cares...Everyone is somewhere in
between 18 and 25 (except for the 
obvious elders, etc.). Serenity (19) 
and the girls are toward the young 
end (Minara is the oldest at 20) 
while Kunzite hits 24-or-so and
Endy is something like 22.

 
Please send ANY comments to me, Sereko. 
My e-mail is: sereko13@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2003 by Sereko