Affair - Chapter 6
by Sereko
sereko13@yahoo.com


I'm sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I was hired 
for a temp job for a week, so I've been a bit busy. Chapter 6
is just a touch longer than my other chapters, however, so 
hopefully that will make up for my tardiness. ^_- This is one 
of my favorite chapters to date. I hope you all like it just 
as much as I do. Thanks for reading! :)



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




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Chapter 6
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	“WHAT?!” he screamed. 
	His companion in the elaborately decorated room drew back from the 
reaction. “I was under the impression that this news would please you.”
	“Why would you have been put under that impression?” the young man 
replied. A nagging feeling in the back of his throat was steadily increasing 
to a rather annoying itch.
	“There was an eye witness that assured me of it.”
	Now pacing, the young man briskly ran a hand through his hair. ‘An 
eye witness?’ More questions erupted in his head. He noticed his companion’s 
irritated glare out of the corner of his eye and stopped to turn to him. 
	“It is too late to go back on my word now. What is done is done and 
you will accept it.” There was a regal and final tone to his voice.
	“I will accept it?!” The younger man was incredulous. “I cannot 
believe that you would not consult me before making such arrangements. If 
you had then all of this could have been avoided.”
	The glare sharpened. “You dare to speak to me in such a way?” When 
the other man drooped his head in fault, he continued, “Answer me this: Do 
you feel like you know her well? And she you?”
	“None better.”
	“You care for this girl?”
	“More than anything.”
	“You love her?” There was a pause on the other end of this question. 
	The young man turned away momentarily. In a defeated voice, he said, 
“I once loved her intimately, now only as a close friend.”  
	“Then you are better off than several of the married couples in court. 
Think of it this way, son. At least you enjoy her company. At least you *know* 
her.” He laid a comforting hand on his son’s shoulder. He hated forcing the 
young man into something that he did not wish to do. However, sometimes 
sacrifices had to be made. 
	“You do not understand.” He gave a heavy sigh as he prepared to break 
part of the trust his dearest friend had put in him. “She loves another.” 
Swinging a defeated look to his father he said, “This betrothal will kill her. 
I cannot go through with it because I do not want to hurt her. I know that I 
could find a way to settle into this arrangement and I am sure that Serenity 
could have too, but that was before she found this man. I cannot force them 
apart like this!” He squeezed his eyes tightly shut. He knew that Serenity 
would be heartbroken at the news that she must marry him. 
	His father smiled sympathetically. “I am sorry, Arian, I did not know.”
	“No one does but me,” Arian interrupted.
	“Well then, you can see why the queen and I initially thought that 
this would be a joyous union. Your sister saw you and the princess together 
and since the two of you are so close, she misinterpreted your meeting as 
something more intimate. The way you acted together implied to Anna that you 
were both in love. I am assuming that she was too excited at seeing her brother 
and princess together to be able to discern that you were merely acting as 
close friends and not lovers.” The king thought his rather dictatorial 
explanation would snap his son out of his sorrowful stupor, but he was wrong. 
The prince continued to cringe and pace. 
	With one last ounce of hope, Arian pleaded with his father once more. 
“Is there no way that you can retract the betrothal with Queen Serenity?”
	“If she were to know that her daughter was in love with someone else, 
I am sure that she would understand and break this betrothal. She would want 
to make a new arrangement with the other man’s parents.”
	“No. The queen cannot know of whom I speak.”
	The king raised an eyebrow. “Why not? Would it not make the princess 
happy to become betrothed to the one she loves?”
	“She cannot know! If Queen Serenity found out who the other man was…” 
Arian trailed off in despair. “No, there is no way. She cannot be told.”
	“Then I fear Queen Serenity will not wish to cancel your betrothal. She 
would have no reason to. Even if you told her that you did not wish to marry 
her daughter, it would not be enough.”
	“That is what I feared. If you will excuse me, I need to make a trip 
to the Moon.” Arian briskly walked from the room, leaving his father to wonder 
why he would not tell anyone the name of the man that Serenity was in love with.  

-----

	She mumbled in bliss with her eyes closed. She decided that she was 
going to ignore the fact that there were a large number of people at home who 
would be surprised to find that it was an hour past dawn and she was not primping 
in her bedroom. She was also going to ignore her strict, responsible conscience. 
Another happy moan escaped her mouth. “This is extremely delectable. I like it 
much better than the first one. Too yellow.”
	Endymion chuckled. “The first one is called a lemon. The one you just 
finished is called a raspberry.”
	“Are there any others?” she asked eagerly.
	“Not around here. That was all I could find.” He gave a big smile at 
her enthusiasm. “And anyway, it is your turn.” When he saw her eyes drifting 
away, he gently laid a hand on her wrist. “No more stalling.”
	“Fine,” Serenity said while letting out a breath. “What was the question 
again?”
	“What happened to your father?” 
	She didn’t want to talk about it. In fact, it was probably the last 
thing she ever wanted to even think about. Serenity had learned compassion and 
love from her mother’s top advisors Luna and Artemis. They taught her as she 
was growing up about how love was an essential part of marriage. They read her 
fairytales about soul mates and happily-ever-afters. With all of these grand 
ideals swirling around in her head, it was no wonder that the relationship 
between her mother and father appalled her. 
	Queen Serenity married Tael of Venus for purely diplomatic reasons. He 
was a suitable match, accepted by her parents and the rest of the Moon. Queen 
Serenity had no fantasies about love; she was always extremely focused on 
expectations instead. She was married to Tael for five years, a distinguished 
amount of time, before she became pregnant. Two years after her daughter’s birth, 
the queen ended her marriage. In her eyes, Tael had fulfilled his purpose. He had 
bonded the kingdoms of the Moon and Venus with his marriage and had helped to 
produce an heir. There was no need for the man to stick around since the queen 
did not feel love for him or any duty to stay with him to the end of their days. 
Though traditional marriage rights of the Moon were taken very seriously, Queen 
Serenity’s cool and aloof emotions on the subject called for no objections from 
her people at her actions. In shame, most of the Moon’s citizens emptied their 
memory of the harsh events and tried to pretend, instead, that Tael had been a 
courageous general who died in battle. 
	The truth of her parents’ relationship still rocked Serenity to the core. 
She had to brace herself on the ground to prevent herself from shaking too visibly. 
“I met him just recently. I wanted to see his face.” She glanced mournfully at 
Endymion. “I have his eyes. They were this beautiful shade of azure, so much more 
vibrant than my mother’s. And his hair. Just like any true Venusian, he had the 
most brilliant golden hair. I…” she stumbled with her words, “I just know that I 
would have loved him. I would have loved him dearly.”	
	Without prompting or waiting for the first tear to fall, Endymion reached 
forward and embraced Serenity. She turned in his arms in order to bury her head in 
the crook of his neck. Then, like a geyser, it came. Serenity felt humiliated for 
falling apart just so in front of the prince, but his countenance was so warm that 
she couldn’t help herself. His body enveloped hers and she felt completely content 
to stay in his protective cocoon forever. It never felt so wonderful to just be 
held, even when Luna used to come to her after a bad dream. It had also never felt 
so wonderful to let go of her reservations and allow emotions to flood through her. 
Ah, what this man was doing to her. “Thank you,” she quietly whispered.
	“None of that,” he said in a tone equally as quiet. “Never thank me for 
giving you what you rightly deserve. Care.”
	Good god, was he not just *the* most wonderful male specimen in the whole 
universe?! ‘How fate ever managed to make me run into you, I will never know. But I 
will have to send her my gratitude everyday.’ She kept her thoughts to herself, 
fearing that she was falling too fast for this man. If she weren’t careful there 
would be no one to catch her. 
	“So?”
	Serenity lifted her head to look questioningly into Endymion’s eyes. “So 
what?”
	“What do you want to ask me? It is your turn now.” If he didn’t have the 
most adorable smile on his face right then, she would have kissed him for trying 
to lighten the mood. Instead, she put a pondering finger to her chin.
	“It is, is it? Well then…” she trailed off. They had already shared so 
much, sitting in their little cove for at least a few hours already. A mischievous 
glint lighted her eyes. “How good are you at the sword? You have told me of the 
training you have suffered with Kunzite, Jadeite, Zoicite and Nephryte. However, 
I would like to test for myself to see if there is any natural talent in you or if 
all you know has been merely learned.”
	“You wish to test me? May I ask how?”
	The glint shown brighter. The corner of her mouth kicked up. “With a duel, 
of course. No fatalities, just a bit of sparring,” she immediately amended when 
she saw a flash of danger in his eyes.   
	His interest was piqued. “A duel you say?” She nodded. “It seems that 
throughout our interviews, I skipped over a rather important question. In all of 
your upbringing, did someone teach this dainty princess how to fight?” The 
wording was not meant as an insult, Endymion was merely trying to point out the 
unusualness of it all. It was not considered proper conduct for a noblewoman to 
learn the defensive arts. 
	“Ah, ah, ah,” Serenity shook her finger. “You have not answered my 
question; it is, therefore, not your turn to ask me one yet.”
	He grinned in delight. She really was something else. “I will duel with 
you.”
	“Good. In answer to your question, Princess Reianna of Mars honed my sword 
skills. She mentioned, however, that I had the talent at birth. Mars has great 
spiritual powers. She could sense my father in me when I sparred with her. It is 
from him that I am blessed with such a reckless hobby.” As she had been explaining, 
she and Endymion stood up to slip through the trees. They didn’t stop until they 
came to the edge of the forest. 
	With pleasure, Endymion pulled his sword from the scabbard that hung on 
his belt. He looked to Serenity. “What are we to do about your sword? I cannot 
readily fetch one from the palace for you…” he let the sentence fall as his eyes 
widened. 
	Seemingly out of thin air, by merely pressing her two palms together and 
then dragging them apart, Serenity had revealed her sword. “That will not be 
necessary. I, like you, always carry mine with me.” She smiled despite herself. 
“I am sorry, dear prince, I should have warned you that my training included a 
bit of magic before I summoned my sword here.” As she waited for him to shake 
himself out of his stupor, she dramatically stated, “Its name is Excalibur.”
	“En garde.”
	It was Serenity’s turn to be surprised, for Endymion was already fully 
alert and in a ready stance. She threw her surprise aside as she approached him. 
	And the battle began. 
	The forest immediately echoed the grunts and cries emitted from the two 
duelers. It was a tough battle for both parties. Initially they both played more 
defensive roles in order to gauge one another’s style and skill. However, defense 
quickly turned to offense when their competitive and energetic sides kicked in. 
Both the prince and princess were highly skilled. Only the best training was 
allotted to royalty, though it was obvious that a natural ease with the sword and 
how to wield it had bled into their training. A few bruises and small nicks started 
to form on fingers, upper arms, stomachs and chests. The very minor injuries were 
paid no heed and the fight continued. 
	A drip of sweat trickled down Endymion’s back to join several others that 
had soaked into his shirt. To say that his dear Usagi was a good opponent would be 
too obvious. To his satisfaction, however, Serenity had her fair share of sweat 
spots. He quickly parried a well placed thrust and twirled the touching swords to 
give himself an advantage. It wasn’t until several moves later that he thought 
their sparring match might never end. It seemed that they were perfect equals. 
Then, he saw a small opening in her defense and struck out. 
	Serenity’s surprise at being caught staring too deeply into his eyes cost 
her. She blinked harshly to try and focus herself. The damned man was just so 
unbelievably gorgeous when he was determined and flexed. Her attempt at refocusing 
came too late for her to properly fight off the swipe of his sword and she was 
struck. 
	She stumbled back a pace.
	The swift slice to the palm of her hand left quite a gash. “Oh, 
goodness,” she muttered more in irritation than pain. 
	He knew he was in a very bad state of mind when the first thing that came 
to his head after seeing her cut was the memory of a Terran bonding ritual. He 
tried to block the thoughts and how perfect they seemed, but it was of no use. 
Before he knew what he was doing, Endymion raised his sword and slipped it across 
his left palm. The sting led him to grimace, but that was all. 
	The princess was attempting to rip off a part of her unrelenting dress to 
bandage her wound when she felt a grip on her bad hand. She looked up to see 
Endymion standing before her with his head bowed and his lips moving. The murmurs 
that came from him were unintelligible to her; she assumed he was speaking in an 
old Terran tongue. 
	In seconds she felt something start to flow through her. Panicked, she 
tried to pull away and yelled at Endymion to stop. He didn’t oblige her. Fingers 
quivering against his hold, a wave started to form from them. It was warm and 
tingly, a little odd but still nice, and it was slow to shift from her injured 
hand through her arm to the rest of her body. The wave cascaded down her legs and 
seemed to pool around her feet before it shot straight up to her head. Unconsciously, 
Serenity’s head whipped back at the sensation. Her mouth parted though no sound 
came out. Then, something stirred around her heart. It was as methodical and 
intense as the previous wave had been, but this one circled and swirled only 
around her pounding heart. A heat formed and spread throughout every inch of her. 
She basked in it. 	
	The reactions stopped abruptly. 
	Though startling, Serenity was sad to feel her psyche wind down and 
return to normal. The whirlwind of responsiveness each and every nerve in her 
body had taken part in was a life-altering experience. She dropped her head and 
concentrated on Endymion’s form with much effort. “What was that?”
	Endymion’s brain kicked back into gear. ‘Uh-oh. And how exactly are you 
going to explain this one?’
	“Gods! Our hands!” Serenity exclaimed. Diverting his attention, Endymion 
glanced down at the appendages. He noted with satisfaction that both slices had 
been completely healed. He reached up to pull down the collar of his loose shirt. 
He again noted with satisfaction that a discernable mark had been emblazoned on 
the skin above his heart. It was a crescent moon.
	Following Endymion’s actions, the princess pulled at the collar of her 
swoop neck dress. She didn’t know what to say at finding the symbol for Earth 
sitting there in perfect contentment. “What…What did you do to us?” her timid 
voice whispered. 
	“I,” he began slowly, “performed a Terran bonding ceremony.”
	“Bonding?”
	Endymion nodded. “It is a tradition on Earth to perform such a ritual when 
two people are joined together.”
	“Joined together?” God, she felt like a parrot.
	There was a gulp. A deep gulp. Then, determination such as no one had ever 
seen rose in the prince and he squared his shoulders. He would just tell her the 
truth. There was no turning back now. He had already stepped past his bounds. 
“Traditionally, the rite is performed at a marriage. This is simply because once 
two people have bonded, it is virtually impossible for them to live without one 
another. Blood and soul have been blended. Usually the ritual leaves behind a 
slash or, if lucky, a circle upon one’s flesh so that everyone who looks knows 
when someone is spoken for. I have never before heard of marks such as the 
intricate ones that we have received being scorched. It is truly amazing.” He 
hoped that she would focus on that and not the fact he had just permanently 
changed their lives.
	“Amazing? Yes, amazing,” there was anger hidden in her voice. “I find it 
simply amazing that you would do such an important and sacred thing to the both 
of us without asking my permission.” She tried to breathe at a normal pace, but 
her body was still on high from the bonding experience and the shock that followed. 
“You have put us in a perilous place. Goodness, Mamoru,” she said as her tone 
dropped from commanding to familiar, “Have you so soon forgotten that we are of 
two rifting kingdoms? No matter our wants, it cannot be between us. This bonding 
will only make our inevitable separation unbearable.”
	In earnest, Endymion reached for and clasped Serenity’s upper arms. “Do 
you not see? That is why I had to do it. I am sorry that I did not consult you 
first. I should have. The thought came so abruptly and so powerfully to me, however, 
that I had not the time.” The prince took a step closer and lifted his other hand 
to rest under her chin. “I care about you, Usagi, more than I have ever cared 
about anyone. If you say that I am speaking in haste, you may shut your mouth. 
For an entire month your image and your words have plagued me, which was more than 
enough time for me to find out how I feel about you. Too much time, in fact, that 
was wasted on finding feelings when I could have been telling you about them.”
	She scoffed. “Mamoru. We are not going to go into this again. I have made 
it clear that I am attracted to you. I have also made it clear that though a month 
may have passed, we have still spoken very little to each other. We still do not 
know each nearly well enough to go so far as to bond!” Serenity realized that she 
was denying herself and her companion the truth. But it would be easier to go 
their separate ways once their parents found out and broke them up if they did not 
get quite so close. Even if her heart struggled against her and begged for more of 
his sweet words. She would have none of it. 
	“Usagi, I do not know about you, but I have told you more about myself in 
these past hours than I have ever told anyone. I believe you may even know me better 
than my own mother, though she had the privilege of spending a good many years 
raising me and you did not. If I have to beat it into you, I will convince you that 
time means nothing. And I will not suffer another month alone just so that you feel 
we have enough of it under our belts to finally start a relationship.”
	There was a hopeless look staring back at him when he finished lecturing. 
“You ask me too much,” she whispered. “I cannot and will not risk not only your 
life but the lives of the soldiers who may be enlisted in a war between our kingdoms. 
It is too much.” Serenity clenched her eyes and shook her head. “It is too much,” 
she repeated as she stepped away from his soft touch. 
	She attempted to turn and run away like she had before when he had flipped 
her back around and kissed her. 
	This time he let her go.
	Tears leaked and streamed down her cheeks. ‘Stop it! Stop it! Remember 
what you said before? ‘He means nothing to me.’ Just repeat that. He means nothing 
to me. He means nothing to me.’ Yet the tears continued and her hands were unable 
to wipe them away fast enough as she ran atop Earth’s resilient soil. 
	Though it seemed like she had been running forever, her stumbling flight 
had only left her thirty or so yards away when she was struck to a stop. The 
feeling was indescribable. One minute she was religiously repeating her mantra 
and the next she was overcome with a large swirl of emotions. They were angry 
and sad and solemn and any other words that could fit into the category of 
depressed. The bombardment was so thick and tense that she felt as if she was 
choking from it. She frantically moved her arms as if to ward off the strange 
impressions, but they only encroached further on her heart. Lead weights were 
placed on all her limbs and she fell deftly to the ground. Her shaking arms 
caught her so that her face did not also bury itself in the dirt. As she tried 
to make sense of the foreign feelings, tried to find why she was being consumed 
by something not of her own making, she heard something. 
	/ ‘Not again.’ /
	It was a whisper, a tickle on her soul. She knew it was not her ears that 
had heard it and neither was it her mind that had picked up a bit of telepathy. 
It was as if she had sensed or felt the words. They came to her as if they were 
her own. 
	/ ‘Not again.’ /
	It was stronger this time, whatever it was. Following it, the encompassing 
forlornness that was swallowing her up increased tenfold. Now she really couldn’t 
breathe. She had never heard of suffocation by intense emotions before. The choked 
heaving of her breath informed her that she might be the first victim. ‘No. It is 
just psychological. Your heart feels suffocated, not your lungs. Not your lungs.’ 
The reasoning was found true when her breathing patterns returned to normal. 
	/ ‘Why? Why give her to me just to take her away?’ /  
	And then she understood. Serenity lifted her head with hesitation and 
looked back from whence she came. There stood Endymion. No surprise in that. The 
surprise laid in the fact that he was leaning with one arm against a tree, the 
other covering his face, which was dripping tears. 
	/ ‘I love her.’ /
	Serenity froze. Her heart, her mind, anything that was hers and that usually 
functioned shut down. She had not just heard those words whispered through his lips 
or telepathically received them. She had *felt* them. Her heart swelled in an 
attempt to answer the call. Her muscles worked on their own to lift her up and 
force her back towards the forest and Endymion. 

---

	He heard a leaf crackle first, and then he noticed that she was walking 
towards him. He was so overcome with…everything…that he just stood there and waited. 
	She came back.
	Her first instinct was to reach up and touch his cheek and she followed it. 
Her second was to whisper “I am sorry” and she did that too. 
	“I am so sorry. I…” she trailed off in the search for perfect words. She 
had to say everything right and that included speaking only in truths. “I have 
denied my own heart and in doing so have denied yours as well. I assure you that 
that was not my intention.” She sighed. “There are rules, Mamo-chan. I was only 
trying to obey them to save us and our worlds much trouble and pain. You and I were 
both taught to put duty before love, such is royalty.”
	The look on his face nearly had her crumbling into a little heap before 
she finished. His slow and steady tears had not abated. 
	“I heard you, Mamo-chan. No, correction, I felt you. I felt you in a way I 
have never and will never feel another person. Such strength, though at the time 
in sorrow, I have never known. You are one determined young man and you, yourself, 
said that if you had to you would beat into me the fact that time means nothing.” 
She looked up at him with a smile, her hand having caressed and dropped to lie 
across the back of his neck. “Only someone with such feeling, with such strength,” 
she took a deep gulp of air before continuing, “with such love could convince me 
to put duty on the sidelines for once.”
	Endymion didn’t know how to respond. He hadn’t actually intended to send 
her his emotions so fiercely, or even at all. The fact that it had caused Serenity 
to turn back and return to him was all he needed to know. However, the 
impressiveness of their connection, much more pronounced than in usual bondings, 
was not enough. He needed to feel something come back at him that was convincing. 
He needed to hear her say it. 
	“I am glad, Usagi. I must go now.” Well, he hadn’t meant to be quite so 
abrupt, but it would have to work. He stepped past her a few steps. Then he became 
the one frozen to the spot. 
	“I love you, too.” 
	He would have back-peddled if he could have. 
	“I think I have known since I first saw you lying by the river, but the 
thought of being so completely fallen for someone before even knowing his or her 
name scared me greatly. And then I just had to be from the Moon, only on Earth 
because I was fleeing an argument with my mother.
	“I never imagined that I would meet you here.”
	She turned to him in the hopes that he would turn to her as well. Then, 
with slight apprehension overbearing everything else, she finished her speech.
	“You are the one that I have been waiting for, Mamo-chan. You are the one 
that I have been dreaming of my entire life.”

-----

	Mercury’s head spun. She tried to convince herself that she had heard 
wrong. She tried to imagine that Mars had not just run into her and cheerfully 
exclaimed that her princess was engaged. And she sincerely tried to pretend that 
Serenity would be overjoyed at the proclamation. 
	Her hand fisted in her hair. 
	This wasn’t happening. This just was not happening. True, Arian and 
Serenity were very close and a better match was hard to find…but she knew that 
her dear friend would never want her close friendship with Arian to turn into 
marriage. She had spent many a night on the princess’ bed chatting about finding 
the loves of their lives. It was not uncommon for her to find Serenity standing on 
a palace balcony and gazing into the distance. She was such a daydreamer, always 
thinking that things would work out one day. A wonderful man would walk into her 
life and love her unconditionally like her mother never could. 
	‘Oh, what is there to do?’ she despaired. 
	The queen had officially taken away the last freedom that her daughter had. 
It would tear the young woman apart to learn of this engagement, to learn that she 
no longer had any choice left in her life that she could make herself. 
	Mercury poked her head out a window and checked the gardens below one last 
time in search of her friend. ‘Where could that girl be?’ She had to find Serenity 
and tell her of the sad news before the formal announcement was made later that 
day. Serenity had to hear it from a friend and not in front of hundreds of court 
members. 

-----

	As was his way, Endymion resorted to smiles and teasing to lighten up the 
heavy moment. Nevermind that the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen just happened 
to mention that she loved him.
	He turned to face her and took a step forward to bring some warm intimacy 
to the atmosphere. 
	“Mamo-chan, eh? Where did that come from?” he said with a smirk.
	 Serenity was in too serious a mood to blush, though she did explain. “It 
is customary on the Moon to shorten or alter the name of one’s *cough* lover *cough* 
as a sign of affection.”
	“Is it? Well-” he was interrupted by an urgent telepathic message. 
	[‘Endy! Where are you?!’] Like before, it was Jadeite that interfered in 
their conversation.
	[‘I am near the Kai Forest. Why? What is wrong?’] A bad feeling prickled 
the back of his neck. 
	[‘There has been another attack, stronger this time. Your father is already 
at the boundaries trying to fight it off, but he has sent for your assistance.’]
	Endymion clenched his fist. “Not again,” he sighed. [‘I will be back at the 
palace in less than ten minutes. Have my horse ready and fetch the other generals. 
Nephrite is already with my father, correct?’]
	[‘Yes, your highness.’]
	[‘Good. Then find Zoicite and Kunzite. We must ride immediately for it will 
be a long journey to the boundaries.’]
	[‘Your will be done.’] Jadeite’s presence faded from Endymion’s mind. 
	It was all so sudden. The enemy had attacked only two days before. How could 
its forces already be restored enough to fight again so soon? He ran a hand through 
his hair as he started to briskly walk away.
	“Good luck!” came a call from behind him. 
	‘Serenity! Damn!’ He couldn’t believe that he had almost forgotten that the 
angel of his life was there with him. Without hesitation and still being pumped with 
adrenaline at Jadeite’s news, he flipped around and ran to return to her. No 
warnings or sweet words were given before he had slipped one arm firmly around her 
waist and used his other hand to cradle the back of her neck. 
	Though it was spontaneous, Serenity had no objections to Endymion’s fierce 
attitude. He had angled her head back before she had a chance to give him a sly 
smile. Then his own head fell towards her so that he could crush their lips together. 
He was brutal but passionate. Serenity was sure that her lips would be thoroughly 
bruised by his assault when he was finished with her, but she didn’t mind one little 
bit. She nipped his bottom lip with her teeth before opening her mouth to allow his 
tongue access. It thrust violently into her and scrapped against the inside of her 
cheek. She groaned. Gods, he was a great kisser. 
	Endymion used the arm around Serenity’s waist to haul her up against him. 
One of his legs slipped between hers so that her entire body fit snuggly with his 
own. The fingers he had at the back of her neck kneaded its tender flesh. His thumb 
had a field day around the curve of her throat. When he heard her moan for the 
second time he felt a corresponding wave of passionate emotion explode around his 
heart. 
	It wasn’t his emotion. 
	He couldn’t help but smile against her lips as he again felt Serenity’s 
increasing delight from within him. The bonding had not only worked, it was the 
most successful meld in the history of the Terrans. Such strength of emotions was 
never known to pass between normal bonded pairs. Slight telepathy, more a feeling 
of words than an actual conversation of them, and a light touch of emotions was 
the extent of the ritual’s usual results. Endymion wished he could inform his 
parents of all that he was managing with Serenity. He could *feel* her. *Everything* 
about her. It was like they were the same person. He smiled again before he firmly 
planted his lips on hers once more. 
	Then the world came crashing back down around him. He had to go. Damn, but 
he had to go and fight. He had to leave the softest and most pliable lips he had 
ever tasted in order to strap on some armor and join a fleet of sweaty men. There 
was something wrong with that picture. With one last bruising kiss and a tightening 
of his arms, Endymion gathered all of his self-control and pulled his head away 
from Serenity.
	She groaned in protest. 
	He laughed pitifully. “Believe me, I know. Gods, I would give anything to 
stay here right now and continue our little explorations, but my father calls. It 
is not good to disappoint a king.”
	“Not even just once,” she pouted. “I suppose you are right. Again. Though I 
fear that with all the pent up heat I have at the moment I may molest the next man 
I see.” Teasing was so fun.
	Endymion growled in frustration. “Do not even dare. Lord only knows that I 
would like to be that man.” He pulled away further from her. “I have spent too much 
time as is surrendering to you. Jadeite expects me soon. I must go, dearest Usako, 
but I *will* see you again.”
	It was Serenity’s turn to quirk an eyebrow. “Usako?”
	While straightening his clothes and drifting away from her, he found time 
to slyly grin. “It makes sense. You are little and you are mine. Goodbye, love.” And 
then he was out of sight.
	Serenity had to lean against a tree to gather her wits. Then she sent a 
wistful smile in the direction Endymion had left. Even in an emergency, he had a 
way of being unbelievably sexy. 

-----

	She didn’t know what to think. After somehow managing to slip past all the 
palace guards, Serenity was standing just outside and out of sight of the 
teleportation room. She had been just about to make a leap for the entrance when 
someone had stepped out of it. She was stunned. 
	“Kunzite?”
	The general jumped so quickly and so sharply that the princess swore he 
snapped his neck. He was scared out of his mind when he noticed Princess Serenity 
of the Moon standing in front of him.
	“Princess! What are you doing here?”
	“I was just about to ask you the same thing!” She kept her voice at a low 
angry whisper. “You are a Terran?”
	Kunzite bit his lip. Of all the people to see at the Earth palace…he 
grumbled. “I am the first guard and high general of his majesty Prince Endymion.” 
He said it with his chin high and a tinge of his formal demeanor. 
	Serenity’s eyes widened. There were way too many surprising things 
happening this day. She would need a week’s worth of rest just to recover from 
all the heart attacks she was suffering. Ah! Her shoulders shot up. ‘The battle! 
If Kunzite is the high general, then I must tell him the news. Mamoru and Jadeite 
must be frantically searching for him by now!’
	“I have just come from speaking with the prince,” she ignored his shock. 
“He was informed by General Jadeite that the king was in the midst of another 
uprising at the boundaries.” She pressed closer to him as her body shook 
frantically. “The prince told him to prepare the horses. They must leave 
immediately at the request of the king. He said that Jadeite was to gather the 
other generals. To gather *you*! You must make haste to meet them!”
	Kunzite was already jumping on his toes at the first mention of the king. 
He practically sprung from his place when Serenity stopped talking. Before he 
could make it more than a few steps, his body jackknifed backwards. Turning, he 
saw Serenity staring at him earnestly while still gripping his elbow. 
	“Please!” There was a quiver in her voice. “Please, protect the prince 
well. Do not let anything happen to him!”
	Understanding dawned. “You and the prince…” he trailed off. 
	“We are in the same predicament, Kunzite. You with Venus and me with your 
liege. Do not speak a word of this to anyone but Endymion and I will not mention 
anything to anyone about you and my high senshi.” He dumbly nodded. “What are you 
doing standing here?! Go! We may speak of this matter later. For now, you must 
fight to protect your kingdom, your prince and your love. Make haste!”
	He was down the hall and out of sight before Serenity could blink. Not 
that she was blinking. Her eyes were still as wide as saucers at all that was 
unfolding around her. She pressed her back against a nearby wall. 
	‘The things I get myself into.’
 

 







End Chapter 6
--------------

Ahh, a little bit of everything
in this chapter. Did you like it?
I was deliberating on how I 
should have Endymion and Serenity
announce their feelings for each
other. I didn't want 'I love you'
to be the first words out of 
their mouths, but I also wanted
to acknowledge that they have a
unique and intense connection
(in that 'I don't know you but 
you are the love of my life' 
kinda way). I love the idea of 
soul mates, so I wanted to 
incorporate that...but in a more
realistic way that the two of 
them kissing the very first 
time that they meet. Did I do a 
good job? ^_-
 

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