Discliamer: As always, these characters don't belong to me, I'm just borrowing them. Secret Garden - Chapter 10 Princess Serenity covered her mouth with her hand as she tried to mask a yawn. A ring glittered on her ring finger, the precious stones it was made of catching in the light. "Endymion, what is the time?" He shielded his eyes and looked at the descending angle of the sun, "Early Evening. Are you alright, my love?" She nodded, her hair brushing against, and catching slightly on, the auburn-gold dress she was wearing. "I am alright, Endy, just tired, I have never gone without the Moon's influence for long before. And when Mother insists we go anywhere faraway, she uses our moon crystals to store the energy. I will be fine, my Prince." Endymion nodded and placed his hand over top hers, where her slender fingers rested in the curve of his elbow. His eyes smiled at her as the smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, "Do you still believe that dress is unsuited to you?" Serenity shrugged, a smile lurking at the corner of her mouth, "I do not know, your highness," she teased, "something off the shoulder would have been more welcome." Endymion laughed softly, taking her hand and spinning her out and away from him in one motion, causing the dress to flare out. The dress was made of crushed velvet and had a high neckline along with sleeves that flared out and covered her tiny hands when they hung at her sides. The color complimented her and he was glad he'd chosen well for his intended. They had argued slightly over the dress at first, Serenity saying that only people who weren't of noble birth wore dresses with sleeves but eventually she conceded, not being able to think of a better disguise for her first trip into town. Endymion had also convinced her to change her hairstyle slightly. Instead of two spherical buns, she wore her hair in a series of long, corn weave braids, the braids wrapped around her head like a crown, three of them had been wrapped around her forehead, hiding her crescent moon and allowing her to reserve her energy for other activities. They hadn't been back at the Palace long, having spent most of the day shopping for her ring. The jeweler who had brought out the ring they had finally bought had nearly swooned when he realized that the Prince of Earth was shopping in his small store! And for an engagement ring no less. Endymion had carefully sworn every jeweler to secrecy once they had found nothing she liked. The ring she chose was perfectly suited to them. In the center it held a blue and green stone, an aquamarine, and surrounding the stone in a crescent moon shape was a line of diamonds. Serenity had pointed it out to him and he'd agreed with her immediately, buying the ring with a smile and, in front of the already amazed jeweler, had gotten down on one knee and slipped the ring onto Serenity's finger next to his signet ring. They didn't swear the jeweler to secrecy, on purpose, and the jeweler had closed his shop and ran to tell his wife that the prince, the prince himself, had bought an engagement ring at his store and actually knelt to put it on his intended! By dinnertime, the whole town would know the story and everyone was speculating as to who the young beauty was. Serenity laughed as he twirled her back into his embrace, smiling up at him as he trapped her loosely in front of him. His arms formed an armored barrier at her back and Serenity placed her hands on his breastplate, tracing the metal lightly with her fingertips. "Do you think this hair style would be one my mother would let me wear on occasion?" she asked suddenly, looking up at him with her clear blue eyes, "It is much more comfortable than my buns and it does not tug at my head as much." Endymion smiled down at her, catching a deep wariness in her eyes as he looked deeply into their depths, amazed at the clear color and worried at how quickly she tired away from the moon. "Perhaps if you ask her. Though," he leaned down to plant a light kiss on the tip of her nose, "When it is just you and I, my Angel, you may wear your hair any way you like. You are absolutely stunning no matter what you do with it." She blushed, dropping her gaze a bit, her fingers still tracing the edges and shape of his armor, the stones on her ring glittered and flashed, catching her attention. She looked at the ring and smiled, suddenly tossing her arms around his neck and hugging him as tightly as she could, not paying attention to the edges of his armor. The velvet dulled most of them anyway. Endymion held her close, "You have made me the happiest man in the universe today, my Serenity." He told her softly, "No matter what your mother says, now I shall never let you go, even if it means kidnapping you to get you to myself." She giggled, "Endy, you are crazy. But I would love to be kidnapped, but only by you." Her voice had dropped to a whisper as she spoke. He reached up and gently brought her face out of the curve of his neck, raising it gently so he could look back into her glowing eyes, "I love you Angel." He told her, his eyes shining with his love, his stormy eyes hiding nothing from her. She grasped the back of his neck and tugged his head downwards to steal a kiss from him. As his lips settled onto hers, he swept her up in his arms from where she stood on the toes of his boots and carried her over to the shade of one of the many trees that surrounded the garden's pond. He lowered her feet to the grass, not breaking the kiss and smiling against her mouth as she stepped back up on his boots, causing him to straighten up some. This position allowed relieved the strain on his neck. Dipping her back, tango style, he finally broke the kiss, and trailed a few kisses down the column of her neck, gently nibbling on the soft skin at the base of the column as he straightened her back up. She moaned softly, her eyes closed, "Endymion... please..." her fingers were tucked into the raven colored hair at the nape of his neck, digging in to his skin and hair. He closed his eyes as she pleaded for something she couldn't name and pulled back, lifting her in his arm as he sat on the ground and placed her in his lap. Her dress pooled around her small form as she raised passion dark eyes to his face. She was about to speak but he place two fingers against her lips, "Shhh... just watch the ducks, please Angel. I need a couple of minutes to gather my thoughts, alright?" He spoke as he gently untangled her hands from around his neck, kissing the backs of her fingers gently. She nodded, something in his voice urging her not to argue, and obediently turned to watch the little fuzzy animals she assumed were ducks swim across the pond. Her eyes widened as one of them started to cry out piteously. Without thinking she pushed herself out of Endymion's lap, tugging her fingers from his grasp, and ran down to the water's edge, kicking off the flat shoes she had borrowed as scooped up the little animal, marveling absently at how soft he was, "Shhh, don't cry little one," she told it gently. She ran a whisper soft caress down its back and smiled as it leaned into her fingers. She stroked it carefully, reassuringly, as it stopped crying. She folded her legs under her and sat with an absent grace on the ground, the gown flared out to pool around her. The braids of her hair trailed behind, glittering in the sunlight. "Serenity! What are you doing?" She turned to see Endymion a few feet away from her as she held the fluffy animal in her hands. It was nudging her fingers as they stopped stroking it, as if asking for more. "The little thing was crying; I felt like I had to help it." She explained to him, smiling down at the little animal. "What is it called, Endymion?" "That is a duckling. The mother is over there, watching you. You might want to put it down, Serenity, mother ducks can be dangerous." Serenity looked around and saw a much bigger version of what she was holding, "Oh! They are so adorable!" she held her hand out to the mother duck, sitting on the bank of the pond. She turned wide eyes to Endymion as the mother duck waddled towards her, flapping her wings once and then folding them across her back. The mother duck checked out Serenity's fingers, gently nibbling on one; which she retracted giggling; and then waddled to her lap where the baby duckling was sitting, eyes closed, as Serenity's other hand continued to caress it. Endymion marveled at her effect on the animals, wondering idly if she would have the same effect on most kinds of animals. He already knew she had the same effect on him. He quickly squashed the thought. He stayed back, knowing from experience that the ducks didn't like him except when he had seeds or bread for them. Serenity giggled as the mother duck prodded the hand that was petting the duckling and she turned her attention to the mother, petting her soft feathers. "Endy, what are these things on their backs? They are so soft!" "Feathers. Ducks can fly when they mature." "They fly?" He nodded, "Yes. Usually they fly when they are scared." She used both hands to gently life the ducks off her lap so she could stand and brushed her skirt off with her hands. She laughed as the mother duck quacked and tugged at the hem of her dress and approached Endymion. Endymion handed her, her shoes. "Shall we get back to the palace? Or do you wish to stay and watch the ducks for a while longer?" She looked back to the ducks, who had wadded away and into the pond to swim once she approached Endymion, and smiled, "I would love to stay and watch them. Do you swim, Endymion?" He nodded, leading her back to the shade of the tree, "On occasion. And you?" She shook her head, sighing, "I can float. I do not have the opportunity to swim much, considering my position. My guards are much better than I am at that." Endymion wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they sat in the shade of the tree. He leaned against the trunk and closed his eyes as she rested her head on his shoulder, "Tell me about your home, Angel. What is it like up there?" She sighed, relaxing, "Nothing like this. The colors are all white, silver, very light blue, pink, gray and gold. There is some variation of shade, but not a lot. I have only ever seen colors in books, forbidden books, until now. My guards also wear some strange colors and I had thought that the deep blue of mercury, the blood red of Mars, the bright orange of Venus and the deep greens of Jupiter were the only shades of those colors. Until I came here. There are other rare colors of course, purple being one of them, but Earth has the whole collection. I wish I could live here someday. The Moon is beautiful, but Earth out shines it by far." Endymion listened to her silently, noting the slight tone of longing when she spoke of her home. For all the lack of colors he knew she loved the Moon dearly. It would always be her home and he silently promised himself to see it for himself some day. "For all your desire to live on my planet, Angel, you would miss your home dearly. We can work something out. If need be I will live with you on the Moon sometimes and you can live here with me at others." His gaze fastened on her contented expression and he smiled softly, kissing the top of her head, "Sleep, my love, I shall guard you until you wake." he whispered softly when she didn't reply. She was already fast asleep in his arms. Her face wore serene expression; her lips pulled into a rose colored smile. Endymion pulled his cloak carefully out from under them and gently tucked one side of it around the sleeping princess, keeping his arm around her as he was careful not to wake her. She sighed in her sleep, whispering his name, as he leaned back again, this time keeping a watchful eye out for anyone who would harm his princess. ******** Secret Garden- Chapter 11 Queen Serenity walked regally into her throne room, a small book in one of her slender hands. She made a striking figure, backlit by the gentle glow from the hall. A Spirit of goodness, an angel of love. She resembled many things, though without wings you could swear you were looking at an angel who could fly without wings. The goddess of the moon stood in the doorway to her court and surveyed the room. It was a plain room, save for the twelve pillars that were spread among the room symmetrically. Each held a small chamber that would allow someone coming from another gravity to adjust to the Moon's gravity. Behind each of the pillars, through secret doors on ten of them, were chambers for visiting delegates. Each of these chambers was for a specific planet; one for each in the solar system. Three thrones stood between two of the regular pillars on a raised dais. Ten steps led to the platform and the Queen glided towards them, walking with an unsurpassed grace, her feet barely touching the ground. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to face the assembled. She looked around, noting that all of her advisors, and those of her daughter's, were present. All of the women in the room were dressed in their battle fatigues. Every single one wore their sailor fuku. Consisting of a short colored skirt, a white body suit, two bows; one on the front over the chest and one on the back of the skirt where it met the bodysuit. Each wore different colored footwear, styled to each of their tastes. Their tiaras each held a stone; which was their house and planet color. Closest to the Queen was the court of the planet Mercury. Their skirts were the house colors of brilliant icecap blue, their bows only slightly lighter. They wore knee high boots that matched their skirts. Each of the average height women had blue hair. The older had streaks of what looked to be silver, the silky material braided and hung halfway down her back. The younger, the Princess of Mercury, wore her hair short, her bangs framing the blue stone in her golden tiara. They radiated a calmness and intelligence as they discussed, in soft voices, the disappearance of the Princess. Next was the family of Mars. Purple-black hair, purple eyes and fire colored fukus marked this family. Waist length hair, red bows on the back and purple bows over the chest along with one-inch high heels clearly marked these two women as forced to be reckoned with. As Dangerous as the fires they controlled. The women from Jupiter were two of the tallest in the room. Standing around 5'11, they towered over most of the people present, save for the Princess of Uranus and Queen Serenity. The younger wore her brown hair in a ponytail that brushed the base of her neck. The older of the two wore hers down, her brown hair trailing to about mid-way down her back. Both wore pink, rose shaped earrings, a mark of their station on Jupiter. They had forest green skirts and bows and pink bows across their chests. They radiated a steady presence that would always be, a security. Green calf high boots and golden tiaras with green gems displayed their colors. The women from Venus were next, dressed in their orange fukus and high heels. Their blonde hair hung like shimmering satin to their waists, flowing from their bows. They stepped up next to the Queen and said soft words to her as the Queen's eyes continued to take in the rest of the delegates. The planets of Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn were only represented by a single woman. Uranus wore a navy colored fuku with navy bows, a golden button, a single golden earring, blonde hair cut boyishly short and short, navy, half boots. In her hand at her side dangled her weapon, the Space Sword. Her piercing green-blue eyes met the Queens before turning back to her companion, the aqua haired senshi from Neptune. The shenshi from Neptune wore a green fuku that was darker in color than that of Jupiter's. She wore a navy bow and a green bow along with strapped high heels. She exuded a calmness and grace that made the tall, high strung, Uranus seem slightly out of place at her side. In Neptune's hand, the aqua mirror was held in a firm grip. Next to the two, standing in silence, was the senshi of death and rebirth, Sailor Saturn. She was tiny, coming up to just past Neptune's waist, and wore a purple fuku. Knee high lace up boots, a purple skirt and bows marked this diminutive scout. She had short hair that was cut in line with her jaw and her bangs framed the golden tiara on her forehead, the white gem in the center flashing in the light. In her gloved hands she held a glaive that caught any light on its razor edge. The final scout in the room was given a wide breadth and stood alone off to the side. She wore a black fuku, black knee high boots, along with black bows and a black gem that glittered with an inner light in the center of her tiara. Her red eyes missed nothing. Of all the senshi, the guardian of time, Sailor Pluto, knew why they had been called and knew the outcome of this meeting. She carried her time staff in her hands, leaning idly against one of the walls as she looked straight back at the Queen of the Moon. She was a mysterious senshi and was not close to anyone in the room, save for her Queen. She and the outer senshi had come at her request to find the missing princess, but she only stayed because she knew her presence would calm the Queen and lend her strength. Queen Serenity took a deep breath and spoke softly, her voice cutting through the low discussions and halting them as everyone turned to listen to her speak, "My friends and advisors, you all know why we are here. It pains me to say this, but my daughter is missing and I have found a clue as to where she may have gone." She brought out the book and gently; as if holding a bomb of some sort; opened it and pulled out the crushed, brilliantly red rose. "I believe my daughter has broken the ancient laws and gone to earth. I found this in her night table. She is nowhere on the Moon, we know this, at least, by this time. We have searched high and low and everywhere in between. The only logical place left to look is the Earth. I am afraid my friends, that my daughter may have brought about the downfall of our peace-filled times by her actions. All of you know of the prophecy that foretold the end of our peace. I believe it may have already been fulfilled." The Queen of Venus spoke, her voice slightly louder than that of her sister's, "I can confirm this." All eyes turned to the Queen, most of them filled with shock. The red eyes of the guardian of time looked on in complete boredom, though they were tinged with sorrow. She already knew what had been set in motion, and though it pained her, she could say nothing to change it or she would risk changing the future for the worse. "Then my daughter did indeed go to the Earth." Queen Serenity's eyes took on a hard look, though it was obvious from her posture that she was disappointed by the revelation that their hard-fought peace would be coming to an end. Queen Venus nodded, "Yes. The Princess Serenity has gone to Earth." "Then we must not wait a single moment!" exclaimed the Queen of Mars, "We must go fetch her and bring her home." Queen Venus laughed, "And what, Risha? Chain her to her bed? Throw her in the stocks? Perhaps tie her in a dark room so she cannot teleport? What is done has been done. All we can do now is make the best of it and strengthen our ties with the Earth. It has been cut off from the Silver Millennium for the last few centuries. If we are to have a chance at fighting off the foretold evil we must bring the Earth into the alliance." "Mianna speaks the truth." Spoke up Queen Mercury, her portable computer resting in her hand as she looked around at everyone, "if we, as a society, are to ride out the coming darkness we must prepare our defenses. The Earth is renowned for its army. As fierce a fighting machine there has never been, not once in our history. Uniting with the earth is our best chance for survival." "Is that the counsel of my court?" Queen Serenity asked, looking around to the outer senshi and Jupiter. "Is Anya, Mianna and Risha are determined to fight this coming darkness and ally with earth, then I see no reason for me to be against it. Jupiter will stand with the alliance, as always." Uranus twirled her blade, "As will the outer senshi. With Saturn newly reawakened and out posts at the borders, we will be able to warn you of attacks from outside our solar system. Uranus, Neptune and Saturn will stand with you, though there is little aid we shall be able to give. Lisha is correct, if the main force of the ruling council is not willing to give up without a fight; then we can do no less than our best to aid you." Neptune nodded her accent. Saturn remained still, her violet eyes looking around and finally resting on the senshi of time. "Where does Pluto stand on the issue?" she asked, her soft-spoken words caused the assembled to fall silent. The senshi of death and rebirth rarely spoke, but when she did it was only for matters of importance. Pluto pushed herself away from the wall, shaking her head and letting her black-green hair fall in a cascade of silk to below her backside. "I shall not fight." A collective gasp came from the assembled as everyone, save for the outers, looked at her with stunned eyes and expression. Saturn and the outer senshi only nodded, expecting that very response. "If you will not help my kingdom and fight the coming darkness that is your choice, Pluto. I only ask that you do not hinder the effort." Pluto's face settled into a grim mask, "You misunderstand me, My Queen," she bowed to Queen Serenity, "I said I shall not fight, I did not say I will not. I have no choice in the matter. Being the guardian of time I cannot risk myself and entertain the option of death. If I am not there to guard the time gates, your kingdom here could fall to a force from the past or the future. I shall do my part and play the passive watcher, my Queen. I will not let someone, or something, interfere from another time and place, you have my word." With that, she opened a portal and stepped through, disappearing back to her post by the time gates in a swirl of black and green hair. Queen Serenity looked back to the rest of her court, "I shall request a meeting with the Queen of Earth. I wish for my guards and my daughter's guards to form the rest of my diplomatic party. Uranus and Neptune, you have your orders. Watch her." Queen Serenity swept from the room, not waiting for a reply. The court soon split up, the delegates going with the queen going to pack a couple of extra things to wear and something for the Princess when they found her. Neptune, Uranus and Saturn quickly made their way back to the planet Saturn. Neptune and Uranus took up their guard of the young Saturn once again, waiting for the signal when their Queen should need them. ******** Author's Notes: Phew.. four parts out this week.. wow, that was a lot of writing! Anyway, it's got maybe one more part and then it's finished. Just so everyone knows I won't be writing any part of the fight, nor of the peace being shattered in this fic. I know I've been hinting at a huge fight and all that from the very start but I think this is nearly as long as I want to make it. Sorry to disappoint anybody who's looking forward to a huge fight scene in this fic, but it won't be in this one. I might write a sequal with the shattering of the peace later but for now this is strictly a Serenity/Endymion fic with a couple of other bits thrown in. the big confrontation between Serenity and her mother -is- coming in this fic, though, so it should be in the next part! Along with a couple of other surprises *grin* stay tuned, more to come! Feedback as always is most welcome. Jade_Max@innocent.com write me, let me know what you think of my first project! :) I love to hear from people, so if you liked my story, or even if you didn't, write me!