Want to chat to the glorified secretary of my muse’s ramblings? Then email me at luna_dreamscape@hotmail.com. As you all know, I did not create the characters in this (well, most of ‘em, anyway) therefore this is non-profit, yadda yadda yadda…and I hope the name changes aren’t as much as a pain in the ass as I think they might be. You’ll get used to it…I hope!

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: I was bored, and I started writing this to explain a few things about the past, mainly for my own benefit. And it turned into the mysterious third chapter…However, as I decided to use the names Endymion and Selene in reference to Mamoru and Usagi, I had to do it for the others, too. I only knew a few of the Greek names used, so I did what any author would do…I made the rest up. I have a fairly good knowledge of Greek mythology, and I hope any one else who does can recognise why I used each character with each respective Greek counterpart…

(the ones I think are right)

Selene – Usagi

Endymion – Mamoru

Perseus – Naru

Odysseus – Makoto

Aphrodite – Minako

(now the ones I made up)

Adonis – Kunzite

Orion – Nephrite

Hermes – Jadeite

Orpheus – Zoisite

Deimos – Rei

Athena – Ami

______________________________________________________________________________

"Uncle Owen?"

"Mmm?" asked the blond haired man, looking up from his papers. A small child stood in the doorway of his office, holding an unusual teddy bear – it looked normal, except for the curved, clawed wings that sprouted out of its back. "Alex," he said in surprise, pushing the swivel chair away from his desk, walking to the child. "You’re supposed to be asleep, upstairs in the castle. How did you get down here?"

Alex smiled charmingly. "Please, teacher, don’t make me laugh! How do you think I got down here?"

Owen laughed, taking off his glasses and polishing them on his shirt. He put them back on and regarded the highly intelligent child thoughtfully. "I apologise, Alexander. A mere slip of the tongue, you must understand. Come, though, why are you up? It is time for you to be asleep. I won’t get you off the hook this time, your mother warned me about keeping you up."

"I can’t sleep," replied the red headed child simply, moving over to the chairs in front of Owen’s desk. He swung short, pajamered feet, and looked at him with keen green eyes. "Tell me a story."

"I don’t have one to tell you, Alex." Owen shifted some papers into a drawer and sighed. "And I’m not going to tell you anymore stories about Avalon, I’m sick of that place."

"Then tell me something else," said the child, pulling on Owen’s stone hand. Almost immediately, they were transported to the child’s rooms in Castle Wivern. "Come on, Uncle Owen. You must know some good stories." He climbed into his bed and looked expectantly at his teacher.

Owen sighed, but he did love the child greatly. Deciding he could deal with Fox’s wrath, he sat on the side of the four poster bed, and let his form shimmer, becoming the changeling whom he once had been.

"Uncle Owen? What’s with the Puck thing? I don’t feel like a magic lesson."

Puck chuckled. "It just helps me think, Lex. I just thought of a story, it comes from a dimension I visited once. I’m not allowed to go there now, because of circumstances, but it’s a good story. Just…very depressing. You don’t mind?"

"Go on."

"Well, once upon a more enlightened time…

* * *

The Princess regarded her reflection soberly, allowing one long-fingered hand to gently brush over the cool glass, as if she could touch her own features by doing so. Her large, blue eyes were troubled, and she sighed heavily.

"Princess?" asked a voice from the doorway, and Selene turned abruptly, to see one of her honour guard, the almost brusque Odysseus.

"What is it, Odysseus?" she asked, with a hint of annoyance. The tall brunette was unperturbed.

"Your mother wants to speak with you and your court – that means us."

"I think I knew that, Odysseus," she replied dryly, then sighed. "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m just…actually, I don’t know what’s wrong with me."

"Loneliness?" asked Odysseus with a wicked grin, and Selene sighed. "I could find you a guy – though I doubt I could ever find someone your mother would approve of. She’s so…PICKY."

"I’m her only child, what did you expect?" she said with a heavy sigh. "Oh, well. It’ll be okay, I guess. She wants to see us now?"

"You know Serenity – no time like the present."

The young blonde sighed, and followed the princess of Jupiter with some reluctance.

______________________________________________________________________________

The earth looked extraordinary from the moon tonight, and Selene wondered once more what life there was like. She had never been there, her mother would not allow it. Thus, she stayed on the moon, she had never even visited the planets in the solar system. Once more, her mother was violently opposed to it.

She sighed restlessly, not really knowing what to do. She awaited her summons to the audience chamber, while sitting in the small room that was just off the throne room. The four inner Senshi were also present, and unusually silent. Even Aphrodite, who was usually so talkative it was all one could do to get a moments peace around her, held her tongue.

"I do believe I know what is going on," spoke up Athena suddenly, the princess of Mercury. "I have heard from sources that your mother has been in conference with the King of Earth, Selene."

"Really, Athena?" asked Selene, surprised. She had never thought that her mother would talk to the king – though she knew few details, she never really understood why they avoided each other so. She wondered why on Earth her mother wanted to speak with the king, anyway.

______________________________________________________________________________

Orpheus stretched slowly, awakening with great reluctance. The form beside him in the bed also shifted at his movement, and moaned into the pillows. "Oh, Orpheus…it’s too early, go back to sleep."

"And why would I want to do thing like that, my dear?" asked the man slowly, moving against the sleeping man who groaned again.

"I mean it, Orpheus – go back to sleep! I can’t cope with this…I need my sleep!"

"Why sleep when I can entertain you in much more intriguing ways?" asked the blonde man sweetly, running a long fingered hand down the other man’s side. He opened his eyes reluctantly, and tried to roll them, despite his tiredness. "Would you quit that? I want to go back to sleep."

"You know you love it, Orion," he almost purred, and climbed over the man, so he could snuggle into his arms, face to face. "And you love me, don’t you Orion?"

"Of course I do," he moaned, and then he smiled, kissing the younger man gently. "I’ve always loved you, ever since we met."

"I’m not the only one, though am I?" he pouted, then smiled. "But I’ll be the one you’ll always remember, always treasure when I find my own ‘true love.’ Then you’ll wish you had taken me more seriously."

"So I will," he chuckled in a low laugh, and he wrapped his arms around him more tightly, as a warm spring breeze blew in through the open French doors, that lead out into the garden of the palace. He kissed his forehead, and Orpheus raked his fingers through Orion’s long, auburn hair, smiling at the wince on the other general’s face. "Need a brush there, my sweet?"

He tugged on Orpheus’s coppery-blonde tresses affectionately. "How ‘bout you, Orpheus?"

"Don’t pull my hair," protested Orpheus, but he refused to move away from the other man, instead running a sly finger down his naked body. "Oh, but you are handsome, my lover…"

"Don’t I know it," he said with a low chuckle. "I get told it by all my conquests, dear child."

He pouted again. "So am I just another conquest, Orion? Or am I something more?"

Orion looked at the grandfather clock and groaned. "It’s later than I thought – maybe it is a good thing you woke me, Orpheus. Lord Adonis is going to have our heads for this."

"Why?" asked Orpheus, reluctantly sitting up so he could see the face of the timepiece. The he sighed and flopped back down beside Orion. "We’re dead. We’ve missed the troop inspection, and Hermes is still in conference with Endymion and his father, with that moon woman. Adonis has had to do it alone – he is going to be spewing fire."

"Indeed I am," said a dry voice from the corridor, and the pair looked up in surprise. "Ah, so you didn’t realise I knew about you two. Well, I definitely don’t approve, not only of this relationship but it’s very contexts, and I will report you both to Prince Endymion if this persists."

Orpheus sat and pouted. "Oh, Lord Adonis, you’re no fun any more."

"Really, my little student," he said, didn’t ask. He instead ran a hand through his silvery hair, and sighed. "I can’t believe that you two would actually…"

"Still strictly butter side up there, Lord Adonis?" asked Orpheus, a smile on his face. Orion sighed – he knew that this couldn’t be good.

"I’m not talking about that," snapped Adonis, and he turned cold blue eyes on Orion. "What of your fiancée, Orion? Or that delightful child you seem to enjoy playing with – Perseus, isn’t it?"

"Don’t start," sighed Orpheus, and took a robe from the side of the bed. He swiftly wrapped it around himself, and padded barefoot toward the bathroom. "We’ve heard it all already." He disappeared into the confines of the bathing area, with a definite slam of the door.

Orion sighed, and took up his own robe, turning his back as he slipped it on, Adonis averting his eyes. Then he looked up again. "Orion, I’m serious – stop toying with Orpheus like this. You may think he knows that you are simply ‘making do’ with him in the absence of Melpomene and Perseus, but really…he thinks he will be able to win you into his bed for good."

"Orpheus?" Orion chuckled, dragging a brush through his hair. "We’re only playing with each other, keeping one another entertained. He has…another on his mind. He doesn’t love me in a way that will put either of us in a compromising situation."

Adonis stared at him searchingly, then sighed. "I think you’re making a mistake, Orion. And I was serious – I will report you to Endymion, if you two continue to play your…games with one another."

"Well, I’ll keep you posted, shall I? Come, do not pretend that you are not curious about what goes on behind these closed doors."

"I have my own ways of passing time," he said dryly, giving the younger general one of his icebergs. His famous frozen glare.

"And with whom would that be?"

He smiled oddly. "Surely you remember Polyhymnia."

"And you tell me off for playing around with little girls," laughed the man, turning sparkling eyes on the eldest, most respected of the generals.

"It’s the little boys I have the problem with, commander."

"I hope that’s not me you’re referring to," said Orpheus playfully, stepping out of the bathroom. Orion raised an eyebrow.

"Well now, if that isn’t some kind of record, I don’t know what is."

Orpheus put his hands on his hips and glared at the general without rancour. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn’t spend three quarters of an hour in there, doing your hair."

He put a hand up to pat it self-consciously. "What, doesn’t it look right?"

Adonis sighed heavily, and Orpheus looked up. "Oh, apologies, my Lord Adonis. I guess we’re late enough as it is, aren’t we?"

Adonis looked at Orion, and said "I’ll see you in fifteen minutes, in the courtyard. In the meantime, I’m going to have a little talk with Orpheus here."

He grinned wickedly. "Is the bet on, Orion?"

The general winked before disappearing into the bathroom.

______________________________________________________________________________

"I have monitored your progress as the fourth general of the West Army, and I must admit, Endymion was right after all. You were ready to become a general."

Orpheus rolled his emerald eyes. "Oh, teacher, you are no fun. Why didn’t you think I would be able to cope? After all, you are the one who trained me. Do you have no belief in your training skills?"

"I have no belief in you being able to control your temper, Orpheus. I trained you well, but I never broke you of your temper. That alone is enough to alarm me."

Orpheus pouted as he sat on the edge of the fountain in the courtyard behind the palace, wearing the same uniform as Adonis, and indeed, all four wore the same uniform. White jacket lined in royal blue, white trousers, and a white cape. All that distinguished one uniform from the other were the stones in the epaulettes – Adonis, leading general and vice-regent, had blue sapphires, and was commander of the North Army. Orion, second general, had yellow topaz, and controlled the East Army. Hermes, the blonde general over the South Army, wore rubies. Then, the recent addition of Orpheus wore emeralds and controlled the West Army.

"Grow up," he said sharply, and Orpheus scowled. "See? You are still a child – why Endymion has such a belief in you, I have no idea…unless, of course, you are taking a rather more ‘entertaining’ approach to climbing the ziggurat of command."

His eyes flamed emerald fire. "What – how dare you suggest such a thing! I am not in this position because I am Endymion’s lover! I have never touched him! He is like you, straight as an arrow. Even if I was in his bed, I would not use that influence to gain his favour!"

"I wouldn’t put it past you, child. See, do not pretend you can control your temper. A few idle words from I, and already you are ready to plot an attempt on my life."

"Whatever gave you that idea?!" snapped Orpheus, startled. But then again, Adonis had always been able to do that, pull thoughts out of his head without thinking. He was almost a mind reader.

He smiled dryly, and rolled his cerulean eyes. "I have known you since you were a teenager, and I trained you for years. Do you seriously believe I have not learned much about you in that time?"

Orpheus stared at the paved ground, tracing the lines between the stones with his downcast, verdant eyes. He looked very young and vulnerable as he did so, and it was easy to forget what a ruthless warrior he really was…and a talented commander to boot. Adonis had been slightly exaggerating – he had known that Orpheus was ready for the position when Endymion had informed him of the promotion. It was the inherent impulsiveness of the young man that so disturbed Adonis.

The aforementioned commander stood quietly, and bowed to his superior, and still occasional teacher. "Is this lecture over, my Lord?"

Adonis sighed, and stood. He placed a large hand on his shoulder for a second, then abruptly removed it when Orpheus tensed under his touch. He should have known better. He had learned, during the extensive training course he had put the younger man through, that Orpheus despised to be touched. Except when he deemed it appropriate, that was. Adonis had only a vague idea why, he strongly suspected it was to do with the behaviour of the soldiers whom had been in his regiment as a younger man.

It was easy to see why they would have turned to Orpheus to fill the empty void that the lack of women during wartime left. He didn’t like admitting it to himself, but the young man was exceptionally pretty, in an effeminate way. His coppery-blonde tresses were long and silken, worn in a practical yet somehow provocative manner. Indeed, he always moved in an almost sensual way, skilled and graceful. The way in which he held himself showed he held a position of importance, though his stance was far from the aloof regality of one such as Adonis.

Then, when it battle…it was like watching poetry in motion. Terrible poetry, however. Orpheus was highly talented, and highly driven when engaged in battle…and despite the horror of the wounds he inflicted so easily, it was impossible not to marvel at the young man’s skill. Like the destructive beauty of a natural disaster, such as a tornado, Orpheus’s fury was filled with a grand, terrible kind of magnetism.

Orpheus moved away slightly, a tiny grimace on his sharp features. The he sighed, and looked out towards the city. "I suppose it is the usual duties today, commander?"

"As always, Orpheus. The armies are to be put through their regular paces, and because of the lack of Hermes, his army has been divided into three, one third going to join our own equally. Ask your lieutenants to assist you in the training, divide them into more training groups than usual. I have a feeling that these conferences with the Moon Kingdom are not exactly healthy."

The fourth commander eyed him suspiciously, with his verdant eyes. "Do you imply war with the higher kingdom, Lord Adonis?"

The older man sighed, not wanting to indulge in petty speculating over the nature of the unusual communications with the generally aloof lunar kingdom. "I do not, commander. And I suggest you refrain from spreading rumours, also. There is no substantial evidence that this is in fact the case."

"Substantial?" queried Orpheus, raising a blonde eyebrow. Inwardly, Adonis cursed the slip of the tongue. He should have known Orpheus would pick up on the innuendo, he was highly perceptive. It was part of which made him such a useful commander.

Before the younger man could persist, the pair were hailed from the doorway by another man – it was Orion, come to the courtyard after the agreed fifteen minutes. Orpheus smiled in a highly illegal manner at the other, but the presence of his disapproving senior held him back. Not that he and Orion were much given to showing affection in public – essentially, their relationship was a very private matter. Given Orion’s fiancée, and his mistress, it was not unexpected. If Orpheus was involved with another, Adonis was not privy to the information. And it was this that worried him so. He knew how passionate about things Orpheus was, how single minded he could become. He proved it every time he went into battle. It was one of the qualities Adonis admired in him. What he dreaded was the surely inevitable day when Orpheus decided that Orion should be his alone. And that was something that would surely destroy both commanders, and all close to them.

The man looked at his fingers critically, flexing them as he held them up to the light. Adonis’s brow furrowed as he observed this strange behaviour. "What are you doing?"

He didn’t seem to hear him, and Orion chuckled deeply. "Have you never heard him play, Lord Adonis?"

"What?" he asked, looking to the auburn haired commander, who raised an eyebrow.

"Were you not aware of Orpheus’s great talent?" he asked, looking at the long haired man with a great deal of affection. "I guess that’s not strange…he doesn’t play an awful lot, not even for me."

"Play?"

"The piano," he replied, with an almost melancholy smile. "And the lyre, when the whim takes him. He is exceptionally talented…he can play to make the stones weep. It is even said that he made the stony Persephone shed tears over his music."

"The Princess Pluto?" Adonis was shocked. "He made her cry? That has to be some kind of miracle."

"Indeed it was," spoke up Orpheus, with a wistful smile on his soft features. "She commanded I play at her court for her a few months ago, and I did. She is beautiful, but so cold…and I made her weep. It was an unnerving experience, to say the least…but I digress. Is it not time to move on?"

Adonis nodded, and bit his tongue. He had been about to ask to hear Orpheus play, but he noticed the strange, melancholy look in his eyes. He wouldn’t have believed it unless it was in front of him, but it was true…Orpheus appeared on the verge of tears himself.

"Then let us go."

______________________________________________________________________________ Selene gazed out the window silently, in her own personal chambers. Night was once again upon them, but she felt a deeper heaviness than the mere night itself warranted.

"You’re still worried about your dreams, aren’t you?" asked Aphrodite, who was silently sitting beside the princess on the bay window sill. The image of the earth shimmered in the silver water of one of the canals, and the same light caught the single tear on her cheek.

"Yes," she murmured, and turned pained blue eyes on her Senshi. Aphrodite sighed, and wrapped her arms around her princess. "I don’t understand it," she whispered as she let Aphrodite rock her gently, as the tears slipped down her cheeks. "They’re just dreams…I don’t even know the faces, yet it hurts me my heart to watch them die as they do…but then, my kingdom, and my Senshi…you die as they die…and I am alone. Alone in a shattered kingdom, with a man at my feet, and I love him…I love him, yet he is dead…"

"Deimos hasn’t had any visions," assured Aphrodite softly, as she stroked the long, sun-kissed hair of the young princess. "She locked herself in the palace shrine on Mars, and spent hours in the cathedral here too. Her fire told her nothing, there is nothing to worry about. And even her natural prophetess nature doesn’t sense any cosmic unbalance in the universe. You have nothing to worry about."

"I guess not," Selene murmured in reply, as there was a soft knock at the door.

"Enter," called Aphrodite, when Selene nodded at her. Princess Athena, Senshi of Mercury, slipped in, wearing a long white coat over a tourmaline dress.

"Athena!" cried Aphrodite, standing to embrace her friend from childhood, and compatriot. "What brings you in here in the middle of the night?"

Athena smiled, still holding a mass of papers under her left arm. "I thought I might tell you the news, that I just heard while I was working in my lab."

"What’s that?" asked Selene quietly.

"Your mother is bringing the court of Earth to the moon," Athena answered, taking off her glasses and putting them in a pocket of her lab coat. "It won’t be officially announced until tomorrow – when they arrive. I thought I would tell you now so you wouldn’t be too surprised."

"Wow," smiled Aphrodite, giving Selene a half-hug. "Isn’t that something special?"

"Yes, I would agree," she said softly. "Athena, who is all coming with the king?"

"His son, his guardians, and various other members of the court. It is quite a large group, and they will arrive early tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like a riot," Aphrodite smiled. "The prince is about our age, isn’t he?"

"Several years older," Athena said, placing her papers on a desk and walking over to the two blondes. "And his name is Endymion."

"I knew that," pouted Aphrodite. "Don’t be so pedantic, Athena. Oh, and who are these guardians? Are they like us?"

"In a manner of speaking," she said with a slight frown. "There are four of them, and they are the commanders of the four earth armies, as well as acting as his personal guard."

While Athena and Aphrodite talked over the impending visitation, Selene continued to gaze broodingly out the window. She knew there was something not quite right.

______________________________________________________________________________

"The moon?" asked Orpheus in wonder, staring up at the orb that hung in the night sky.

"The moon," confirmed Adonis, as the four generals stood in the gardens. "We shall go there as soon as possible, with the Queen Serenity and her diplomats. It is a diplomatic mission, and we are not there in any kind of military way, do you understand?"

"Of course," replied Orpheus, looking slightly annoyed at the babyish way Adonis had said the last words. "We’re not half as thick as you seem to think we are, my lord," said Orion dryly, earning himself a warning look from Adonis.

Hermes looked at them all, eyes thoughtful. "This will be an interesting visit…"

"Yeah, though for one reason only in your case," said a voice from the shadows, and the four generals turned to discover their charge behind them.

"Endymion, your highness, it is late…what are you doing out here?" asked Orpheus, moving to his side. Adonis noted the way the smaller man placed a delicate hand on Endymion’s arm, and frowned. Surely not…Orpheus had said he had never touched Endymion like that…he would never lie.

Yes, that was more Orion’s style.

Orpheus grinned widely. "And what’s this…why would the honourable Hermes be so interested in the visit…"

"Because, like my father, Serenity had several members of her court with her…namely one princess of Mars…"

"Oh, don’t start!" cried Hermes, already blushing.

"This could prove interesting," chortled Orpheus, still holding onto Endymion’s arm.

"More interesting than you know," muttered Adonis. He did not like the way Orpheus seemed to now be toying with the Prince himself…

And he wondered why, when he gazed up at the moon, he felt such a terrible dread…and an infinite sadness.

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