Affair - Chapter 2
by Sereko
sereko13@yahoo.com
Since I never seem to have any time, what-so-ever, with which to write...
I've decided to post a teaser chapter. I've had a large portion of
chapter two sitting in my hot little hands for quite a while...but since I
had not finished it, I did not post it. I've decided to put it out despite
it's incompleteness to see what people's general reaction to the progress
of the story is. I hope you enjoy it. I like this chapter a lot.
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 2 - A Teaser
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Serenity awaited his return with mixed feelings. To pass the time
she walked around the riverbank and studied anything that she could find.
It was such a beautiful world that everything she came across she found
to be magnificent, especially the sunsets. Less than an hour after
Endymion had left, the sun finally fell behind the far mountains.
Gorgeous pinks, purples, and oranges spread themselves across the blue
sky like a painting. It took her breath away. Then again, that was
nothing compared to when the Moon came out of hiding.
She couldn't believe her eyes. Her home. Her birthplace and play
place and work place was hovering above her.
It was a full moon that night which only made her jaw drop lower
in awe. She had never dreamed that it could look so beautiful. Reaching a
hand out above her as if to touch it, she marveled at its brilliant glow.
"Home."
Serenity heaved a great sigh and turned away from the Moon's
beauty. 'I do not miss it. Not yet, anyway.' Her body grew weary at the
remembrance of the event that had landed her on Earth in the first place.
With such somber thoughts in her head, she lay down comfortably on the
grass. Her gaze lifted to the filtering of the Moon's rays through the
tree branches overhead. The patterns the light made through the leaves
fell across her form and the surrounding area. A warm breeze swept by and
tousled her bangs. The river next to her made sweet, soft sounds as it
flowed past. Serenity let her mind wander and pretended to be in an
enchanted place with fairies fluttering around her. She smiled.
-----
Endymion frantically looked at the darkening sky. It was late,
very late. Angry at their son's tardiness, his parents had done
everything to fill his free time. He was only able to get out of the
palace and away from the King and Queen, not to mention his guardians,
when bedtime had fallen upon him. He had to quietly sneak out of the
balcony doors in his room so that he could meet with Serenity. But it was
much later than he had hoped. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about
her the entire time he was at the palace. He knew she would be waiting
and was afraid that she might have left since he was hours past when he
had planned on meeting her.
The river and surrounding trees came into view so he commanded
his horse to slow to a walk. Once at the edge of the clearing, he
dismounted and turned to tie his horse to a tree branch. What he saw when
he turned made him stop his movements.
Serenity had managed to lie down in the exact place where he had
been sleeping earlier that day. He cautiously approached with his horse's
reins still in hand. Just by glancing at her, he could see that she had
fallen asleep. He mentally berated himself for being so late. Hearing a
crunch behind him, he swung around to see what was there. It was just
his horse having stepped on a fallen leaf. He took a deep breath and
berated himself again, but this time for leaving Serenity to meet him in
an unguarded area. Something could have happened to her.
Endymion carefully walked over to the side and tied his stallion
to a tree branch that would let the animal drink from the river if it
wished. With that settled, he stepped back over to his sleeping beauty.
Her golden hair sparkled under the moonlight. It caught his eye
and he couldn't help himself from taking a seat next to her to view her
more closely. Her pert little mouth was slightly parted as she took her
breaths. He held in a laugh at the situation. He no longer needed an
explanation as to why Serenity had found the urge to sit by him and
stroke his cheek when she had come across him. It was impossible to
resist such actions.
With that said, he held out a hand to rest on her flawless skin.
The moonlight through the trees seemed to make her look paler than she
had that afternoon. It also, however, made her radiate beauty from every
pore. She almost seemed to glow, especially with the mop of luxurious
blonde hair that fell all around her. She was an angel.
A grin slipped onto Endymion's face when he felt her lean into
his hand as she stirred awake. Just as he had, her own hand rose from her
side in order to cover his. Serenity let out a little moan and one last
deep breath before she left the luring land of sleep. Her eyes opened not
knowing what they would see.
"Good morning, sleepy head."
Serenity shot up into a sitting position. "Wha-?" She shook her
head to clear it.
"Shh, it is okay." Endymion rested his hand on her shoulder in
comfort.
"Where-?" Shaking her head once more, Serenity finally looked at
the man sitting next to her. In an instant, she remembered all that had
happened earlier that evening. The grass below her was green because she
was no longer on her silver Moon. It was hard for her to move freely
because she was on the Earth where the gravity made her heavier. There
was a man beside her because she had run into him earlier that day when
she fled the Moon. "Mamoru."
Endymion smiled. "Yes, it is me. Are you all right?"
"I am fine, just a little disoriented." She brought a hand to her
face and massaged the bridge of her nose. "I cannot believe that I fell
asleep. In such a strange place, no less."
"I am afraid that may be partly my fault." Serenity looked at him
in confusion. "I was planning on being here much earlier, but my parents
kept me as busy as humanly possible so I was unable to get away soon
enough." Endymion pulled away from his close position with the princess
and sat a few feet away instead.
"Yes, well, maybe it is your fault." Raising her chin up high,
Serenity continued, "Had you not left in such a hurry with such riddles
for words, assuming that I wanted you to return, I would have had no
reason to stay." She straightened her posture as she said this, trying to
convey a portentous exterior while her interior fluttered as though a
thousand butterflies lived inside. "Then, I could be home in a nice warm
bed instead of out in the middle of a forest."
"I am truly sorry for having caused you such great discomfort. Is
this your way of telling me that you wished I had not returned tonight?"
Serenity's eyes widened. "What has that got to do with anything?
I was merely saying that your pompous attitude-"
"It has got everything to do with it." Once again, the princess
found herself mere inches from the prince. "I told you when I left that
I would make you see the futility of the time boundary you set up. Have I
succeeded?"
Endymion gazed innocently into her eyes, a smirk lifting his
lips. Serenity had to restrain herself from throwing caution to the wind
and letting his eyes take away her resolve. "I...well, that is to say...
you see...um..." With her last ounce of stubbornness, she tore her eyes
away from his and stared at the creek instead.
"I will take that as a yes."
Serenity's head sprung back to its previous position. "I did not-"
She paused in her outburst when Endymion began to chuckle. "Are you
laughing at me, sir?" Her eyes blazed with fire at this.
"You are the most stubborn person that I have ever met," he
laughed, ignoring her question. "You cannot even admit when you find
yourself in the wrong."
"Well, I never!" With a huff, she diverted her attention again to
the stream beside her.
Sobering up slightly, Endymion leaned over Serenity so that his
lips barely brushed her ear as he spoke. "Do you mean to tell me that you
do not feel drawn to me right now - that I must be in your company for
some months before you can fall victim to the bond between us?"
Serenity's spine shook with shivers. She could hardly restrain
herself from melting into a little puddle at his feet. He had the
unbelievably wonderful ability of making her want to kiss him at the
strangest moments. 'But, I won't! I will *not* give into this! It is
simply not right!' Before she understood what was happening, the prince
drew away from his precarious position and settled himself on the grass
a foot away. Serenity turned her head to stare at him, only to find that
he was lying down with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed.
'What is he doing?'
"If it is simply not right," here he paused to take a deep
breath, "then why does every bone in my body scream at me that this is
what I have been waiting for my entire life?"
It only took another second for Serenity to realize that she must
have accidentally said the last bit of her thoughts out loud. "I...," her
voice trailed off as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say to
him. "I am sorry, but I do not know." She could feel his disappointment.
Finally shoving her pride aside, Serenity turned towards him and
whispered, "All I do know is that every bone in my body screams that
very same thing."
The prince's eyes opened cautiously. Not daring to look at her,
he whispered back, "What did you just say?"
Serenity lay down next to him, finally biting the bullet and
giving up her pointless fight. She heaved a great sigh and then spoke,
"I said that I feel the same way. I...I am just scared. I have never had
emotions race so impulsively before and I don't know what to do."
"Then do not do anything." With a genuine smile upon his face,
Endymion propped his upper body up on his arms so that he could look down
upon the princess. "Just let things happen by themselves."
"Okay." Relaxing in the warm summer atmosphere, Serenity lazily
gazed up at the stars above her. She admired the Moon once more,
marveling at its brilliance. "The Moon is so beautiful from here."
"Is it not also beautiful in your home town?"
"Oh! Well, yes. Of course it is. It-It just seems to shine more
brightly here, that's all." The princess berated herself for letting the
comment slip. She had almost forgotten that she was pretending to live
on the Earth.
"Where are you from, Usagi?" questioned Endymion.
Serenity froze. 'Oh, Mamoru. Why must you ask me all these
questions that I must lie to answer?' She had always been passionate
about honesty. One of the biggest problems that she had with her mother
was that the Queen constantly lied to her. Unfortunately, she knew of no
other way to answer Endymion. She couldn't tell him the truth, that was
for sure. He would never believe that she was fro-
"You are not from around here, are you?"
"Wh-What do you mean, Mamoru?"
Endymion sighed. He carefully shifted his position so that he
was leaning over Serenity, his hand lightly touching the side of her
face. When she opened her eyes to look up at him, he spoke, "You are
different than anyone I have ever met. You have this presence about you
that no one on Earth has."
"I do not know what you are talking about. I am sure that you have
not met every single person on this Earth and, therefore, you have no
idea if there is someone else like me or not."
"No, I am sure of this." He paused in order to stare deeply into
her eyes. "I think you come from the Moon, Usagi," Serenity gasped.
End Chapter 2
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So? Did anyone like it? I know it's not
much, but hopefully I will be able to
write more soon. I do so miss all my
sappy, waffy little interludes with
Mamoru and Usagi. ^-^ Please tell me
what you think, for that is the basis
I am using as inspiration. The more
feedback I receive for a story, the
more excited I tend to get and that
results in me writing. Stay tuned!
Please send ANY comments to me, Sereko. My e-mail is:
sereko13@yahoo.com
(
geocities.com/sereko13)