Hello out there!
	Yes, I’m back, after going through some high school hell for the 
past weeks, pardon my language!  AUGH!
	Anyway, just wanted to say hello again, and apologize to the 
people that have been e-mailing me.  I’m been trying to catch up, and it’s 
ben tough, but I’m still ploughing through.  Needless to say.  Een if you 
wrote to me in November, I will write you back.  (I’m currently 
somewhere in the middle of November in my replies.)
	Thank you for worrying about me, my dear fans, and I’m so sorry I 
took so long in putting this out!
	Happy New Year, and take care!

Love, Luck, and Luna,
Crystal Heart

Disclaimers: I don’t own these characters, but the story’s mine.

Guarding Heart
Chapter 6 - Honor’s Disgrace
By Crystal Heart

	“Jed?”
	He simply seemed to be staring out into space now, and Serena 
approached him, taking his shoulders in her hands, gently massaging life 
back into him.
	Jed shrugged off her touch, still in awe.
	Raye, was she really in his presence only a few minutes ago?
	And now, taken from him…he felt a punch in his stomach as he 
thought of the evil, defiling her mind, taking her away.
	He should have fought harder.  It was his duty to fight for her, and 
he had let her down.  He had let himself down.
	And the worst of it all, seeing her face when she uttered those last 
words.  *Don’t you understand?  I would die for you!*
	She had loved him.
	Why hadn’t he seen it earlier?
	Perhaps because he was selfish enough to believe only what he 
thought.
	He never noticed how her voice seemed to lace his thoughts, how 
her face seemed to be in the corner of his eye.
	It felt like she was still around him.
	He could swear her fragrance was still in the air.
	He looked down into his hands…hands that had been, only 
moments before, caressing her hair, as she uttered those final words.
	*Don’t you understand?   I would die for you!*
	This couldn’t be happening.  Not to the spirited princess he had 
been protecting.  No, the evil could not break her.  She was too untamed.  
Her whole spirit could not be chained.  She could not be prevailed upon.  
Raye was strong.
	It was Raye who had, in the end, protected to her last breath.
	The girl he had always suspected of being a fluff had more 
substance, more grit, and more determination than he had ever tried to 
imagine, since first meeting her.  The depth of her soul, her beliefs, and 
her feelings were unfathomable.
	And now, she was gone.
	Because of him.
	*Don’t you understand?  I would die for you!*
	He threw himself into this trap.  He had deliberately turned his 
back on her, when she was most needy of his help.  This woman, whom he 
should have trusted, because she put so much of her own trust, unfailingly, 
in him.
	The pain in remembrance.  That gaze, as she looked at him, 
without a scold, without regret for having taken the blows for him.  The 
expression carried nothing but pain in her eyes.  Pain, and that hot feeling 
boiling inside of her, which he now recognized as love.
	She loved him.
	She loved him beyond all his mistakes.  She loved him so much 
that when she looked at him she did not look at him with hatred for having 
abandoned her.  The guilt, and the anger at himself, for not trusting her in 
the first place…
	He had failed a test of the feelings he had for her.
	When she had deliberately told him to not go away to find Zoy, he 
had felt anger.  When he had seen her come to save him from his trap, he 
felt a fear for her life, and an anger at her stupidity, as well as a relief to 
know that she had not yet been broken.  When he had seen her fight for 
him, and fall, he felt an anger at himself.  And a confusion for what she 
was giving up, just for him.  He, who didn’t deserve such attentions right 
now, after the way he had acted.
	And now, after the fires and battle, he could only feel an anger for 
not trusting her.  He could only feel that emptiness inside a part of him 
that he had not known existed.  It hurt.
	It was love.
	He loved her.
	That look in her eyes, that last look, before she succumbed told 
him that he couldn’t even begin to understand her feelings.  That he 
couldn’t comprehend their depth.  That he was ignorant of all.
	And he had let her go, watching her, with a pain that was now 
unsheathed as LOVE?
	*Don’t you understand?  I would die for you!*
	He had let her go without letting her know what he felt.  She had 
left before he had a chance to show her, or tell her, or even realize it.  He 
had let her go, thinking that she’d go to a strange place, without his care, 
concern, regret, and most of all, love.
	His eyes were stinging.  As he closed them and rubbed them 
harshly, he realized he was crying.  He stood up, and pushed away from 
Serena, looking up at the skies.  “I loved her!  Damn it!  Why?”
	“Why?”
	*Why?*

	“What has happened to you?” she cried to the man with the dark 
eyes.
	“A mere enhancement of character.”
	“Character?  You look like a ghost!” Raye’s body was now warm 
and healthy.  She felt herself being cured.  But her health was not as 
wonderful as she thought it would be, for she could feel her body being 
healed by dark powers, and every dark power was starting to run through 
her, taking her into the depth of a dark incomprehensible world.  “Please, 
Zoy, I know you’re in there.  Let me go!”
	Zoy laughed.  “I don’t think so.  Mistress Beryl has many plans for 
you, your highness.”
	“What do you want with me?” Raye cried, feeling her soul shake.
	“Oh, your cooperation.  Think of it, Raye.  Thousands of people, 
bowing to our queen, and if you act right, then you could be in a position 
of high power.”
	Raye narrowed her eyes at Zoy, “What happened to you?  What 
happened to Zoy?  The man who loved Amy?  The man whom Amy 
loved?”
	Zoy grimaced, and looked away.  “That man is no more.  That man 
had a weakness, which he could have paid for with his life.  But now, this 
Zoy is stronger, more disciplined, even wiser.  Love is a weakness, Your 
highness, remember that, and you will serve Beryl well.”
	“I’ll never serve her,” Raye spat.
	“Oh yes, you will…” A dark voice started to take her mind, and 
black night started to take her sight.

	Kunz looked at Neph over Jed’s shaking figure.
	Serena stood in a corner.
	They both put a hand to Jed’s shoulders, and tried to console him.
	But Jed didn’t want other people to try to tell him that they 
“understood”.  They did not know what it was like to let go of a person, 
perhaps forever, without telling them, or showing them at least once that 
they cared.  And they did not know what it was like, to see those eyes, 
staring up at him in frustration, conveying a message that was 
incomprehensible until it was too late.
	He didn’t even know that he loved her, until that moment!
	Those eyes…they haunted his vision.  And he felt the cold and 
dark clash into his heart, stealing away his life.
	Serena looked at the two men, and gestured to them.  *I think we 
should be out in the hall right now.*
	Kunz and Neph looked at Jed, and looked at Serena.  They nodded, 
and sadly followed.
	Jed hadn’t noticed.
	He was still seeing her.
	Hearing her laugh…
	*Jed…* A velvet sound on soft lips…whispered in the wind…
	“Raye…” a whisper which lay on the wind like silk, but tore into 
his heart like a disease.  He should have realized, he should have known, 
but he didn’t, and in the end, neither did she.
	And gently, he heard her slightly above the wind, clear, true.  *I 
know.*
He looked up to see a shadow vanish behind the curtains.  As he 
quickly got up and went around the corner of the balcony, he couldn’t see 
anything, or anyone.
	All that remained was an old volume of Shakespeare’s sonnets, 
with a single wet tear on the leather cover.

	Across the gardens, she looked longingly at him.  Her eyes were 
dark, but there was a deep sparkle in their depths…of longing.
	So he loved her.  She had always known, she had reasoned, but 
now…he was fully aware of his own feelings…
	But what could it mean to her now?
	There was a sting in her heart, to know of his feelings, now that 
she was gone from him…but the regret soon vanished, as the feeling of 
sadness, the memory of his warmth, his care, his security fluttered away 
with the night wind. She felt it dying inside her, and tears were falling 
through her like rain.  She would never forget her love for him, she 
couldn’t.
	*You can…* the dark voice replied.
	The foolish sentimentality she had for this foolish young man 
would disappear, she told herself.  After all, he was foolish enough to just 
walk away, and assume she’d be all right by herself.  Fool.  She felt 
betrayal.
	But then again…she would have never discovered the true power 
of the Black Flame.
	She would never have discovered the true infinity of powers the 
dark kingdom possessed.
	She turned away from her view of him, and disappeared into the 
forest.  She told herself that she wouldn’t turn back from then on, never 
again.

	“Serena…”
	“Your highness,” Serena curtsied.  She tried to remain formal, but 
Merlyn wouldn’t let her.
	Merlyn stepped from behind her desk to hold the girl in her arms. 
Raye’s cherished friend, Merlyn’s own daughter by mind and spirit.  She 
ate the girl up with devouring eyes, worriedly taking in Serena’s pallor, 
her turbulent, sad eyes, and her thin lips, which were in a line of 
determination.  How much of her own ward existed in this girl?  Oh, Raye 
had become her daughter, in the years she had raised her.  “I’ve missed 
you.”
	“I’ve missed you too…” Serena said, slowly, taking in the warmth 
of another human being.  “And…”
	“Raye…oh my sweet darling little girl…” Merlyn sobbed.
	“I love her too…and Your Highness, we’ll get her back.  I swear 
it,” Serena promised into Merlyn’s long hair, as tears started to jewel it 
lightly with clear beads of saline liquid.
	“She…was never mine, you know…she’s not even my blood, 
but…oh, how I loved her!”
	Serena gently placed her head on the Queen’s shoulder, as they 
stood for a moment in an embrace of security.
	Merlyn stood back in the embrace.  “Darien’s been taking it badly.  
When he heard that you were back, well…Serena, why won’t you see 
him?  He needs you…so much…”
	“I can’t…” Serena murmured, looking out the window.  *Not 
when he’s going to marry my friend.*
	“Why can’t you?  It’s tearing him apart, Serena.”
	“Duty.  I can’t.” Serena remained adamant.
	“Duty?  As a guard, maybe not; but as a friend, as someone…even 
more dear to him than a friend, it is your duty to see him, to be there for 
him, especially when he needs you.”
	Inside, she was cringing with pain.  But she held herself up.  Her 
knees were trembling, but she locked them as she heard her heart 
pounding in her head.  She wanted to shake her head of all these thoughts.  
These ghosts.  She had to banish them from her mind.  She clenched her 
fist, until she felt nails biting harshly into her skin.  “I can’t see him.  It’s a 
duty to myself,” Serena coldly replied.
	Merlyn frowned, and took Serena’s shoulders, gently massaging 
the tense, stiff muscles.  They stiffened more, and Serena walked away 
from Merlyn’s hands.  “Duty to yourself, what are you talking about?”
	“I just can’t see him,” Serena turned to Merlyn, showing Merlyn 
her eyes.  Her begging eyes, wide eyes.  Haunted eyes.  She had tried to 
mask everything…but Merlyn could see them: honest, clear, blue, true.  
“You love him.  Why won’t you see him?” the queen asked, her 
own eyes begging.
	“Because I love him…” Serena replied steely.  Her resolve was 
threatening to crumble, so quickly from the actions of this woman she had 
admired so much but now feared for the keen perception she possessed.  
“Merlyn, I’ve come on a mission.  This mission is going to change many 
things, and will depend heavily upon duty and honor.  You have to respect 
it as I tell you.”

	Darien stared at the walls of his sister’s room, taking in the scents, 
and taking in her whole soul.
	He could feel it lingering about.
	He wasn’t even supposed to care so much about her; she wasn’t 
even his sister.
	But not everyone knew that.
	He loved her.  The laugh, the special way she used to tease him, 
and let him tease her.  Her romantic antics.  Her smile.  Her hugs, 
whenever he needed support.  Her generous heart.  Her support.  Her 
strength.
	She was gone now.
	He couldn’t imagine it.  How could she be?
	He still felt, that at this moment, she’d burst into the room, tell one 
of those silly fairy tales, and tease him about Serena.
	His heart clenched.  Where was Raye?  Where was she now?
	She could be…
	She could be…
	No!  He had to believe that she was still alive, fighting somewhere.
	*Fight, Raye…*

	“So, you think a marriage is the most logical union?” Merlyn 
asked, skeptically.  Her eyes revealed her upset heart, although her 
composure was serene.
Serena’s throat hurt.  She was holding back frustrated screams.  
Her eyes stung.  Her face was pale.  Serena hated herself for this, but 
ploughed on, with the speech she had prepared and rehearsed so many 
times before.
	“Why not?  By uniting the kingdoms, the families could be 
together, and we could protect each other.  Selene once told me that the 
courts of many of the planets in their systems married noble blood of the 
moons of their system.  It keeps strength and unity.”
	Merlyn sighed.  “But, Serena…well, Darien-”
	“Darien has always known the demands of the crown.  Hasn’t he 
always preached the necessity of duty?” she smiled, sadly.  “He must 
understand that this is for the best…”
	“And what about you?”
	She turned to Merlyn, and sighed.  “Duty before Self.”
	“Do you know that there was never a time when you two weren’t 
destined for each other?  That there was never a time when hehe didn’t 
love you, even unwittingly?” Merlyn asked her.
	Serena turned away.  She didn’t want to hear this.  It was never 
meant to be this way.  She should never have heard these words.  But they 
were false…she told herself.  This was his mother.  The only person who 
truly knew how Darien felt was Darien, and she was NOT going to stay 
around to find out.  “It’s not so.  Not important.  Not now.  He just thinks 
it.  It’ll heal.  Such things aren’t carved in destiny…there…is no 
destiny…” she stumbled on, helplessly.  “Mina will be a good wife.  She’s 
easier to get along with.” She tried again to rationalize, starting to pace.
	“He doesn’t need a companion, Serena.  He needs a soul mate.  
Someone that understands the deepest parts of him, and respects him.  He 
doesn’t need conversation topics; he needs that kind of communication 
where an eyelock is just enough.  I just don’t see how I can do this to my 
son!”
	“But what else can you do, Merlyn?  With all the recent attacks, I 
strongly advise you to think this through.  By going to the moon, you have 
the services of the Guards on the Moon, and…”
	“And you can protect us as well…” Merlyn looked at Serena, 
knowing fully that this was the reason.
	“I just want him alive,” Serena whispered.
	“Yes, but is it enough?” Merlyn asked, softly.
	Serena’s tears were now stinging her eyes, and finally spilled over.  
“Yes, it is.” She tried to say, but choked on the words.  “This was my idea, 
Merlyn.  Don’t think you can convince me not to follow through.  Feelings 
mean nothing now.  It’s only practicality.  Please, don’t think as a mother 
right now; the kingdom needs its queen.”

	She came into the room silently, her golden hair drifting at her 
shoulders.  She felt the sleepy distress in the air…She could have felt it 
from the moon.  She already had.
	He was sleeping in his sister’s bed.  Her blue eyes filled with tears 
as she saw his thin, worn face, worn from stress and sleeplessness.  His 
eyes were pinned closed, mouth scrunched into scowl.  There was a 
canyon of worry at his forehead, tossed among ruffled hair.
	She approached the bed.
	He was still the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
	She gently touched her cold hand to his warm forehead, and 
smoothed the hair back, caressing the worry away, as she heard him gently 
sigh… “Serena…” he groaned.
	She jumped back.
	He simply turned from his side onto his back, showing full face 
into moonlight.  Serena caught her breath in a painful silent gasp for air.
	She knelt down by the bed.  His silhouette contrasted the pale 
moon behind the windows, far away, and yet…she could feel it 
constricting her lungs, heart, her whole being.  *Why?*
	She looked at him again, and reached out once more to touch his 
cheeks, and traced the paths of dried salt, paved from his eyes.  The jaw 
was still firm, and decided, clenched.
	“Goodbye.”
	She gently got up, and dared to touch her soft her fingers to her 
lips, pressing them softly to his lips, tucking a velvet pouch in his hand, 
before she vanished into the darkness once more.

	There was a kiss.
	An angel?
	Serena?
	He could have sworn that while he slept in his sister’s room, 
dreaming about Serena, he had felt her gently touch his brow, and bid him 
farewell.
	When he woke, there was a ghost of honey on his lips.  Serena.
	In his hand, he held a velvet pouch; inside, he found his 
handkerchiefs, each stitched with his royal emblem.
	He jumped up to look about the room for her, but he not only could 
see no one, but he felt it…the lingering Serena scent…and the cold air of 
aloneness.  He looked at the pouch, and wrinkled it in a tight grasp, and 
turned to the moon, angrily, staring at his competitor.
	His breathing was heavy as he continued to simply stare.  His heart 
pounded, and his muscles ached.  But he did not quiver as he muttered a 
curse to the skies, and turned away, to stalk through the palace.
	
	“She’s already gone?”
	“Darien, she’s one of Mina’s guards.  She has to protect her.  You 
must understand that,” Neph tried to explain.  Neph felt Darien’s anger.  
He tried to understand.  But he was divided between the happiness of his 
prince, whom he had grown to care for as well as protect, and Serena, the 
girl who had always deserved to find a heart that beat as passionate a 
rhythm as her own.  They were perfection together.  And apart, they 
were…
	Broken.  He looked at Darien.
	His face was in his hands.
	A few hours ago, she was in the palace.  He hadn’t even known.  
He wasn’t even aware that Serena had saved Jed at the last minute.  Before 
he only knew grief.  Now, he knew pain, and anger.  *She couldn’t even 
see me?*
	“She’s worried about her court…” Neph tried to explain, reaching 
for reasons.
	*Yes, it’s always duty, isn’t it?*
	Darien turned to the window, not knowing that his friend could see 
the emotion, and hurt, so obvious in his eyes.  He then turned back, and 
quietly looked at them.  “Why did she come here?”
	He needed to know the reason.  Why had she come, to only 
disappear once more into the mess of obscurities?  What was happening?  
Why hadn’t she come to see him?  Why hadn’t he found her now, kissed 
her, and made her promise never to leave him again?
	Stares were bantered back and forth between Kunz and Neph as 
they tried to decide what to tell Darien.  While the queen was secretive 
about Serena’s mission, they had both acquired information from a 
trembling, pale Serena.  However, it was not set yet, nor would it be until 
Merlyn told her son herself, and the voyage to the moon was made.
	Jed was somewhere about the gardens, uttering sad verse that 
sounded suspiciously of Shakespeare.  He was cold and very much like 
Lady Amy was.  Only he looked worse, contrasting with his seemingly 
eternally charming sparkle from before.
	Kunz was torn.  He wanted to be with Mina, to protect her from 
true danger, but what if Beryl caused him to attack her next time?  
However, the need to see her, to see those understanding eyes, and feel 
that warm, comforting gaze…He looked out the window.  She wouldn’t be 
his to protect, would she?  She’d be Darien’s.
	Looking at Darien’s shadowed, distressed eyes, Kunz could not 
find the heart to tell him that Serena had come to promise him to someone 
else.  
	Why did duty have to go before self?  Neph shook his head.

	“Mother?”
	Merlyn turned from the endless wall of books in the candlelit 
library to her son, who begged her for answers, just with the look in his 
eyes.
	“Darien…” she walked to her son, and held him close for a 
moment, savoring the feel of another person’s warmth.  Her child, in her 
arms.  Her other child was out there…She held Darien tighter, who 
returned her hug.
	Mother and son had not had a moment alone together since Raye’s 
disappearance.  And now, days later, the grief came.
	Overcome by tears, Merlyn heaved with sobs, clinging to her son.  
“Oh my child, my child…” she said, gently caressing his hair, looking at 
the way his ears curved, the small hint of a scar at the corner of his lip 
where a girl had punched him years before.  She dived into his eyes, and 
sought to know every corner of her son’s enigmatic mind.  She fought to 
understand, to accept as she simply traced his jaw shape.  Darien could 
feel her trying to find Raye within him.
	She didn’t look like either of them, but Raye possessed a part of 
his soul, and at this moment, his mother found it, as she snatched it, 
holding it close.  “I miss her so much!”
	Merlyn had not seen how much she love Raye until that moment 
when Serena came back with the news that Raye had been taken to the 
dark side.  Her pure, romantic daughter, caught in the intricate web of 
darkness… Would she be able to find her way out?
	Darien simply held his mother, as he tried to accept it, but he 
couldn’t.  “She’ll fight, mother.”
	“Yes, she will…” Merlyn sniffed.  “Darien, I’m so happy you are 
still here.  I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
	“Serena helped you through some, didn’t she?”
	Merlyn felt that desperation in his voice.  The anxiety.  “Yes, 
Serena was here to help me through this…”
	“It was lucky that she was there in the nick of time to save Jed.  At 
least he is still safe, and with us.”
	“Yes…” Merlyn trailed off, remembering Serena’s proposal.
	“Why did she come, mother?” he pushed himself back in her 
embrace to look into her now guilty eyes.
	Merlyn played with his sleeve, and mumbled.  “She came to 
propose something to me, and as of yet, I do not want to discuss it.  There 
are still some things to consider.”
	“What is it?”
	“A plan; her plan to protect the kingdoms.”
	“What is it?” he demanded again.
	“Darien, I have to decide this first.”
	“I’m your heir.  If this decision will affect the kingdom, I want to 
know.  Why don’t you want to tell me?”
	*Because it’d break your heart.*  “I still have to think this 
through.”
	“No!” Darien looked at her, frustration in his eyes.  “Everything’s 
been tossed out of my hands.  My sister just vanished.  The force that took 
her stole one of my best friends.  The other three are mourning.  My 
kingdom’s out of order.  My mother’s starting to decide things by herself.  
Most importantly, the love of my life just came by without even looking at 
me.”
	“She couldn’t!”  Merlyn cried out.  “She can’t.  It’d hurt her too 
much.”
	“What do you mean?  I love her.  She’s now a whole dimension 
away, on that moon.  What am I going to do to hurt her that hasn’t hurt me 
already?  What am I going to do to hurt her when seeing pain in her eyes 
torments me more than the slowest death?”
	“Don’t you see?  She came here to give you away!” Merlyn cried.  
“She came to propose you to marry Minalle!”

	Hurt.
	The slashing of his heart, as he felt it fall from himself, to his feet.
	This girl he had loved, so blindly, had just grabbed his heart, and 
cast it away.
	What was he doing?  Why had he even thought that she’d even be 
human enough to fall in love?
	That vulnerable girl, who was scared of the future… Where was 
she?  That girl.  So distant, so vague a memory.  And now, he was left 
alone, with a shattered heart, and broken mind.
	What was he going to do now?
	How he had fought this stupid emotion, only to be spurned.  Why 
him?  He had fought so hard in life to distance from the girls that 
wandered into his life.  And Serena Kingston, form the first moment, gave 
him the very reason why: the girl was impossible.  She was everything he 
did not want to love.  She was everything he ever wanted, gone wrong.  
>From that first moment, when her fist connected with his lip, he’d seen her 
with ridicule, with a sneer.  When had he fallen in love with her?
	It was in that moment, when her angry, passionate eyes shot him 
down, as her elegant hands curled up into a hammering fist at his lip.
	He loved her from the moment he saw her.
	The beauty was not evident.  At least, the beauty of her face 
wasn’t.  But he admitted, that first instant, when he looked at her, the 
passion, the excitement, the whole aura of raw LIFE in her, intrigued him.  
He had been relieved that his mother had sent her away, but when word 
got out she was coming back, his heart had clenched, and he had walked 
the halls apprehensively, hoping to see and avoid her at the same time.
	And then he had seen her…
	And then he opened his eyes, and heart to her…
	And she had just tossed that back in his face.
	What kind of person was Serena Kingston, who’d heartlessly 
spurned his feelings?
	*But then again,* his heart did whisper, *she never really spurned 
you.  You never offered her anything.*
	*BUT SHE KNEW ME!*
	*She was doing what was best.*
	The battle threw his mind in havoc.  He just had to see her.
	But there was a vise around him, whispering the word, “duty…”

	“I’ve decided that the engagement is a good idea.”
	Merlyn turned to Darien.  Her hair glinted a light silver at her 
temples, and her eyes were light and ghostly.  Her face looked worn, and 
stress had taken color and health from her.  Darien felt revulsion; not 
towards his mother, but at the force that had taken his mother.  He looked 
out the window, imagining Raye, who was somewhere out there.  Who 
knew?  Would she end being one of Beryl’s pawns?  Like Zoy?  Zoy 
couldn’t really be evil, could he?
	Darien had been silent these past days, and Merlyn did not force 
him to divulge any of his thoughts.  He needed time.
	And now…
	Was she happy that he had decided the safest way, for his 
kingdom?  Or was she disappointed that he wasn’t going to fight for the 
girl he loved?  For happiness?  He’d be all right with Mina, but, really, 
when it mattered, Darien needed the spirit, vivacity, contrariness of 
Serena.
	Disappointment.  The sting in her eyes.  Oh, her beautiful son, her 
only child left, now giving himself to duty.  She felt anger at the world, for 
taking her two children away.
	Darien couldn’t face her, because out of the corner of his eye, she 
looked just as he thought she would when he told her.  The calm, 
diplomatic exterior, showing relief in his choice, but her eyes, a glittering 
mess, begging him to be true to himself.
	But Serena didn’t want him, did she?  And his duty, wasn’t it 
always a rule of propriety that he had to marry for his kingdom, and not 
for himself?
	Never in his life did he have to face the decision of propriety 
against his own wishes.  He’d always believed his goals and propriety 
went hand in hand.  Now, at this moment, when acting like a prince would 
take away every single cell in his heart, he couldn’t decide.
	He never realized being prince would be so dreadful a decision.  
He never regretted it more than he did now.
	And if he knew that Serena loved him…
	But she didn’t.  She had arranged the match herself.  Again, the 
image of her golden hair, gently caressing her beautiful ivory face…the 
expressive ocean eyes…they faded, into a dark sadness as his heart started 
to pound.  He shook his head, and looked at his mother.
“When do we make it known?”

	“So, he’s going to wed the moon princess,” Kunz asked placidly.  
His voice was smooth, cool; a contradiction to the turmoil and distress he 
felt within.
	Mina.  Beautiful, delightful Mina.  A person whom he’d come to 
admire, and respect.  The thought of seeing her with his prince…he knew 
strategically, it would be an excellent match.  The powers of two 
kingdoms, united in one alliance, secured with matrimony…
	But inside, he couldn’t see Mina with Darien.  Throughout the 
whole time he had seen Darien being pushed to Mina, and Mina being 
pushed to Darien, he’d always reminded himself that Mina would never let 
such a union occur, simply for the reason that she didn’t love Darien.  
Also, she was always…so…so not Darien’s type.
	He’d always felt a protectiveness for the golden-haired beauty 
from the moon.  She’d touched a part of him that was rarely evident.  
She’d moved him to think beyond the levels that he was accustomed to.  
To hear that this sweet, idealistic young woman was about to marry for 
anything less than love bothered him.
	It worried him.  Would she live to her honor, and do the right 
thing?
	However much he…cared…for her, it did not matter now, did it?  
What mattered was the match.  The inexorable match.  She HAD to go 
through with this.  He had always hoped that she would somehow not have 
to face the realities of life this way…but now, when faced, he hoped that 
she would realize that in such a world, trying to find love was as useless.
	He pounded his fist on his desk, not being about to concentrate as 
Neph continued to polish his boots.
	“Yeah, it’s true.  Darien agreed just yesterday afternoon.  I can’t 
say he looks the part, though.”
	“I don’t think anyone’s really happy right now,” Kunz sighed.
	“What about…” Neph began, then paused.  “Forget it.”
	Kunz looked up at his friend.  “What about me?” he asked, as if 
reading Neph’s mind.  “What ABOUT me?”
	“Well, I thought maybe you and Mina were, you know…” Neph 
trailed off.  At the darkening of Kunz’s eye he paused, then proceeded to 
babble.  “Well, I know it’s your business, but…well…” he said 
awkwardly.
	“There’s nothing between me and the moon princess…” Kunz said 
firmly, looking back at his papers, fighting to concentrate.  “Nothing,” he 
whispered, as he felt emotions flood through, ripping apart that word.  
“Nothing.”

	The hours seemed longer now.
	Maybe because they were so sad.
	Amy sighed as she looked up from her sketchbook, giving a 
cursory glance to the royal gardens of the Moon Crystal Palace.  Even the 
plants seemed to bow in sadness.
	The air was blue.  It was heavy, and it reflected on everyone’s face.
	She took a knife from her bag, and sharpened her pencil.
	Mina was somewhere in the palace, in mourning.
	It had not been easy when Queen Serenity told her daughter of her 
engagement to the prince of Earth.
	Mina had lost her voice, having been smothered in distress and 
sadness.  She was silent, and yet, her mournful cries echoed throughout 
the palace.
	It wasn’t that Darien was a jerk.  It was just that Mina didn’t love 
Darien.
	And Amy was almost certain that she loved Kunz.
	But Kunz, as well as Mina, did not have a say in this matter.  It 
was matter of existence, of peace, and of politics.  The cards had to be 
dealt this way.
	The dark lead of her pencil gently shaped an eye, narrowed, and 
reflecting nothingness.
	When the ambassador from Earth communicated the prince’s wish 
to marry the princess, the news didn’t really fare well with anyone.  It was 
a relief to Serenity, of course, because now both courts were protected.
	Serena was speechless.  She was emotionless.  She was lifeless.  
When she heard of Darien’s wishes, she lost her color, her vivacity, her 
everything.  In the thin smile she carried, she had tried to convince the 
court that she was all right with the arrangement, that she was perfectly 
satisfied.
	But she did not succeed in fooling anyone.
	Amy knew that this idea was Serena’s in the first place, that it was 
the best way to fight Beryl and Metalia.  And for this, Serena must have 
been relieved to hear the prince agreed to this plan.
	But she also knew that the woman’s heart, not the diplomat’s, nor 
the protector’s, was beating in fury.  How could he betray her?  After 
everything they had suffered together…
	Amy sighed.  But at least they knew they’d all be safe, and they’d 
all be together, if not together in the whole sense.
	Zoy was still out there…and to know that he had deliberately tried 
to kill his friend, her friend…that he had taken away her princess of Earth, 
or rather Mars…Amy was furious, sad, disappointed and happy at the 
same time.
	Happy only that he was alive.  But after that, fury had taken over 
most of her emotions.  *Zoy, how COULD you?*
	As she finished her sketch, she looked down mournfully the 
emotionless, stoic man she had so carefully shaped onto paper, and angrily 
tore the sheet out, and ripped it up, letting the scraps drift into the wind, 
away from her.

	Mina was not talking to anyone.
	After all, they didn’t talk to her about this stupid matter in the first 
place.  And now, without her consent, she was engaged to Darien.
	And when had she agreed to do this? 
	Serena was somewhere, moping about, but then again, what was 
worried about?  She wasn’t engaged to someone she didn’t love!
	Sure, Serena had been her friend since childhood, but she had 
never seen Serena do such a stupid thing as to engage her friend to 
someone else!
	Wasn’t it so obvious she didn’t want to get married?  At least, not 
to Darien?
	She loved her friend, but right now…she clenched her fist until the 
knuckles turned white.  She pounded her fist into the pillow as she swore 
under her breath.
	If Serena hadn’t been in such a hurry to protect, she would have 
stopped to realize that Mina would not agree to this!
	Her ex-friend was now somewhere in the palace, perhaps planning 
away another part of HER life!

	The palace was under siege.
	The ironic thing was, Beryl smiled, she hadn’t done anything to 
cause it.
	Slowly the minds of each person isolated itself, and if Beryl played 
her cards right, she’d come out victorious.
	The blonde, Serena, was it?  Who started the whole complicated 
mess…She was a tough woman; but still, she was prey to her feelings, 
which she thought she hid so well.
	But Beryl had known differently.  She had seen Serena, sleepless 
and frustrated at nights, unborn tears slowly forcing themselves in the 
form of strenuous, exhausting exercise.
	The moon princess was slowly easing her way into Beryl’s 
clutches, and totally unaware of it!  The anger she felt was such an easy 
start to the depths of darkness, and Beryl gently cultivated the seed of 
rebellion in the moon princess.  Soon enough…
	The blue-haired one was useless.  But at least she was useless to 
Serenity’s flank as well.  Emotionless, soulless.  There was no anger in her 
to prey on.  Her spirit was lost when Beryl had taken the man she loved 
away.  Beryl smiled triumphantly.  Yes, that had been quite a success…
	And the Earth princess!  What luck!  Having this young woman, of 
so much fire under her command.  Granted, she was so difficult to 
manage; the girl had a fire the size of her planet.  The passion would be 
excellent in combat, but only if it were tamed.  So far, Beryl had only been 
able to leash some of the fire.  But soon enough, even the brightest flames 
would be extinguished.
	Ah, yes…Life was excellent.  Soon…

	The shadows, lurking in her mind as she tried to fight through, to 
find a voice.
	What was there to say, though?
	It was her fault that he had been taken.  Over and over, she could 
see those eyes, telling her the message he had been trying to tell her this 
whole past lifetime; they were meant to be.
	But now, he was gone…
	And he had fought, for Beryl.
	Threatened the life of Raye.
	Amy’s storm of thoughts locked her in struggle.  The happiness of 
knowing he was alive, though she had felt it the whole time.  But the 
physical proof…
	And the anger.  How could he attack Raye?  Take her?  Amy’s 
face paled.  What would she have done?  She would have left Raye, she 
knew it, just as Jed it.  No, she didn’t blame Jed at all.  She didn’t blame 
anyone but herself.
	If she had only been stronger during that battle, to stand up to 
Beryl…
	He’d still be with her.
	And that gap in her heart would not be so empty.  Right now, it 
ached.
	Somewhere in the wind, though…she could still hear his 
laugh…his good laugh…and a small plea:*Fight for it.*

	Her hair was silk in the night satin, as Artemis caught his breath.  
Her eyes reflected the sad night, as she turned at the sound of whispering 
cloth.  “Artemis…”
	Did she know how much of him was hers?  That voice, musing, 
caressing his ear, was all he wanted to hear right now.  “I—“
	“How—“
	They both stopped, each waiting for the other to finish their 
sentence.  Luna’s heart was pounding.  Something in the air tonight…
	Artemis settled on the balcony rail with her, taking in the scent of 
the night, the velvety perfume of Luna’s presence.  “I was saying that we 
hadn’t seen each other lately…”
	“Well, you know, with the entrance of the new princess and her 
court…” Luna trailed off, looking up at Artemis.  “What’s going to 
happen?” She could feel cold; chilling, terrorizing cold…
	He put his hands on her arms, and lightly brushed up and down, 
warming her, as he took her into his embrace.  “I don’t know…” he kissed 
her forehead.
	“Artemis…this isn’t…”
	“Shh…just this moment.”

	The hugging shadows on the other side of the courtyard made her 
heart sing in mournful cries.
	When was the last time she had been held like that?
	Serenity’s eyes welled up with tears, as she slid her finger under 
her collar to take out a gold chain.  Hanging from it, a pendant, of the 
purest mooncrystal glimmered.
	“Terrence…” she bit her lip, turning away from the eyes of the 
stars, back into the loneliness of her room.  *I don’t know how much 
longer I can live like this…*

	“Are you sure you can do this?” Merlyn asked her son, half-
wishing, and half-dreading he’d reply no.
	“Yes,” Darien said, stiffly, emotionlessly.
	*What has happened to you?*
	But instead of asking her question aloud, she turned to his three 
guards, and nodded, as the walked out of the palace, ready to intercept 
their escort to the Moon Kingdom.

	She had wanted to go, but she couldn’t.
	Serenity wanted her to go; she knew.  But she couldn’t.  No, she 
couldn’t see him.
	Serena quietly stared out the window of her room, watching for his 
figure at the horizon.
	She’d sent Luna instead, who went silently, without questions.
	Perhaps because she had already known the answers.
	And where was Mina?  Still hiding in her room?
	Serena felt a helpless anger.  At her friend, who did not want to 
marry her prince and let things be.  Who didn’t understand.  At her prince, 
who agreed to the match.  At herself, for recommending the idea.  At her 
enemy, who caused so much pain in the first place.
	Lately, she had cursed her fate.  Why did SHE have to be the 
moonlight maiden?  Why couldn’t she have just stayed at home, and 
gotten married, and lived a happy life?  If this was her destiny, she didn’t 
wish for it anymore.
	She had never felt this before.  The need to right her duty.  The 
emptiness.  In her years of striving to be the castle guard, what had kept 
her complete?  Because now, she was so empty.
	She had NEVER felt this way before.  She felt anger at herself for 
even daring to consider the possibilities…

	Crimson lips were drawn in a thin line, as violent eyes flashed in 
darkness.
	In the shadows, she watched him, as he looked around, mournfully, 
angrily.
	She smiled slyly.  It would be soon enough.
	She’d get to him, use his feelings for her to destroy him, and his 
liege.
	Deep inside, a well of heat rose, and struggled to break through the 
ice in her mind.  NOOOO!
	She shook her head, as she tried to balance herself again.  What 
was happening to her?  She turned to the woman at her side, scowling.  
“Why are you just letting them leave?”
	“Patience…” Beryl whispered to her newest and most eager 
minion.  “Soon, you will have them in your hands…”
	The woman tossed her black hair back and laughed, as the tones of 
passionate evil burned through the air.

	He thought he heard her laugh.
	But it wasn’t.
	Not that evil, low, shriek of the night.
	Jed turned once more to Luna Dimiantya, and her partner, Artemis 
Trelyme.  The two were unfeeling, coarse, and simply stood.
	Were all Lunarians like this?
	Jed shifted uncomfortably on his feet.  She was OUT there!  He 
could feel it!
	And now, he was just going to leave?
	He’d assured himself that Beryl, bringing HER along, would 
follow them to the moon, and there, he’d be able to take his lady love back 
again.
	He had to, or else he was lost.
	“Let us begin our journey…” Luna simply stated, looking at the 
prince, smothering the anger out of her pale, clear eyes.  *If you only 
knew how much you’ve made my friend suffer…*
	But as she looked at the sad, yet determined look on the prince’s 
face, she could tell the hurt was not limited to Serena, nor was the blame 
restricted to him.
	Luna’s black marble staff, with the crystal ball at the top, crossed 
with Artemis’s white one, with its own crystal ball.  A glow of light…
	Luna led the way.
	The others followed.  Artemis skirted from behind.
	Darien turned once more back to the kingdom, which he would 
only be ruling from a distance now.
	Would it be safe without immediate ruling?  Would it be safe 
under the chancellor’s care?
	The moon was not too much a distance away, and it would still be 
relatively easy to defend his kingdom from it…but still…
	Darien once again turned back forward, as he saw the black-haired, 
blue-eyed Lunarian woman look at him with disappointment, and turn 
away.

	“They’ve arrived!” A maid excitedly squealed as the trumpets 
flourished the arrival of the Terran kingdom to the Lunarians.  Servants 
rushed up and down the halls, the girls all searching for that one glimpse 
of the handsome prince their princess would marry.
	Serena was hiding in her room, with the silk drapes pulled shut.  
She was still sitting right at the window seat, just a curtain away from 
Darien.  Her heart pounded, as her hand fought her heart in a struggle to 
tear the curtain open, to see him, to just see that he was safe, and alive.
	But she wouldn’t.
	She’d known he was here.  She had sensed it the moment he had 
set his foot on her kingdom.
	How would she get through the next months, years?  Her life?
	Her LIFE?
	The ground vanished.  Her heart stopped.  She was giving up the 
happiness of the rest of her life so that he could do his duty…so that she 
could do hers…but…YES!  Of course it was worth it!  She retorted to 
herself.  It was worth it…after all, the kingdoms would be safe.  But 
would her heart?  YES.  It would.  She tried to convince herself, by saying 
it over and over in her mind.  She was doing this out of concern for the 
kingdom, and love…after all, it was better that he was alive, and that she 
could protect him…even if it meant that they’d be eternally separated 
from one another.
	Serena walked away from the window as she started to hear the 
graceful greetings of Queen Serenity.

	She was…different.
	But then again, so was he.  Why wasn’t everything ever the same?  
Was it really just a few months ago that they were all in the Terran palace, 
dancing and laughing?
	Mina looked so sick now.  As if she had not slept, had not eaten.  
Jed could only feel fury at Serena for doing this to Mina.  She looked as 
bad as Kunz did, and as he peeked at his friend, who was avoiding her 
eyes, turned away from her direction, back to her, he felt an urge to slap 
his colleague.  How could he be so insensitive?
	Mina was no longer his sister, but he was still protective of her.  It 
didn’t matter that she was a princess from another planet, for all he cared 
about was the fact that this woman was as much a sister as he had ever 
had, and that he loved her.
	He knew Serena was suffering; he was not blind to his own liege’s 
pain.  Darien was mute, cold.  It was if he had lost his life sometime in the 
last few days.
	He looked heartbroken, and Jed felt anger again for Serena.
	But then again, Darien had chosen this, so it was not entirely 
Serena’s doing…
	Serenity greeted them formally, as Jed looked at his surroundings.  
Everything was elegantly pristine.  So ordered, and so beautiful…the 
architecture…of glass domes, of glass pillars, or marble and diamond 
floors.  The spires of the castle towers, he had read before, were out of 
pure clear mooncrystal, and tipped with glimmering star gold.  The bricks 
were out of moondust marble, and sparkled with small grains of diamond 
melded in.
	And Mina was oblivious to it all.  Jed could see pain in her blue 
eyes.  Mina was dressed so formally in a white silk toga, edged with gold 
threads.  Her blond hair was pulled up in the royal style, and crowned with 
golden roses.
	She didn’t look happy here, although she was surrounded by 
heaven, although she was with her true mother.
	Her guards, Amy and Lita, stood by her side.  Amy looking warily 
at the prince, and Lita, focused only on Neph, hiding her joy at seeing him 
safe and here.  Serena was missing.
	It was fitting, but totally unlike her.  She was never a coward.
	But then again, had she ever been in love?
	Jed was almost positive that she had fallen for Darien, now.  With 
all the hints that Merlyn had whispered, and all the gossip about a 
mysterious golden locket Darien carried with him at all times…Serena, the 
most heartless one of them all…in love?
	“Welcome to the moon.”

	“Thank you for meeting me on such short notice,” Serenity 
gestured a seat opposite her desk to Merlyn.
	Merlyn took the seat, and looked across.  “Your concern?”
	Both knew that they wanted to speak out against the ceremony, but 
both knew the importance of this engagement…this alliance.
	Serenity began carefully, wondering how she was going to suggest 
this, when she didn’t really approve of the idea.  “As you know, it would 
be very beneficial to have the ceremony as soon as possible…”
	Merlyn merely nodded, her protest locked in her throat.  She 
WOULDN’T speak out against this.
	Serenity bit her tongue.  She had seen her daughter, furious at 
everyone for even suggesting she marry for anything less than love.  But 
she had also seen her ward mandate the only way to protect the kingdoms.  
It was the most horrible station she could put her daughter in, and Serenity 
felt her heart sink every time she thought about it.
	*What kind of mother am I?*
	Serena had pleaded, begged not to be present in the ceremony of 
the prince’s arrival, and she was still protesting to her presence at the 
engagement ceremony, as well as the wedding.
	Serenity wanted to feel furious at Serena.  It would be the easiest 
alternative.  But Serena was so…level-minded.  This was the only 
way…unless Serena herself got married…but she was only a Terran in her 
own eyes, never a Lunarian, as Serenity wanted her to think herself as.  
No, Serena said, in order for there to be an alliance, the prince of Earth 
must marry a Lunarian.
	“In the tradition of the Lunar, an engagement ceremony takes place 
on the night of the Full Earth, and the full Earth afterwards, the wedding 
occurs.”
	“When’s the next full Earth?”
	“One week from now…” Serenity began.
	Merlyn winced, drawing in a quick breath.  “And the one after?”
	“Thirty days after that night.”
	They couldn’t afford thirty days.  Merlyn felt her heart pound as 
she sealed her son’s happiness in a bottle to throw away.  “Then the 
engagement ceremony will occur in one week.”
	Serenity merely nodded, as she felt her daughter’s heart breaking.

	One week?
	No, too soon!  Mina panicked as she struggled to bring herself to a 
rational level.
	But anger so quickly came over.
	There was so much logic to the alliance, and yet…it still made no 
sense!
	Mina felt her life closing in on her.  When was the last time she 
had ever been able to breathe?  To feel whatever she wished?  To love 
whomever she wished?  What happened?  Hadn’t she always wanted to 
see her family?  Didn’t she trust Serena to make things right?  Serena was 
always right, wasn’t she?
	NO!  This time, she was wrong.  Serena knew nothing of the 
matters of the heart.  Serena had let rules and regulations get in the way of 
the true rule of life; love.  Mina had to do something!  She had to buy 
herself some time!  She had one week to come up with something, and 
then she had thirty days to dispel all notions of the marriage.
 
	“I can’t do this.”
	She paced as she walked next to the leader of the Four.
	Kunz looked at the beautiful young princess at his side, and 
felt…what he wanted to feel.  Nothing.
	He felt NOTHING.  He told himself again.
	Mina continued to pace, trying to make him see it her way.
	But he wouldn’t.
	Stubborn, foolish man!
	“Don’t you see?  It goes against everything!”
	“Except sanity,” he completed for her.
	She turned to him, angrily.  “What are you talking about?”
	“Honor, Mina.  Have a little honor.  Sure in the beginning, I was a 
little doubtful of this whole thing, but you are royalty, Minalle.  A 
princess, who has many subjects to consider.”  It was as he had told 
himself from the moment that he started the journey here.  She was 
royalty, and she had duties.  She had her family honor to uphold.
	Mina lost her fire and stopped, speechless.
	“Sure, I guess you do have a claim to love whoever you want, 
but…”
	“But what, Kunz?”
	He felt something inside of him fall apart.  How could she be so 
insensitive?  Thinking that she was so…
	Anger.  His pale face warmed.  “But you have a duty, your 
highness.”
	“Duty?  I’d give it up in a second.”
	“But you can’t.” he persisted coldly.
	“I really thought you would understand.” She scoffed at herself.
	“I do understand.  I understand the situation, and you would too, if 
you’d only open your eyes and see outside or your conceited self!” he 
stormed away.
	“You are a disgrace, Mina.  To your whole family, to my 
friendship, and to yourself.”

	“You do realize that you have to see him eventually.”
	“Yes, but not now.”
	“I’ve never said this to you before, but I’m going to say it now.  
Serena, you have to be the biggest fool there ever was!  You have to 
confront this one.  You’ve never been afraid of anything!” Amy scolded.
	Luna quietly entered the room.  “What’s going on?”
	Mina stood in front of the window, angered and cool.  Lita sat 
exasperated by Serena, and Amy was pacing the floor.  “We’re trying to 
convince her to go to the engagement ceremony, but she’s determined not 
to see HIM.  Of course, she’s not really saying that; she’s just saying that 
she feels ill.”
	There was no question that Serena was trying to avoid Prince 
Darien, and Luna sighed.  “Serena will be at the engagement ceremony.”
	Serena merely remained silent, but in her, a steel resolution was 
already formed to stay away from the ceremony.
	*Six more days…* the three words permeated throughout the 
minds of all who sat in the room.

	It seemed impossible that she give up her life for the goodness of 
her country.
	She had adamantly pushed her belief in love, believing it to be the 
strongest force of all humankind, to equal the elements of the Earth, such 
as ice and fire and wind.
	But it had disappointed her.
	Mina felt nothing but bitterness.  A fool’s trap.  It was designed to 
snag, and to strangle and to devastate.  There was no other way to describe 
it.
	The sickening pain.  She needed to talk to him, only to know what 
he thought of this…Kunz always knew.  Kunz always understood.  But 
when she talked to him last…couldn’t he understand?
	No, the cold man was always preaching honor, duty, and that crap.  
He was too busy upholding his stupid idiotic morals.  Foolish, foolish 
man.  She thought he was worthy of her trust.  She thought he was worthy 
of…
	No, forget it.  He was too busy thinking himself above everything.
	And he was protecting his prince.
	Her future husband.
	Husband?  Bonded for life with a man she didn’t love?  NO!!!!!  
Mina had waited all her life to fall in love with the man who would win 
her heart, and protect her, understand her, love her.  And she had not 
found him yet.
	Instead, she was marrying a stranger!  Darien was a stranger!
	How could her mother agree to this?

	“How could you agree to this, Serenity?” Prima asked, slightly 
angry, across the communication column.  “You defy the logic of love and 
chose foolishly!”
	Serenity frowned.  “Prima, you’re only saying this because you 
believe in true love.  It’s true: Mina doesn’t love Darien, but with time…”
	“I would NEVER allow my daughter to marry a man she didn’t 
love!” Prima scolded.
	Serenity froze.  “Even if it meant the end of your daughter?”
	Prima’s angered, heated face faded into a pallor of ice.  “If my 
daughter were to enter a loveless lock for the rest of her life, it IS her end.”
	Speechless, Serenity could not distinguish the feelings of her older 
sister.  “She can’t just give up her throne.  She has a responsibility to the 
kingdom!  She can’t just give it up for…”
	“For a foolish little fancy?” Prima completed quietly.  “Because 
she can’t fall in love with the right man?”
	Serenity felt tears.  The right man.  A feeling of the past welled up 
inside her.
	The wedding day, when Prima stood in white silk, smiling falsely, 
as she prepared to marry Terrence…
	Only to refuse her crown, and force her sister Serenity to marry…
	And Prima, she had left, disowned by her family, only loved and 
acknowledged still by Serenity.  Eventually, she redeemed herself by 
falling in love and marrying the king of Venus, but to their last breath, 
Serenity’s parents…
	And Serenity had eventually, fallen in love with her husband, 
despite the circumstances.
	But of course, that wasn’t always the story.  And Prima felt guilty. 
Prima had, in her struggle to go follow her heart, had put another in an 
awkward position.
	Oh, what was to happen?
	“You’ll ruin her life,” Prima stated, coldly.
	“There will be no life if they don’t get married,” a calm, cold voice 
interrupted the room.
	Serenity turned, and Prima started.  “Serenity?  Who is it?”
	“It’s my ward, Serena Kingston.”
	Serena approached the column, looking at the beautiful image of 
Primavera, the queen of the Venusians.   “If they don’t marry, do you 
know how many lives are at stake?  Do you know how many people, who 
would have been in love, will die, never to meet their loved one, ever?  
Your majesty, one heart sacrificed is little compared to others!” she 
turned, and ran out of the room, tears cutting through her voice.
	Primavera stood silent.  At length, she said quietly.  “It is true, at 
the time of my marriage, and I did not have to worry about the fate of any 
others…except…”
	Prima looked right at Serenity’s eyes, and though they were 
separated by the extensive length of space, Serenity felt no less penetration 
in her stare.
	“Mina…she has no sibling…Serenity…”
	“Yes?”
	“Did you hate me when I forced you to marry Terrence?  I know, 
that I have been hypocritical…but…I just couldn’t, and you…”
	“I was young, immature…I did not know what love was going to 
be…but Prima…I loved him…I loved him so, and he loved me, and we 
are forever grateful to you…though…”
	“Though you did not at first agree…”
	“Yes…”
	Prima was silent.  “It was fortunate you DID fall in love…”
	“Yes…”
	“And, Mina…will she?”
	“I don’t know.”
	Silence.
	“Your ward.  Serena…” she lifted an eyebrow.
	“Yes, she loves him.”
	Prima’s eyes flamed.  “And she can’t marry him?”
	“She’s of Terran blood.  Not of our descent, and therefore declared 
the marriage would be a sham if…”
	Prima nodded silently.  They looked at each other in silence.  
Serenity then quietly returned to the first question of the conversation.  
“So will you come to the engagement ceremony?”
	Primavera looked at her sister, and sighed.  “Yes, I will.”

	Amy sat straight and looked at herself carefully in the mirror, did 
she look all right?  Nerves.  Pounding from head to toe.  Would She like 
her?  She got up and started to pace.
	Back…forth…back…forth…
	A crinkle of worry marred her smooth face.
	Back…forth…back…forth…
	“Amy!”
	The door was thrown open, and a gasping Serena signaled out of 
breath what Amy had been waiting for all afternoon.  Amy nodded quietly, 
and found her feet could not move.
	Serena looked at her.  “Go for it.”
	Amy pushed her feet mentally, and took an awkward step, and then 
another…until she was running to the palace gate, to greet her mother.

	Lita looked around her to hear Amy’s soft pattering footsteps 
approach her.  Amy stopped next to her, and they smiled nervously to each 
other.
	Oh, Lita hoped she liked her.
	The whole idea of having her mother come had kept her distracted 
for days on end.  She refused to see Neph altogether, being so sick with 
nervousness.  Setting her teeth, and curling her long, elegant fingers into a 
fist, she closed her eyes, and counted to ten, breathing in and out slowly, 
trying to breath out the tension in her body.
	Slowly, she opened her eyes, and let her mind slowly focus on 
where she was.  Calm, she closed her eyes again, only to open them, 
startled, when Amy let out a gasp beside her and started to run.  Lita 
opened her eyes quickly, to see Amy running quickly to a woman that 
could only be Amy’s mother.
	And next to Amy’s mother, nervous, and happy, was Lita’s own 
mother who approached her as Lita approached Her.  Staning only a few 
feet apart, her mother softy said, “Hello, my Beautiful girl…”
	Lita felt tears.  Her mother thought she was beautiful!  She felt her 
mother’s hand caress her cheek, slowly, to make sure she was real, and 
immediately, Lita threw herself in her mother’s arms, and cried joyfully.

	A pale face was watching them with glowing, lonely blue eyes.  
She had done her best to avoid him, and hid in her room.  But as she saw 
person after person meet with people they loved, and find happiness, she 
felt more discontent.
	She was happy for them, but…
	She missed her own mother…
	Serenity had been a comfort, but lately, Mina needed her more.  
Serenity spent hours with her daughter, assuring her of the necessity of the 
match, that her marriage was very important.
	Serenity didn’t pretend with Mina that she loved Darien.
	And Serenity didn’t pretend with Serena that she didn’t love 
Darien.
	Serenity was saddened by Serena’s apparent…cowardice?  She 
wanted Serena to confront him.  But she couldn’t.
	Not until he was engaged, at least…only in four days.  And soon, 
he’d be married.
	Married?  Lost to her, forever?  Always to feel this emptiness, this 
ache?  She wanted to know; did he love her?
	But…no!  It would hurt her.  It would go beyond hurt.  It would 
devastate and demolish her whole sense of will if Darien told her he loved 
her, that hers was not the only heart being demolished in the process.
	If he loved her…
	IF he loved her…
	Serena laughed bitingly to herself.  Darien didn’t love her, though.
	He didn’t love, right?
	She tried to believe.
	For a moment, she did.
	She closed her eyes, as a tear tricked quietly down her cheek.

	Prima watched the events with a distance, physically, and 
emotionally.  To see her friends find their children again, when she had 
yet to discover if her daughter was still alive on that planet, so far 
below…she was lost among millions of people…
	Prima shuddered as her sister approached her.  Silently, they 
hugged, and Prima introduced her to a pale woman at her side.  “This is 
Minalle…”
	Prima smiled weakly.  “My daughter’s name was Minalle, you 
know…it’s a very beautiful name, isn’t it?”
	“It means Love in some ancient Venusian language, I believe…” 
Mina said, softly, almost bitterly. 
	Prima looked to Serenity.  *What have you done?  Can I allow 
this?* 
	Aware of her sister’s scrutiny, Serenity continued quietly, trying to 
keep moving.  “My ward Serena will not be joining us.  She feels ill…” 
she said, looking quietly to the man who must have been the prince of 
Earth.  Prima would feel her heart breaking from the sheer tragedy of the 
situation.
	“Come meet the Terran Royal Court…” she brought Prima to the 
young man with dark hair and soulless, dark midnight blue eyes…

	She walked silently through the hall.
	It was all right, she told herself in her mind.
	She longed for a walk outdoors.  She hadn’t taken one 
since…since…well…
	Forget about dwelling on wrong things.
	She hurried away.  She’d go to Cloud Way, where she could sort 
things out.
	Mina didn’t’ love him.  He didn’t love Mina.  Maybe in the future, 
they’d eventually fall in love…after all, they hadn’t fallen in love with 
anyone yet…but…
	It would KILL her to see him fall in love with Mina.  To see 
him…no.  She shuddered.  Never.  She wanted to wish him happiness in 
his marriage, but how could she?  She hated herself for having this debate.  
She ought to have already been decided.  She suggested the whole stupid 
thing.  She had to follow it through.
	Even if she did love him.  But what if…
	*DON’T PLAY THAT GAME, KINGSTON…* she reprimanded 
herself, while sitting at a spot that overlooked what she thought was 
Polaris.  *He never loved you.  He was never yours to lose.*
	“So when were you planning to talk?”
	She jumped.  Her whole feeling drained, and all that was left was a 
sinking feeling and cold blood in her veins.  Eyes widened, she turned 
slowly, carefully, trying to keep herself calm.
	“I don’t see anything that we need to discuss…” she answered him, 
coldly, avoiding his gaze.
	Oh, she was so beautiful!  Darien sighed, settling next to her.  He 
wanted to…take her in his arms, just hold her, to make sure she was real.  
She was always so beautiful, but…she looked ill, and worn, and somehow 
more mature, and saddened.   No, though he had anticipated the meeting, 
he had not wanted it to be under these circumstances.  He just wanted to 
make her look at him, to know the truth…
	But what if he found the truth not to his liking?  Or if he found the 
truth to his liking?  That would be worse…
	Silent, he sat by her.
	She remained silent by him.  She yearned to ask him why he 
wished to marry Mina, but she guessed that she already knew; duty.  
Bitterly, she thought he was beyond that stage, she was disappointed in 
him…but, ironically, she had wanted him to accept because his duty 
demanded it.  All she knew now was the pounding of her heart, counting 
off the wasted time they were spending together.
	At another time, she would have appreciated this time with him.  
But now, she hated it. She hated him.  How could he?
	*Double standards…* she reprimanded herself.  But with the 
increasing time they sat there, the more angered she felt, and her cheeks 
flushed red until she finally faced him.
	When their eyes met everything in the air exploded.  Fire met Fire 
and locked.  She felt her anger grow, and she saw a sudden surge of fire in 
the gleam of his eye.  She stood up, not breaking the eyelock.  He stood up 
as well, matching her, breath for breath.
	Her match, in every way conceivable.
	“How could you?” she blurted out.
	“How could I?  How could YOU?  Do you think you can control 
the fate of the universe?  Do you think you can just push people together 
and expect the whole world to be all right ever after?  Just because you 
saved a few lives does not put you in charge of them!”
	Serena was stunned into silence.  “You have some nerve, for a 
pompous bastard who CHOSE to enter an engagement, ready to control 
others.  What are you demanding of me?  What more could you want?  
You WANTED this!”  *You NEEDED this!* she completed.
	“You have no idea what I want.  You don’t know me!”
	She did know him.  She knew he was tearing up inside, but she 
refused to let that affect her.  *Now, the zinger.  Go in for the kill.  Just 
say it, and let him hate you.  DO IT YOU WEAKLING!!!!!!!!*
	“I know a cold-blooded man who doesn’t care either way, as long 
as he can stay in a position of power.  He rules his kingdom with 
indifference, and doesn’t really care for anyone, or anything.  I know you 
like a book.  It’s less than a few pages long!  The cold-hearted prick that I 
set my poor mistress up with would appreciate his opportunity.  This is 
your chance to prove yourself for all your worth, even if you are a zero.  
DON’T BLOW IT!”
	“Don’t tell me what to do!  You’re only the HELP!” he sneered, 
bitingly.  He felt the need to hurt her, as much as she was hurting him.
	The help.  The sting was threatening her eyes, but she would not 
cry.  Not over him.  “When you get married, I’ll be more than the “help”.  
I’m going to be the one to keep this together.  Remember that!”
	Serena pushed herself up, and walked away, not turning back once.

To be continued…

	Okay, so I was still inspired, and to boot, I had some time (but I 
should be working on the bio lab…but I really don’t want to write about 
fruit flies, or fungus right now.)  So, on with the show!