"For Serenity's Sake"
By: Isis @}->--
isis@moonkingdom.com
Rated: G
Disclaimers:  Please do not copy.
AN:  Pay special attention to the details in here.  I mad up this 
castle on my own… and I think my imagination deserves an extra 
hot-fudge sundae for this one!! …BTW I live in Kansas so the 
descriptions of seasons are based on that reality.  Dedicated to 
those on their way to new beginnings.  Keep your faith and your 
heart… and know that you are never alone.  "With hands folded, 
you always have a hand to hold."  - Carolyn Weber


Chapter 3
@}->--


Serenity had woken the next morning, painfully aware that the trip 
to her home's guardian planet was indeed not a dream.  Upon 
leaving the ballroom she had found the arms of her friends 
necessary to even mount the two sets of stairs to her chamber.  She 
had managed to ungracefully trip up the marble steps twice in the 
same walk, nearly placing her face on the floor and bringing down 
both of her caretakers with her.

Indeed, sleep had not even been a relief for her.  She had tossed 
absently in the strange bed, weighted by that invisible cloak that 
not even frightful fatigue could drive off.  The princess felt worse 
for wear by the time Minerva entered her chamber to rouse her to 
the morning's freshness.

The maid stood shocked over the tousled bedding and the matched 
frame lying as dead weight upon it.  She fussed over her 
continually through the morning preparations and fretted that the 
girl would wither away and finally comatose herself.  But Serenity 
would not allow herself to be plucked back into bed and charged 
with attempting sleep again.

She threw open the inner shutterings and called for a window that 
would actually open for her.  Finding none, she had flaunted her 
maid and made off for the door in the corner of her sitting room 
away from her main chamber's entrance.  Opening this, she rushed 
into the tiny hall of four doors.  The one across from her entered 
into her mother's chamber, the double doors left of her opened into 
the main hallway that all of their rooms exited from, and the other 
set was solid glass opening out onto the floor's balcony.

The new rays of the sun shown brightly and small colors still 
remained of sunrise in the Eastern sky.  Clouds cascaded in swirls 
around but none threatened rain again.  Serenity was stopped from 
rushing out onto the balcony proper by her, slightly winded, maid.  
"Heavens child!" she chided.  "Do you naturally wish to run about 
half naked and barely woken?"

She blushed pink a moment as she took time to consider that she 
was clad only in her night slip and her unplaced appearance had 
not yet been calmed by a bath.  Had she lost all her sense, or 
merely the good of it?  "Forgive me, I suppose I am only excited," 
she excused herself.

"I dare say so," Minerva smiled back at her.  "But come, let us get 
you ready for a… more suitable public reception," she teased.

For as downtrodden as she was, Serenity found her natural 
curiosity over-power her again as the day began.  She playfully 
picked out a light dress for the day's events and began splashing at 
Minerva for trying to hurry her out of the bath.  With the maid's 
help she dressed quickly and tied her hair into its usual design.  
The long blond waves were split down the center and combed to 
the sides.  They were then gathered and wrapped so that two small 
balls of gold gracefully stood on top of her head.  The rest of the 
tresses were left to hang and curled at the ends so that they would 
remain separated.

Serenity stood before her dressing mirror as Minerva fussed about 
the bedroom in search of this or that, or tidying up, all the while 
complaining of being too old to be charged with such a mistress.  
The princess merely shrugged it off as a personal offence she could 
retaliate for later.

She turned instead to hurrying the elder woman out and showing 
her down to the chapel for her morning prayers before her fast 
could be broken.  As they exited her inner chamber they found her 
four guardians assembled with a couple of other servants who were 
busy rearranging the flowers on her mantle piece.  Only then did 
she notice their pale pink blossoms.  Pink roses; joy and happiness.  
She paused to smell them as the group turned to leave.  Such 
lovely things…  Serenity followed the others with her head held a 
slight touch higher.

Her prayers were rushed but full, as she had managed already to 
miss the morning Mass, yet the princess found herself eager to start 
the day, and found it wearing quickly.  Most of the castle was busy 
about their day by the time she and her company found their way 
to the earlier-risen royalty.  Having eaten, the three senior rulers 
resigned themselves to wait on the youngsters.  A full feast was 
placed out in front of Serenity's court and she found that her 
appetite was the only thing not affected, or perhaps exaggerated, 
by her situation.

Conversation was light and the younger girls were soon given 
leave to what their day would hold.  All of it passed inside a 
mingling blur as she never bothered to sort one memory from 
another.

Minerva met the group again as they existed the small dinning hall 
they had taken breakfast in and guided them out onto the second 
floor landing.  The group of girls looked out in admiration of the 
site before them.  The huge courtyard that centered inside the 
castle walls was created in a labyrinth of green plants, ornate trees, 
and every color of blossom.  The second floor brought them out to 
a huge balcony that surrounded seemingly the entire yard.  
Looking up, the princess noticed that the first five floors had the 
same design only on diminishing scales.  Each balcony of the 
floors above them was shallower than the one below so that it gave 
it an inverted pyramid effect, and each floor was allowed access to 
the others by way of a few grand stairways of granite interspaced.

Creeping vines and ivy grew along the balconies and around their 
pillars.  Potted plants lay sheltered but revealed to those that would 
walk among them.  A heavy sent of nature's perfume permeated 
the air, and the fog of happy bliss settled heavily.

"Your escorts should be out here somewhere, Princess," Minerva 
interrupted her dreamings.  "I am sure that I heard them return 
nearly an hour ago."

Serenity nodded and let the maid-woman waltz them around the 
garden's edge.  A bit farther and they came across the group of five 
Earth warriors, suited again in light armor, settled against the 
railing and watching the gardens as well.  Being of a curious eye, 
she had always known that she could sense a great deal of another 
by the simple art of knowing what to look for.

The high general Kunzite stood out as very well suited for his title.  
He stood straight and tall, watching their advance and missing 
nothing with those perfect crystal eyes of his.  But Kunzite was 
again clothed by the blue and while cape and his temper seemed 
respondent of those muted colors as well.

Nephrite also stood straight and watched with a more curious, 
warm eye as the group approached.  He seemed the type to want to 
know a person rather than know of them.  He had an emotional feel 
that made him appeal to others as a levelheaded confidant.  Again, 
he matched his post perfectly.

General Zoicite leaned lightly against the stone railing and 
continued in his conversation with Jadeite.  Even with an added 
distraction he looked over the group seemingly unconcerned but 
with quick, sharp movements that hinted at a swift nature.  
Serenity saw him as the one no enemy would suspect of much, 
which would suit this soldier perfectly.  He was more shadow than 
man.

Jadeite was an even stranger character.  He lounged calmly, and 
completely unconcerned against the railing, watching the gardens 
instead of the girls.  He held a wistful smile on his lips without fail 
as he pretended uninterest in the group of young women nearing 
his countenance.  His movements were slow and calculated as well 
as nonchalant, giving him the air of perfection un-worked for.  A 
natural warrior or womanizer, she did not know.

The whole group of them appeared to coincide well enough, and 
indeed, if they were to guard a planet of this size and importance 
they had best to love each other rather than simply work together.  
Of course, their figurehead was a man to be reckoned with should 
they overstep their stations.

Her destined stood also, straight but with his arms crossed in front 
of him and his stance at ease.  He too was somehow wrapped with 
his two guardians in their talk but had soon left the conversation 
upon seeing them.  His eyes were warm and welcoming of the 
group as he quietly looked them over; possibly doing the same 
scrutiny of them as she was of his armament.  Intelligence seeped 
from his mannerisms and there was a worldly air to the effortless 
way he held himself.  His presence was simply commanding.

And bent within those eyes of a commander, very few things 
escaped his scrutiny.  The five young princesses intrigued him to 
no avail.  He had wondered at such a young start to his near-bride, 
yet now realized more as to what her life held for her.

Never alone, she seemed to worship the attention.  The center was 
certainly her rightful place among her friends and colleges alike.  
An excellent ingredient for a future ruler.  Yet, she was of constant 
cheer, fully trusting of others, and open beyond the realm it would 
be safe for a monarch.  Yet… that was nearly her best defense.

That and the other four women that strode step for step with her.  
The lead commander Lady Mina, of Venus was a beautiful blond 
whose hair fell past her waist.  Blue eyes, open and inviting, held 
just enough sparkle that they were genuine in both flirtation and 
protection.  She seemed one to welcome a challenge and scoffed at 
being anything but in first place.

Serenity's other side was accompanied by the taller, more 
athletically able, Lady Lita.  The Jupiterian held her mid-back 
length brown hair folded out of her way by simple way of a 
ponytail design.  Practical but probably quick minded, she watched 
the group of men as they approached.  She held a warm smile to 
her lips, yet a glare to her green eyes as though she were not as 
trusting of every appearance.  She was a bit shifty, probably giving 
away an acute readiness for action.

To the side of her, and a bit behind walked the other two young 
women, the first being the Lady Rei of Mars.  Thigh length black 
hair shimmered straight and unrestrained.  Her violate eyes were 
watchful and shaded, her face giving away nothing of her thoughts, 
yet the slightly stiff set of her jaw seemed to work as they treaded 
forward.  She was regale and pristine, yet there was something to 
her movements that suggested a razor wit or fired temper, or 
both… as would be fitting of her Martian heritage.

Finally, he cast a quiet gaze over the Mercurian, Lady Ami.  Short 
cut blue hair represented the style of her home world, as did the 
deep blue eyes.  She seemed very calm and certain of herself, yet 
polite and perhaps a bit shy.  Yet the way in which she measured 
each person of his group in their own way implied a great attention 
to details.  It was rumored that she was highly intellectual, and he 
wondered if that would account for the lamblike quality of this 
fighter.

All in all, he decided looking back to see Serenity stop before 
them, they seemed very good in their guise of pretty faces, 
enveloping very powerful loyalty.

Minerva, however, was the first to offer speech, and it was only in 
a way to excuse them for their tardiness.  "I am sorry, Prince, I 
should have had them here earlier," she said without bow or curtsy.  
Yet, Serenity saw a slight smile on Endymion's lips when she 
referred to him as "prince" instead of his given name.  Formalities 
were simply lost with this woman.

"No need to worry over it, we had anticipated that we would be the 
ones tardy this morning."  The five young men turned to regard her 
court openly now and she stood resigned to anything that her 
prince might have planned for the day.  And indeed he formally 
bowed to her and asked her, and her court's, hand in leading them 
about the palace.  She accepted greedily, wondering at the sights 
around her.  Any physical handicaps were ignored for the time, 
though she fought to keep pace with the man who had taken her 
arm to guide them.

The castle was as limitless as her own imagination would have 
been were she told to construct it by thought.  When she asked how 
all of this was done, the simple reply was that it was never done.  
To that very day construction was still being brought upon the 
monstrous citadel.

Their tour consisted mostly with the wing that housed their 
sleeping quarters since they were more familiar with those 
surroundings.  The rest was laid out in much the same fashion.  
Four "grand hallways" stood around the square of the building's 
foundation.  East hall, west sitting room, south east dinning hall, 
everything was directional due to the immense nature of the palace 
and the human nature to get lost within it.

It was when the group had taken a near full circle of it that they 
found themselves in the North hall, decorated much like the first 
one that they had walked into the day before, except for the ceiling 
paintings.  Serenity had noted all along that many of the murals 
were not of former rulers or noblemen, but of scenery and 
wilderness, landscapes of beauty… only not the same ones.  "Can 
you tell me the difference for the ceiling paintings?" she asked 
curiously, gazing stilling at the plaster six floors above her 
insignificant frame.

"I was wondering the same," Ami said simply from beside her.  
The intellectual of the group would of course be drawn to this sort 
of challenge as well.

There was a quiet chuckle from her side as Endymion looked up as 
well.  She realized, too late as usual, that she must look an idiot 
standing with her head thrown back in abandoned admiration for 
colored plaster.  No wonder it was unadvised of her to wear any 
sort of crown, how would she keep it on her head!

"Actually the whole of the murals are done much the same way.  
Lady Saraswati first thought of the directional idea long ago and it 
has been adopted by nearly everyone in the family line.  You see, 
in this region on Earth we experience many and varied seasonal 
changes brought on by weather and wind patterns.  So, each 
direction seems to resemble a different season.  Four directions, 
four seasons and four different types of paintings.  North is 
associated most closely with winter, that is why white is the 
prominent color and the landscapes are barren."

Indeed the coloring was done mostly in whites and muted blues 
and purples.  Hushed colors swirled over small hills and valleys 
leaving them empty but rich just the same.

"East comes with the newness of day, so it is a symbol for spring.  
That is why greens and browns and other colors are added to the 
Grand Hall's design.  South is for summer and golden harvests and 
ripened fruits.  West is for fall, with all of its oranges and reds just 
as in the sun-set."

In spite of herself, Serenity giggled at the description.  She had 
never known a season change, or nearly any of the colors that he 
had babbled of so quickly.  This truly was a wondrous land, one 
that she felt in her heart she would grow to love.  "Might I ask a 
naive question?" she said quietly as the group continued on and 
she was once again on the arm of her betrothed.

"Anything you would, dear princess," he smiled at her.

She returned it whole-heartedly and motioned back to encompass 
the hall, "Which season are we in now?"

He chuckled a bit at her and smiled again, "Which do you think?"

She had been hoping for a simple answer but she felt up to this 
challenge.  She pursed her lips out in thought and was rewarded 
with another laugh from her side.  "I do believe that I shall have to 
think on that one a bit more."

"Take your time then, they do not change that quickly."

"Well," she cooed, "perhaps I need more time outside in order to 
recognize the color schemes that you have been talking about.  I 
should be able to recognize it, correct?"

"Only if you have been paying attention," he chided.

It was true that she had been fighting yawns for a good part of the 
day, and even during lunch that afternoon she had been pressed not 
to call attention to herself.  It was not only her weakened state but 
also the time change that she was simply not use to.  Not only had 
she lost five hours somewhere, her body was also tended more to 
the varied twenty-two hour days of the Moon, rather than a 
constant twenty-four.  Now she appeared to be the doting princess, 
unable to keep her head from a pillow, as well as an oaf.  Oh 
people of Earth, what will you say?

"Perhaps you would like to walk through the gardens tonight after 
dinner is served?  I think you might find it much different from 
your own."

She giggled at the thought and looked up at him happily.  "I was 
wondering when you were going to finally arrive at that, dear 
prince."


Evening came quickly and by the time the two courts were 
released from the dinning-hall and excused for the night, the sun 
was in its day's death throws near the horizon.  There was promise 
of a colorful sunset and Endymion was anxious for the chance to 
speak with his betrothed.  He escorted her from the hall and was 
surprised that she promptly dismissed her guardian court to their 
own free time as she was "in capable hands."  A comment that he 
decided did not settle well with a few of the more over-protective, 
but he took no offence from their measured glances.  As it were, 
they too found something to occupy their time as his guardians 
took the chance to make suggestions of their own to the girls.  All 
in all, he believed this to be an excellent opportunity for all 
included.

The gardens were cool and becoming ever deepening in the 
shadow of the disappearing sun.  There were still several that 
ventured out on this evening to observe the plants and weather, but 
few came within much of speaking distance in the immense 
expanse of green.

His young bride-to-be had seemed increasingly tired and frail as 
the day wore on, yet there was something inside of her that did not 
allow for her to humbly bow out of the festivities.  Minerva had, of 
course, told him more than once that the girl must not have slept a 
bit the night before, and more over, blamed him for being so 
inconsiderate as to ask her out the morning after a most dreadful 
experience.  How he became a scapegoat for every touch of ill that 
would chance upon this princess, he did not know, but it seemed 
his trusted maid had become more than fond of her.

Again Serenity seemed weary but energized at the same time.  Her 
walk was slow and meditative as they made their way around the 
gardens, but her eyes were feasting in the colors of the plants.  She 
seemed so very tranquil here in nature, so relaxed in his presence, 
so unlike what he had expected.

"I am not sure that I will ever get use to the differences between 
our worlds," she murmured quietly, talking more to the bushes she 
was brushing her hand against than to him.  "Yet, I am so very 
happy that I have gotten that chance."

He smiled down at her as she walked along, still lost in thought.  
She was truly a beautifully spirited girl.  He had held his fears 
before of what might become of a soul forced into such an 
arrangement, yet as he carefully watched her he became aware that 
this was not an average soul, and indeed, could never be hardened 
or grudged towards anyone.  Serenity… the name of her heart.

She slightly tugged on his arm, which had hers wrapped through it, 
to pull him to a stop.  She looked curiously at a flowering plant 
next to the cobblestone path.  Looking back she glanced at him a 
moment as if to ask if he would stop her, but he simply watched 
her as she turned back to the flower and released his arm.  
Carefully she inspected it before she gathered her long gown 
around her and knelt down close to it.

Endymion was a bit shocked to see a royal princess down on her 
knees in the middle of a garden, or at all for that mater, but she 
remained watchful of the flower a second longer before gently 
reaching out to touch it.

Again she glanced back up to him for reassurance that she would 
not be cautioned away from her actions before sliding a delicate 
finger over the petals of the graceful flower.  The plant's only 
response to her touch was to sway a bit on its tender stock.  
Serenity smiled brightly at the little pale blossom in front of her 
and continued to fondle it gently.

Endymion watched her a moment before quietly interrupting her 
murmured giggles.  "It is called a lily."

She giggled more loudly this time and gave the bloom one more 
pat before rising herself to her feet again.  "It is beautiful," she said 
quietly.  Looking up at him again she noticed him smiling openly 
at her and mistook it as an awkwardness.  She glanced down 
quickly, her face falling from its happy glow to one of a blushed 
mortification.  "I am sorry…"

"No reason to be," he interjected quickly.  Instead he took her hand 
again and motioned her to follow.  "In truth, I think there is 
something that you should like to see."  With a secretive smile he 
led her ahead on the path farther to a branch that led off of the 
main way.  Here he turned and let her go ahead of him into the 
grotto snuggled into a mass of bushes and trees so that it was 
separated from the outside gardens.

He was rewarded by a slight gasp as she entered the sanctuary and 
he simply let her lead as she would around the portico.  Its pillars 
supported a walkway that stretched across the expanse of the 
gardens, but it sheltered this grove of orchids perfectly.  There was 
bragged to be a hundred different types of orchids in this veranda, 
and the landscapers would place this nook as highly on their lists 
as the enchanted rose gardens that were the pride of all the green-
thumbed servants.

A simple pond was constructed at the end of the stoned walkway 
that served to up-hold the more water dwelling plants.  The trees 
and bushes were climbed over with the epiphyte types of the 
highly adaptable flora and the rest of the soil was also given over 
to the normal rooted ones.

Serenity milled around the edges of this stretch and returned to him 
again, eyes shining.  "Are these all of the same flower?"

He nodded and sat down on a small bench placed next to the 
supporting pillars so that he could watch the princess wonder about 
in the deepening twilight.  Beneath the sheltering walkway the 
light slipped out of focus much faster and the pair was forced to 
part earlier than Serenity would have liked, but they soon found 
themselves centered within the rose gardens and the rows upon 
rows of climbing, growing, and dwarfed bushes covered over with 
every color capable to plants.

Again Serenity was a bit overwhelmed by the flowers' reception to 
her and she soon gave up her insistent wonderings to seat herself 
on a stone bench to watch the fleeting rays of purpled light.  "I 
never thought of such things' existence," she muttered again.  "On 
the Moon, the flowers grow and hold their blooms perfectly, but 
they do not match the color or splendor of these."

She sat in near awe for a while as Endymion milled about in search 
of one perfect rose.  Choosing one, he carefully severed it from its 
bush and hid it behind his back before bowing and presenting it to 
his destined with all flourish he could manage without removing 
his straight face.  She accepted it gratefully and beamed a perfect 
smile back to him.

He sat beside her and watched while the sun was finally sunk 
under the attack of night as the piercing stars made their way to the 
front lines once again.  The deep purple-blue of the coming night 
sent them into shadows and yet the two sat, still waiting for the 
final end of this star's performance.

It was then that Serenity sat up with an exclamation that nearly had 
Endymion's sword drawn in defense.  "Is that…"  He tilted his 
head up to face the same point in the sky that had taken the 
princess' surprise.  And understood why she could not finish her 
sentence.

"Yes," he said softly, wondering which types of emotions could be 
ranging through the woman beside him upon seeing her home for 
the first time, away from it.

There was a slight sigh as she continued to gaze at the ever-
brightening crescent set high in the darkening sky.  He waited a 
moment as she stilly gazed lovingly at the small slip of sphere.  He 
silently took guard of her as her reverie stole her heart with her 
attention attached.

"Is it always so small?" she creaked out.

"No," he reassured.  "This is close to the smallest it seems.  Its 
conversion from dark to full and back again takes it a month over."

"As the phases of Earth do…" she added to herself.  "I had never 
known what we must look like to those below.  …It seems so small 
in comparison to the vision of this world from it.  Is that not odd?"

"Our worlds are not of comparable size, though I do remember 
what you mean."

She bowed her head a bit to the rose that she still held clutched 
within her folded hands in an attitude of prayer.  For what, 
Endymion could not know, but he wished nothing but the best for 
their outcome.

When she turned her face heavenward again there was the slight 
glimmer of tears piled at the corners of her beautiful topaz-blue 
eyes.

There was nothing that he could do but slip a hand behind her back 
and lend her the use of some of his own support.  She gratefully 
smiled up at him once more and pushed the tears away with the 
back of her hand.  "I am sorry, I should not be so emotional over 
such silly things."

"There is nothing silly about your home, Princess."

She nodded again, "You have always seemed so understanding of 
me through all of this.  I truly thank you, Prince Endymion."

"No need to thank me in the least, Princess."  He tipped her chin 
up a bit to look at him.  "I have not been able to imagine what all 
of this is like to you."

She smiled a bit at the reference and seemed to shrug off the 
overwhelming emotions from only seconds before.  Her eyes 
brightened a bit in the last traces of post-sunset light, showing an 
inner light more potent than any sun.  "Minerva has told me that 
you blame much of this on yourself."

"Does she?" he questioned suspiciously.  "You should never 
believe all that that old woman tells you," he mumbled propping 
his arm on the back of the bench they sat upon and leaned his chin 
on the back of his hand.

He was rewarded with a small giggle from her as she continued.  
"She has appeared honest thus far."  They both snickered a bit at 
the comment before she released her eyes from him and turned 
back to the rose in her hand.  "I do not hold you accountable for 
any of these circumstances.  If destiny has chosen us for each other 
then we remain at its mercy.  How could you think of it 
differently?"

He paused a minute to take in the deep blue of the night gardens.  
"I was expecting this, Princess."  She looked at him curiously but 
he did not return her gaze yet.  "Not this match at all, but a match 
nonetheless.  In truth, I have been expecting it since a time before I 
reached manhood.  I have always known this to be my fate and I 
have been faithful to that future foresaw."  He turned to look at her 
fully now, "But you had no reason to expect this.  As yet you are 
too young to have worried over a marriage."

"Yes…  I do suppose that you are right.  Worry was centered on 
my marriage very rarely before the announcement."  There was a 
small pause before she continued.  "Yet, that still does not give you 
leave to think of yourself as wronging me in some way by being 
part of this arrangement."

He sighed slightly, "Indeed, it was not able to accomplish 
anything.  I had been holding out hope that this could be postponed 
for some time.  Even that is too much to ask of the Fates."

A pause stretched on between them for length enough that he was 
about to suggest that they reenter the palace when the quite was 
broken for him.  "Endymion?"

"Yes."  In the darkness he could see her seated beside him mostly 
from memory, yet he could see that she was not looking at him.

"When you said that you were faithful to your fate…"

Endymion found it an odd subject but he waited for her to finish 
her question.

"…does that mean that you have looked for no one that you would 
rather to be wedded with?"

Every subtle suggestion inside of that question floated through his 
mind as he started to plot through which she was really hinting at 
and which she was not.  In the end he had no more of an answer 
than he had during the first second he heard it.  "I am not sure that 
I understand you, Princess."

She turned more fully to watch him, and the only thing he could 
see of her was her eyes, lit in a dimmer outline.  "I am sorry, it is 
not a question for this time.  Forgive me," she mumbled, again 
playing with her rose.

"No, please, tell me what you mean."  He placed a hand over hers 
to stop her from her distraction.

"I only wonder that in your years you had not found one that you 
would wish to take to the alter, rather than being resigned to 
having your match chosen for you."

Apparently he had not misheard her after all.  Thinking a moment 
he responded the only way he could, "I…  I have not searched for 
one."

It seemed too much of a simple answer to Serenity, for she only 
watched him and waited for a continuation.

Being taken off guard was not the prince's strong suit, and indeed 
he was at a loss for words once in his life.  "…"  He could simply 
find no way to explain to her his life's station.  Taking a deep 
breath he tried again, "Princess—"

"Serenity, please."

"—Serenity…  What was I about to say?" he wondered out loud.

There was a slight chuckle from beside him as he searched for his 
train of thought again before realizing that he had none to begin 
with, and she knew it.

"I am sorry.  I did not mean to fluster you," she muttered humbly.

He only sighed and rose to his feet.  "I never thought I was 
flusterable."

"Endymion?"

He chuckled at himself hopelessly and paced a bit before standing 
before her.  "I suppose it does seem odd to you, but I simply did 
not seek out a woman for my bride, Serenity.  And none happened 
to find me along the way.  That was never a care for me."

"I suppose, that could be natural for you.  I am sorry, it does seem 
odd to me."

Sitting back down again he looked at her, "And am I interrupting 
any your own dreams?"

"Oh no," she interjected, "Nothing of the sort."  She swatted at a 
lock of her hair and fiddled with her rose yet again.  "Indeed, I find 
myself flattered at this matching."

There was such a soft note to her voice that Endymion wondered 
again at the humility of this child.  The heir to the Solar System, 
and she was flattered to be rushed into a loveless marriage to a 
man she knew nothing of aside from whatever kinds of "barbarian" 
stories that her councils would have told.  She truly was an 
uncharacteristic soul.

"You were wanton of love, were you not?"

She did not seem prepared for the jump in conversation as she 
started.  "What do you mean?"

He smiled quietly.  "You grew up with your mother's exploits 
foremost in your heart.  You knew the ideal of marriage for love."

She sighed warmly, "Yes, I grew to believe the story, and the 
philosophy," she added.  "I suppose there was always part of me 
that thought I too would be one to fall in love with one alone and 
be of strength enough to refuse any other suitors.  Hum…" she 
breathed, "Actually, I know myself to be not nearly that strong, but 
no matter the short-lived-ness of their union, it still seems right to 
me."

"Indeed, it is the galaxy's love story."

"Yes," she mumbled looking again to the crescent above them.  "I 
wonder what Father would have said to all of this."

"Forgive me, Serenity, I never meant to cause you this."

"No, it is all right.  I could not mind in the least.  My father is 
seemingly never mentioned anymore, and I was still too small, 
when Death took him, to remember.  I have only Mother's 
memories that I can steal from her.  That, and the paragraph worth 
of history written of the 'shortest-lived king'."

"How easily we forget those not with us long."

"Hum," she sighed again, "I do not know, I think he is still with 
me."  There was a slight giggle from her once more.  "Actually, I 
do think he would approve of a man willing to care for me though 
he does not know me fully yet."

"Always, Princess," he turned somber as he peered into the 
darkness, looking for the outline of his future.  "I may not offer 
you a great love story, but I will promise you my faithfulness… 
and my care."

@}->--_____________
"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting 
and autumn a mosaic of them all." - Stanley Horowitz

"Love is the flower of life, and blossoms unexpectedly and without 
law, and must be plucked where it is found, and enjoyed for the 
brief hour of its duration." - D. H. Lawrence