Buenos dias mis amigos! ^_^ Just practicing my
Spanish so I won't forget it. Knowing me, I will,
I'm so absent-minded. Anyhoo, here's the first
chapter that I hope you'll all enjoy.
Oh and say hi to Rei, everyone! She's my first
editor and a very good one at that. *Hugs Rei* Now,
no one tell her how many people I've scared away,
let her find that one out on her own ^_~  Luv ya
chica!
Patch:-)(-:


Healer
Chapter 1
Author: Patch
E-mail: patchkhan1@hotmail.com
	kittiekat90@yahoo.com
Rated: PG-13

Insert Standard Disclaimer Here


	"Let me help you, Prince. I can help," the
woman said, one arm outstretched.
	"Then help me, Princess. Only you can heal me,
my love," the man replied, coming slowly towards her.
She couldn't see him, but she knew he was perfect...
perfect for her, only her.
	"Only you..." his lips mouthed, and the woman
watched with widened eyes as he came closer and closer
and-
	Long curtains were snapped back as harsh
sunlight filled the room with its unforgiving brightness.
	A small groan echoed in the stillness of the
room and a slight figure turned under the covers.
	"Serenity, get up this instant."
	Another turn and then with deliberate slowness
Her Highness, Serenity, Supreme Princess and future
Queen of the Moon Kingdom, sat up in her bed.
	"Where were you last night?" her mother, the
present Queen asked her from the foot of the canopied
bed.
	Serenity stared at the beautiful woman before
her calmly before answering. "You know very well where
I was, Mother," she replied.
	"I do, but I'd like to hear it from you."
	"I was healing."
	"And haven't I warned you not to go out to do
such a thing?" her mother asked, a threatening note in her
voice.
	"You have. But I also recall telling you that
when I am needed I will go and no one will stop me."
	"Gods of the Moon Serenity," the Queen burst
out, "do not tempt me into locking you up in your own
room every night! I will not take this kind of
disobedience."
	"And why not, Mother?" Serenity asked,
moving off the bed to stand on the plush carpet of her
bedroom. "Why must you stop me from helping
others? We have the power and knowledge to help those
lower than us, those more unfortunate than us yet you do
not give me permission to ease their lives? Why?"
	"I have explained to you before. You put
yourself at great risk, by going out to the villages where
strangers abound. Anyone out there can cause you harm
but here, inside the palace walls, you are safe. Why
don't you understand Serenity? It is dangerous to do
what you do and yet you go out almost every night!"
	"Because nothing has happened to me once,"
Serenity replied, agitated. She went to the mirror and
began to furiously brush her hair. "I cannot just stop
what I have already started. The wisdom that has been
passed down to me can be put to better use outside the
palace walls. I know so much on the matters of healing
I cannot help but to use my abilities to aid those who
ask for my assistance. Why don't *you* understand
Mother?" she asked, finally turning away from the
mirror.
	The Queen walked up to her daughter slowly
and fingered a strand of her daughter's still golden hair.
"Because I love you and I could not bear it if anything
happened to you," she answered quietly. "Because, if
you were injured in any way, I would never forgive
myself and curse the day I let you roam free at night."
	Serenity's eyes glittered with tears as she
took her mother's hand and held it to her cheek. "Then
understand this, Mother. I make a vow, here and now to
always come back to you, injured or not. I will make it
my duty to return home whenever I am gone. I won't let
myself die anywhere else but here!" she whispered
furiously.
	Her mother smiled through her own tears at
such a declaration. "What kind of comfort to a mother
is that?" she teased. "To not die anywhere else but here.
I can't believe we are talking like this," she sniffed once
and hugged her daughter tightly. "Get dressed and come
down to breakfast. Since you will be working up quite
an appetite during your 'outings', I gather you'll need a
big breakfast every morning."
	Serenity stepped back in surprise. Her mother
nodded in affirmation and then turned around and left the
room.
	As soon as the door closed and the footsteps
faded, Serenity let out a squeal and twirled, hugging a
pillow so tightly that the seams popped and feathers
went flying everywhere.

	"I entrust you four with the responsibility of
taking care of Serenity. Her spirit is wild and untamed,
her heart pure and gracious. Let nothing happen to her."
	"Yes, Your Highness," came the four replies.
	 The Queen sighed heavily and walked to
one of the tall windows. "I don't think she understands
the danger she puts herself in every time she leaves
these walls. I cannot sleep peacefully until I know she
has returned to her own bed. I fear for her so much."
	She turned back to face the four warriors
that had recently been appointed as her daughter's
personal guard. They were their respective planets' top
warriors and they had been given the honor to protect
the Princess of the Moon. They were young, as young as
Serenity, but their strength and powers surpassed the
level of any average being and they carried within their
bodies, immense vitality that was required for such a
position as personal guard.
	"I have given Serenity the permission to go
heal whenever she is needed. Please watch her and
guard her with your lives."
	"We shall, Your Highness."

	Meanwhile, Serenity, oblivious to the fact
that she was the main subject in the Throne Room, sat
in the Dining Hall, playing with a fork.
	She had long since finished her breakfast and
was now casually splayed over her chair, her legs
hanging over one arm, her back against the other. Luna,
her mother's personal advisor sat in the seat next to her,
eating quietly.
	"I cannot believe this. Mother wakes me up
early for breakfast, yet she is not here herself to join
me," she mumbled, feeling restless and impatient. She
continued to fiddle with the fork as she leaned her
head against the high back of the chair. Her eyes
gazed straight in front of her to the glass wall that
allowed one a perfect view of a lovely garden.
	"The Queen, I believe, is holding a meeting
at the moment. Maybe she will you join you later,
Princess," Luna supplied helpfully.
	"Maybe..." the young woman mumbled. Her
thoughts strayed to the dream she had had the past night
and her eyes widened as an idea came to her. She sat
up and got off the chair and then hurried from the room,
yelling a goodbye over her shoulder to Luna, whose
eyes had widened in surprise.
	"What perfect timing!" Serenity whispered
to herself excitedly as she walked swiftly through the
halls of the palace. After all, it appeared her mother
was busy elsewhere and her guard did not seem to be
anywhere near by, so why not take a trip down to the
Viewing Room?
	She came to the entrance of a room closed
off by two large double doors and pulling one open
slightly, she slipped through.
	Large screens hung on all four sides of the
vast room but Serenity walked straight up to her
favorite one. It was the screen that hung from the ceiling
in front of the floor length windows. It didn't reach the
marbled floor, instead it was suspended a good four
feet up above it. Serenity had learned only recently that
nighttime was the best time to use this screen for it was
then that the stars illuminated the sky, creating a
beautiful background to the picture on the screen.
	"Computer," her voice rang out, "please
show me View 2016."
	It took a few seconds but then the black
screen flared to life and as always, Serenity's breath
was taken away in an instant at the sight that greeted her.
	She stared at the screen, completely
enraptured, her eyes reflecting perfectly everything
she was seeing. She lifted her hand slowly so that her
fingers touched the bottom of the picture since she
couldn't reach any higher. A soft sigh escaped from her
lips.
	"One day..." she breathed, "one day..."
	"Princess Serenity! Where are you?"
	The voices interrupted her musings and she
immediately called for the computer to shut the screen
down. This was her very own secret --even if it was
quite big-and she couldn't risk anyone else knowing
about it.
  	She quickly ran from the room and closed
the door just as her guard came into view from the
end of the hallway.
	"Princess! There you are, we've been
looking all over for you!"
	Serenity watched them approach her, not
wanting to meet them halfway. The four girls were
her personal bodyguard and she had yet to become
friendly with them. Whenever they were together,
she was polite and cordial as they were but she
always held back, knowing that they too also held a
part of themselves back.
	She wanted to be friends with them, best
friends in fact. It would be nice, she thought
wistfully, to have friends you could confide in,
share your secrets, your dreams, everything.
	But as she watched them walk, her lips
curved downwards sadly. They were so beautiful
and they looked so untouchable, distant and aloof.
She knew they were good friends with each other
for many times she had seen them around the
palace and outside of it, laughing and teasing each
other. Around each other, with no other presence
in the area they were so carefree and relaxed. But
around her they were reserved and formal. Who
would be the first to make a move towards
friendship, them… or her?
	"Princess," one of them said, and each
nodded her head respectfully towards Serenity.
	"Good morning," she replied. "Am I
needed anywhere urgent?"
	"No, not at the moment," the blonde,
known to Serenity only as Venus, answered. "But
we would like to discuss something with you."
	"Yes?" Serenity's curiosity was piqued.
It was a first for them to come to her and say they
wanted to speak with her. She usually had to go to
them and for the most part each kept their distance
from her.
	"Queen Serenity has informed us that
she has allowed you to go on your nightly
expeditions," the Senshi known as Mars began. She
saw the princess' mouth curve into a smile at her
choice of words but went on. "Therefore, she has
requested us to train you to fight using your dormant
powers."
	"My dormant powers? I believe my
powers are quite alive!"
	"Healing is a different matter altogether,
Princess," the Senshi, Mercury, said stepping
forward. "The energy within your body can be used
for several different purposes. Using it to heal takes
up one part. To fight, you will be using powers that
harm, not heal."
	"But I don't want to injure anyone!"
Serenity cried, taking a step back. "It completely
contradicts who I am, Healer. To hurt and cause
physical injury undermines what I work for!"
	"Princess," the Senshi Jupiter began
patiently, "there are people who have no goodness
in their hearts and their sole purpose is to destroy.
Healing will not save you, but protecting yourself
and fighting back will. You must hone your skills
so when the times comes for you to defend
yourself you will leave the situation… alive."
	"You make it sound as though there were
a war being fought outside these very walls!"
	The four Senshi looked at each other and
then looked back at her, nodding grimly.
	"Princess Serenity, this Universe is not a
safe place. It is our duty to protect you with our
very lives but there will come a time when we will
not be able to be there for you. At such a time you
must be able to fight, using your powers."
	Serenity looked at Venus who had spoken
and for a moment there was silence. And then slowly
she nodded. "Alright then. Let's begin my training,
shall we?"

	"Enough!"
	The sounds of steel hitting against steel
stopped abruptly and the training room grew silent.
	"That's all for today everyone. We have
much more important things to do than mock fighting
right now."
	"Endymion, you had to stop us just when
we were getting started, didn't you?"
	The Prince quirked an eyebrow and
grinned. "You know I would have had you pinned
against the floor in but another few moments, Kunzite."
	"You can keep thinking that... Your
Highness," the second-in-command General replied,
emphasizing the title with a roguish grin.
	Endymion chuckled and slapped his friend
on the back. "I will," he replied and then leaning closer,
he whispered, "and so should you." Ducking when his
friend tried to swing at him, he laughed out loud and
walked toward the doorway.
	The others followed him and they spoke
quietly amongst each other as they walked towards the
throne room where Endymion's parents awaited the
five of them.
	"What is the situation at the Asian borders?"
Zoicite asked Endymion, his sharp blue eyes filled
with keen intelligence.
	"From the reports I've seen, not very good.
The situation doesn't look to promising and I believe
that's why Father has called us for this meeting."
	"You think he'll be sending us there to
manage the uprisings?"
	"I'm almost sure of it. The commander in
charge there has shown his inefficiency in the matter
and I agree with Father when he says that our soldiers
need someone with a greater authority over them."
	"And you're that greater authority?" Jaedite
asked in mock doubt.
	"Do you have any one else in mind?"
	"Myself, of course," the General replied,
laughing at the others who rolled their eyes in
response.
	"With you in command, we'd all be
doomed," Endymion answered, walking through the
open doors of the throne room.
	"Father, Mother," the Prince said, bowing
his head at each of them. His four Generals bowed
in respect at the two rulers. "I didn't expect you to be
present at this meeting, Mother," Endymion added,
walking to where the Queen sat and leaning down to
kiss her cheek.
	"I wanted to be here despite your Father's
protests," she replied calmly as her husband
grumbled in response.
	"War talk has no place in woman's life," he
mumbled and then winced as he received a punch on
the arm from his wife.
	"I have the right to know what is going on
in times of war when it is my son's well being in
question."
	Endymion stepped down, his face in a
perfectly composed calm but he saw, out of the
corner of his eye how his Generals coughed
discreetly behind their hands.  He focused his gaze
back on his parents and allowed himself a small
smile to see the two powerful rulers glaring at each
other. But for all their quarrels and disagreements,
there was nothing more clear, he knew, than the
couple's affection for each other.
	Love was what they supposedly had
according to the giggling maids that Endymion
had once overheard. He resisted the urge to shrug
at that moment. Whatever it was, Endymion thought,
he was glad his parents had it. He could not imagine
himself feeling such emotions although he was
slightly curious, whether he wanted to admit it or not,
to know how to love and be loved felt like...
	"As you may already know the situation at
our Asian Boarders have steadily gotten worse," his
father suddenly spoke, rubbing his forehead and
closing his eyes.
	"How does Commander Potikin fare there?
I recall the fact that we did send him additional
troops for back up."
	"Yes, well it isn't enough apparently.
Recent news from several sources has been brought
to my attention and I have learned that that ninny isn't
helping our troubles.  I believe he cannot handle the
enormity of the situation there."
	"What do you propose we do?" the Prince
asked, although he knew the answer already, had
suspected it for some time.
	"I'd like you go there Endymion. It is only
for a short time, just for you to gain control and bring
order to the area. I would like for you to first go to
the surrounding camps before heading for Potikin's
camp. That will be your last stop. You may take your
Generals with you, the choice is yours but I would
like you to leave as soon as possible," the King
finished, standing up.
	Endymion turned his head slightly to look
at his friends and saw their affirming nods. They
would leave tonight.

*^*End*^*
Good? Bad? Like? Dislike? I hope this doesn't
seem too slow in the beginning. Stay with me now,
it'll get better ^_^
Patch:-)(-: