So here's the next chapter. I've finally gotten a job, so my free time has been rearranged a little. But now I've got a spare moment in between studying for class and doing my wifely duties, so I'm going to post chapters as soon as I can.

Worth Dying For

By: Meghan McLaws

Mamoru allowed the noise to surround him, the busy Hollywood Starbucks a hot spot for 8 o'clock in the morning. A thermos of hot black coffee sat next to his state of the art laptop, the two luxuries he allowed himself. The computer, an iBook he had purchased and upgraded over the past 4 years and kept in close to perfect shape, was open in front of him. The coffee kept him sane. Both, in his opinion, were crucial to living. He couldn't sell his computer, nor could he give up hot black coffee.

He was glad there wasn't a bell on the door, and that said door was open, allowing air to flow silently as the steady stream of customers moved through it. His focus wasn't on the people coming through the doors; it was on the small computer screen in front of him. He didn't notice that the barista behind the counter was glancing at him every chance she got, or that every woman who walked through the doors stared at him until they left. He wasn't interested in their stares. He didn't even care if half of them were famous. He would watch the people streaming through the door tomorrow. His only concern was the computer screen.

Today, he was working on a grid of the greater Los Angeles area, cross referencing it with the site to narrow down the possible areas where the Princess might be. He wasn't sure what good it would do, but it was a place for them to start. And he only had a week, two tops, before he had to move on and start the search all over again in a new area.

The only other window open on his screen was an empty chat window. The girls were set to check in at any moment. He was hoping that things were still going as well as they had been when he had talked to them the previous night. They were settling in, and each approved of the apartment they were in. As usual, he'd done a good job with the logistics.

The idea of searching through millions of people looking for one girl seemed impossible, but they couldn't give up hope. So much was relying on the Princess. Once they found her, they could stop the attacks, take down Beryl, and try to pick up their lives where they left off years ago.

If they could only remember what they wanted to do.

Mamoru considered it his job to make sure that the girl's would still be able to keep some perspective on the chance for normalcy. It was the reason he found an inexpensive apartment in New York City with a ridiculously large kitchen for Makoto. And why he made sure Ami wasn't allowed to sell her medical books. He made sure Rei was always only a few blocks away from a Shinto temple and that Minako was surrounded by as many people as she could be. Before they were senshi, they were girls with dreams. He wasn't going to allow them to forget those dreams.

The fact that he had sold his own collection of medical books and had put any intention of medical school behind him wasn't as important as finding the Princess. He had to figure out his role in her life first. Then he could look at creating a life for himself.

The woman who haunted his dreams was the only thing he could think about.

He vividly remembered the first time she appeared in his mind. He was only 7, the loss of his parents very fresh in his mind. He was still hospitalized, no memory of anything but the past 2 weeks he'd spent in the hospital. He was heading to the orphanage the next morning, and he'd cried himself to sleep. Within moments, she appeared to him, younger then he was. She seemed all white, from her very pale skin to her almost silver hair. She seemed so small, and yet so much older than his seven years. She had tears in her eyes as she spoke to him, her voice soft and reassuring.

And she offered him the first real comfort he remembered feeling. She smiled, eyes glistening, and told him to be strong, because one day they would be together. He woke up, unsure of what he'd dreamt. After his first night at the orphanage, she came to him again, letting him know that the people there would take care of him and that she would always protect him when she could.

Soon, they were growing up together, both aging over the year. Each night, she would come to him, and together they would talk about his day. She was the first person he ever cared about, the first person who genuinely cared for him. He knew that she wasn't just his imagination after the senshi first attacked. She urged him to make contact with them, he could help them survive. The first few nights, he ignored her, deciding to watch from afar. But his Princess handed him a rose one night, telling him he'd know what to do with it.

When he woke up with the rose in his hand, he knew that it wasn't just a dream anymore.

And he protected the girls' as they came, finding out just who the girl in his dreams was. He had a name for the face. Serenity had become more than something his mind created for comfort as a child. She was real. And he would do whatever it took to protect her.

The chat window began to fill with the girl's, and he could no longer stay off in his own little world. He had to focus once more on his friend's progress.

And keep his own dreams on the back burner.

"Are you absolutely sure, Kunzite, that your plan will work?"

"Yes my Queen. With the others strategically placed around the US, we'll be able to flush her out the same way the senshi were. If we attack the right place, she'll find us. She'll do our work for us. And once we find her, we'll bring her back here to retrieve the Ginzuishou."

Beryl watching his face, trying to read exactly what he was thinking, but the oldest general was also the coldest. It was the reason he was their leader. He didn't let emotions get in the way of his job. He could act without asking too many questions. Plus he didn't need his hand held to figure out what to do.

"Anything changes, I want to be updated. And if you need more help, the DD girls are itching to fight as well. They would be an asset to your mission." She said, "If this goes too much longer, I will require that you use them to search other areas. They might not be able to blend in as well as you can, but they will be another resource that you can use to find the Princess. I'm sick of waiting. I've been waiting for centuries for the Ginzuishou. I don't want to be waiting much longer for the Moon."

Kunzite looked over her shoulder to the 5 women that she was talking about, shuttered mentally, and nodded. "Yes, Queen Beryl. We will keep them in mind."

"Good. Now, leave. And keep me informed if anything changed."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He said, bowing before turning and walking into the darkness, disappearing into nothingness.

Beryl watched him, feeling the small amount of power he needed to transport back to the other generals. She knew he could trust him. But they'd been at this for years, and obviously the 4 of them couldn't handle the search for much longer. She'd give them a month, and then she was sending in reinforcements.

The snow had barely began to melt, the overcast sky not allowing the sun to peak through. For 3 days, school had been canceled, and Serena was going out of her mind from all the noise in her house. Instead of sitting in her house, trying not to kill her siblings, she put on her snow boots and walked the 3 blocks to the book store.

In her mind, a little frost bite was worth her sanity.

The store was empty, and the only reason she was allowed in was because her best friend, Molly, just happen to work for the owner, who also happened to be her mother as well. Serena has also called ahead to make sure she would be able to get in if she made the trip. So when she ran the bell, the redhead was there in seconds, unlocking the door. "I've started coffee for you, but if you want anything fancier, you'll have to fight with the espresso machine."

Serena smiled, moving through the open door into the heated shop. She looked around the shop, always enjoying the floor to ceiling bookshelves with the spiraling staircases. Molly's mother, Claire, had loved the Beast's library from Beauty and the Beast, and had found a two story store that she could transform into her fantasy. The teal and gold colors of the walls offset the warm burgundy colored chairs that were places all around the room. Warm oak floors were always polished to a shine, and even though the place looked like it belonged in a palace, the huge fireplace in the corner gave it a homier feel. The small coffee bar, complete with shiny, complicated looking espresso machine, updated the room. And she'd named it Beauty's Books, so most knew when before they walked in what they could expect. "Thanks. As long as you've got plenty of creamers, I'll stick to coffee."

The girl laughed, locking the door behind her. "I already put the bottle next to the pot." She put the keys in the pocket of her worn jeans. "You know the rules?"

Serena nodded, pulling off her blue gloves and shoving them into the pocket of her thick white coat, before taking that off as well. She hung it on the coat rack by the door, and then moved to the café, where her coffee was brewing. "No breaking spines, no folding pages, no drinking coffee with an open book. Breaking the rules results in a new book on my shelves, I know, I know." She said, pulling down the sleeves of her dark blue sweater.

Molly ran a hand threw her curly auburn hair, "Like you'd really mind that." She was short, about the same height as Serena. They'd been best friends most of their lives, having both grown up in Homewood. They were usually pretty inseparable, unless one was working or they were in school. They couldn't take all their classes together, after all.

Serena laughed, "Never, but my mom might. I don't have any room on my bookshelf, and my floor is already covered in them. She would blow a gasket if I came home with one more. No matter how occupied she is with the little ones, she'll always know if I come in with one more book."

Molly laughed, knowing just how true that statement was. "Still having those dreams?"

Serena's face grew serious, "Almost every night."

"Are they still the same?"

She nodded, "They haven't changed in months. Every morning I wake up feeling this aching longing. Like I'm missing something more then I realize." She wrapped her hands around the large empty cup. "Lately, I've woken up in tears. I don't remember why, but I know it's something very sad. Something I don't want to remember. Every night is the same, and I hate it." She focused on the cup, filling it with the hot, black coffee and adding a ridiculous amount of creamer and sugar. "I wish I could figure it out."

"I know I wouldn't be too upset with a hunky man in my dreams every night." Molly said, grabbing a list from where she left it. But Serena smiled- it didn't reach her eyes. "If you need me, I'll be in the stock room. And if you get really bored, you can always help me stock the new Sookie Stackhouse books." Molly smiled brightly, trying to entice her friend into helping for free.

"Maybe in a bit. I want to look at some of those new Photography books your mom got in for me." Serena took her cup, giving the girl a soft salute before disappearing into the nonfiction section on of the store. The bottom level was all fiction, so she took the first spiral staircase she came upon and moved to the second floor. The chairs here were sparser, only 2 or 3 per section. The arts were towards the front windows. Serena set her coffee down on a small table and used the rolling ladder attached to the case to grab a few familiar photography books, along with the 2 news one that Claire had ordered especially for Serena to look through.

She settled into the chair, looking through the books and making a few mental notes about a few of the techniques discussed. As she read 'Fairytale Photography', she thought back on the small children's book sitting on her desk back home. She was very pleased with the results, and didn't find a need to fine tune any of it. She wished that she had used a little more shadow when she had captured the evil queen, but it had taken months to find the perfect person to play the queen. And she had used most of her allowance on the shoot as it was.

No, the project would stay as it was. But that didn't mean that she couldn't wish she could change what she had already done.

The warmth of the room, combined with the large, comfortable chair and the overcast sky made the already drowsy Serena's eyes droop. At it wasn't long after that when sleep claimed her.

She woke in a soft, large bed, sunlight shining into the huge open windows. The breeze ruffled the curtains, blowing her hair lightly around her face. She sat up, lightly rubbing her face before moving out of the bed. The marble was cool against her bare feet as she moved to the bathroom. A warm bath was waiting for her, if by magic, and she took off the thin white night dress and stepped into the large tub.

She felt like she was preparing for something, ignoring the ominous cloud that seemed to hang over her head. The bath was luxurious, smelling of jasmine and cucumber, with bubbles that seemed to never melt. She soaked for longer then she should have, but her skin never puckered. She took a soft white towel, wrapping herself in it and moved into the large closet adjacent to the bathroom.

She was magically dressed in a most extravagant gown of white and gold that went down to her ankles. Her hair twisted into the oddest style, like baseballs with two tails hanging down from them. She looked into the mirror, amazing at how much she felt like a princess. Like she was meant to be in this place at this time.

She moved from the room, her feet knowing where she was going, even if she didn't. Within moments, she was descending the stairs of a huge ballroom. People in masks and gowns as fantastic as hers swirled below her; the colors of the dresses were the only decoration the room needed. She smiled, recognizing faces, but not able to put names along with them. She made her way to the bottom of the staircase, but before she could move any further, a gloved hand captured her own on the rail. Her eyes drifted to the hand, then followed the arm to a black, fine coat to a familiar dark face covered in a white mask. Her heart lifted softly in her chest, giving his hand a soft squeeze.

"Princess, would you honor me with this dance?" The man said, his voice sending a chill down her spine. "It could be the last." He said softly, his voice saying more then he actually said. She simply nodded, allowing his hand to circle hers a little tighter, pulling her the rest of the way down the stairs. His arm circled around her waist, bringing her as close as was appropriate.

"I'm surprised that you we able to make it." She said softly, her feet dancing in a way she didn't remember knowing.

He smiled at her, his face lying to her. "I had to, Princess. I told you I would be here." Worry covered his face, but he tried his best to hide it.

She knew better. "What is it?"

He contemplated not telling her, she could tell that. "Earth is no longer under the rule of my parents. Queen Beryl of the Negaverse has overthrown them and is now calling herself its ruler."

She tried to hide her shock and he helped by swinging her away from the crowd, "Why did you come? You should have stayed there and tried to reclaim it. What about your parents? Who's protecting them?" She whispered urgently.

"My parents wished for me to come here and warn your Mother. My father knows that without you, there will be no Council for Earth to join." He said, dipping her back. "The generals stayed back to try and reclaim the throne and protect my parents. They've all gone into hiding, but for now I needed to make sure you were okay." He squeezed her hand softly, "And to enjoy this moment with you. Is that selfish of me?" He asked, pulling her up to him closer. "I had to be here with you, right now. I've promised your mother that I would protect you at all costs. You are the key to this universe's survival. I have to keep you safe. And I will. I won't let anything hurt you, Princess."

She tried to be pleased with his dedication to her safety, but could only think of the rulers of Earth and their downfall. He pulled her closer once more, brushing the few tears that had fallen down her cheeks. He shook his head, taking her hand and quickly leading her out to the balcony, where she could freely speak and reveal her feelings. For a few moments, they didn't say anything, both looking up to the Earth hanging above them.

"I trust the generals. They will protect my parents. They would die before betraying them." He said, pulling her into the shadows. "Beryl could very well be on her way here now, for all I know. But I can't leave you. If something happens to you, the whole universe will end. You are everything to everyone." His hand moved to her cheek, softly rubbing it with the pad of his thumb, "You are everything to me, Princess. I wouldn't be able to survive without you in my life. I won't pretend like I don't love you anymore. There is nothing left for me to lose."

She wanted to believe him, that not only did he love her, but that he cared for her so much that he would give up everything to make sure that she lived. It was noble, but also so very stupid. What was the point of protecting her if he had no family to make the victory sweet? She started to say something, but his face was so much closer than it had been before. His eyes were so focused on her, trying to read her just a little more, wanting permission. His other hand framed her face, and her eyes fluttered close at his touch. He whispered, "Seren…"

"Serena."

Her eyes flew open, no longer in the grand palace, but the large bookstore. Her heart raced in her chest, but she smiled. "Did I fall asleep?"

Molly, looking relieved that her friend was no longer snoozing, "Yeah, you were pretty out of it. I've been trying to wake you for like 5 minutes."

Serena wished she hadn't, because she was so close to finding out more. She had almost found out the Prince's name, she was sure of it. As frustrated as she was, she wasn't about to let her friend know it. "I'm glad you woke me, I've got to get home. I promised my mom I'd be there to help with dinner. Thanks for letting me hang out here. My house was getting to be too much after 3 whole days." She smiled at her friend, her eyes drifting to the window, where a snow plow was driving past, cleaning the streets.

"Thank god, it looks like we'll have school tomorrow. I don't think I could stand another day of working for free." Molly said, able to tell that Serena's mind was somewhere else. They were already down the stairs at this point, walking towards the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow in first hour?"

Serena simply nodded as she pulled on her coat, forgetting all about her gloves in the pocket. She waved as she walked out the door, her mind too focused on the dream she'd just woken from. She tried desperately to hold the image of the Prince's face in her mind. The amount of love in his eyes, the determination to protect her at all costs was moving. It made her want to cry, remembering how he held her. She'd never witnessed anyone who seemed to love as much as he loved her. She let her feet carry her home, knowing that she had to write down every aspect of the dream she could remember. It was the only thing she could do to keep her sanity.

She opened the door to her home, kicked off her boots and moved up to her room. Flipping on the computer, she opened up her blog, "Dreams of the Moon" and started typing rapidly before she forgot any aspect of the dream.

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