Chapter 5- Parents!
King Damion returned to his room after the whole ordeal, and his bright green eyes passed over his wife standing rigid on the balcony. Queen Terra turned her head formally and her deep blue eyes shot him a questioning look, "So what was that all about?"
"Part of the Moon Kingdom's army stormed us and accused us of keeping their princess prisoner," he answered, running a hand through his long black hair. He still wondered how the princess could have penetrated their defenses and made it into the Palace. "I couldn't figure out for the life of me where they got that idea. If we had the princess I'm sure you and I would be the first ones to know-" his wife cut him off before he could explain further.
"Those horrid Lunarians! All they ever do is cause us trouble!" she complained as her gaze resumed its position over the blacony and a couple strands of her wavy dark brown hair fell around her shoulders as she shook her head in frustration.
The king retained his pensive expression as he continued, "The strangest part is that Endymion wasn't there, but just when I thought they were going to attack, he showed up with the princess."
"How did he know it was her? One would think she'd be disguised," she looked back, curious.
"That's the strange part; she was." Damion narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
"Well talk to him Damion!" She said forcefully, causing the king to snap back to reality, "Find out what's going on."
"Right," he nodded and headed off to his son's quarters
**************************
Prince Endymion sat on the floor of his room with a couple papers scattered in front of him. As much as he tried to focus on memorizing his training schedule for the day, his mind kept drifting to the slight blood stain on his bed left behind from the loss of Serenity's virginity. Even though last night was magic and had seemed as if it would last forever then, now it had gone so fast and felt more like a beautiful dream. The stain was the only thing convicing him that everything had really happened. But he knew he had to get rid of it before someone noticed.
"Darien, feel like talking?" His father's voice sounded from the doorway.
He jumped up and quickly pulled the bedsheets back in place. "About what?" He said as calmly as possible, praying his father hadn't seen anything.
"Your mother and I have been wondering how you knew that girl was the Moon Princess this morning," He quirked an eyebrow at his son's strange reaction and the nervous ring to his voice. The king grew all the more suspiscious.
"Well....uh," Endymion hesitated and rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully.
Damion's eyes narrowed at his son as he began to rationalize what the problem with his son and his reason for hiding the princess might be, "I know you haven't agreed with this war ever since you turned 8 and realized what it meant, but if you've found the secret to seeing past their disguises, you need to tell us what it is."
"Well, there really isn't any secret," he began, glancing toward the floor and occasionally lifting his eyes to meet his father's, "It's just that I saw her in the prison yesterday. I didn't notice anything different until this morning when I heard that their army thought the Moon
Princess was here. Then I remembered her; the meatball hair, deep blue eyes, and the fact that she had the most awful attitude towards everyone..." he shrugged.
"So you were late to the front line, because you went to get her?" Luckily for the prince his father made his own pieces fall into place from the lie.
"Uh.....yeah," Endymion agreed, using all his strength to keep a straight and convincing face. He quickly changed the subject before his father could probe any further. He knew only dumb luck had gotten him out of this one, for lord knows he didn't like lying to his father and wasn't skilled at it either, "Well, Dad, I better get to training, and don't you have those Crytal-Quartz Kingdom negotiations to deal with?"
"Yes I do," he sighed, thinking of the dull afternoon ahead, "Negotiations are a pain, but they
keep the world running and at peace. I'll see you later."
Endymion watched his father head down the hallway, satisfied with the explanation he had recieved. But of course, Endymion still tingled with guilt, "I hope he's not suspiscious of anything.."
******************************
"Queen Selenity, may I speak with you?"
"Of course, Melvin, come in," Selenity greeted the trusted officer with a smile.
"I'm worried about Serenity," he admitted with a thoughtful expression, "Ever since we got back, she's been daydreaming most of the time, and all she does is stare at the Earth. I must admit; even though the people are awful, the Earth itself can be beautiful, but still.." he shook his head wondering trying to figure the young girl out.
"All right Melvin, I'll talk to her. Thank you," The queen replied grateful that someone else had noticed her daughter's strange behavior as of late and she wasn't presumptuous in thinking something might be wrong.
Melvin bowed and left the Queen's Quarters.
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Just as Melvin had said, Queen Selenity found Princess Serenity standing on the balcony, gazing longingly at the Earth. Standing like that, in her flowing, silvery gown with the twilight radiating behind her, she looked more mature than just a few weeks ago and slightly more confident, but her mother thought she looked more like a ghost than anything else, empty almost. But one thing was clear, something happened that had caused her daughter to change. She sat down on the balcony beside her, but the princess didn't even notice.
"Serenity, What is wrong?"
"Hmm?" she broke her trance and looked at her mother's worried expression.
"Melvin just came to see me. he's worried about you, dear, and now that I see you like this, I believe he has reason to be," she brushed her cheek with the back of her hand, trying to reconnect with the daughter she knew.
"Well, nothing is wrong," she smiled briefly and gave her mother's hand a reassuring squeeze before turning to the Earth again.
"Honey....What happened to you down there?"
"Nothing," she answered convincingly, keeping her eyes on the Earth and adding in her mind, "I only found my destiny.."
"Serenity," Selenity became more and more frustrated and worried, "I cannot help you if you refuse to tell me what is going on!"
A silence hung in the air for a couple moments that seemed like an eternity.
"Why do we have to fight them?" Serenity's tone became much more serious and focused, but also exasperated.
"Serenity, we have been over this before! They have been our enemies for centuries; we cannot just all of a sudden stop fighting. I would think, being one of their prisoners, you would've see their treachery and understand."
"They are not all bad Mother!" She flipped her head around and looked hard into her mother's eyes.
"And not all of us are good, but there is a war," she said forcefully and stood up, "We cannot do anything about it. This will not just stop because you want it to."
"But you have not even TRIED; you could take the first step at least," she glared at her mother.
"And what might that be?"
"Talking," Serenity stated simply.
The queen blinked at the statement for a moment, but still wasn't convinced and shook her head, "Find one Earthling who wants to talk, and I will."
Serenity's gaze once again returned to Earth. Selenity thought she had won as she began to leave the balcony, but the princess smiled to herself; she already had someone in mind.
The queen stopped for a moment and turned back, "You should go talk to Melvin, Serenity. Tell him you are all right."
"Do I have to?" she scrunched her face.
Selenity laughed, "What do you have against him anyway?"
"He's too.....serious."
"You should give him a chance. He is brave, strong, and the head of our army; he will make a good husband for you."
Serenity smiled for a moment as she thought to herself, "Wouldn't a prince be better?" Then she rolled her eyes and sighed,"I have tried, but we just do not clique. I know there has got to be someone else out there for me, mother," she smiled at Earth.
"Well tell me when you find him," Selenity laughed as she left.
~~~~~~~~
Next chapter...
A ball is held in honor of the princess's return!
King Damion returned to his room after the whole ordeal, and his bright green eyes passed over his wife standing rigid on the balcony. Queen Terra turned her head formally and her deep blue eyes shot him a questioning look, "So what was that all about?"
"Part of the Moon Kingdom's army stormed us and accused us of keeping their princess prisoner," he answered, running a hand through his long black hair. He still wondered how the princess could have penetrated their defenses and made it into the Palace. "I couldn't figure out for the life of me where they got that idea. If we had the princess I'm sure you and I would be the first ones to know-" his wife cut him off before he could explain further.
"Those horrid Lunarians! All they ever do is cause us trouble!" she complained as her gaze resumed its position over the blacony and a couple strands of her wavy dark brown hair fell around her shoulders as she shook her head in frustration.
The king retained his pensive expression as he continued, "The strangest part is that Endymion wasn't there, but just when I thought they were going to attack, he showed up with the princess."
"How did he know it was her? One would think she'd be disguised," she looked back, curious.
"That's the strange part; she was." Damion narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
"Well talk to him Damion!" She said forcefully, causing the king to snap back to reality, "Find out what's going on."
"Right," he nodded and headed off to his son's quarters
**************************
Prince Endymion sat on the floor of his room with a couple papers scattered in front of him. As much as he tried to focus on memorizing his training schedule for the day, his mind kept drifting to the slight blood stain on his bed left behind from the loss of Serenity's virginity. Even though last night was magic and had seemed as if it would last forever then, now it had gone so fast and felt more like a beautiful dream. The stain was the only thing convicing him that everything had really happened. But he knew he had to get rid of it before someone noticed.
"Darien, feel like talking?" His father's voice sounded from the doorway.
He jumped up and quickly pulled the bedsheets back in place. "About what?" He said as calmly as possible, praying his father hadn't seen anything.
"Your mother and I have been wondering how you knew that girl was the Moon Princess this morning," He quirked an eyebrow at his son's strange reaction and the nervous ring to his voice. The king grew all the more suspiscious.
"Well....uh," Endymion hesitated and rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully.
Damion's eyes narrowed at his son as he began to rationalize what the problem with his son and his reason for hiding the princess might be, "I know you haven't agreed with this war ever since you turned 8 and realized what it meant, but if you've found the secret to seeing past their disguises, you need to tell us what it is."
"Well, there really isn't any secret," he began, glancing toward the floor and occasionally lifting his eyes to meet his father's, "It's just that I saw her in the prison yesterday. I didn't notice anything different until this morning when I heard that their army thought the Moon
Princess was here. Then I remembered her; the meatball hair, deep blue eyes, and the fact that she had the most awful attitude towards everyone..." he shrugged.
"So you were late to the front line, because you went to get her?" Luckily for the prince his father made his own pieces fall into place from the lie.
"Uh.....yeah," Endymion agreed, using all his strength to keep a straight and convincing face. He quickly changed the subject before his father could probe any further. He knew only dumb luck had gotten him out of this one, for lord knows he didn't like lying to his father and wasn't skilled at it either, "Well, Dad, I better get to training, and don't you have those Crytal-Quartz Kingdom negotiations to deal with?"
"Yes I do," he sighed, thinking of the dull afternoon ahead, "Negotiations are a pain, but they
keep the world running and at peace. I'll see you later."
Endymion watched his father head down the hallway, satisfied with the explanation he had recieved. But of course, Endymion still tingled with guilt, "I hope he's not suspiscious of anything.."
******************************
"Queen Selenity, may I speak with you?"
"Of course, Melvin, come in," Selenity greeted the trusted officer with a smile.
"I'm worried about Serenity," he admitted with a thoughtful expression, "Ever since we got back, she's been daydreaming most of the time, and all she does is stare at the Earth. I must admit; even though the people are awful, the Earth itself can be beautiful, but still.." he shook his head wondering trying to figure the young girl out.
"All right Melvin, I'll talk to her. Thank you," The queen replied grateful that someone else had noticed her daughter's strange behavior as of late and she wasn't presumptuous in thinking something might be wrong.
Melvin bowed and left the Queen's Quarters.
********************************
Just as Melvin had said, Queen Selenity found Princess Serenity standing on the balcony, gazing longingly at the Earth. Standing like that, in her flowing, silvery gown with the twilight radiating behind her, she looked more mature than just a few weeks ago and slightly more confident, but her mother thought she looked more like a ghost than anything else, empty almost. But one thing was clear, something happened that had caused her daughter to change. She sat down on the balcony beside her, but the princess didn't even notice.
"Serenity, What is wrong?"
"Hmm?" she broke her trance and looked at her mother's worried expression.
"Melvin just came to see me. he's worried about you, dear, and now that I see you like this, I believe he has reason to be," she brushed her cheek with the back of her hand, trying to reconnect with the daughter she knew.
"Well, nothing is wrong," she smiled briefly and gave her mother's hand a reassuring squeeze before turning to the Earth again.
"Honey....What happened to you down there?"
"Nothing," she answered convincingly, keeping her eyes on the Earth and adding in her mind, "I only found my destiny.."
"Serenity," Selenity became more and more frustrated and worried, "I cannot help you if you refuse to tell me what is going on!"
A silence hung in the air for a couple moments that seemed like an eternity.
"Why do we have to fight them?" Serenity's tone became much more serious and focused, but also exasperated.
"Serenity, we have been over this before! They have been our enemies for centuries; we cannot just all of a sudden stop fighting. I would think, being one of their prisoners, you would've see their treachery and understand."
"They are not all bad Mother!" She flipped her head around and looked hard into her mother's eyes.
"And not all of us are good, but there is a war," she said forcefully and stood up, "We cannot do anything about it. This will not just stop because you want it to."
"But you have not even TRIED; you could take the first step at least," she glared at her mother.
"And what might that be?"
"Talking," Serenity stated simply.
The queen blinked at the statement for a moment, but still wasn't convinced and shook her head, "Find one Earthling who wants to talk, and I will."
Serenity's gaze once again returned to Earth. Selenity thought she had won as she began to leave the balcony, but the princess smiled to herself; she already had someone in mind.
The queen stopped for a moment and turned back, "You should go talk to Melvin, Serenity. Tell him you are all right."
"Do I have to?" she scrunched her face.
Selenity laughed, "What do you have against him anyway?"
"He's too.....serious."
"You should give him a chance. He is brave, strong, and the head of our army; he will make a good husband for you."
Serenity smiled for a moment as she thought to herself, "Wouldn't a prince be better?" Then she rolled her eyes and sighed,"I have tried, but we just do not clique. I know there has got to be someone else out there for me, mother," she smiled at Earth.
"Well tell me when you find him," Selenity laughed as she left.
~~~~~~~~
Next chapter...
A ball is held in honor of the princess's return!