Though he did not visit this room as often as he might have, its path was still yet familiar to him. He wished he could blame his lack of interest in the room could be blamed on his busy schedule, but in truth, he avoided it like the plague. Inside that room held memories he most definitely wished he could forget.

But, that day, the room seemed to call to him... And so, against his better judgement, he informed his stewards he would be taking an afternoon to himself. The palace was a flurry of activity these days, due to the upcoming Juuban Festival, one thing Serenity had not been able to give up from her days as Tsukino Usagi. No one would miss him, that much he was certain of. He walked the quiet corridors and found himself face-to-face with the white ornate doors, doors that opened with a gentle push, doors that swung closed behind him with a solid thud.

The room was, as most of the rooms in the palace were, white and spacious. Against the eastern wall was a wide, eight panel window that sunlight streamed in through, brightening the room. Across the western wall were several pedestals, each one holding an item very different from the first. Endymion slipped across the room, coming to stand in front of one item in particular, the sunlight bouncing off its golden surface. His fingers brushed across the gold, its surface bright beneath his fingertips. It had been a long time since he'd last touched such a thing, since he'd last even thought about it really. It was funny how once important things got lost in a lifetime of change.

He could recall every memory with that little star-shaped locket. He could recall the weight of it in his palm, he could remember the heat if it that day when he was under Beryl's control. He could remember the grief in her eyes as she held it out for him, softly begging him to let her help him. Begging him to remember just who he truly was. He could remember the warmth that had spread through him when after her soft urging, he had placed his fingers against the gold. He could remember the way she had cried when she cradled him close to her body, knowing he was hers again.

But that was not all he could remember.

Endymion remembered the bruises... The injuries that seemed to span the entire length of her body. And that was when he had realized just what he had done that day. Despite the cloud hanging over his mind, he knew those same hands that held her had been at her throat. That the sword sheathed at his side had drawn her blood. How could he live with himself? But then everything had happened so fast- Beryl attacked and he had done the only thing that seemed right: he protected her. At the cost of his own life, he had saved her, and had broken her heart all over again. They hadn't known one another long back then- that had been his biggest regret then.

He tightened his grip on the locket, the memories tearing at his soul, reminding him of the things he had done to her then. Endymion knew the past was the past, but there were moments like this that the guilt took control. To know with his own hands he had caused her harm... To know with his every move, he'd hurt her... And what was worse, that had not been the last time. He felt pathetic, standing there in his sea of memories, and the well worn feeling of anxiety was rising up within him. To this day, he still felt unworthy of being by her side. So many times he had failed in protecting her... Why did he deserve to be hers?

"Endymion?"

The soft voice caught him and reeled him back into the present; he turned towards the door and Serenity was there, leaning against the door frame, her indigo eyes finding his. "Serenity..." The syllables of her name were familiar and comforting on his tongue and he could do nothing but watch as she came towards him. Pushing away from the door frame, she let the door close behind her, coming to stand just before him. "You had lessons with Small Lady," he reminded her, as if his world was not falling apart around him, and she smiled that knowing smile, her hands reaching for him.

"She's with Mercury," Serenity said softly, her hands taking his, opening them to reveal the golden locket. "What are you thinking, Endymion?" She rose her eyes back up to his, a very different look in their depths. Her skin was warm against his and he closed his eyes a moment. In that moment, their lives tumbled past his eyes, every moment from that time when they'd been frightened teens, when they hadn't known the way of the world they so fiercely protected. Back to the time when they had been strangers falling in love, to the time they lost each other all over again. When he opened his eyes, she still stood there before him, and he realized only then he'd been speaking everything his heart had ever felt.

"This locket... It's a reminder of what I did back then." He said softly and he tried to turn from her, but she held fast to his hands. When he met her eyes, he found they were full of tears, and he blinked against a wave of his own. "When I see it, I see you... I see you on that day, when I..." He shook his head, trailing off, unable to even finish the sentence. The memory of it all was almost too much for him to bear, even hundreds of years later. It was as fresh in his mind as if it had happened only yesterday.

"Have you forgotten what the locket really is, Endymion?" Serenity's soft voice broke into his thoughts and he looked up, his surprise evident. Serenity reached out, cupping his hand with one of her own, the other gently prying the lid of the locket up. At once, a glimmer of light began to shine and the softest of melodies began to play. "This locket is a symbol of our love- it transcended time to find you to give to me, as I had given to you a lifetime before." Endymion recalled that too- when lifetimes before, Serenity had given him the locket on the balcony of the Moon Palace. "Fret not, my love," she smiled upon him and Endymion felt his heart swelling. She did not reprimand him for living in the past, nor judge him by the demons that still yet tormented him. No, instead she calmed him with her soft words and warm skin, bringing him just as much joy as she had in the beginning.

"You're right..." He murmured, holding the locket up, its melody forever ingrained in his mind. "I still yet remember that night on the roof..." He was speaking of when the locket had first fallen from his pocket, only to be picked up by Usagi. That had been so many years ago, before they had even come to know one another's true identities. He smiled then, recalling her from back then, frightened but determined to protect her friends. "I remember everything." His arms snaked around her, drawing her against his chest, the star locket between them, its melody singing on. "Thank you..." He whispered, his lips brushing against her earlobe, her soft breath catching in her throat. "For saving me, like you always do..."

When they slipped from the room a few minutes later, Endymion felt the weight of the locket inside his pocket- for years now, he had tried to ignore that piece of his past. He had tried to forget that it had ever even happened... And in doing so, he'd forgotten what the locket had truly symbolized: her. It had always been about her, about Serenity, his Usako. From that moment on the balcony a lifetime before, when she'd been the Moon Princess and he her forbidden earthly lover. To the moment he'd dropped it only for Sailor Moon, Usagi, to pick up and keep close to her heart. To when she had saved his soul with it that day in the Dark Kingdom. In every instance, it had always been his connection to her, and she had reminded him of that. And so, he'd slipped it into his pocket, to carry with him as a reminder of the woman he loved with all of his heart.