Hey, everyone. This will be the final installment of this story. I know I said I would write more years ago, but I got caught up with life, and before I knew it, I had lost interest in this story and years had gone by.

Honestly, I don't intend to continue any of the stories on this account. Most of them were written in a stage of my life and in a style I consider childish and not representative of my best work.

Anyway, I'd like to dedicate this final chapter to Lady Baine, who quite unintentionally guilted me into finally finishing this story. I'm sure she has no idea what I'm talking about. Maybe one day I'll explain it to her. XD

So, here goes.

This is it, you guys. It was fun.

The Wager – Chapter the Last

Dawn broke over the horizon, sliding silent and warm into the bedchamber shared by Endymion and Serenity. Endymion was startled from a deep, peaceful slumber by the unpleasant sound of someone retching in the bathing chamber adjoining the bedroom. Logic told him it was Serenity, and he stumbled from the bed to where Serenity was hunched over a porcelain bowl, weak and shaking.

Concern prompted him into pulling back Serenity's unbound hair from her face, stroking her sweat-soaked back sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," she gasped between heaves, "I should have closed the door. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't apologize," he said softly, reaching for a cloth to wipe the sweat from her brow. Either the wave of nausea had passed, or she had nothing left on her stomach to empty, for she fell back against him, breathing heavily. Endymion gathered her limp body into his arms, carrying her to the bed. She was pale but for two bright spots of color in her cheeks, and she felt rather warm to the touch.

"You should stay abed until you're well again," he said, brushing her bangs back from her face. "I'll send for the doctor."

"No, I don't want to trouble the doctor," she protested weakly. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"I would rather be sure," Endymion responded, brushing his lips across her burning forehead. "Indulge me."

She smiled weakly and nodded her assent.

"Rest," Endymion ordered, "I will fetch the doctor. Shall I send to the kitchens for anything to eat? Soup, or toast perhaps?"

Endymion realized his error immediately, for Serenity lurched out of bed, face displaying a startling pallor, and dashed for the bathing chamber with a speed Endymion would not have imagined possible for one so ill. He winced as he heard the sound of Serenity retching with renewed vigor, and mentally berated himself as he absented himself from the room before he blundered any further.

A smiling, blue-haired woman entered the chamber just a few moments after Serenity weakly pulled herself back into the bed.

"Good morning, your highness. My name is Ami. I'll be looking after you today," the woman began, dropping a hasty curtsey.

"Good morning," Serenity replied, voice slightly hoarse from retching. The woman 'tsk'ed softly, placing a soft, cool hand on Serenity's forehead.

"My, my," she said. "I hear you've been quite sick this morning."

"Worse than usual," Serenity said, closing her eyes. Sleep sounded heavenly at the moment.

"Worse than usual?" The query was full of concern and perhaps a little hopefulness.

"Yes," Serenity replied. She sat up slowly, taking a glass of water offered by Ami. "I've been sick for a few days now, but it's never been quite this bad."

"The prince said only that you were sick this morning," Ami said carefully. Serenity waved a hand dismissively.

"I didn't want to worry him. Besides, it usually subsides in an hour or so," She said.

"So you're not sick all day? Only at certain times?" Ami queried.

"Quite right. Usually just in the mornings, right as I wake," Serenity responded.

"And your monthly courses? When was your last?"

Serenity flushed. "Why...it's been at least a month. Maybe two," she responded. Ami's smile was beautific.

"Oh, your highness," she breathed, "this is wonderful news."

Serenity faltered. "It is?"

"Oh, yes. Your highness, I believe you are expecting a child."

Serenity's eyes widened. Her right hand fluttered up to rest over her flat stomach.

"A child," she echoed softly. Her eyes were fixed somewhere far into the future, where she and Endymion had a beautiful little girl called Reenie. Their child. Their biological child. Suddenly, so much made sense.

A few hours later, when Serenity finally roused from a long, healing slumber, she sought out Endymion to share her news with him. As she approached the library, where various servants informed her he had gone, she was suddenly filled with a heavy feeling of dread. Shoulders tense and muscles tight, she pulled open the large doors. Two heads turned towards her, one black-haired, one violent red. Serenity's gasp of horror was caught in her throat as she recognized the woman sitting opposite Endymion, who was idly sipping a cup of tea.

"Why are you here?" Serenity asked pointedly, staring at the woman.

"Why, Princess Serenity! What a surprise! I had not thought to see you, today. Prince Endymion informed me you were feeling a bit under the weather. I do hope you are better," Beryl replied, sipping from the delicate china cup, blatantly ignoring Serenity's question.

"I asked you a question. Be good enough to answer it." Serenity's voice was sharper than she intended it to be, but experience made her wary of this dangerous woman.

"My dear, it seems I haven't caught you in the best of moods. Perhaps you haven't been getting enough sleep?" Beryl suggested, voice sweetly innocent and eyes spitting poison.

"My sleeping habits," Serenity said, rage darkening her brilliant blue eyes, "are none of your concern. Remove yourself from my presence immediately."

Beryl's green eyes widened in shock.

"Why, Endymion!" she gasped, "Are you going to allow her to speak to me like that?"

Endymion studied Serenity for a moment.

"Serenity is my wife," he told a stunned Beryl, "and as such, she enjoys my protection. She is your superior, and you would do well to learn that my loyalties lie with my wife. If you attempt to countermand her authority again, you will be banished from court. Is that clear?"

Beryl set her tea cup on the table none too steadily. Tea sloshed over the sides, dampening the wood. She was fairly trembling with contained rage.

"I see I am no longer wanted here," she said, rising elegantly from the chair she was occupying. "I bid you good day."

She swept past Serenity and out of the room, seething with anger, hands fisted in the purple velvet of her gown.

Serenity relaxed almost immediately, relieved.

"Thank you," she said to Endymion, sighing gratefully. He placed his hands on her shoulders, studying her face.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, tilting her face to his.

"No, nothing," she said quickly. "It's only that...I don't trust that woman."

"Nor do I," Endymion responded. "Would you feel better if I asked her to leave court? I would not have her here if she makes you uncomfortable."

Serenity fairly fainted with relief. "That...that would be wonderful," she said.

"Consider it done," he replied. "I will ensure she stays well away from you. Are you feeling better?" He placed a hand against her forehead as though to check her temperature.

"Yes, much," she replied, pulling his hand away to link their fingers together. "Endymion, I'm not sick."

He snorted. "Serenity, you can't have forgotten that I saw you this morning. You were rather green, if I do say so myself. I wouldn't call you 'well' by any means."

"No, I'm not sick, truly. I'm pregnant," she said. "It's the reason I've been sick in the mornings. I'm not ill. I'm just...going to have a baby."

"A baby," Endymion said. His breath sighed out harshly. "My baby. Our baby," he corrected immediately.

"Yes," Serenity smiled brilliantly. "If it is a girl," she sighed as Endymion brushed his lips across hers, "we will name her Reenie."

News spread around the castle quickly. Beryl shrieked in rage when she heard the news, tossing a vase across the room fitfully, where it smashed against the wall in a satisfying crash.

"This is your fault!" Beryl said, directing her rage at the silver-haired man who had brought her the news.

"My fault?" Demando queried, his own anger rising in response. "I was not the one who failed to tempt Endymion away from Serenity! If anything, this is your fault, madame!"

"Do something!" Beryl demanded. "Anything you have to! I cannot allow that child to be born! If Endymion has a child with that...that woman, all my plans will have come to naught!"

"No," Demando sighed heavily. "Once I would have done anything necessary to secure a future with Serenity. I love her," he said, sinking heavily into a chair. "Obsessively. I will never love another. But I was blinded by your foolish plans. I thought, perhaps, if Endymion had forsaken her, she might turn to me. But now there is nothing I can do. Serenity will never give up on Endymion. She is lost to me forever. I cannot take part in your foolish schemes."

"How can you desert me!" Beryl screeched. Demando winced. "You are just as much to blame as I! Do you think Endymion will think kindly on the man who lusted after his wife? I will expose you for the spineless coward you are!"

"No, Endymion is not the forgiving sort," Demando responded, "which is why I am leaving this place. There is nothing left for me here. I came only to attempt to dissuade you from your disastrous course. Nothing good can come of this, Beryl. I beg you to see the truth of my words."

He exited swiftly, but Beryl's howls of rage followed him down the hall.

"Princess."

The voice startled Serenity out of her reverie. She recognized the voice, but the lone candle on the table beside her offered not enough light to see the speaker. A shiver skittered up her spine. Too late, she realized the error of sitting too long alone in the library.

"Who...who is there?" Serenity asked. Her voice trembled with fear, and she cursed herself for betraying her tumbling emotions.

"I," said Demando, stepping into outer rings of light. His face was downcast. Serenity's fear did not lessen. She had seen him before, and she liked not the way he looked on her.

"I mean you no harm," Demando said quickly, stepping forward. "I come to warn you. There is one who would plot against you, a woman by the name of Lady Beryl Dinarri. Be wary of her, Princess. She is not to be trusted. She will do everything she can to see you dead, if she may."

Serenity's breath sighed out in relief.

"I know of her," she said. "How did you come to know of her treachery?"

"She enticed me to plot against your husband," Demando said. "I confess, I joined her causes briefly. For love of you, lady," he said when she tensed. "I mean you no harm, I swear it. I have realized the folly of my ways. I will be gone from here before morning's light, and I mean never to return. I came to warn you of your danger, nothing more."

Serenity stood, placing her book on the table beside her.

"I believe you," she said. "I thank you for your warning. Go in peace. You will have nothing to fear from me or mine."

Demando took a last, longing look at her.

"I wish it could have been different," he said softly. "I wish that I were half the man Endymion is. Then, perhaps, you would have loved me." He took her hand and kissed her fingers. Then he bowed, and quickly left the room. Serenity never saw him again.

Serenity took more care after Demando's warning. Beryl was slated to leave in the coming days, but she petulantly refused to pack or make any outward preparations to leave. Serenity didn't imagine she would be any safer with Beryl away from the court than at it, indeed, it seemed almost as though the solitude of her own manor would make it easier for Beryl to plot against Serenity.

Serenity tried not to be alone for any reason, at any time. She surrounded herself with others, hosting parties, conferencing with subjects, and generally staying busy. And yet she was filled with a growing dread. She knew in her heart that no matter how she would protect herself, the final confrontation was coming to a head, and Beryl would stop at nothing to see Serenity dead.

It came one evening when Serenity woke with a start in the dead of night, and reached for Endymion. Her fingers met cool sheets. She was alone, and yet not alone. She sat, shivering in the cold, staring resolutely into the darkness, listening to her own ragged breathing, and the slow, steady breaths of another.

"Endymion?" Her voice was a panicked cry, and the low, feminine laugh that answered chilled her soul.

"No, my dear." A harsh sound burned Serenity's ears and a candle flared to life. "No, I am not your precious husband." Even Beryl's lovely face looked twisted and sinister in the candlelight.

"Please," Serenity whispered, curling her arms around her stomach protectively. "Please, why are you doing this to me?"

"You have taken everything I have ever wanted. You have taken that which is rightfully mine. Endymion would have been my husband. I would have been princess. This castle would have been mine. Even your baby would have been mine," Beryl said harshly.

"No," Serenity responded. "None of this would have been yours. Endymion never loved you. He would never have married you."

"That's a lie!" Beryl shrieked. "I could have made him love me, if you hadn't come prancing into his life!"

"Love cannot be made," Serenity said softly. Suddenly she was full of pity for the woman who had meant her nothing but ill. "Love can grow between two people, but you cannot force someone to love you. Beryl, won't you please just leave here and find someone who can truly love you? You will never be happy with Endymion for your husband. Even if you should..." Serenity stumbled over the words, "kill me, it won't be you Endymion loves. It will me be. Even in death, I will triumph. And even you, with all your sorcery, cannot fight a ghost."

Beryl launched herself at Serenity, a wickedly curved dagger clutched in her hand.

Serenity rolled away, fumbling beneath the pillows for the pistol she'd stashed there a few days before. Her fingers touched cool metal, and she grasped it quickly as she tumbled off the bed just in time. There was a tearing sound, and feathers exploded into the air as Beryl's dagger tore through the pillow Serenity had been leaning against only a moment before. Serenity backed against the wall, trembling hands holding aloft the pistol, aimed straight at Beryl.

Beryl slinked off the bed towards Serenity, who cocked the gun. The bedchamber doors flew open, cracking against the walls. Light flooded the room, and a host of people spilled in, silhouetted in the doorway.

"Sere!" Endymion halted halfway into the room. Serenity had the gun, but she would avoid using it if possible. Beryl would do her damnedest to kill Serenity any way she could.

"I'm fine, Endy." Serenity's voice shook. Beryl laughed her rippling, silvery laugh.

"You won't be for long, little princess," she taunted, sliding closer.

"I don't want to shoot you, Beryl. But I want you far away from me and my family. If you will leave of your own free will and swear never to show your face here again, I will forget this incident and allow you to leave in peace. But," she cautioned, as Beryl approached, "if you take one more step, I will shoot you where you stand."

"You don't have it in you," Beryl said, taking a slow step forward. The sound of the shot roared in Serenity's ears and lit the room brightly for a moment. Beryl crumpled in a heap to the floor and didn't move. The gun dropped with a clunk to the floor, and Serenity slid down the wall to the floor, staring in horror at the unmoving woman just a few paces in front of her.

Endymion was in front of her in a moment, blocking her view of Beryl's body.

"I didn't want to shoot her," Serenity gasped, "I didn't. She gave me no choice." Her trembling fingers covered her eyes, and a sob gurgled up from her throat.

"You did what you had to, Sere. You defended yourself and our child. There is nothing shameful about that," Endymion said firmly, pulling her into his arms. "I'm so sorry I left you alone. I swear, I left you only to order the guards to see that Beryl left court immediately. When they couldn't find her in her rooms, I feared..." his voice broke, and he stroked Serenity's hair comfortingly. "I fear I would be too late. But it seems you didn't need my help after all."

"I don't need you to fight my battles, Endy," Serenity said, her face buried in his shirtfront. "But I will always need your love."

By the time Endymion helped Serenity to her feet, Beryl's body had already been removed from the room, and maids had cut out a large patch of carpet from the floor that had been soaked in the lady's blood. A few maids covered the spot with a large rug, and another brought Serenity a warm glass of milk.

"You've had quite a scare tonight, Sere. Will you be able to sleep?" Endymion asked.

Still shaking from the shock of her ordeal, Serenity shook her head firmly.

"What would you do, then? I will sit with you, if you like," he offered.

"I would like," Serenity said, "to sit on the terrace and watch the sun rise."

And so they did. It was many hours, but together they watched the sky fade from inky darkness to brilliant violet to the lovely pinks and golds heralding the new day.

"This is the end," Endymion said, and Serenity knew he was referring to all the obstacles that had plagued their relationship thus far.

"And also the beginning," Serenity replied. "A new beginning for all of us. Endy, do you think our child will be a daughter?"

He squeezed her hand. "I'm sure, whatever we're blessed with, our child will be a delight."

And she was.

Fin

I know, it's a stretch to wrap it all up in just three thousand words.

By the way, I do still write Sailor Moon Fanfiction. I have a new account. I'm not saying good bye forever, I'm saying good bye to this account and to this stage in my life. In fact, many of you have read some of my other stories.

For the sake of not getting a pile of "Y HAVNT U UPDATED" reviews on my other account, I will not be naming said account here.

Thanks for reading until the end, over several years. You can't imagine how much it means to me.