Back by popular demand. Thanks to my wonderful editor for fixing it up for me, and for re-sending it so quickly when we realized I hadn't gotten the corrected version back. I hope everyone has a "Happy four days off in the middle of winter", if nothing else. Enjoy.

Once, in a land both mundane and magical, there was a kingdom where the King and Queen had but one child, a young woman. This, by itself, was not a concern. The Princess had been happily married for five years, her kingdom now bound to the lands of the great Elysion Empire through her husband. However, that left her lands without a direct successor.

Kunzite, both the position and the name of the Princess' husband, declared, as his father-in-law got on in years, that the Kingdom of Magellan would be ruled by an appointed seneschal in his death, should it be necessary. Their second child, who was currently only two years old, would inherit upon reaching majority.

Such appointments would have been well within his rights on his own land, but the Emperor had concerns. Magellan had, after all, only recently become beholden to him. It was his worry that such actions would seem uncaring, and stir the people into rebellion. It was always the first generation after gaining control of a new territory that was the most delicate time. Magellan simply wasn't worth the effort to subdue through invasion, yet was powerful enough to cause real trouble in the lands controlled by Kunzite. Those lands had been through years of ham-handed neglect due to the previous Kunzite, and the people were not fully ready to believe that their new lord wouldn't abuse them the same way.

So it was that the Emperor sent his son, the young Crown Prince Endymion, to appoint the seneschal. It was to be the young man's first autonomous ruling action. The people of Magellan were suitably honoured to host the prince, and were happy to accede to his choice.

Prince Endymion, with the care that characterized all his actions, searched all over the land for an appropriate candidate. All he came across were wrong for the position, it seemed. Too old, too young, too important to distract from their current tasks, not important enough to understand politics well enough, too easy to convince, too hard-headed to listen to advisors... the list went on and on. Indeed, much of Magellan despaired of him ever finding someone suitable.

Finally, however, Prince Endymion found someone who met his exacting standards. It was a young man named Adonis, a courtier of middle ranks. The eldest, he had been trained to manage lands right from the nursery. He listened to his elders, yet knew his own mind. He had already proven himself several times, growing the coffers of his own estate substantially since being given partial control. His father still had many years before him, and the lands would not suffer from remaining in his care for the time Adonis would be occupied elsewhere.

Unknown to all save the troublesome scoundrels that ran the peaceful country's black underground, Adonis had actually made his name through unsavoury deals and shady operations. The young man, years previously, had developed an unhealthy and obsessive infatuation with the princess, and had sold his honour and morals out, happily and without qualms, in an attempt to gain Royal favour, and the hand of Princess Mina.

His plans had been derailed rather suddenly by the surprise appearance of Kunzite in the princess' chambers on that fateful night. In the space of a few hours, his love had been seduced and whisked away. Lord Adonis had then fallen into a deep depression, languishing in his heartache. He disdained food, drink, and sleep, preferring instead to pine for the Princess Mina.

Such was the state his illicit associates found him in. They were not impressed with this situation, as they were rapidly losing their foothold into the world of the nobility. One of them, on a stroke of inspiration, managed to convince the young man that all hope was not gone. After all, Kunzite was only a man. He was not immune to magic, or assassination, or poison. He could be embarrassed, or demoted, or lead to disgrace.

A plot was hatched, that dark day, which would involve the eventual 'freeing' of Princess Mina. Adonis threw himself into the plan with gusto, knowing it was the only way for him to claim his lost love. There were woods around his estate, and it wouldn't take much to convince Kunzite he was important enough to the future of the land for a personal visit.

Finally, five years later, the scheme was ready to be played out. It didn't matter to Lord Adonis, or his cohorts, that the Empire's Crown Prince would be caught in the crossfire. They wouldn't kill him, not wanting to bring royal wrath down upon the Kingdom. Besides, 'rescuing' him, alongside Kunzite's Lady, would make the Empire very grateful. Possibly enough so to cause the Emperor to dispense with the normal period of mourning in his haste to put a strong leader in charge of the politically volatile land.

That was the plan. It was well thought out, well planned, and executed almost perfectly. However, it is said that no plan survived the first contact with the enemy, and there were things they simply couldn't have anticipated.

"Milord! Duck!" It was the Lady Mina, no longer princess, that shouted the alarm. She then proceeded to throw herself off her own horse and into her husband's ward. She and Prince Endymion tumbled to the ground as an arrow whizzed overhead. It would only have struck him in the right shoulder, but that could still be deadly. Even if he wouldn't bleed out, not being able to defend yourself in an ambush was just a quicker way to die.

It didn't take much for the two unexpected warriors to jump to their feet and draw weapons from the saddlebags of their well-trained mounts. Kunzite, the man known to both of them as Lord Kale, had already readied his shield, using it to cover the people dearest to him as they scrambled back onto restless horses and uncovered their own protective gear. The guards, all also mounted, formed a protective circle around the nobles.

Prince Endymion flashed a grin at the young woman he'd come to be rather fond of since she'd appeared on the arm of his designated guard five years previous. "I have never had more cause to be grateful the wives of my generals are trained in defence. I know it's supposed to be for my own bride, when I take one, but it's very useful anyway."

She smirked back, then winced slightly as an arrow bounced off of her thigh. The hollow ting it made was unexpected by their assailants, whom had been hoping to take her 'prisoner' quickly. "I'm more grateful my riding clothes double as armour, Milord. Heavy as they are, I wouldn't trade them for anything at this moment."

"Pay attention!" Kale gently chided them. "It's time to teach these lawless dogs why it's a bad idea to attack a Royal envoy." With that comment, all three wheeled their horses, shooting out between the guards to lead the counterattack.

Nobles in Magellan were, for the most part, entirely useless when it came to defending themselves. There was the occasional sportsman who dabbled in fencing, but not one person of importance could actually fight. So it was that the bandits were caught entirely off-guard by the fact that not only could Kunzite fight, a fact they had somewhat suspected, but that Lady Mina and Prince Endymion could too.

Even if they had only been mediocre fighters, there is a world of difference between defending people whom were helpless as a babe in the woods in dangerous situations and fighting protectively alongside people whom at least knew one end of a blade from another. However, neither of the two were mediocre fighters. Both were actually more than proficient with their blades, and fought in a way that made it obvious that they knew they weren't immune to injury.

Kale couldn't help beaming with pride as he smote the men who dared threaten his charge. It had been painful for all involved, training the two. Endymion had been only thirteen when the older man had returned, and Mina had been but newly his bride, and raised softly. Taking up his blade against them had been the hardest thing he'd ever done, but he'd known his duty. Now, seeing them duck and weave, easily avoiding the clumsy swings of their assailants, made all the bruises and tears worth it.

However, there wasn't much time for pride. There were many foes that needed his attention, and Kale turned his mind back to the attackers.

It wasn't long before the enemies were decimated. Kale, upon noticing the lack of battle sounds, looked around. The first thing he saw was a flash of bright gold. He firmly refused to feel guilty for scanning his wife for damage before continuing with the visual search for his prince. She appeared nothing more than slightly shaken, though her grin implied she was feeling just as much stimulated. He felt a surge of pride at how well she had taken her first battle, and let his eyes continue on in his search for the Prince, convinced she was well.

His brows drew together as he continued to scan the battlefield, and he dismounted to begin a search. Mina approached him, gaining his attention when she touched his arm. He glanced at her, worry evident in his eyes. She swallowed when she saw that, but continued on anyway. "Milord... Where is Prince Endymion?"

The young man, unaware of the concern of his guardians, ran through the underbrush as quickly as possible. He could hear something in the woods, and knew only that he should avoid it. His muddled mind couldn't make sense of what it was, except dangerous. Even when he occasionally heard his name shouted, the call from far away, all he could think was they know who I am! They're after me, and they know who I am!

Even the feminine voice raised with concern for him didn't give him pause. He knew women could be warriors, so it would make sense that they could be bandits too. One of the scoundrels had gotten a good hit to the side of his head, luckily with a cudgel and not a sword, and when he'd recovered, he'd realized that he didn't have his sword any more. There had been no time to find it, what with another blade coming right towards him, so he'd taken to his heels. Kunzite had informed him, many times, that the best thing he could do in these situations was run. "I will find you." The man had promised, over and over, pale eyes blazing. "No matter where you are, I will find you. You just stay alive for me to do so. That's all you have to do."

So he ran. Unaware that the men that were following him were his own retainers, he ran. Unmindful of the fact that the voices calling out for him were Kunzite and Lady Mina, he ran.

Eventually, he had to stop. His lungs were powerful, but even they had their limits. He collapsed against a nearby tree. Eventually, he lurched away from it, all his attention now focused on finding water. He was achingly thirsty. That had been his first battle, and shock over just how quick and bloody such things were was finally settling in. That added to his concussion and run had made him crave water more than he ever had before in his life.

Catching the sound of a brook, he veered himself towards it until he burst through the undergrowth and onto the bank. He collapsed next to it, taking big, gulping drinks right from the stream. He sputtered occasionally, humans not being designed to drink like that, but managed to quench his thirst. After he'd finally managed to drink his fill, he leaned back ageist the bank, content just watching the sky.

Eventually, however, it began to darken. About that same time his stomach began to tighten, growling and roiling. He moaned slightly as he rolled to his feet, neither his body nor his head pleased with this plan. He made it to his feet, though he shook slightly. He peered through the trees, trying to figure out what to do now. He was generally an intelligent young man, but this was a situation he had never encountered before. All he could do was try to remember what his retainer had instructed him to do in this situation.

Somehow, he found he was humming along with some music he had never heard before. Startled, he jerked his head around, looking for the source of the hauntingly beautiful tune. He narrowed his eyes as he gazed thoughtfully down what looked like a path. He glanced down at himself, then pulled his signet ring off and threaded it through the necklace that held his symbol of office, tucking both carefully into his shirt. Another quick once-over confirmed that there was nothing else on him that declared his position. Silently, he thanked Kunzite for his foresight in declaring that the young man would travel only in gear that could belong to anyone in the retinue. Even if it meant that his valet usually looked better than him when they arrived anywhere, at least it was one more thing that might keep him safe now.

He walked quickly down the trail, suddenly feeling it was very important that he reach his destination before darkness fully fell. It was barely a fortnight past midsummer, and the days were long, but even those days would end eventually. The music continued to grow louder as he hurried on, and he took its soothing melody as a good thing. Finally, just as the final golden rays faded into a deep blue, he stumbled into a clearing.

"Oh!" Cried a soft voice, and he found his attention firmly caught by another ray of sunshine, an entirely unexpected one.

It was a girl, her hair a shimmering gold that glowed, even in the pale candlelight that spilled out of the window around her. Her eyes, though it was too dark to see their colour, were wide and keen. Her mouth formed a small 'o' of surprise, which she quickly closed with a gulp. They stared at each other for a moment, before he stumbled further into the clearing, causing her to recoil slightly.

She looked down at him in startled concern, and he suddenly took in the rest of the situation she was in. The girl was at the window of a tower, elevated a good couple of stories above the forest floor. There didn't seem to be any door at the bottom, and the top belled out, making him think that only the top portion actually housed any living space.

Endymion bowed deeply, as if the girl before him were royalty herself. He couldn't have explained, if challenged, why he did so, but such was what he felt appropriate. He looked up again, feeling uncharacteristically uncomfortable about doing so. Shy, almost. "Well met, Lady, and a very good evening to you and your kin. I'm afraid I have lost my way in the woods, and am in dire straights. I would be deeply indebted to you, if you would but allow me to sleep within your tower for the night. I'm afraid I know not the perils of these woods, and fear for my life, should I remain outside."

He paused, and saw her brow furrow in confusion. He also clearly heard a voice speaking, though her lips did not move. He could not make out the words, but dearly hoped that whoever it was would be willing to extend him their hospitality for the night. She shook her head at the other person once, then twice, then turned back to him.

"Of course, traveller. I bear you no ill will, and would not want your troubles on my conscience. Give me but a moment..." Her voice, a wonderfully sweet lilt that made his heart pound, trailed off, as if she was unaware that he could not currently hear her. Eventually, though, he could hear it coming back. "... Says I shouldn't let you in, but I think she's just being a worrywart. I never get visitors, you know. This is so exciting!"

With that, she appeared above his head again, this time carrying a bundle of something with her. She tossed it carefully out of the window, and he ducked reflexively, even though it was nowhere near reaching him. When he looked up, he noticed it was a rope ladder. He glanced up at her, and she waved him up. With a philosophical shrug (he didn't have anywhere else to go, after all) he started climbing.

It was full dark by the time he reached the top, and his muscles were aching. Both the actual fight and the amount of running were foreign to him, and his body was making sure he knew that. She seemed to notice his shakiness, and reached out to help him as soon as he was within range. He was glad, despite how disgraceful it was that he needed the help of the young girl in such a minor endeavour. He knew he wouldn't have made it over the sill without the aid.

He tumbled to the floor, too weary to stand on his own feet after the climb. The first thing he noticed from his horizontal vantage point was hair. Lots and lots of silvery-blonde hair, the stuff he was sure had been golden before. He traced it with incredulous eyes back up to her face, which was blushing now. "I know it's long." She said, looking embarrassed, "But I'm afraid it won't stay short. I cut it to shoulder length out of pique just two days ago. By tomorrow, it will be back to its normal length."

"Normal?" He questioned, pushing himself up with arms that shook. She rushed to his side to help him, and he sent her a thankful smile.

"It's usually about two feet longer." She informed him seriously. "Right now, if I tied it up, it wouldn't reach even to my knees. Normally it almost touches the floor."

"Touches the floor?" He repeated, still dazed. At this point he seriously considered that she might be an insane person that was kept out here for safety, but he dismissed that thought almost immediately. He attempted to get to his feet, aware that sprawling over the floor of some random girl was not very princely behaviour, and was determined to somehow redeem himself in her eyes. "It was very kind of you to allow me to stay here." He said, trying to make it so there was only one of her in his vision. "If there is anything I can do..."

"Tch! You can barely move! Whatever happened to you that you ended up in this remote place, it's obviously worn you to a thread." Endymion blinked, startled, as a black cat clambered up the girl's dress to stand on her shoulder. It peered at him, then continued speaking. "We can speak of repayment and chores in the morning. For now, let us get you to bed." The girl nodded her head and grabbed his arm as the cat finished talking.

... Wait, the cat was talking?

Endymion let himself be lead over to a bed, then collapsed gratefully upon it. He had enough presence of mind to pull his boots off, but he didn't even remember his head hitting the pillow after that.

He woke slowly, to the sound of someone humming the tune he'd followed last night. Lifting his head, he was startled to see that he had apparently fallen asleep atop the bedclothes, and a blanket had been thrown over him. His feet were freezing, but he chalked that up to the fact that neither the bed nor the blanket were meant for someone of his stature.

He got up then, determined to find and thank his hostess. Hostesses? He remembered a second voice, but was sure it couldn't actually have come from the cat. That must have been exhaustion talking. He looked around, noticing that he was in a room that probably served as a combination kitchen, sitting room, and bedroom. It made sense, considering how little space the tower actually had. There was an archway off to one side, and he hesitated for a moment before heading towards it.

It let out into a pantry-closet type area, which Endymion scanned only briefly. She wasn't here, and the implements used for cooking held little interest to him. There were no other rooms in the tower, so he assumed she must have gone out the window.

He returned to the front room, and was unsurprised to find that the ladder had been tossed out the window. He hadn't noticed earlier, but then, he hadn't really been looking, either. He crossed to the window, just in time to see the girl emerge from the woods.

He was about to call out to her when he paused, the words stuck in his throat. All he could do was watch, as this rosy young woman luxuriated in the sunshine he had been quick to compare with her the previous night. She appeared to be cheerfully arguing, but the only person around her was the black cat he'd noticed the night previously. He blinked, then shrugged. His own family's rule was all but guaranteed due to magic, so who was he to say that the girl couldn't have a talking cat?

He ignored the fact that only scions of very magical families would have familiars. Even he didn't. The only alternative was if she was a very powerful sorceress in her own right, but he couldn't see that. She didn't feel like a sorceress. There were a couple in his court, and they were nothing like this.

She noticed him standing at the window, and smiled, waving. He waved back, and she called up to him. "Hello up there! Good morning! I hope you haven't been awake long. I've just been to gather some breakfast. I do hope you'll join me in greeting the day." She approached the tower as she spoke, and dropped the items in her arms into a basket that was sitting on the ground next to the end of the ladder. He noticed then that it was attached to a thin rope that draped over the sill right next to the ladder. As she started climbing, he took hold of the rope and started hauling it up.

"Wait!" She called, sounding panicked, and he froze. He saw her hop quickly off the ladder and toss her cat into the basket, before waving to him that he could pull now. He did so, and she followed quickly after it.

"Well, that was unexpected!" The cat said, hoping out of basket onto the sill. "We didn't expect you to just haul at the basket, or I'd have been sitting in it already." Endymion's eyes widened, but he stepped back, placing the basket on a nearby table, and bowed slightly to the creature.

"I apologize for startling you," He began, thinking it was best to be overly polite with a magical creature. Who knew what they were capable of doing? Lord Kale had spent years as a frog, and had managed to get revenge on the man who'd trapped him anyway. If this creature was always a cat it was likely to be far more dangerous, regardless of any magic it may have. "I merely wished to help. I..."

"Oh, do stop. I'm not angry with you, or even annoyed. It was very kind of you to attempt to aid us, even if you didn't know everything that was going on." The cat gave him one of those haughty looks cats were so good for, then began grooming herself, obviously ignoring him.

That was when the girl poked her silvery head into the tower, and Endymion rushed to help her through the window. She smiled at him as she gained her footing, sparing an amused glance over at her companion. "She does that. Don't' mind her. Luna is like any cat, only interested when it suits her." The girl confided, her eyes twinkling with humour.

Endymion offered her another bow, but she grabbed his arm and hauled him back up imperiously. "Quit doing that!" She scolded him, looking annoyed.

"Why?" He asked, baffled. "I'm just being polite..."

"Well, stop it!" She huffed, looking suddenly irritated. "You're so stuffy!"

He drew back as if struck, startled at finding himself just as angry as she was. "Have you no sense of decorum?" He counterattacked, not giving her a chance to interrupt him again. "Would you rather I storm in here, demanding things you couldn't possibly provide, and treat you like my personal doxy?"

"Your what?" She asked, distemper fleeing quickly in the face of confusion. He groaned and held a hand up to his face, suddenly wishing he'd never said anything.

"A doxy is... a specific type of servant." He temporized, not wishing to actually explain his language.

"Oh. Okay." She flashed him a brilliant smile then, and he found himself even more confused than before. "Sorry about the temper. Luna got me up rather early this morning, and I haven't eaten yet either. Then I had to go get enough for two, and Luna said that you probably eat more than I do, anyway. You are still staying for breakfast, yes? Oh, I do hope I haven't been rude enough to convince you to leave..." She trailed off, and he hastened to reassure her.

"Of course I'll stay, Milady. It was very kind of you to go out of your way for me. I would be honoured to join you."

She gave him a quizzical look. "You don't have to call me that. I'm unused to being spoken to so stuffily, and find it irritating."

He was momentarily caught off guard, but continued on bravely, hoping he wouldn't set her off again. "What would you like me to call you then? I'm afraid I don't know any other address that would be appropriate."

She smiled at him. "I'm Sere..."

"Na!" Interrupted the cat, suddenly sounding panicked. "Sere-na! You can call her Serena." The feline glared lightly at her charge, then gave him a measuring look. "There is much magic in this area, and it's never safe to trade true names. You never know who might be listening in."

"I see!" he replied, raising his eyebrows. "Well, in view of that, I would be honoured if you would call me..." He ran through names in his mind quickly, then settled on one that he used to be called when he would switch places with a servant's child for an afternoon of fun. "Darien."

"Darien." She repeated, giving a firm nod. Then se gestured to the food she'd laid out on the table. "Well then, Darien. Will you join me for a meal?"

"I would be honoured, Serena."

By the time breakfast was done, Endymion had a good idea that Serena had never met anyone in her life other than her mother, whom she mentioned often, and Luna, who counted as a person even though he hadn't quite made up his mind about her yet. He'd decided she wasn't a familiar, as there was no way someone so... well... blonde, could be a sorceress. However, the creature treated the girl as an older sister, of possibly mother, would, and the girl responded to her presence positively. That was good enough for him.

He didn't know when he'd decided that things having a positive influence on her was important. It almost seemed like being concerned for her was a natural thing, like grass being green and the sky being blue. It was odd, for him, but he resolved not to think on it too much. It was easy to do, with so much else to keep his attention.

There was plenty for him to distract himself with. Despite his earlier decision regarding her magical abilities, he did notice that almost everything she did was scripted, as if she was just going through a play of normal life. Some of the rituals, like only fetching water at sunrise, noon, and sunset, and pouring it out with the left hand cupping the bucket and the right holding the handle, seemed pointless. Others, like only cutting herbs from the small garden using a copper sickle held in the left hand, were magically potent rituals. He recognized some of them from his own studies, while others he just identified by the slight swirl of magic that graced their completion.

What baffled him the most was the type of magic she employed, apparently unaware of it. All of the spells were designed for protection, both physically and from magic. He could understand the physical ones, considering she lived alone and any moderately serious wound could kill her, just from lack of treatment. The ones designed to protect from magic, on the other hand, worried him more. It was almost as if some overprotective guardian was trying to keep her from being snatched by evil magicians or the ilk. However, being snatched by curious fae was far more likely, yet she had no wards up that would even warn any type of faerie creature off. She only had ones that would render her invisible to them, or otherwise somehow disguised...

They were just such odd spells! Such a strange collection of things. There was one that would prevent her from cutting herself, but it didn't apply to her copper sickle. One protected her from scrying, but only pond scrying. There was nothing for crystal balls of dreamsearches, and those were considered better choices, due to reliability and cost-effectiveness appropriately. One was a minor misdirection, but it only applied to humans. One seemed to protect her from iron (it was very effective. He saw her drop a heavy, cast iron pot on her foot without it actually crushing her toes), but only from iron. Another protected her from other harm, but was not anywhere near as effective.

Some of the things she wasn't protected from were almost as baffling. She wasn't protected from contaminated water, even though it was a simple spell that Endymion had been doing almost from the cradle. She didn't know any spells that would leech poison from things, so many of the mushrooms and plants in the forest that might be edible went uneaten. Nothing he'd seen implied that she had any knowledge of healing spells. Considering the amount of effort that seemed to go into keeping her from harm, it would make sense that there was some sort of fall-back plan. Yet he couldn't see even a hint of one. She bore the scratches normal for one in the woods on her face without any care for her looks. There had been none on her face the previous night, oddly enough. It was one more thing that made no sense.

The effort of the spells was another thing. She didn't seem unduly bothered by the amount of casting she was doing. He was considered magically strong, yet he was sure that he would have collapsed by midmorning if he'd used as much magic as she had. It was possible that she was just so used to it that she didn't notice, like a blacksmith didn't notice the heat, yet that didn't make sense to him either. There were more efficient ways to use what strange power she possessed, yet she wasn't. It was very much like the priorities of whoever had taught her the rituals were out of kilter with the real world.

There was no talking to her about this, however. She had no clue what he was talking about. She couldn't even tell the difference between the standard, formulaic actions and the more powerful rituals. He had tried asking, several times, but she just could not be made to be aware of what was going on. In fact, it was almost like her mind shut off whenever he mentioned magic.

Of course, there was no way to get answers from the cat about this. She was just acting like a normal cat, and deliberately ignored him when he would pose those queries to her. For the most part, he ignored her, as she did him. Serena, strange girl that she was, was more than enough to catch and hold his attention.

Not that it was her strangeness he was even concerned with. That was simply how he justified it to himself. No, what he was concerned with was more just her. How she would tilt her head to the side when listening. How she would chatter on and on, switching topics almost mid-sentence at times. How she ate far more than he'd ever seen a young woman eat (where did she put it all? She was so tiny...), and did so with such gusto.

He'd never been so fascinated with another person before. Even when Lord Kale had arrived to take up his duties as Kunzite, he hadn't been so totally enraptured, even though he had tried to get every secret out of the older warrior that the man possessed, eventually even learning the truth of his betrayal at the hands of his brother.

Serena didn't seem capable of keeping secrets from anyone. In fact, Endymion wasn't even totally convinced she knew what a secret was. It looked like all of his answers were going to have to come from her mother, a lady he learned that was going to be visiting her the next day. "Normally she comes every second day, and she brings all sorts of things." Serena had told him, eyes shining with love when she spoke of the woman. "Bread, and milk, and tea, and sweets... Sometimes she'll bring preserved meats, but usually I just hunt for them myself. I can take rabbits with snares easily enough, and there are lots of fish in the brook. Luna there," She gestured to the cat, who sighed and muttered something about true names, "Gets birds sometimes, but she'd rather I cook it for her than eat it raw. Other animals eat it raw. Mama says it's because Luna isn't really an animal, or not a normal one. Not like the wolves out there. You're lucky you didn't find one, they can be scary…" And then she was off, talking about wolves and not her mother anymore. Endymion didn't mind. Hearing her voice was all he cared about.

He stayed that night as well, since Serena didn't know the direction back to civilization and Kunzite hadn't shown up for him yet. This time, however, he made Serena take the bed, despite her offering it to him, then offering to share. He'd bowed out on account of how the bed wasn't built for two people and that he didn't want to break it, but that wasn't his real reason. Serena was a total innocent, and he intended for her to stay that way.

If that day was the closest he'd ever been to heaven, the next was the closest he'd even been to hell. It started off decently enough, waking up in the same tower as Serena and helping her gather breakfast. It wasn't until they came back to the tower that Luna accosted them angrily.

"Serena! Did you remember to perform your sunsong before leaving the tower today?" The accusation in the feline's voice said the answer was already known, but Serena spoke up anyway.

"Why, no, I don't think I did." She responded, looking startled. "I was talking about how much fun gathering berries is with Darien, and it just slipped my mind."

The cat shot him such a venom-filled glare then that he recoiled from it. "It's all your fault!" She hissed, advancing on him. He stood his ground, though, not willing to lose more ground to a cat. A cat! "Two of her most potent protections, shattered because you didn't have the wits to stay where your keepers could look after you, prince!" She laughed hollowly at his surprise, as she hadn't made any previous mention of knowing his position. "Oh, yes, I know who you are. Everyone had heard of the Elysion Empire, and it behoves persons of intellect to be able to recognize the important members of the court. Your guardians come, and we would have been gone if you had ever been able to escape their care long enough to try and take Serena with you! Now, though, the vagrancies of your human court," She almost spat the last word, her disdain obvious, "Are the least of our worries. Serena!"

The girl started, obviously shocked to hear her companion speak so ill of another. She looked near to tears, but immediately sharpened at the command in her pet's voice. "Yes, Luna?"

"A three layer protection circle. Salt, water, and ash. Bring your copper sickle and that broach you have in with you. Now!" The girl leapt to obey, and Endymion moved to help. He was cut off from reaching her, though, when the cat turned on him. "Not you!"

She seemed to soften slightly at the stubborn expression on his face, and the fact that Serena was obviously the first thing on his mind. "You'll weaken the protections." She explained gruffly. "The girl has much more magic than either of us, or both of us combined. Help me call your guardians. They're close, and you need to get out of here. Serena will be protected, and you're too politically important to be caught in the crossfire."

He hesitated, then nodded. Then, for the first time, Luna let him touch her, leaping into the arms he reflexively held out to catch her. He could sense the spell as soon as he touched her, so attuned was he to the feel of Kunzite's power. Adding his own energy to it caused the ribbon connecting the strange, not-cat creature to his quiet guardian to flare, then settled into a strong cord of magic much, much stronger than the original one. He could almost see Kunzite change from a careful tracking to a full-out gallop towards the tower. He was still hindered by the lack of road, but Endymion could sense that he would be there soon.

Soon enough? Perhaps. He still didn't know what they were racing against, but the urgency in the room was almost palpable.

Serena could feel it too, and he wanted to sooth the worry from her fair brow. He found himself contemplating how such a lovely face should never hold such a distressed expression, but shook himself out of it. That they were expecting attack was obvious, but that didn't mean he was totally useless. He placed his own protections on the tower, though he was careful to make sure they didn't mess with the ones Serena was erecting. Luna was correct, the girl could put up an impressive ward. His palace wasn't that protected, and it was the most warded place in a magically strong empire.

He was watching out the window when the hooded figure appeared in the clearing below, obviously oblivious to the frantic action in the tower. "Rapunzel, my little love, let down the ladder! I've missed you sweetheart!" The name, he knew, was a nickname, based on the girl's favourite food. It seemed that the rule against true names applied to Serena's mother as much as everyone else. She couldn't get to the ladder, however, so Endymion threw it out for her while creating a barrier of earth magic outside of the triple ward already erected.

"Rapunzel? Child?" There was worry in the voice now, but Endymion gave it no heed. He would explain things when she was up at the top of the tower, or Luna could.

The lady who pulled herself over the sill of the window did look a little like Serena, but Endymion's first thought was She didn't give birth to Serena! His second thought was that of course she didn't. Everyone knew the Magellan Queen only had one child, the Lady Mina. Serena looked a little like Mina, but not enough to be sisters. Cousins, maybe. Unless the girl had a different father…

He cut off that thought quickly as being unproductive and unsuited to his position. Princes didn't involve themselves in the gossip that was the lifeblood of the snake-like courtiers.

It turned out the Queen recognized him as easily as he did her. "Your Highness!" She exclaimed, sweeping into a confused but still stately curtsey. She glanced at Serena then, sitting in the center of wards so powerful even those without magic could see it. "You should not be here." She informed him, voice curiously dull. "You should never have been here, but what is done is done. You should go now. My child is searching the forests for you, I'm sure her and her husband will find you shortly. Go."

He frowned, his innate stubbornness rebelling against the thought. "I will not leave with so many questions unanswered. Who is this child, and why is she out here? Why has she lived her life in solitude? What is this danger the cat thinks about to appear? Why…"

The Queen sighed gustily and pushed him towards the window, catching him off-guard enough to actually get him to the opening. "She is dear to me, and your presence puts both her and you in danger. That is all you need to know."

He would have protested, but his words died unspoken as he saw what else was entering the clearing. From the South came his guardians, Kunzite and Lady Mina. From the North, on the other hand…

He didn't even know how to describe it. It looked like a glowing cloud, ridden by a red-headed woman with pointed ears and claw-like hands. Her eyes gleamed even brighter when she saw him. "So!" She exclaimed, her voice rough and booming, yet somehow still eerily feminine. "I come hunting a missing moon-child, and I find this handsome, powerful little morsel as well." She smiled at him, and Endymion felt his heart quake beneath the sheer evil in her.

"You shouldn't be here!" He heard from behind him, and looked back to see anguish in the Queen's eyes. She took a deep breath then, staring directly at him. "I'm sorry for this, Milord." With that, she pushed him out the window.

For one terrifying moment, Endymion felt himself falling freely towards the ground, far enough away that hitting the ground was likely to kill him. The next instant, however, he was slowing. A magic that he recognized as Kunzite's was catching him, breaking his fall slowly. That only made the woman-creature on the cloud cackle harder.

"So indeed! Another lovely little snack for me! What a find!" She leered at Kunzite then, who wore a look of disgust on his face at her description of him as a 'lovely little snack'. "I will have you for my army." The evil witch-woman announced, seeming almost conversational. "Your magic I will feed on, your soul enslave, and your body use as I see fit. Your mind will serve me as a devoted general, and you shall be allowed to aid in my conquest, first of the fae lands and then of this mortal realm. Your woman will be the blood sacrifice to bind you. You, on the other hand," She said, turning back to Endymion, "I'll keep a little more together. I'll only eat a little of your magic and enrapture your soul. I should like a consort, and you will do wonderfully."

The two men looked like they couldn't decide who was getting the worse deal, but the comedy of their facial expressions was something that would only be noticed, and recounted with glee, by Lady Mina upon reflection at a later date. Their disgust and startlement did allow the demon-rider to turn her attention back to the person who originally drew her to this clearing. "I see you, little moonling, hiding in the tower there! Hiding behind the woman you call 'mother'… Hah! As if a mere human could breed something as annoying and power-sweet as you! I know of your birth, little fool! I was there when your mother announced the babe Serenity secret-fostered, and knew I was the cause. She didn't know who I was, though, and fell before my planning and magic! All that's keeping her tied to her world and throne is the power she hid in you, buried in your body. Now, however, I've found you. That pretty princeling there broke the geas that kept you hidden." She leered at Endymion then, who had recoiled in horror at the thought of what he'd accidentally done. "One more thing in his favour as a consort. No one else has offered me such a sweet morsel as that child. First, though, to taste her magic and flesh…"

The talking was suddenly done, almost all the humans in the glade jumping in shock as the red-headed incarnation of evil levelled an attack at the tower that blasted the stone away, leaving only a pillar topped with an unfenced floor. The she-devil snarled then, obviously having expected more damage from the attack.

The pale girl stood entirely untouched, her sickle in one hand and the broach the cat ordered her to grab resting on the palm of the other. The spell hadn't even touched her protections.

"Mother!" Lady Mina cried, spying the person who took the brunt of the attack. Indeed, it was the Queen whom stood defiantly, even her grievous wounds not causing her to falter. She held a sword, one that Mina had never seen before, levelled directly at the monster before her.

"No one hurts my children." She said calmly. "Not Mina, and not Serenity either. It matters not than Serenity was not born of my body, she is my child in heart. You will not harm them."

"Foolish mortal!" Their foe spat, angered by this unknown woman's presumptions. "You cannot hope to stand against me, with all the might of Metalia behind me! I will flay you alive, and eat the still teaming flesh while you watch!"

"Beryl!" Kunzite exclaimed softly, suddenly understanding the warning of his brother-in-arms, the court foreseer Nephrite. "Beware the stone that rides the cloud. The stone is the key, and the self." It had been as cryptic as foresight always seemed to be, and the other man's face had shown he was just as baffled at the advice. Now he understood , though. The demon-rider's true identity was tied to the stone she wore on her forehead.

"Beryl?" Endymion asked, brow furrowed, before his face cleared and he nodded. "Beryl." Having been born to magic, rather than learning it later as his protectors had, he could sense the power in the word as it left his lips. "I'll need time to complete the binding." He murmured back. Bindings took time, and he couldn't be interrupted as he did it. It was a lot to ask, but he was the only one with the magic to possibly allow this to work.

Lady Mina cried out as another blast of magic knocked her mother off the tower. "Leave it to me." She told the prince before kicking her horse into a startled run towards the fallen woman. "Mother!" She cried, tumbling off her mount in her haste to reach her parent's side. One trembling hand touched the brow of the woman who bore her, while the other closed on the stone blade still clenched in bloody hands. She carefully pulled the weapon from the clenched fingers and felt it boost her own meagre magic. That, then, was how her mother was able to stand against two attacks, despite having no magical training or special aptitude for those powers.

She pulled the power to her, and used it to spring up onto the platform that still held the young lass that seemed to be the center of this battle. The girl was deathly pale, and obviously terrified, but she smiled at Mina with an assurances she didn't actually feel. "It's alright, you don't need to do this." She told the older blonde. "It is not your duty to join in my fights."

Mina grinned at the girl, her blood singing in her veins. She'd learned, during the ambush two days previously, something that Kale had suspected: She was a born warrior, and not one to back down from a challenge. "That shows what you know." She informed the girl sagely. "I'm your elder sister, which means it very much is my place to stand for you in your battles. Plus, you're obviously my liege-lord's chosen lady, which means my sworn duty is to protect you." She turned to the enemy then, blue eyes blazing. "Mother wasn't a warrior. I will not fall."

The woman, who watched them with amusement, cackled her glee to the sky. "Such fire! Truly, if all mortals are as amusing as your family, I shall enjoy conquering this land more than I expected!" She lashed out them with a bolt of power. Mina managed to parry it, but grunted with the effort. The strike was harder than any she'd felt before, including her husband's training. She was grateful, then, that she'd refused to train with the few guardswomen. None of them could have given her the training to turn something that strong.

She could feel the pulsing magic of the girl just behind her, who had cried out in despair at the attack. The pale woman-child was panting, but Mina could almost feel the anger and hurt in the glare the young moon-maiden gave the demon-rider. She smirked. So, the girl wasn't going to go down without a fight. She knew, then, that even if she fell, the girl would survive. The growing, furious power radiating from behind her right shoulder wouldn't falter until their foe was no more. Now, all that was left was paying the cost.

Praying it wasn't her life that would be taken in exchange, Mina attacked. She could still feel the magic in her feet from the previous jump, and decided in a split-second to put it to use. Sword first, she leapt at the startled woman that she was quickly coming to believe was evil incarnate.

The demon's head was firm to her feet, allaying the fear she had that she would just fall in and be swallowed by something that seemed almost to be a physical rift to the realms of the damned, almost pure evil energy made solid at the behest of its rider. Mina swung, catching the woman a glancing blow to the shoulder. A thin line of green followed the strike, revealing the location of a shallow wound.

Power flared suddenly from her opponent, causing Mina to stagger slightly and cry out. The woman had transformed, somehow. No longer did she have blood red hair and pale skin. Her skin was now a pale green, a lighter shade of the sickly colour of her blood, and her hair was a deep shade of blue-green that looked almost like the mold that stole much of the harvest during a damp winter. All told, there wasn't a single usual or unthreatening colour left in the she-devil's palette.

Her power was growing, too. The feel of wrong around her was so powerful now that it actually caused her hair to stand straight up, like the hair of a poor man Mina had once seen that had been struck by lightning. "You struck me!" Came the incredulous voice, a hissing sound accompanying it now. "You drew my blood! That is not to be forgiven! I will destroy you so thoroughly even your gods will forget you ever existed!"

Mina felt even her warrior's heart quake at the creature's promise. However, she was fighting for her liege-lord, who was trying desperately to finish the binding on this evil, her husband and love, who was aiding his prince, and the sister she'd never known she had, whose pure magic was bolstering her even without conscious effort.

The girl's magic was the complete opposite of that facing her. It was the embodiment of hope, and love, and peace. Of justice, and truth, and friendship. It was the essence of such things as a ray of sunshine, and child's carefree laughter, the waves lapping peacefully on the shore. It was the soul of all that was good in the world, and Mina firmed her jaw and swung again. She would protect this girl. With her life, if necessary. Even beyond that, if it could be within her powers.

The she-devil dodged this blow, and lashed out with another bolt of magic. Mina didn't move fast enough, and felt it tear through her riding skirts. A bolt of fire followed it across the top of her thigh, and she winced. She attacked again, doggedly. Even is she was wounded, she would not fall.

Serenity cried out again as the brave blonde woman who apparently considered her kin took another hit. She wanted to help, but she knew nothing of warfare. Nothing of any hardship, truly. Between her mother and Luna, she had never lacked for company. Hurts healed quickly, forgotten within a few minutes. Her entire life, until this day, had been one bright memory followed by another.

Now she was in a battle. Her mother was wounded, possibly seriously. Her new friend was casting some sort of spell, the strain of it showing in his face. Her sister was in battle with a terrifying foe, wounded and scared. Luna was gone, tossed away in the first attack. All because of her.

The evil facing them wanted her. She eyed her protective circle. It wouldn't take much to break it, just a thought. They were never hard to bring down from the inside. Then she could help…

But what could she do to help? She couldn't cast, not like Darien could. She couldn't fight, like this bright warrior could. She couldn't even channel and tame power for Darien, as his silver-haired guardian was doing.

This wasn't something she'd ever considered. Her world knew nothing of strife, except for that of the animal world. It was nothing like this, with feelings and intent behind the damage inflicted. She was terrified. Yet there was something unfolding within her, a nameless force that looked at what this evil was wreaking and rebelled against the fear.

It was the call of justice and love, what her race personified in the fae realms, singing through her veins, though she had not the experience to name it. Still it swelled within her like a storm, unstoppable and wild. Every blow that her kinswoman took made it flare brighter, more insistent. Finally she couldn't bear it any more and broke the circle with one sweep of her sickle.

Both the combatants flinched as they felt her power wash over them without the buffering effect of the wards. The blonde didn't turn from her foe, allowing her a good hit on the green woman. Their foe spared her one more sweep of power, knocking the injured lady off her feet, before turning her attention back to the scared and defiant girl before her.

"So you come out of hiding all on your own! Living here has made you careless, though you will not live long enough to understand just how great your folly is." So saying, she reached for the girl, only to draw back with a hiss as the blade cut into her hand.

"You attack my family, my friends, and me. You admit freely to plotting to overthrow my people, starting with one I assume is my birth mother. You destroy without thought, only caring for yourself and your power. This is not something that will be forgiven." Her words spilled from her without conscious thought, the power within her directing her. She raised the broach, previously only a source of comfort during nightmares or that one time she fell from a tree and broke her arm, and focussed her magic through it, more words coming to her tongue instinctually. "Moon Prism Power!"

Just as she spoke, the blonde defender surged to her feet and gave another full-bodied attack at their foe. Strike the gem! She thought desperately, and, through luck, magic, or something more intangible, she did, the blade finding the beryl on the she-demon's forehead at the same time her magic pulse first touched it.

Then there was only white.

"Serenity!" Endymion roared as his binding went off, coinciding with the bright flash of magic from the top of the ruined tower. He dimly heard Kunzite cry his own love's name, and then both of them were running at breakneck speeds for the stone pillar in the middle of the clearing. It wasn't until he was halfway up the spire that he realized his vision wasn't clearing from the flash of magic that had wiped away his vision.

He didn't slow, even as he heard Kunzite's strong voice tremble while he chanted his wife's name desperately. He could only assume the woman had been flung free during the final attack, but gave no more though to it. Though he was very fond of Lady Mina, his mind was entirely occupied with his own important person. He continued finding his way up the tower by touch, the stones telling him where to put his hands and feet while he went.

Finally he reached the top, his connection to the planet, still wide open after his spell earlier, pulling him insistently to the only life signs up this high.

They were weak signs, and getting weaker as he scrambled across the flooring. There was no rattling breath, no gasping, no sound at all to accompany her worsening condition. She wasn't hurt, he could tell that now that she was in his arms. Injuries he could heal. He was good at healing physical harm.

He couldn't heal her.

It wasn't a wound, wasn't a sickness, wasn't a heart attack, or a brainstorm, or anything else he could recognize. It felt more like exhaustion does to the body, only it was her soul that was afflicted. The magic she had used, all untrained, had pulled much of her life-force out with it in that final blast.

He couldn't even see her, but his mind supplied the image of what she must look like. Rosy cheeks pale, golden hair gathered in those two odd twists on the top of her head and trailing down in ribbons to lie on the ground, bright blue eyes closed, the long lashes fanning over her cheeks delicately…

A sob escaped him as he clutched her to his chest. He kept repeating her name over and over, tears spilling over his lids with such speed that he couldn't have seen her even if his eyes worked. One hand caught one of hers, and he trembled to feel the chill her condition had placed in her skin.

He was still holding her when her chest stilled a moment later, and he couldn't bring himself to believe what his senses were telling her. Instead, he clamped his mouth over hers and forced the breath back into her, unmindful of the fact that he was, quite literally, stealing her first kiss.

She couldn't have minded too much, however, as she responded to the kiss, drawing a shuddering breath of her own through her nose. He drew back slightly, quite startled, only to hear her sweet voice once again. "Darien?"

This time it was a kiss, a true one. It was hard, and desperate, and demanding, but perfect all the same. Serenity was in his arms, responding to his mouth moving over hers eagerly, bringing her own arms up to wrap around his neck.

He could feel their separate magics winding together, much as their arms. He understood, then, that it wasn't the amount of power, but the use of it that had drawn her out. Her own world was calling her, and she hadn't the presence of mind to resist it. The children of the moon, as he now knew she truly was, were not meant to live in this world. They were odd ones, beings of pure magic born with a shell of flesh. They were the ones farmers tended to call changelings, the children substituted for others at birth. The fae realms, after all, were not appropriate places to raise flesh-and-blood children that one cared for.

It was usually shortly after discovering their magic that they faded, always the bodies dying young as the spirits escaped to the realms they were born to live in. His hands clenched tighter around the body of the one dear to him. She was the oldest moonling he had ever seen, most coming into their power before adolescence. If she had survived this long, he would make sure she continued to do so. Now that he'd found her, the one he loved more than anything, he would not give her up to the calling of her heritage.

"Endymion." He told her, wanting to hear her say his true name. "My name is Endymion, Serenity."

"Endymion." She sighed happily, cuddling up into him. "Endymion. My Endymion."

"Yes." He agreed. "Your Endymion. Always, Serenity. I'll always be yours."

"Good." She answered happily, before yawning. He wished he could see her, content, smiling, and sleepy in his arms. However, there was something he needed to do before he could let her rest, or the same troubles and worries would continue to haunt him. Though she was currently solid and there in his arms, the lure of her heritage would not leave her be that easily.

"Serenity, I need you to do something for me." He told her urgently, giving her a gentle shake to get her full attention.

"Of course, Endymion. Anything." She responded, and he smiled before releasing her. He held out his hands, crossed at the wrist, and felt her take them.

"I need you to promise to stay with me." He informed her solemnly.

"I wouldn't leave you!" She exclaimed, distressed by his need for this vow.

"I need you to promise to stay with me." He emphasised, clutching her hands and shifting his wrists so that all three hands rested on his left one.

She huffed out a petulant breath, and he couldn't help the smile that graced his lips at the sound. She was just so adorable.

"I promise." She said, suddenly as solemn as he previously had been. "I will stay by your side of my own free will for as long as I can make this life last, since there is nothing I desire more than to be at your side always."

Their magics had twisted together previously, like kittens in a basket. This was different. With every word she spoke, the threads twined tighter and tighter until she said always. As soon as she finished her pronouncement, the separate threads melded and fused, creating another white-hot flash of magic.

It was utterly unlike the flash that had blinded him, except in its intensity. That had been martial magic, as pure as justice, unrelenting as duty, and powerful as the heart of one that will not lose, regardless of the odds. This one was a harmonious magic, as pure as song, sweet as love, and beautiful as the first snowfall. Underlying it, though, was the steel of unwavering loyalty. This, then, was the bond they would share from this moment on, one deep enough that the call of her heritage was nothing more than a castle of sand before the tide.

"Oh!" Serenity cried, delighted. "Oh, that tickles!" She shivered then, her eyes smiling as brightly as the rest of her face up at him. It morphed quickly into confusion, though it lost none of its brilliance. "You're looking at me again." She informed him bluntly. "Is there a reason you weren't, before?"

He blinked, then gasped. "I can see you!" He exclaimed, not even having noticed his eyesight being healed. There had been more important things to focus on, like the smile on her face and the tingles of her magic melding with his. He embraced her again, tears once again flowing freely down his face. He wasn't alone in weeping. Sometimes there is just so much joy in a person that they don't have room for their tears inside, as Serenity was quickly learning.

Things were a blur after that. To Endymion's mind, it was as if he was embracing Serenity on a ruined tower in a destroyed clearing one moment, and safely tucked up at Magellan Castle the next, surrounded by people demanding to know what had happened.

"Enough!" Kunzite had finally roared, throwing everyone who had no stake in the tales out, leaving only six: himself, Endymion, Lady Mina, Princess Serenity, and the King and Queen of Magellan. They looked at each other, not sure where to begin. Finally, Endymion turned to the Queen.

"How did you come to raise a moon-child?" He asked her, sure that was as close to the beginning as anyone in this company would know.

"A moon-child?" She asked, incredulous for moment. Her eyes sought her foster daughter, and she smiled warmly at the girl. "That would make sense. Well, when I met her mother, the lady was about as tall as my hand is long. It was the day before Mina's fifth birthday, and I was wishing desperately…"

She went on from there, to tell of a pact made of hope (causing her husband to grumble at 'fae trickery'), of the ache of raising a child in secret ("I didn't really think you were pious enough for your two hours of daily prayer!" Mina exclaimed), of a gift that protected the carrier ("couldn't the moon-woman have made it lighter?" Kunzite groused, causing odd looks around the table while his wife actually fell of her chair laughing), of another one that protected those loved by the wielder, of the cat that appeared with the child, to look after it when she could be there ("Luna." Serenity murmured sadly, as none had seen the cat since the attack), of her glee when Mina fell in love, of her fears for Serenity, who would never be allowed to meet anyone.

Endymion was next, recounting his misadventures in battle and his subsequent travels in the wood. He spoke of following Serenity's song to the tower, of sharing space with her for over a full day, of Luna's fury on the second morning, and of the preparations for battle and the arrival of four people to the clearing.

Mina took over then, recounting to her father the battle up to the point where she was flung from the beast as it exploded, the force fortunately contained in the binding spell closing in on it. Then she had to give the tale back to her liege, as she was unconscious until after all the interesting things had happened.

It was well into night by the time Endymion had finished recounting his impromptu marriage. There was silence as he finished, as five gazes met, each asking that difficult question of 'what now?' Five, as Serenity had her eyes closed and was curled up against Endymion's side, dozing. He smiled down at her, cheered by her obvious contentment.

She wasn't as oblivious as she seemed, however, as she was the one that broke the silence. "You are not sticking me back up in that tower again." She insisted crossly, eyes still closed. "Besides, you all know about me now. I don't have to hide any more."

"Truer, perhaps, than you know, child." Replied a soft, hollow sounding voice that none of them recognized. They turned towards the window, startled to see the tiny but perfect image of a woman standing in the moonbeams. She had her hair pulled up in the same odd hairstyle as Serenity, accenting the familiarity they already had.

"My Lady!" The Queen exclaimed, jumping to her feet to curtsey. "I am sorry, Lady. I was unable to complete the task you gave me." She kept her head lowered, obvious expecting some punishment, but the tiny lady only laughed.

"I asked you to keep my child a secret. Serenity turned sixteen two weeks ago." Her mirth left her then, and she frowned slightly. "Moon-children only have the ability to use as much magic as they can channel the first time they use it. Since many tap into it years younger, they don't have the abilities Serenity does. However, after age sixteen the child has as much magic as their bodies can hold. Our magic's formative years are really only from about age ten to sixteen.

"I knew there was trouble in my kingdom, though I didn't know whom it was that was set against me. For that reason, I declared that none should know the identity of Serenity's foster family. Even though you humans can't tell until their magic activates, us fae know our own. Hence the need for total secrecy. Humans cannot keep secrets from our kind, but the Queen's mind I was able to protect with the sword."

She shook her head then. "Not that any of this matters. That is the past, and we are beyond it being important. What we need to discuss is the future."

Serenity gave her mother a hard look, though her quivering lip gave her fear away. Endymion gave her hand a supporting squeeze, giving her the courage to say what she wanted to say. "I'm not going back to your world." She blurted, and Endymion smiled, his fears erased.

"Not yet, no." Her mother admitted, and gave her daughter a sharp look. "That body will eventually fall to the ravages of time, you know. You may not join my court for as much as a century, but you will come eventually. Probably within a fortnight of when I get to introduce your paramour to my court."

Endymion hissed in a breath, and the little queen laughed again. "Oh, you humans are too precious! She will become fully fae when her body passes, yet the oath she swore said she would stay with you always. That means you will join my world, too." She smiled at him. "A century is not so long to wait if I get a handsome son as well as my lovely daughter."

"So that's just it, then?" Mina demanded, sure things couldn't really be just that easy. She was proven correct when the Queen's face fell.

"Not quite. There is still the worry of their offspring. Serenity is now fully bound to her human body, but any children she bears will still be moon-children. I don't think the Golden Emperor will appreciate knowing his heirs are fated to fade from life before reaching marriageable age." The grimace on Kunzite's face said more than any words how correct she was.

"Can we not bind our children like I did Serenity?" Endymion asked, alarmed.

"Only if you want all the scions of the royal house to die within a few weeks of you." She told him bluntly. "There are a couple other things you can try, though. The actual fix will be different for each child, but it's only the first that will need to be bound such. Since those bindings will be to their own blood, as opposed to another person, your grandchildren should be stable."

"What are these other things?" Mina asked, determination on her face.

"I can't say." The Queen told her. "I don't use human magic. I just know they exist, as this isn't the first time a moon-child has chosen to stay in the human realm. It's very rare, but it does happen. You will have to search for them yourselves."

Endymion groaned. "After this demon-fighting fiasco, my father's not going to let me out of the capital for years! Kunzite won't get permission to leave me as he's my main protector, as Lady Mina is Serenity's, and the Lady's parents have a kingdom to rule! Not to mention the young children you're so fond of spoiling! How are we going to search out these cures?"

Kunzite got a contemplative look on his face then. "I believe Lords Jared and Zachery, the heirs-presumptive Jadeite and Zoicyte respectively, are about to reach majority. Those two rascals could do with a quest to temper their natural abilities to the steel needed to be a Shitennou."

Conspiratorial grins met him around the table. "Yes." Endymion said. "Yes, that should work very well indeed."

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year everyone!