Hello readers!!  As someone pointed out to me, I haven't
given my name yet in any of the chapters of this series, 
so for those of you who were wondering, it's Ali.  Also 
to clear something up, my pen name was supposed to be 
Sailor Unico, but after awhile some web page owners 
decided Ali was better so in some places it's Ali and 
others it's Sailor Unico.  For those that asked, I have 
another fic series that I posted all at once rather 
than little bits at a time.  It's located at too many 
places to list here, but if you want a link to the most 
current revision e-mail me at slrunico@aol.com and I'll 
send it!  The series is called "The End of the Sailor 
Soldiers" and it focuses on the Inners' graduation from 
highschool and breaking up for college.
     This is, I think, one of the most dramatic chapters.  
Herein you will find Serenity and Serena's talk about 
the betrothal, the Inners' reactions, and more importantly, 
Darien's reaction.  I hope you like it, the scene where 
Darien finds out probably could have been written better...
what do you think?  I need e-mails from you out there 
to let me know how I am doing!!  Thanks!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Weaving a Romance"
CHAPTER 4: No Turning Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Someone was shaking her.  "Serena, Serena, wake up!" 
the owner of the hands said.
     But she didn't want to.  Sleep was better.  She 
knew that if she woke up something...something...would 
hurt her, and it was just safer to stay immobile and in 
peacefulness until she could figure out what could hurt 
her and then try to get back to consciousness.
     "Why didn't you tell her before we came like we 
planned?" asked another voice.
     "I told you," the first one said crossly.  "There 
was no time, I was waiting for the right moment.  You 
don't just spring marriage on a girl, especially Serena.  
But unfortunately that's just what happened.  I can't 
believe it."
     The other person snorted.  "Come now, Serenity, we 
both know that if you had told her and raised her on 
the knowledge she has already been spoken for, this 
wouldn't have happened!  Why in the world did you 
decide to keep it from her for so long?"
     "I wanted her to have fun before she was tied down 
to the responsible married life.  Living with the 
'knowledge' that she has been promised to someone and 
that her life has already been laid down for her in 
stone is not the way to spend a childhood.  I was 
planning to sit her down and calmly explain AFTER you 
and Bruce arrived.  Little did I know things would get 
out of hand like that."
     The first person sighed.  "Well, what's done is 
done, and I suppose you aren't at fault.  I'm sorry for 
causing a scene back there, the day hasn't been divine 
for Bruce and I."
     Serena had heard quite enough.  Married? she 
thought, maintaining her fainted state.  I can't be 
married, I'm only 16 years old!  This just isn't 
happening.  It's got to be some sort of a nightmare.  
Soon I'll wake up...married!  I don't believe it...sure,
I'm fond of Bruce, he's a nice person and a dear friend... 
well, a dear friend I haven't seen in years, anyway.  
Why didn't anyone ever tell me about this little 
arrangement??  All those boys I dated...and - 
     Suddenly someone's image flashed through her mind 
and it startled her so much she opened her eyes, 
gasped, and rose to a sitting position.  Darien!  
Whatever is he doing there at a time like this?  Lord, 
the man somehow manages to get to me when he isn't even 
here, and when he has absolutely NO business in this 
matter!
     The clear picture faded away softly until Darien's 
cocky and arrogant face was nothing more than a blur of 
color stained and blended together with tears.  In a 
way she was almost sorry to see him go.
     Almost.
     She turned to her mother and Estelle, neither of 
which had noticed her recovery as they were talking in 
hushed voices in a tight cluster.  The three of them 
were inside a small conservatory right off of the main 
council room.  Bruce was no where in sight.  "Ahem," 
Serena cleared her throat.
     Both queens turned to her.  "Serena," said her 
mother.  "Are you all right?"
     Serena nodded.  "I still don't understand," she 
ventured in a hesitant voice.  "What's going on?"
     Serenity and Estelle exchanged glances.  "Well..." 
Serenity began.  "As I said, you and Bruce are to be 
married, in less than two weeks."
     "MARRIGE??" exploded Serena, jumping to her feet.  
"Me??  And Bruce??"  Not that there was anything 
*wrong* with Bruce, it was just that they were simply 
childhood friends, and nothing more.  They couldn't 
marry, they weren't in love.  What gave the two queens 
the idea that they ought to butt around in Serena's 
life?
     The princess has read about betrothals in fairy 
stories, but never had even considered the notion that 
she might have been betrothed at birth - and certainly 
not to a boy she'd been in diapers with!  She had 
assumed that people in her day and time didn't do 
arranged marriages anymore.  Serena glared at her 
mother and Queen Estelle.  Evidently she had assumed 
wrong this time.
     Serenity cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable.  
"Estelle, maybe you should leave me and Serena alone 
right now, so I can explain things..."
     Estelle nodded firmly, glancing at Serena once 
before hurrying out the door.
     The queen of the Moon and the princess of the 
Moon appraised each other silently.  Neither spoke.  
Serena still did not understand what was happening, 
and she didn't want to even begin to comprehend.  But 
alas, Serenity began to explain.
     "Serena, darling, I know this comes as a shock to 
you, and I know that Estelle was probably right, that I 
should have told you before she and Bruce arrived about 
the plans.  Really, I meant to, but things just got so 
out of hand back there, that I wasn't sure anymore of 
anything."
     "It's true then," asked Serena in a near whisper, 
as if saying the words too loudly would make them more 
real.
     A tight nod from her mother affirmed her greatest fear.
     "But I can't!" Serena cried.  "Not me, not Bruce, 
we're not in love!"
     "I know, I know," Serenity soothed her.  "Not now, 
but soon you will learn to love him.  You've been 
friends since you were just little children, so it's 
not like you're marrying a total stranger!"
     Serena sniffled, willing herself not to cry...to 
hold in those horrid, cruel tears until they could fall 
in the privacy of her room onto her lace comforter.
Holding back the flood gates, she stared her mother 
straight in the eye.  "Were you betrothed to Daddy??"
     That question caught Serenity off guard, Serena 
noted, for what was one of the few times in her life.  
"No," the queen answered in a short and curt tone.  "No,
I married by choice."
     The look on her mother's face was pure torture, of 
dreams and kisses that had been locked away in her 
heart forever, coming to surface at the mention of her 
late husband.  Serena instantly felt sorry for even 
bringing up the subject, seeing how it hurt the woman 
most dear to her.  She stepped back, bracing herself 
for the harsh reprimand that might follow as a result 
of her insolence.
     Instead Serenity turned her back to her daughter.  
Her voice was cold and stern but strangely soft.  
"Serena, this discussion is closed...you will marry 
Prince Bruce and that is final.  Now go to your room."
     "Yes Mother..." Serena said meekly.  Willing to 
give up the subject, she left the conservatory the 
back way so that she could avoid Bruce and Estelle 
until she was ready to face them again...leaving her 
mother to stew in memories that should have stayed 
where they were...buried.


"Married??" asked Raye in disbelief.  
     "To BRUCE?" exclaimed Lita.
     "Nuts," muttered Mina.  "There goes my chances with him."
     "Mina!" gasped Amy, astonished.  "How can you 
think of yourself at a time like this!?"
     "Easy...I just...do."
     Serena had retreated to her room and was flopped 
over on her bed in the middle of relating the whole 
sordid story of her betrothal to her friends.  She 
hadn't even gotten past the words, "I'm going to be 
married to Prince Bruce by the end of the month"!  
They were as much in shock as she was...and SHE was the 
one getting married to a man she had not seen since 
forever!
     Lita looked at Serena in admiration.  "You must 
really be gone for that guy, huh Serena?"
     Serena blinked with incomprehension.  "What?"
     "How much do you like him?" Mina prompted.
     Don't they understand a word I'm telling them, 
Serena thought, very disturbed.  Here I am, I just 
found out I have been secretly engaged to a man for my 
entire existence...to a man I feel only for as a friend,
and they think I'm in LOVE with him??
     On the way back to her room, Serena had tried to 
consciously reach into her soul and extract any sort of 
feelings she might have that might maybe one day become 
love and emotion for the prince of Lerence.  But she 
had found nothing of the sort...just a distant friendship 
that would most likely evolve into nothing else.
     And oh, how she had wanted to find love for Bruce.  
It would make things so much easier.  She could get 
married in a fairy tale wedding just like in all of her 
old picture books, and have a storybook romantic life 
with him...raise lots of children, etc. etc.  Why, 
there would not have been any cause for worry at all.  
If she had found love it would have been easier because 
she could have accepted it and maybe even have cheered 
the idea...no, if she had found love she would have 
demanded that the wedding be moved to the very next 
morning!!
     But alas, life is never easy when we want it to be,
and the times when it is the hardest seem like the 
bleakest and most hopeless of all.  Bleak.  Hopeless.  
That was how Serena felt as she looked at her friends' 
faces, silently begging her to let them in on all the 
feelings she felt for her very own wonderful Prince 
Charming.
     "Well??" Raye asked, breaking into Serena's mind 
with a mental ice pick.  "How did he propose??"
     "I guess I forgot to mention," she responded 
softly.  "He never exactly proposed..."
     "Did he bend on one knee?" interrupted Mina.  
"That's the way it is always done.  And then he slips 
it on your finger and asks for your hand in marriage.  
That," she added for emphasis in case the Moon Princess 
had not gotton the point, "is the way it is done."
     "No," argued Amy.  "Traditionally he asks the 
parental figure for his love's hand first, since it is 
always done that way if he is proper.  Normally he 
would ask the father, but Serena, since your father... 
well, you know, he must have asked your mother first."
     "Oh Amy," scoffed Lita with stars in her eyes.  
"You're so old fashioned.  NO ONE does it that way 
anymore.  Talk about a tradition from our PARENTS' era!"
     "Hey!!!" barked Serena.  "Didn't you guys hear 
me??  He didn't propose to me today!!"
     "See??" said Amy in a sing song, I-told-you-so 
voice.  "He asked the QUEEN today.  Tomorrow he will 
ask Serena formally...the way it is always done."
     "I guess you were right, Amy," Raye acknowledged.
     "Come to think of it," remembered Lita, "I do 
recall reading in the current edition of 'Royal 
Edicate' that that particular tradition is being 
followed by more of the elite and modern couples of 
this time and day, to follow propriety in asking the 
parent first for their daughter's hand."
     "So Serena," asked Mina.  "Will you let us hide 
behind something and watch when Bruce proposes, or do 
you intend to just let us wait in agony until you're 
'ready' to tell everyone the whole...hey..." she noted.  
"Serena's not here."
     "Hmmm..." the other girls agreed.  They looked 
around the room, but during their conversation Serena 
had left her place on the bed and had gone out the door.
     "I'll bet our conversation got her in the mood to 
sneak into Bruce's guest room and share a few," Mina 
giggled, "MOMENTS with him!!"
     The four erupted into united laughter, and gave 
Serena not another thought as they threw themselves 
into idle gossip from around the kingdom..mixing into 
the bittersweet afternoon air.


Serena didn't understand.  She was sitting in the royal 
palace rose garden, toying with one of the leaves on the 
vine near by.  Weren't friends supposed to listen and 
understand you when you most needed them to?  Some help 
they were, she thought bitterly.  Instead of helping me 
with this problem they totally ignored everything I said
right after I announced I was getting married.  It's like 
I suddenly just ceased to exist!
     "Anyway," she said aloud, "I guess it's not really 
their problem.  It's mine.  But what can I do about it?  
Absolutely one hundred percent nothing."  Would have 
been nice, she silently commented, if Mother had asked 
my opinion about all of this before she made that 
agreement.
     But I was, like, barely a month old supposedly.  
Bruce would have been...let's see...just 2 years old 
himself.  Bruce.  I wonder what he thinks of all of 
this.
     Serena sighed.  She knew what he thought.  To boys 
nothing was more important than their home planets, and 
the safekeeping of that planet.  Her mother had something 
that the planet Lerence and its galaxy needed...the 
Silver Crystal.  And Lerence had an outstanding military...
one of the best armies in the entire universe.  It would 
be a good match if they were somehow caught up in a war.  
But quite frankly, Serena couldn't see THAT happening in 
a million years.  There was no trouble anywhere that she
knew of.  "If someone wages battle on us," she muttered, 
"sometime before I'm eighty five, I'll eat my hat...well, 
I would if I *had* a hat."
     Serena bit her lip.  Well, there had been Raye's
stories of that woman on Earth, named Beryl.  But she
never took anything her friend from Mars said seriously.
Raye's father was bent on the subject of war and whatever
he said to her, which was probably a bunch of whacked up
rumors about this Beryl person, she would believe.  But
Serena had no worries, and she hadn't seen her mother 
the least bit concerned.  As long as Serenity remained
calm, Serena knew there was no danger.
     Lightning hit and she was seething with anger.  
Darien's image had suddenly swept back into her mind, 
as if wanting to know exactly what was going on and why 
no one had told him anything.  "I am so sick and tired 
of you just invading my privacy like this!" Serena 
shouted, leaping off of the marble bench she was seated 
on...head tilted toward the sky.  "You have NO say or 
matter in this, I don't even think I WANT to invite you 
to the wedding!!!  So just stop making me think of you!!"
     "Serena!!" 
     "WHAT??"  She spun around and saw that Lita was there, 
a look of concern on her face.  "Oh, I mean, hi Lita."
     Lita took a step forward, then took it back.  
"Ummm...who are you talking to...?"
     Serena remembered how the princesses had not cared 
what she had to say and how she felt about the wedding, 
and was mad all over again.  "No one," she muttered, 
side-stepping Lita out of the garden.  "No one at all."


Serena steadily marched herself back into her room and 
stayed there...staring into space.  A few times she 
sniffled.  Other times she felt a slight tear come to 
her eye, only to find itself brushed aside in annoyance.  
What does a girl do, she thought, when she finds that 
she is to be married to a man she's not in love with?  
She was new to the part, and had no clue how it should 
be played.  The role of the arranged fiancee was not 
one she had planned on.  She didn't even WANT it.
     In a matter of weeks, she...Serena...would be a 
married woman, living off on some foreign planet, without 
her friends or mother for solace.  She supposed it could 
be worse, she could be betrothed to someone totally 
awful.  Bruce was all right, except, she was not in love 
with him.  "And poor, misguided me," she said sarcastically, 
"the little naive princess actually was holding onto the 
concept that marriage was for those who were in LOVE 
with each other.  How innocent and sheltered is THAT??"
     Her voice cracked at the end, and she remained 
silent for a long, long time.  Her eyes stared ahead at 
her vanity across from the bed, filling with tears, 
then blinking them away.
     Finally there was a knock on the door.  "Serena," 
came a muffled voice.  It was Mina, from what she could 
tell.  "Serena, come on!  Your mother and Prince Bruce 
and his mother are all requesting your presence for 
lunch!!  Hop to it!"
     Then there was silence, and a long sigh as Mina 
realized Serena was not going to answer.  The Moon 
princess waited until she heard the flouncing away 
footsteps of her friend, and then got ready for the 
lunch date.


Bruce rose up as Serena entered the dining room.  He 
bowed and then helped her into her seat.  Serena blushed.  
She was used to this kind of treatment, but there had 
not been many men around the palace lately besides Prince 
Obnoxious from Earth.  "Thank you, Bruce," she replied, 
sitting down next to him.
     He nodded at her and gave her that same smile she 
knew so well.  Any other day she would have laughed and 
enjoyed his presence.  But now, things were different.
     Serenity smiled at Queen Estelle knowingly, and 
seeing this, Serena gritted her teeth.  She couldn't 
stand the way her mother was acting!!  Couldn't she 
understand how upset she was??  Any other good mother 
would have called off the wedding at once had she seen 
her daughter's distress.  Any other mother would never 
have arranged for such a terrible thing in the first 
place.  But noooo, not HER mother.  Queen Serenity was 
too worried about keeping up good relations between the 
two galaxies to even worry about her daughter's distress.  
Why, Serena realized with a start, Mother didn't even 
bother to come in and talk things over with me after 
the announcement!!
     "Where are Mina and the others?" asked the princess, 
looking around the dining hall expectantly.
     "Princess Amy had to go home to be fitted for a 
gown for her birthday gala next month," replied her 
mother, "and Princesses Mina and Lita went back together 
with Princess Raye to Mars."
     Princess Raye, mimicked Serena in her mind.  Princess 
Mina, Princess Amy, Princess Lita.  Why the sudden 
formalities, Mother dear?  "Great," she muttered.  "Now 
my FRIENDS are forgetting all about me too."  The least 
they could have done was stayed around to offer her pity.
     Estelle looked down her long, pointy nose at Serena.  
"So, Princess, I trust you are feeling better now that 
you have had a little rest.  I know that that sudden 
announcement of your engagement to Bruce must have been 
startling."
     Serena looked at the queen of Lerence blankly.  
What is she talking about?, she thought, rapidly trying 
to come up with why the queen was asking about her 
welfare.  Ohhhh...the fainting thing, she recalled,  
managing a tight smile.  "Thank you, your majesty, I am 
feeling much better.  You're right, the...ah,  betrothal 
was unexpected but, um...I know things will turn out for 
the best."  Whew!  Good save, Serena!
     Bruce smiled at his mother and Serena realized that 
he had not said a word yet.  "Mother," he addressed 
Estelle, "you don't know Serena that well!  Of course 
she is better.  See?  The announcement didn't take 
anything out of her.  Serena's a trooper, by jove."
     By jove???, Serena thought in panic.  Heavens, is 
that what they talk like on Lerence??  Oh eww...
     "Serena?"
     The princess snapped out of her thoughts and looked 
around the table for the source of the voice.  It was 
her mother.  "Serena, we really need to hurry about 
these wedding arrangements," Serenity continued once 
she was sure she had her daughter's undivided attention.  
"You know that the wedding will be held in the chapel 
here at the palace, but who all would you like to 
invite?  If we hurry, we might be able to give just 
enough notice to the people in --"
     "Wait a minute, Mother!" Serena cried out.  "What 
do you mean, we need to hurry!?  We have all the time 
in the world, don't we??  Or is there something ELSE 
about this I don't know?"
     Serenity cringed, but Estelle took matters into 
her own hands.  "Serena," she said in an icy tone.  "I 
do hope that's not the tone you are accustomed to using 
when speaking to your mother, the queen of the Moon 
Kingdom.  Really!  I have never seen such disrespect!  
The matter of the wedding is none of your concern unless 
your mother asks your opinion on something.  WHEN it is 
held is up to me and Queen Serenity."
     "Just WHEN was I voted out of this wedding??" 
exclaimed Serena.  She was sick of having to pussy foot 
around Estelle's remarks, as she had been doing since 
childhood.  The queen of Lerence was so cold sometimes, 
so prim and proper it was sickening!  Imagine, poor 
Bruce had to live with her every day.  She gulped.  And 
SHE would have to live with her too!  After the marriage 
she would move to Lerence!  Oh, this wedding business 
was getting worse by the minute!!!
     Queen Estelle gasped and Serenity found her wits.  
"Serena!" her mother said sternly, standing.  "You will 
apologize to Prince Bruce and Queen Estelle this minute!!"
     Serena bristled.  Wouldn't Darien love to see this,
she thought as she stood up.  "I'll apologize, Mother," 
she said.  "But not until her majesty Queen Estelle 
apologizes to me for her remarks about my place in the 
wedding!  I found them most uncalled for.  It is my 
wedding, and I have been thrown into it, and if I have 
to go on with the whole deal then I want to be able to 
make some of the decisions."
     Estelle was flabbergasted, and Bruce's mouth was 
hanging open.  Serenity sank back into her seat wearily,
as if she was much too weak for this type of burden.
     "Mother," said Bruce in a weak voice, "maybe you 
ought to apologize to Serena..."
     Estelle opened her mouth, then closed it, then 
opened it again.  Serena waited, patiently, for the 
queen of Lerence to regain her composure and remember 
just who she was talking to.  Serena knew that held 
more importance and esteem in her pinky than Queen 
Estelle did.  She was the daughter of the ruler of the 
entire galaxy, the future holder of the Silver Imperium 
Crystal, the number one source of power in the universe!!
     "...am sorry, Princess Serena."
     Serena turned back to Estelle and realized she had 
missed half of the queen's apology.  "I guess this 
wedding has us all on our nerves," Estelle continued 
with a weak smile.
     "And I apologize, your majesty," said Serena, 
forcing herself to bring tears to her eyes.  If she 
wanted to get out of a punishment from her mother, some 
pretty good acting was called for.  She made her voice 
small and pitiful.  "You're right, I was very disrespectful, 
I...I...just, this is all too much at once to take in, 
I am not myself."
      Everyone nodded with relief, and Bruce helped 
Serena back down into her chair.  The meal resumed and 
all four were on their best behavior.
      And it wasn't until later that night that Serena 
realized her tears were more real than she had planned.


Serenity had another long talk with her daughter the 
following morning in the throne room.  "Today," she 
said, "the royal papers all over the galaxy are printing
word of the engagement.  The reporters will be everywhere 
outside of the palace walls, so I am urging you to stay 
on the grounds all day."
     Serena meant to whine and complain that Mina had 
invited her to Venus for a picnic and that she couldn't 
miss it, but instead these words came out: "Will the 
Earth papers print the news too?"
     Serenity looked a little confused, but nodded.  "I 
don't know if it matters, but yes."
     A brief image of something passed through Serena's 
mind, and she had to chase it down to see who it was.  
"Darien!!" she said aloud.  Something hit her heart -- 
hard -- and she felt sick and tired all of a sudden.  
It was a picture of Darien, smiling at her cockily.  
But all at once his expression became stricken with 
grief, and that made her heart hurt even worse.
     The queen did not hear her daughter's outburst.  
Instead she was insisting for the second time that Serena 
stay on the grounds of the palace all day, and not to 
breath a word to anyone of her argument with Queen 
Estelle.
     Serena heard herself saying something like, "Oh 
why would I mention that?" while her mind was still 
whirring with the question of why she was thinking of 
Darien so much now that this engagement had come about.
     Serenity snapped her back to attention.  "Dear," 
she said, suddenly very firm.  "I think it's best if 
you leave the wedding arrangements up to Estelle and I."
     Serena gasped.  Maybe she didn't want to have this 
wedding, but the least her mother could do was let her 
take charge!  It WAS the only one she would have in 
her lifetime!  And now Serenity and Estelle were bent 
on taking it away from her, too!  "No way!" she 
exclaimed.  "I should have a say in everything that 
goes on, Mother, you KNOW that's only fair!!"
     The queen shook her head.  "Dearest, you know 
nothing about these types of things, and you're much 
too upset as it is.  Just leave everything to me and 
Estelle on this one and --"
     "NO!"
     "Serena!" Serenity was angry now, and Serena took 
a step back.  "Serena, this insolence is shameful!  I 
was appalled at your treatment of Queen Estelle 
yesterday at lunch, and so embarrassed!  What Bruce 
and his mother think about this I can hardly stand to 
imagine!  I don't know what has gotten into you lately, 
Serena, I just don't know!  From now on you are to be 
of the sweetest nature around the royals of Lerence.  
Is that understood??"
     Serena was struck with a helplessness the likes of 
which she had never known before.  There was nothing 
she could do to stop the wedding -- it would go on 
with or without her consent.
     Her mother was now quiet, and she sunk back into 
the chair.  "The least you could do," she said softly, 
"is go through with this if not for me, for the sake of 
your kingdom, Serena.  I won't be here forever, and you 
will be the future leader of the Moon.  You and Bruce will 
bring Lerence and the Moon together and rule over both --"
     "Is that what you want, Mother?" asked Serena.  
"To see the Moon swallowed up by Lerence??"
     "What I want is not for us to discuss at this 
time, daughter.  You owe this to your kingdom, to get 
married.  This betrothal was made a very long time ago, 
and if you were to break it..."  The queen trailed off, 
leaving the unsaid end of her sentence for Serena's 
imagination to fill in.
     "And...oh, Serena..."  Her mother was speaking 
again, this time in a somehow frightened voice.  "I...I 
need you away from here."
     "What do you mean?"
     "I cannot tell you at this time.  But daughter, I 
need you to be gone from here as soon as possible.  I 
need you to go where you will be safe."
     "Mother, if this is about the forces of Beryl --"  
Serena broke off, waiting for her mother to stop her 
and to tell her she was not scared about the happenings 
on Earth.  Because if the queen was scared, then the 
problems Serena had heard about had to be much worse 
than she had thought.  Sure, she knew about the woman 
from Earth, Beryl, and how she was stirring a revolt.  
Raye was her source of gossip on the topic, because her 
father, King Phillip, was one of the ones rooting for 
war.  He had been advising Serenity and the monarchs of 
Earth to stamp out things while the still could.  But 
Serenity especially was determined to keep peace.
     Her mother was silent, as if she had not heard her 
daughter's remark, though Serena knew she had.
     Serena hung her head.  Oh, it was no use.  "Yes, 
Mother," she said in a quiet voice, leaving the throne 
room and going back down the hall.  I think she's being 
silly about Beryl, so that aside, I do owe it to Mother,
and to my kingdom.  If this is what makes her happy, and
everyone else happy, I shouldn't be selfish about it.  
No, I won't argue with her again."


Darien took a soft bite of his roll, savoring the 
flavor.  Breakfast was refreshing to him, it renewed 
his strength after a night's sleep.  However the past 
few nights he had not been sleeping well at all.
     Even before the ball he had been dreaming of the 
blond haired vixen known as the princess of the Moon 
Kingdom.  Serena had filled his thoughts, or, more to 
the point, his dreams.  In different situations, 
yelling at him, tripping over the stone, or...or...
     He blushed, and then recovered when he remembered 
the last part of the last night's dream.  She had been 
crying...crying in her sleep.  She might have said his 
name, he thought she had, but that might have been 
wishful thinking on his part.  But what had gotten to 
the prince was her sorrowful sobbing.  It hit his heart 
and he had no idea why.  It made him want to run to her 
side and stop every tear.  It was one thing for him to 
make fun of her...but anyone else...no way.
     Darien had dreamed of other girls before, lusted 
after them.  He'd been with other girls before, well, 
other women.  But never before had he felt this way 
about any of them, the way he felt about Serena.  It 
was more than odd, it was mysterious.  It must be a 
phase, he told himself.  A phase I will eventually get 
out of.  Albeit, she's a real looker, but other than 
that -- well, it's not possible.  I'll get out of it.
     But deep in his soul he knew it was more than a 
phase -- much more -- and that it was not something 
that he would be able to get of.
     At that moment Jedite entered the room, looking 
polished and groomed as always.  Neflite and Malachite, 
who looked nothing less than dead tired, followed 
drowsily.
     "Morning," said Darien, greeting his friends.  
"Where's Zoi?"
     "Where else?" said a grumpy Malachite as he went 
into the kitchen.  "Preening in the mirror."
     Neflite, stony faced with glazed eyes lumbered 
after Mal, mumbling incohearants about mornings.  That 
left Jedite and Darien.  The blonde general took a seat 
at the table next to the prince and helped himself to a 
roll.  "Any plans for the day?"
     "Nah, nothing really."
     Jedite buttered one of the pastries and 
nonchalantly began to babble.  "Well, I was just 
looking at the news screen for the day's hot topics 
around the galaxy.  Not much interesting, there was 
some type of a festival on Jupiter, and some dude on 
Uranus uncovered ancient scrolls from eons ago.  I 
don't know 
about that...sounds like a bunch of old geezers' work 
that has nothing to do with out life today.  Anyway, 
that Moon Princess Serena, well, she's getting married 
finally to some guy she was betro...Darien, hey, what's 
wrong?  You're like...white."
     Darien was indeed very pale, from the second he 
heard the word "married" in connection with Serena.  It 
was not possible.  His heart stopped and he suddenly 
did not know what the words meant.  Because if 
he did remember what they were, it couldn't...COULDN'T 
be true!  
     Slowly, the prince of the Earth turned to face 
Jedite, staring directly into his face, making the 
general very uncomfortable.  "Uhhhh...Dar...listen, I 
don't like the look your shooting me...did I say 
something?"
     "What_did_you_say_about_her?"  Darien's words were 
even and paced out, sounding as if he was on the verge 
of stepping over that very thin and dangerous red line 
of control and calm.  
     Jedite was scared.  Petrified.  The gaze in Darien's 
eyes was frightening, like he was on fire, but not 
screaming.  Don't people yell when they experience 
pain?  His brow furrowed.  "You mean about the 
Princess?"  After receiving a firm nod from the prince 
he continued, fumbling his words.  "Oh, well, ummm...
gosh, I guess you would be pretty shocked about it, I 
guess you didn't expect her to get married, right?  
Uhhh...see, she's, like, getting married, yeah, ummm...
getting married to this dude from one of those planets, 
errr...in one of those solor systems, like, near here, 
and uhhh...well, it's...."  Jedite wasn't sure what 
exactly Darien wanted him to say, and more to the 
point, what Darien was angry about in the first place.  
     Darien kept his eyes on the general.  "I want to 
know when, where, why, and who.  NOW."
     "Next weekend, on the Moon, because she's 
betrothed to him since she was born, Prince Bruce of 
the planet Lerence."  Jedite rattled off the answers to 
Darien's one word questions as fast as he could, 
relying on the ever present good memory he had been 
blessed with, which had stored the information from the 
headline post. 
     The general thanked his stars when Darien finally 
closed his eyes...the gaze had been shut off, but 
Jedite could not relax anymore than he could before...
because the force of his friend's unexpressed emotions 
were filling the room.
     Meanwhile Darien was experiencing all of those 
feelings ten fold.  Hurt, denial, anger, grief, 
frustration, suspense, shock, sadness, confusion, pain, 
pain, and more pain, mainly in his heart, all were 
weaving through his veins, pounding through his skull 
mercilessly.  The onslaught of emotion was so great he 
had never felt anything like it in his entire life.  
Why am I so affected by this, he asked himself in 
between the curse words flitting around the anger.  
It's not like I love her...she's not a girlfriend...
what is going on???  How could she, how could she, why 
didn't she say something...Serena, no, Serena, it can't 
be, I won't let it happen, but I can't stop it.  Serena,
please God don't let it be true.  It's a lie, everyone's
been lying.  Jedite, the news bulletin, Serena, and 
me...me...I've been lying, but I don't know what about....
no...no...Serena...Serena...Serena...  Trembling, Darien 
let out a mighty and loud roar, that shocked Jedite and 
brought Neflite and Malachite, fully awake, running in.
     "What the heck happened?" exclaimed Neflite, his 
arms balancing two plates of pancakes, a bowl of cereal 
and a mug of hot cocoa.
     Darien, his face full of the same feeling his eyes 
had been tormented with, did not answer.  Jedite took 
it upon himself to do the job in his place.  "I told 
him about the princess Serena getting married, and, he, 
well, just look!"  He pointed at the disheveled Darien.
     Malachite, similarly weighed down with his breakfast, 
teetered in unbalance.  "What's wrong, Dar?"
     The prince did not answer.  Instead he got up from 
his seat, kicked the chair across the room, and put on 
his cloak.  Then he turned to the generals.  "I'm going 
to the Moon," he said in the same errie voice.  "Tell 
Mother and Father I have business to attend to.  As soon
as I pack I'm out of here."  With that said Darien 
raced out of the room, his stride sure, but pained.
     The three generals stared after him, in utter 
shock.  "We missed something," Mal confirmed.
     Neflite nodded.  "I don't understand, what would 
make him so uptight like that?"
     Jedite shrugged.  "I was just telling him the news 
bulletin and he got that way right after I said the 
princess of the Moon was getting married."  Suddenly 
recognition dimmed in his eyes.  "You don't think...he's
fallen for her?"
     "Impossible," scoffed Malachite.  "From what I've 
heard the whole galaxy knows they dispise each other, 
especially after that scene at the ball.  And she's an 
innocent little girl!  Compared to the women Darien's 
always dating, she doesn't measure up there in that 
category."
     "But did you see that look on his face?" asked 
Neflite.  "It was so intense!  Something about this 
whole thing really teed him off.  Maybe he does feel 
for her."
     The appropriate and normal answer for that would 
have been what Malachite had said.  But all had seen 
the shock and grief and emotion in Darien, and they 
were at a loss.  Only one person had the answer, and 
from the look of it as he ran through the dining hall, 
he did not know himself.


Serena walked with all of the grace she could muster 
down the hall, and out onto the lawn.  She forced a 
smile on her face, knowing she must look happy at all 
costs.  "I owe it to my kingdom, and my mother, but not 
to myself," she said sadly between her grinning lips.  
It was her new motto...her new battle cry.  She had 
been repeating it to herself every moment of the day.
     Finally it looked like she was out of the way of 
anyone seeing her, she dropped the smile and let her 
tears flow freely down her cheeks.  The princess ran 
and ran, thankful to be in her white slippers which 
were easy to run in.  Finally she reached her 
destination, the rose garden.  She had left word 
through the intercom with the cook and her mother that 
she did not feel well and would not be joining them for
meals or for any other activities after breakfast and 
had stayed in her room until finally she had to get out 
outside for air.  Now she was safe.
     When she was in her room she had searched again 
deep inside of her for feelings for Bruce.  Oh, how 
badly she wanted to love him!  She wanted to, she 
wanted to more than anyone could ever know.  Because if 
she did then everything else would be okay, she could 
marry him happily.
     But she had found nothing, not through her hours 
of soul-searching that day or the day before.  When she 
realized that, THEN she had needed the air.
     Hidden from the outside world by the hedges, 
Serena dropped onto a bench and wept bitterly.  "I 
can't marry him," she sobbed.  "I can't, I can't!"  But 
what else was there to do?  Her mother was concerned 
about her safety, and they had been betrothed since 
they were kids, she and Bruce.  "But it's not there!" 
she cried.  "I searched and searched, but it wasn't 
there, the feeling, the love!"
     For several minutes Serena cried, feeling as if 
she was very alone in the world.  No one was on her 
side, even the Inner Princesses couldn't understand.  
No one could.


The private black transportation beam whizzed onto the 
surface of the Moon with a rushed landing.  It's owner, 
Darien, dressed in the same clothes he had been in 
since breakfast pushed the door open, and, leaving his 
bag inside, slammed it again and started off down the 
path.  He had parked in the rear of the Palace, and in 
his haste he was unsure where he was.
     The prince had tried to leave after breakfast, but 
had been delayed an hour or so because of the air ways 
being jammed.  He would have had to have waited even 
longer until he simply left, taking another route he 
had discovered years ago.    
     Then he heard crying...sorrowful and grief filled, 
coming from somewhere.  One thought was in his mind.  
Did Serena love her betrothed?  Over and over again, 
with every heartbeat, Darien asked himself that 
question, willing it by the grace of God that it was 
not so, that she didn't want to marry.  But he had 
heard of this Prince, he was blonde, dashing, a skilled 
horseman, handsome, and charming.  What woman could 
stand to resist such a man?
     The crying became louder with each step, and the 
faint smell of roses met his nose.  He wasn't that near 
the garden, but the scent was with him, as if some 
invisible force was helping him along the way with 
little clues as to where the princess was.  
     "Of course," he muttered.  "The rose garden, she's 
there, I can feel it."  His feet ran in that direction, 
hopping over stones and his feet hardly touching the 
grass.  After awhile he finally could see the garden...
the beginning of the hedge maze, filled with those 
beautiful red roses.  "Serena..." he whispered, and 
approached the area.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well??  How was it??  What did you all think of Darien's
reaction?  It was one of the first scenes written, like,
during the summer before the story even had a form or a 
shape recognizable.  Of course I had to revise it 
recently, so it should be okay.  It's one of the only 
scenes I was worried about since it's vital to the plot 
about his feelings.
     Coming up in chapter 5!!: chapter pretty much 
solely dedicated to Serena and Darien.  They'll talk 
about the betrothal and then...then...well, I won't 
spoil things for you!!  It includes some of my favorite 
scenes!!  And it should be out soon.  Thanks, and keep 
reading!! ~~~Ali~~~