Falling Away

 

Chapter 3

 

MarshAngel

 

watsonma@hotmail.com

 

http://angelmoon.sinfree.net

 

Rated: R (for future chapters)

 

 

Serenity rolled over in her warm bed smiling in a most satisfied way. Whatever dreams had been floating around in her head during the night floated away. She refused to acknowledge their content or the strange feelings she'd awakened with, better to push them aside for things much easier to wrap her mind around.

It was yet another morning that no one had awakened her at a time she found unfit for functioning. She sat up in bed surprised to find someone in her room. She hadn't heard a thing.

The maid had been exceptionally quiet as she laid out her breakfast on the table before the window. She greeted her princess and drew the curtains to let in the bright morning light. The scent of the food was delightful and her stomach growled as if on cue. She rolled ungracefully out of bed and bounded towards the table.

On her breakfast tray was the usual hot cereal dribbled with honey and a half sugar roll steeped in warm pomegranate juice. On the right side of the silver tray rested an unrecognizable fruit. She picked it up, examining it closer and the scent was delightful but alien. The round purple-black fruit had been cut into halves and the bright yellow interior filled the room with its aroma.

Serenity called out to the maid who was still adjusting the drapes.

"What is this fruit?"

"I believe the cook referred to it as passion fruit," your highness.

It's a part of the shipment that came with the Earth royals. Prince Endymion suggested we add it to your plate. He said you might enjoy it. Cook says it's rather exotic."

Serenity was surprised and a bit confused. Considering the conversation to which the fruit referred was it proper for her to accept the gift, particularly when it came from a man whom she didn't particularly like? But it was only a fruit so there was certainly little harm to her ego to accept it, besides it smelled amazing. Ignoring the proper etiquette, instilled in her since before she could she could even sit up on her own, that demanded she use a spoon, she used her finger to scoop a bit of the soft flesh and brought it to her mouth.

It was as delicious as it smelled, both tangy and sweet at the same time and very much unlike anything else she'd ever tasted. She doubted anything of the sort existed on the moon.

Luna wasn't blessed with the variety of climates that allowed earth to grow such a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Growing possibilities on the moon were limited and crops required expert care to grow in the everlasting spring climate.

She could easily understand how the fruit got its name. Her imagination ran wild with wicked scenarios under which the fruit came by it. She blushed at the direction of her thoughts and the images that came with them.

It would be a shame if negotiations with Earth fell apart altogether and they lost the opportunity to trade in fruits such as these. Minor consideration though it was, her mother would certainly be disappointed if the pineapples she enjoyed so very much were no longer available. She supposed they could be cultivated in the vast aerponics houses of the moon but like everything else grown in controlled conditions, it would be different somehow.

As she devoured her breakfast quickly, savoring the passion fruit in particular, she wondered if etiquette required her to search him out and thank him for the gift. It wasn't as if the gift were offered out of camaraderie or any similar sentiment. Though, could a gift be offered in rudeness? She wasn't quite sure.

She felt only slightly guilty about her behavior yesterday and that was only because she'd been taught for far too long the value of democracy and choosing the right words. If not for those ingrained skills she felt he deserved a little rudeness. But was the fruit a gesture of apology on his part or was it to be a catalyst for further rude behavior on her part of which he had already accused her?

She gulped down a last bit of cereal. She really did think too much sometimes, at least on unimportant matters such as this. What Endymion thought or did was of no importance at all.

Today she would spend the day with Amy, and Mina was also returning today from Venus today. She had made no specific plans for the day but she was certain she or one of her friends would come up with some idea of how to spend their free hours.

She was getting into her gown that one of the maids had laid out for her early this morning in her dressing room when a knock came on the door. She sighed, Amy was a little too well bred even for a princess. Certainly there was no need to knock, all the other girls came and went as they liked from her rooms. She couldn't answer the door in her underclothes however, and her maid wasn't helping her get dressed so she couldn't send anyone else to get the door. She yelled 'enter' loudly in a decidedly ill-bred fashion that would have made her mother cringe. She was breaking a lot of rules lately.

She heard the door open and close.

"Come in here and help me," she yelled from the dressing room. She was struggling with the closures on the back of her gown. This would have been a lot easier if she'd allowed her maid to stay instead of sending her away. She gave up and grabbed a brush, deciding to work on her hair and choose a simpler gown from the vast array hanging in the closet.

The sensation of hands at her back nimbly fastening the difficult closures surprised her, because they felt much too large to be Amy's. The presence behind her was definitely not Amy. She turned around suddenly, her eyes widening at the sight of Endymion standing behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

" You invited me in. You wanted help."

She blushed furiously at the idea of him helping her to get dressed. It was certainly a more intimate act than decorum allowed. Reprimanding him for bad behavior would be pointless however, since everything he did seemed to break one rule or another.

"I thought you were Amy."

She frowned thoughtfully. "Actually you answered how you got in here not why you're here."

"Very observant," he replied dryly. "I'm inviting you out for a walk."

Serenity looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

"I find you interesting and I require entertainment."

Her dubious expression made him smile.

"I don't think I could be nearly as entertaining as so many others. Besides, I'm sure your other 'friend' would be more than happy to entertain you." She really should have bitten her tongue rather than make another reference to his sexual exploits.

"You underestimate yourself. I have no doubt your ability to entertain would surpass many others. And you're a much better conversationalist than my 'friend'. I'm afraid she talked so much with so little meaning, I had to convince her to talk to someone else.

Serenity flushed brightly, annoyed with herself for actually considering such a base statement a compliment.

"I'm afraid a walk is out of the question. I've already made plans with my friends." She paused a moment, thoughts running through her mind faster than she could account for. "Perhaps you'd like to join us?" She very nearly smacked herself. Reflexive politeness had won. In her mind she wondered whether or not she'd like him to decline or not.

"Perhaps I would," he replied, squelching any ideas of not being in his presence today. "I'm very much interested in meeting the famous Lunar guard.

"Only Amy, whom you've met, and Mina, the princess of Venus are joining us. Rei and Lita are still visiting Rei's grandfather on Mars. They won't return until tomorrow.

He nodded in understanding. "I suppose you've heard our stay will be extended?" He changed the subject

Serenity furrowed her brows in questioning.

"The talks have been extended by another week at least," he illuminated. "I suspect it's not so much for diplomatic discussions as much as your mother would like to seduce my uncle by showing him the wonders of her kingdom. I believe they're planning a trip to Venus and then to Mars."

Endymion's uncle Mikhail was Earth's ambassador and the main representative for the Rose family on Earth's council. He advised his brother and his nephew on political matters and had commandeered the subject of the possibility of Earth joining the alliance. Queen Serenity was doing her best to show him all the benefits the alliance had to offer.

She was surprised at Endymion's bluntness. There was no mistaking how he felt about the matter.

"You're not very diplomatic," she criticized.

"If by diplomacy you mean my willingness to hide my true feelings beneath a veneer of 'positive' words and complex language, then no. I don't suppose I am.

"So you want to go home then? You feel this is a waste of time and there's nothing here of any interest to you so these talks should be discontinued so that you might return to more 'interesting' things on Earth before my witch of a mother can convince your Uncle to do something utterly contemptible like recommend that the Earth join the Serene Alliance and enjoy benefits such as those he'll witness on Venus and Mars?"

"I wouldn't have used those particular words, but yes," he replied smiling.

"Well you didn't want to hear 'diplomatic language'," She reminded, returning his smile.

"For the record, I never called your mother a witch."

Before she could reply there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she yelled again.

"You know that’s a dangerous habit you have. You should really try yelling 'who is it' first."

"I don't usually have strange men knocking on my door at this hour of day. It's not a great concern of mine."

"I suppose you invite strange men in at other times of the day then?" He teased.

She resisted the urge to do something childish like sticking out her tongue or more violent and satisfying like stomping on his toe.

Endymion caught the thought and smiled. He wished she would stick out her little pink tongue. He could definitely make use of that agile part of her body. He could do without the toe stomping however.

"Rena?" a soft voice inquired sticking her head in the dressing room doorway. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her face flushing as she saw the Prince. "I thought you were alone."

"Serenity just barely resisted rolling her eyes at Amy's shyness."

"It's ok Amy, Prince Endymion was just... he'll be joining us today."

"Oh," was all Amy said. Serenity couldn't determine if that was disappointment, resignation, or pleasure. Amy might not have been psychic but she certainly had a strange ability to hide her thoughts and feelings, so that even Serenity couldn't quite pick up on anything. It was quite annoying at times not to be able to catch a stray thought from her. On the rare times she did however, she wish she hadn't. The things that went on in Amy's head were too complicated and quick to decipher. Her thoughts ran a mile a minute, albeit quite focused and amazingly, on quite a few things at the same time. It was enough to give anyone else a headache.

Endymion greeted Amy warmly. They had apparently talked for a while after she'd left them in the garden yesterday.

"Are we having a party?" a loud cheerful voice interrupted from the doorway.

All heads turned to greet Minaxi. Serenity couldn't help but notice how Endymion examined the bright-eyed blonde princess of Venus in seemingly the same fashion most men did, quite thoroughly.

Mina was, as was typical for her, wearing a brightly colored sleeveless gown that flattered her shape and she was lacking for nothing in that area. Endymion couldn't help but be impressed by her seeming perfection from the enticing softness of her full breasts to her small waist and curvy hips. She screamed of femininity and sensuality.

There was something else about her; perhaps it was her amazing likeness to Serenity. They had very similar faces but the likeness seemed to end there, with Mina being slightly taller with even more golden blonde hair and Serenity generally more petite and delicate. There was something about Serenity that wasn't immediately obvious but was alluring in a way that wasn't entirely dissimilar from Mina's natural seductiveness, just subtler. How could two women look so similar and so different all at once?

If Mina noticed his observation she didn't show it. She was quite used to the way men looked at her.

"Is something wrong Rena?" Mina questioned switching gears suddenly?

Serenity looked confused at the question.

"You were frowning just now," She pointed out.

Serenity flushed. She hadn't even taken note of the fact that she was frowning at Endymion's examination of her friend. She wasn't offended, really she wasn't. It was simply annoying how all thought of subtlety flew out the window when Mina entered a room and men simply stared. It was undignified really. Surely they possessed more restraint; but of course this particular male was from Earth so his behavior was to be expected.

"I was just thinking about something, nothing important," she replied casually.

"Prince Endymion, meet Princess Minaxi of Venus," Serenity introduced. "Endymion is joining us today."

'Your highness," Mina whispered demurely and dipped into a graceful formal curtsy as Endymion pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.

"Endymion, please" he corrected.

"Please call me Mina, everyone does. Minaxi is very old-fashioned."

"So what are we doing today?" Serenity demanded of her friends, her sudden outburst, loud and odd to her own ears. "Yesterday was..." she stopped herself before she blurted out that yesterday had been remarkably dull particularly since she'd spent the day avoiding Endymion whom she had to admit now would have been a source of entertainment, even if he wouldn't have been her first choice, and he made her uncomfortable, for lack of a better word.

"Well it wasn't how I wanted to spend my day off," she finished. She could sense Endymion's eyes on her, as if he knew that she'd spent hours wandering the palace halls and then reading poetry in her room

"Perhaps we should leave that choice to Prince Endymion, as he is the guest of honor," Mina suggested.

Serenity held back the desire to sniff indignantly at that idea. 'Honor indeed'.

 

Several hours later found her in an unexpectedly undignified position that she wouldn't have dreamed to be a possibility today. She was perched on the edge of a rock overlooking a small lake of steaming water, dressed in a bathing leotard, prepared to jump but scared out of her wits. She glanced down at the faces staring up at her expectantly from the water below. There was a teasingly smug expression on Endymion's face that annoyed her so much she could feel the determination building inside her.

She lifted her chin high, gathered up her courage, raised her arms gracefully and dived off the cliff into the water. She hit the steaming lake with a splash.

That wasn't nearly as graceful as she'd hoped. She didn't surface immediately, holding her breath and swimming beneath the surface. The water was clear and the bottom of the lake was covered in fine glistening white stones mixed in with sand. She was a good swimmer but she wasn't prepared for the sight of Endymion's face appearing as if out of nowhere before her. Panicking she headed for the surface, gasping for air when she broke the surface and coughing to get rid of the burning feeling in the back of her throat from having breathed in water. She glared at him angrily, unable to come up with any outburst that would sufficiently vent her anger.

Coming up here hadn't been her idea but she'd been outvoted by Endymion, Mina, Amy and Malachite, one of Endymion's guards. Mina was the one who had suggested going swimming in the private lake in the mountains behind the palace, a pastime in which they hadn't indulged in a long time. The lake was fed by underground hot springs and the water was kept a comfortable temperature by the cool air. She hadn't been here since she was a child and bringing Endymion here wasn't exactly her idea of entertainment but it wasn't entirely bad.

For a moment when she'd walked up the rocky trail and seen the blue water glistening, and the steam rising from it to mix with the chill air just as she remembered it, she'd felt a little like a child again. She remembered when she used to come here with her friends all the time and on rare occasion with her mother. It had been fun, a type of freedom she never enjoyed anymore.

This was very different however. Somehow she felt like she was breaking some rule or another with Endymion and Malachite here. Certainly the thoughts that had come to mind when she'd seen Endymion bare-chested with water glistening off his perfect form were far from child-like. She'd been irrationally annoyed with him since that moment he'd first taken off his shirt as if somehow by agreeing to Mina's suggestion he was leading her down a path of crime.

Unable to come up with an honest reason to yell at him she let out a low growl of frustration. She realized she'd been glaring at him a while and her face grew hot as she realized he'd been staring back at her, calmly studying her face. The sound of Mina's voice broke both their concentrated stares.

Serenity turned towards Mina who was floating comfortably on her back a little ways off.

"I forgot to mention," she began, "I spoke to Duran while I was at home. He said that Mael is on his way from Drue. He'll make it just in time for the ball, so you'll have an escort after all. Ooh that rhymed," she giggled.

For a moment Serenity was a bit confused as to whom they were talking about.

"Your fiancee," Endymion reminded seeing the confused expression on her face and knowing, coming from him, the reminder wouldn't be welcome. He'd discovered the name of her fiancée from Amy yesterday. As he'd suspected it was an arrangement made many years before.

"I am perfectly aware of who he is, thank you," she replied tersely. For a moment she had been completely off kilter, her mind entirely caught up in the moment. She needed to get away from him. Being around him seemed to either make her say things she wouldn't normally say or render her senseless.

She turned her back on him and swam for the shore. Endymion watched her fascinated by the movements her body made as she waded up unto beach, outlined perfectly by the body-hugging, white swimming costume.

"What was that about?" A deep voice questioned coming up from behind him.

"What?"

Malachite didn't reply knowing Endymion understood exactly what he meant.

"It's nothing," Endymion replied.

"Be careful," Malachite warned.

"There's nothing to be careful of," Endymion replied.

 

 

Serenity was even more frustrated with herself by the time she reached the small picturesque stone cottage only a short distance from the lake and made her frustration known by giving the wall at thee back of the house a swift kick. Unfortunately she wore no shoes and stubbed her toe Instead. Her pain distracted her from her disarrayed thoughts for a moment.

Her anger was only a defense. What she’d felt in those last few moments while she glared at him out there in the water was definitely not anger. She couldn’t even begin to describe it. Her body was reacting to him in ways she didn’t expect.

“You are a very strange woman Princess. What did the poor wall do to offend you?”

Serenity whirled to face the source of her frustration. She didn’t understand why he unsettled her so much. Every time she was in his presence she felt as though she were doing something wrong, that she was in danger somehow.

“Are you following me?” She demanded. His half-naked presence here, in this room with its paintings of the lunar landscape and framed images of her mother and grandmother, seemed an intrusion.

He shrugged. “I thought I could use a break.”

“Bored already?”

“Not quite.” He wasn't about to explain to her why he'd followed her back to the cottage when he couldn't or wouldn't explain it to himself and was going to have a hell of a time explaining it to Malachite later.

She was staring again. She should really look away but she couldn’t. He seemed to overpower whatever room he happened to be in and the sight of his muscled stomach and broad chest still slightly wet drew her eyes like magnets.

“It’s cold. You really should get out of your wet clothes,” he suggested. He withheld the information that he’d like to help her out of them. He’d spent little time with her and yet every time he saw her he felt sexually deprived, as if he hadn’t touched a woman in a year. It was too bad the lake was warm, the chill in the air seemed to be working to increase his desire rather than counter it.

She realized he was right and flushed red at what had made it obvious to him that she was. She crossed her arms over her breasts.

He was standing so close, his bare broad chest only inches away and she wouldn’t have dreamed she was so lacking in restraint that she would actually reach out and touch him. It was such a simple action, but it was so very intimate.

He was as surprised by her action as she was and couldn’t help but respond to the feel of her warm hand on his bare skin. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked down into her eyes as if drawn in.

He was going to kiss her and she was standing here frozen, as if a statue, panicking inside, her heart pounding, but wanting him to do it desperately. He did she wasn’t cold anymore. One moment it was soft and as gentle as a kiss could get and then his tongue slipped between her lips and she was feeling a dozen different sensations each one pleasurable. Already his hands were exploring the soft curves of her body when they heard the sounds of voices approaching. They jumped apart as if burned, both their faces flushed and their hearts pounding.

The door swung open and the rest of their party entered, chattering loudly. Serenity was happy Rei wasn’t among their party. She was certain she didn’t have control of her thoughts at the moment and she was happy not to have a strong psychic around reading her scrambled thoughts. She wasn’t sure what she was thinking now let alone a few moments ago. She wondered if the fact that she and Endymion were on opposite sides of the room seemed strange to anyone. No one seemed to take note of it however, and she let out a small, relieved breath.

At least she now understood her wariness. That had been very wrong. Perhaps that had been why it had felt so good. There was a crime committed after all, a small, but definite betrayal. It couldn’t happen again and yet her body was telling her that she couldn’t wait until it did.

 

*****