Stuff at bottom. Thanks!
-Lianne (liannesentar@hotmail.com)
http://Lianne_Sentar.tripod.com		

*Blue Planet, White Moon*
Part 5

Rated PG, ALCOHOL KILLS, I HATE IT I HATE IT I
HATE IT AND NO ONE SHOULD DRINK IT, romance 
and violence and slight language and general content, 
although some concepts may go over younger readers' heads

	Serenity didn't know what to do. She'd had her
fair share of problems in her life--dealing with rude or
ignorant diplomats, learning and executing the countless
responsibilities placed on a princess of her standing,
and providing moral support for her king-less ruling mother
were not easy tasks for a girl of barely twelve. But
now she had a new problem. A problem she had never, in
those twelve years, had to face. A problem that worried her,
but, more disturbingly, perplexed her.
	Endymion was sulking.
	Serenity was stumped. When she tried talking to him, 
he barely mumbled replies. When she tried suggesting things
to do, he didn't show any interest. And she actually caught
a pout. It was brief, true, and only out of the corner of
her eye for half an instant, but the prince of Earth had
definitely made the quick face of a little boy robbed of his
candy.
	"Endymion?" Serenity folded her hands in front
of her thighs as she walked with the prince and their
six accompanying guardians. "Are you feeling all right?"
	"Fine," he muttered, though he didn't look up 
from the ground. The festival was still in full swing around
them, and the occasional passer-by called a congratulation
to the prince for a fight well fought, but Endymion
didn't acknowledge them. Whether that was because
he didn't hear the kind words or he was too deep in his
brooding to care about them, the princess didn't know.
	She eventually left him to trail along behind the
others and quickly ran over to Malachite. She gently
tugged on his sleeve.
	"General?"
	He looked down--far down--at the tiny princess.
"Yes?"
	She nervously gestured to the prince behind them.
Putting a thin hand near her mouth, she whispered, 
"I think he's upset about the fight."
	Malachite smiled. "I don't doubt it," he said
quietly back. "He really wanted to win, and, well ...
he can be a bit moody when he fails himself."
	Serenity frowned. "But I thought he did a very 
good job," she argued. "Doesn't that count for something?"
	"Not in his mind."
	Zoycite leaned over and pounded a fist
over his own heart. "His manly pride's been injured," he
chirped. "It'll heal."
	Serenity furrowed her eyebrows. "But you
didn't win, either, and you seem fine."
	"That's because Zoycite has no manly pride,"
Malachite answered without so much as batting an eye.
	"Nor does he have shame," Jedite calmly
added.
	Mercury gave a quick, hard laugh at that. Venus
pinched the blue guardian's arm in response.
	Serenity glanced back at the trailing prince. He
did look to be wallowing in some sort of self-pity--
masculine self-pity, if what Zoycite had said was true--
or, possibly, self-hatred. The darkness in his ocean eyes
was what made her think of the hatred.
	"I have an idea," she said, looking back up at Malachite.
"It's about time everyone had something to eat, so why
don't we part for a bit and meet in a half hour or so?
We can try more of the activities at that point."
	"That sounds good." Mars nodded at her princess.
"You and Endymion can spend some time together."
	Serenity quickly waved to the guardians and ran
back to Endymion. She was surprised, though, to find
that he'd already stopped a dozen steps back to 
pick at the selections of a food table. She ran to
his side.
	"Hi."
	Endymion murmured a response and picked
a large mug. He took a long, deep drink, coughed, 
and drank again.
	Serenity picked two plates and held one out to
him. "Here," she said. "Let's pick some things and go
sit down to eat. You must be hungry."
	Endymion wiped his eyes with the back of his
hand. "Yeah," he said after a moment. "I am."
	Pleased at the response, Serenity placed the
dish in his hand and started loading it with a little
bit of everything. "I know the moon's Earth food
isn't great, but you can still try the native food
here. It's really quite amazing."
	"Thank you," he said before taking another
long swallow. When he placed the empty mug on
the table, Serenity had quite efficiently stacked
food on his plate.
	A small, slightly lopsided grin curled the
edges of his lips. He glanced at her. "Thanks," he
said again.
	Serenity could feel her cheeks get hot, and,
embarrassed, busied herself with her own plate. When
she had loaded it to her liking, she picked a cup of
juice and gestured to the sitting pillows lying nearby.
"We can sit here," she suggested.
	Endymion was silent a moment. He picked
another full mug from the table and asked, "Serenity?"
	"Yes?"
	"Can we go somewhere where we can be alone?
I don't really feel like being with everyone right now."
	Something hot, and scary, tightened around
Serenity's heart. She tried to swallow the sudden 
pounding in her chest and answered, "A-are you ... sure?"
	The look he gave her was a little more forward
than she was used to. "Do you mind?"
	Serenity swallowed again and forcefully
unclenched her fingers from her plate. "It's a bit 
unorthodox, but ... all right. We can go walk a bit and
find somewhere quiet."
	He looked visibly relieved. "Thank you."
	Serenity led him away from the festivities, the
crowds, and the noise for a short while. Of course, she
knew the area around the palace well, and the moontree-
surrounded lakeside she was thinking of she knew would
be quiet and serene, but.... she felt a little guilty. She didn't
know how her mother would feel about her leaving the
palace-sponsored party with a boy three years her senior.
	Telling herself her current situation was an exception
rather than the rule, she brought Endymion to the lakeside
and invited him to sit down. He gladly obliged, resting his
mug on the sandy white ground beside him.
	Serenity followed suit. It was even calmer by the
lake than she had expected; the sounds of the festivities
were barely audible in the distance behind them, and the
crystal blue surface of the water shimmered in the  
approaching night. She picked a pastry from her plate 
and pushed it between her lips.
	"Beautiful."
	Serenity turned her head to him. The prince
swallowed the bread in his mouth and tried again. "It's
beautiful. The water and everything." He picked a cracker
laden with a piece of fish and pushed it into his mouth.
"This is the first time I'm seeing the moon outside the 
palace," he mumbled around the crunching.
	Serenity shrugged. "I haven't seen much outside
of the palace myself, but Jupiter introduced me to
this place when I was young. It's good when one wants
to get away." She raised her eyebrows. "I've been taught
Earth has many different kinds of animals and vegetation.
What are they like?"
	Endymion frowned. "You don't have animals here?"
	"Just fish. And moon cats."
	"Moon cats?"
	Serenity took a sip from her cup. "They're blessed 
with speech and crescent moon birthmarks. Like this," she
added, touching the faint crescent on her own forehead.
"Your cats don't speak, am I right?"
	Endymion looked confused. "Your cats talk?"
he repeated. "Like, you mean, people?"
	"Yes."
	He pondered that a moment. "How smart are they?"
he asked after a pause. "Can they only say 'Feed me' and
stuff, or can you actually have a conversation with them?"
	"Oh, they're very intelligent. They've been around for
so many years that their species' intelligence has evolved
beyond the moon humans'. Most moon cats are smarter
than people."
	Endymion blinked. "No way."
	Serenity smiled. "Honest."
	Endymion once again chewed on the piece of
information for several moments. "Can I ever see one?" he
asked at last.
	"Sure. We have two who live in the palace: one
is mine, the other is Venus' because she's my head guardian.
They've been going through training for as long as I can
remember and are rarely around, but I'll try and schedule
them for a meeting with you next time you come."
	"Training for what?"
	"Royal, political, and social guidance. Well, to be
more precise, guidance on just about every aspect of life.
They'll be my personal advisors when I take the throne
in my early adulthood."
	Endymion swallowed. "So ... talking cats will help
you rule?"
	"Oh yes. Moon cats have proven themselves to be 
excellent advisors. Cool heads and the like."
	Endymion paled just the slightest bit. Serenity
frowned. "Didn't anyone on Earth ever tell you about 
our cats?" she asked.
	Endymion made a face and shrugged a touch. "Well,
someone mentioned it once, but I thought it was a joke."
	Serenity laughed.

****************

	Venus pinched silken white hair in her fingers.
"I wonder if anyone's watching us," she wondered 
aloud as she pulled an orange ribbon from the layers
of them holding back her own hair. "This will 
probably be thought of as scandalous."
	"As if this is any worse than your raucous 
whistling during that fight," Malachite murmured with
a smile. He rested his gloved hands on his knees and
straightened his sitting position on the resting cushion.
He glanced at the passing festival-goers. "Nobody's
watching you. Don't worry."
	Venus looked skeptical as she raised herself to
her full height on her knees and began weaving the
ribbon around a pinch of his hair. "If it comes out,
do you have someone who can put it back in?"
	"You should see how efficiently Nephlite can
braid and tie back his hair before weapons training."
	"I'll take that as a yes." Venus tied the end of
the ribbon tightly at the end of the hair tail. She pulled
a yellow ribbon from her hair and wove it around the
orange one in Malachite's.
	"Is this all you want? For a prize, I mean? You
were impressive in that fight."
	"This is more than enough."
	"You are a *darling* man, Malachite."
	He turned his head back slightly and smiled.
"Not as darling as you, my lady."

****************

	"I don't--"
	"Eat it."
	"But I'm--"
	"Eat it."
	"You don't--"
	"Eat it."
	Jedite visibly wilted. Slowly, sadly, he pushed
another piece of meat between his lips.
	"It'll help you grow," was all Mars said, nudging
cherry tomatoes from her plate to his. Jedite tried to
protest, but he was busy chewing and the frantic waving
of his hands didn't seem to dissuade the red princess
in the slightest.
	Zoycite and Mercury glanced at each other.
Mercury cleared her throat and said, "Mars?"
	"Yes."
	"You don't have to dictate everything he eats."
The blue princess frowned. "He's a big boy now."
	Mars shot her a glare. Mercury shut up.
	Jedite swallowed at last. "I'm ok," he repeated.
"Mars, you don't need to worry."
	Mars turned back to him. There was a long
moment where she said nothing, and he paled under
her gaze. At last she stood from her sitting cushion and
reached out to him.
	"Come with me."
	Jedite gave a start. "What?"
	"I'd like to talk to you. You can leave your
food here."
	Jedite swallowed. His eyes swung to Zoycite
for help, but Zoycite was all too clearly enjoying every
moment of the dialogue. Mercury wasn't much help, 
either, as she just shrugged at the blond general.
	Jedite took Mars' offered hand. She helped him up.
	A sudden idea seemed to strike Zoycite, and he
excitedly turned to Mercury. "Mercury!" he exclaimed.
"If they leave, we'll be alone!"
	"All the more cover for my murder of you, then."
	"Darling, are those words especially for me, or do
you say them to all the boys?"
	Mercury picked up her fork and wielded it
menacingly. "I mean it," she snapped. "Hands to yourself 
or you are *dead*."
	Taking advantage of the loophole, Zoycite dove
toward her lips-first. Mercury shrieked and shoved a 
piece of cake between herself and the incoming kiss.
	The resulting mess made Mars turn away in disgust.
"Grow up, Zoycite," she said flatly as she gripped Jedite's
fingers. She led him several dozen meters away from the 
bickering general/princess couple, went behind a tall wooden 
stand that housed a fortune-teller, and turned to the general 
with her dark, glittering eyes.
	"Am I embarrassing you?"
	Jedite blinked. "Excuse me?"
	Mars released his hand. "If I am, tell me. The others
seem to think I treat you like a child."
	"No!" Jedite blurted abruptly, then snapped his mouth 
shut. He swallowed, then said, "No, I know you're just looking 
after my well-being."
	She stared at him. He let his eyes drop to the ground 
and gripped the edge of his sleeves.
	"It ... it's just ... you don't need to worry so much. I
don't mind someone looking after me, but I'd kinda like to ...
have a little responsibility on my own, too."
	Silence. Mars crossed her arms. "How old are you?"
	Jedite looked up, puzzled. "What?"
	"You're fourteen now, right? You just turned fourteen?"
	He frowned. "Um ... yes."
	"I turned seventeen a few months ago. Did you know
that?"
	Jedite looked away. "Yes," he said quietly.
	Again, silence. Mars turned her face away, and shadows
crawled up her cheekbones in the darkness.
	"You never asked for a prize," she murmured, "though
you won."
	Jedite swallowed. "No," he agreed.
	"Did you want one?"
	He hesitated. "Y-yes."
	"From me?"
	He went very, very pale. "Y-yes," he breathed.
	She looked up at him.
	He swallowed, and gripped his sleeves harder. 
"I ... I'd like you to save it," he whispered. "If you don't
mind."
	"Save it for what?"
	He trembled, ever so slightly. "For ... when 
I'm older."
	Mars raised an eyebrow. His cheeks hued as he 
quickly looked away.
	"But nothing like that," he stammered.
	She put her hands on her hips. She made her
stone, expressionless face and stared off to the side at
nothingness. She spent a long moment where she said
nothing, moved not in the slightest.
	"You won't be fourteen forever," she said at
last.
	Jedite's cheeks reddened while the rest of his face
paled, but his lips curled ever so slightly in a gentle smile.
"N-no," he agreed. "No, I won't be."

****************

	"... and I'll be handed the throne when my training
ends, at which point my mother will become an honorific
royalty figure, but still my advisor, and, most importantly,
still my *mother*." Serenity shrugged and let her eyes fall on
her empty plate. "It won't happen for at least another ten 
years, though. The training's really long."
	Endymion said nothing. He lost himself in his
mug, then put it down by his side without releasing it.
	Serenity glanced at him. "And you?"
	He gave a dark expression. "I become king when
father dies or is incapable of ruling anymore."
	The princess blinked. "But ... what if you're not 
ready?"
	He shrugged. "Too bad. I'm still king."
	Serenity didn't move. The look on Endymion's
face, truthfully, frightened her a little. The line of his 
mouth was hard, his irises were darker than normal, and
the whites of his eyes were tinged slightly red. She'd 
never seen him like that.
	She swallowed. "I'm ... sure you'll be a good king,"
she ventured, unsure of what to say.
	He snorted. "Tell that to father," he murmured, 
picking up his mug. "According to him, I'll be a failure
for the rest of my life."
	Serenity gave a start. That edge to his voice sounded
almost like.... hatred. For who? As she watched him drain 
his mug dry, she felt her heart speed up a little. After more
than twenty minutes of relatively safe coversation, she was 
suddenly delving into intimidating, uncharted territory. Serenity 
had grown up under the love and guidance of her mother, and 
sheltered within the manners and politics of the palace. She 
had *no* idea what to say to a teenaged Earthian prince 
who had issues with his father.
	She thought she might need to change the subject.
	"Endymion," she said quietly, looking to her slippered
toes. "Can you tell me a little about your generals?"
	He set his mug on the ground hard and closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath, let it out, and coughed. He looked over
at her. "What did you say?" 
	She frowned. He looked.... weird. "Are you all right?"
she asked. She wasn't sure his eyes were focusing on her,
exactly.
	"Fine," he answered. "What was your question?"
	She hesitated. "Your generals," she said again. "I've
been ... wondering for a while now. How you met and such.
Venus and the others are princesses in their own rights, of
other planets, heirs to magical blood and the duty of 
protecting me; they were given their titles the instant they
were born, and became my court as soon as mother gave
birth to me. They're ... really the closest friends I 
have." She looked up. "You seem to share some sort of
similar bond with your generals."
	Endymion's eyes went blank. "A ... bond?" he
repeated, his voice oddly off. His gaze fell to the ground,
though, truly, he didn't seem to be looking at anything.
"With my generals?"
	Serenity bit her lip. His odd behavior was unnerving.
"You're all close friends, right?" she ventured.
	"Brothers." Endymion shrugged awkwardly. "They're
my brothers."
	Serenity froze. She hadn't expected *that*. "What?"
she breathed.
	He sighed and sat back. "Planning for Earth royalty
is very careful," he said. "Malachite's mother breast-fed all
of us. She was really strong. So I have other siblings, too; four
sisters, all from her. It was because of the breast-feeding that
people didn't think Zoycite could be one of my generals, since
our ages are so close, but Malachite's mother really liked 
Zoycite as a newborn. She managed it, somehow."
	Serenity only stared. Endymion looked at her
expression, then frowned. "What. People on the moon 
don't have milk bonds?"
	The princess dumbly shook her head.
	"If children breast-feed from the same woman, 
they're legally considered siblings. Mother told me the
Earth has a philosophy: if an heir is to be properly 
protected, it can't be duty alone that spurs protection.
That can't always be counted on." He rubbed an eye.
"So the five of us slept and bathed together as kids,
stuff like that. Even when we got older and didn't do 
that anymore, when I got nightmares I still crawled
in with Malachite. When it was cold, Zoycite still 
crawled in with me and woke me up with his freezing
feet." He paused, thought, made a face. "Actually, he
did that a few times this past winter."
	Serenity's heartbeat, quick, a little frightened,
throbbed in her ears. Such intimacy.... the Earth was 
so different from the moon. So very, very *different.*
Imagining the tall, developing prince beside her, 
angrily tugging sheets and pillows from the tall, 
developing Zoycite in the dead of night, made 
something squeeze in her chest. Serenity had never
slept with anyone in her life. Not even her mother,
when Serenity had been an infant. The moon didn't
do things that way.
	"So it was love?" Serenity's voice was very,
very quiet. "If duty alone couldn't spur protection, they
wanted to raise you all to ... love each other?"
	Endymion was silent. The far-off look in his
eyes got hazier, softer, in a way; his shoulders slumped
a little, and his fingers uncurled. Then, oddly, he hiccuped.
	Serenity blinked. Endymion gritted his teeth and
pushed his fingertips against his forehead. His breathing
grew heavier.
	Serenity dared to lean toward him a bit. "Are you 
all right?" she asked.
	He suddenly snarled. He lurched to his feet,
losing his balance once and falling to one knee before
finally managing to stand, and turned back in
the direction of the festivities. "Malachite's the eldest,"
he said flatly. "I could never surpass him in anything."	
	Serenity could feel her stomach drop. 
	*Oh God.*

****************

	"Oooh." Zoycite raised his eyebrows. "Look at that."
	Malachite, pulling a peppermint stick from between his 
lips, turned. Endymion was storming over, a nervous Serenity 
squeaking protests as she ran alongside him. Malachite
blinked. The prince stomped up to the older general, 
scowled darkly, and raised a trembling fist.
	"Fight me again." 
	Zoycite, Mercury, Jedite, and Mars all gave a start.
Venus' eyebrows furrowed. Malachite's irises seemed to
change color ever so slightly, but other than that, he showed
no sign of surprise. He gently reached out.
	"No, Endymion."
	The prince jerked away from Malachite's touch. He
lost his balance; stumbling, Endymion barely managed
to stay on his feet. He lurched forward and grabbed two
fistfuls of Malachite's tunic.
	"Fight me!" he shouted. "You're NOT perfect!
I won't let you beat me at everything!"
	Malachite's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
	"Stop it, Endymion!" Jedite ran up and grabbed 
his prince's arm. Turning hurt blue eyes up, he furrowed
his brows. "What's wrong with you?"
	Endymion slammed his elbow into Jedite's jaw.
The younger general's head whipped back with the force
of the blow, and he fell hard. Mars ran to him as he 
clutched his bloody mouth.
	Serenity looked down at Jedite in horror. "Endymion!" she 
cried. "What are you doing?!"
	Malachite raised one hand, and, with the force of
a furious parent, slapped Endymion hard across the face.
The crack resounded through the air; stunned, the prince 
stared blankly at the older general in his grip.
	Malachite's eyes were ice. "Never forget your place,"
he said very, very lowly. His voice was cold. "And don't you 
dare hit your little brother."

****************

	A small crowd had started to form around the event.
Serenity, trembling terribly, watched the surprised expressions
of the multi-racial bystanders.
	"What's going on?" someone asked nearby.
	"General Malachite slapped the crown prince."
	"Look at General Jedite! Did Prince Endymion do that?"
	"It must be a fight. Earthians are so crude!"
	"Doesn't Earth's royalty have the decency *not* to
fight at a festival in their honor?"
	Serenity whipped around. The voices were from the
mob, though; dozens of faces, both moon and Earthian, had
appeared, and the murmuring had gotten too loud and too
mingled for individual voices to be matched to faces. She
turned back to her prince.
	Endymion suddenly snapped out of his shock and
cursed. He shoved Malachite backwards, and the two of them
stumbled several steps before knocking into a wooden fruit 
stand. They crashed to the ground amidst flying oranges,
chunks of wood, and a few female screams.
	Fast as lightning Zoycite dove into the fray. Serenity
rushed forward, only to have a hand grab her arm from
behind. She turned with wide, glassy eyes.
	To face Jupiter.
	"Don't." The brunette princess gravely shook her
head. "Don't forget your royal standing, Serenity. You
can't run into a boys' fight."
	Serenity hiccuped and clutched Jupiter's hand. 
"But Jupiter--"
	"You couldn't do anything to stop them, anyway."
Jupiter looked around them. The crowd had doubled 
or perhaps even tripled in the few moments 
between Malachite's slap and Endymion's sudden 
attack, and peeved murmuring had turned into loud
complaints, cries of concern, or exclamations of shock.
Jupiter's eyes narrowed. "This is bad," she muttered.
	Serenity, frightened, clutched her guardian's hand 
as she watched the fight. Zoycite and Endymion 
were locked and rolling across the rocky ground, with the 
prince furiously tearing at his general. Malachite, on his 
knees, managed to grab the two of them and attempted to 
pull them apart; Nephlite appeared by his side to help him. 
After several moments of intense struggle and some
fearsome lashings from the prince, Nephlite succeeded
at pulling Zoycite free. Malachite straddled the struggling
Endymion as Nephlite dragged the stumbling Zoycite
away, dropped him beside Jedite (in Mars', Mercury's,
and Venus' care), and rejoined Malachite. After 
exchanging a few quick words with the older general,
Nephlite crouched to examine the screaming and
thrashing prince.
	Serenity could feel her attempts to keep from 
crying failing. She blinked away the tears that blurred 
her eyes, but a few warm drops broke free and rolled
down her cheeks. She was scared. *Terribly*
scared, of that tall, dark prince, his developing body
throwing itself back and forth from under Malachite,
his muscles rock under his silk uniform, pulling the
fabric tight against his skin to shine in the torchlight.
He was dangerous. She'd seen him mad before, and that
had been frightening enough, but to see all that young
strength out of control.... She hiccuped again as more 
tears rolled. "Oh God," she sobbed. "What's wrong with
him?"
	Jupiter watched carefully as Nephlite lowered
his face to the screeching prince's. A moment, and the
general looked up, nodded at Malachite, and grabbed 
a pitcher of water from a nearby table (that hadn't
been knocked over yet). Without hesitation he dumped
the water over the crown prince of Earth's head.
	Endymion choked on his screams. Spluttering,
coughing, and fighting to breathe, he struggled as 
Malachite and Nephlite bent over him and, surprisingly,
brushed the wet hair from his face with care. Serenity could
see their lips moving in some quick streams of 
words. 
	"Prayers." Jupiter answered the unasked question.
"They're praying for him to overcome his anger, Serenity."
	Serenity could feel her chest get tight. Under the
gentle touches and words of his generals, the fight 
drained from Endymion; panting, lips trembling, he
slowly stopped trying to break free. He stared up at
Malachite. Even at her distance, Serenity could see the
glassiness of his ocean eyes gleam in the torchlight.
	Endymion suddenly choked, and his lips pressed
tight. Malachite jumped off the prince and dragged him 
behind a nearby stand. A moment later, and the sound 
of the prince's vomiting became clearly audible.
	The crowd had stopped crying out, but their
numbers had increased substantially, and their 
murmuring was loud and negative. Nephlite stood, 
breathing heavily, and let his eyes travel around the
mob. When he caught eyes with Jupiter, he gave her
a communicative look, furrowing his eyebrows and
quickly but barely pushing a thumb to his lips.
	Jupiter grew even graver. She pulled the princess
closer to her side. "Drunk," she murmured, for
Serenity's ears only. "Endymion is drunk."
	Serenity gasped. "What?" she breathed. "But 
when did he--"
	She froze.
	Those mugs he had drained. The way his eyes
had lost focus, his odd behavior. It had been happening
right in front of her, and she hadn't....
	"WHAT is going on?!"
	As one, every head--the generals', the princesses',
Endymion's, Serenity's, and all those belonging to members
of the crowd--turned in the direction of the booming 
voice. Dead silence settled.
	The Earth king.
	Serenity could feel the fear, the panic, build up in her
the moment she saw it register on Endymion's face. The king's 
eyes were sapphire daggers, rage burning within them, aimed 
for his crumpled son. The queen of the Earth and queen 
Serenity stood just behind the king, their eyes wide with 
shock.
	"My king." Malachite, his lone voice loud in the
sudden silence, stood. His ice eyes met the burning gaze of 
Endymion's father. 
	The king of the Earth's eyebrows furrowed tightly,
the veins in his forehead clear even in the darkness. "General
Malachite," he called, his voice tight and barely leashing
fury. "What do you have to say?"
	Malachite's gaze wavered not in the slightest. A drop
of sweat rolled down his cheek, over the grooves of a long,
fresh cut, and dripped from his chin. "Forgive us."
	Time stood still. There was not a sound from the
mammoth crowd--quite possibly every attendant of the festival
had joined it--and none of the generals or princesses moved
a muscle. Serenity didn't dare breathe.
	At last the king raised his arm. He pointed a huge,
steady finger at his son, hardened his gaze further, and ordered,
"Rise."
	Endymion, after a half moment of hesitation, carefully
made his way to his feet. Serenity realized with a dropping
heart that the prince looked terrible. As if the powdery dirt
smeared into his clothes and skin weren't bad enough, his 
silken garments were ripped horrendously, he was soaking
wet, and small bruises and cuts were scattered over his face 
and body. He raised his still-slightly-hazed eyes to his father,
met the burning glare, then quickly dropped his eyes to the
ground.
	"We're retiring to the palace," the king boomed. He
turned stiffly and started walking back toward said structure;
his concerned wife, and a grave queen Serenity, went
with him. Endymion and his four generals (Jedite clutched his
jaw and Zoycite wiped his fat lip as they got to their feet)
followed.
	The crowd parted to let the departing Earthians and
moon queen leave. As Serenity watched them go, their heads 
eventually vanishing behind those of the mob, she could feel 
the doom settle around her shoulders. She clutched her heart.
	"This is bad," Jupiter repeated, quietly.

****************

	"You total incompetent FOOL!" 
	Endymion didn't look up from the carpeted floor.
Even though the guest room was large, even with the four
generals and the Earth queen occupying it with the prince,
the huge king's pacing made the place seem terribly small.
	"I don't know what to DO with you!" the king
shouted. "After all we go through for you, after all your
family sacrifices for you, you get DRUNK at a moon 
festival in our honor and fight your generals in front 
of hundreds of people?! Do you REALIZE what it is 
you've done?!" 
	Endymion was silent. He didn't look up.
	"These diplomatic missions are of UTMOST 
importance, Endymion! We need the moon's friendship
for our success and for our survival! For you to do something
so reckless at a time like.... YOU FOOL!" The king
suddenly rushed forward, hand raised to strike. Endymion
closed his eyes and braced himself.
	"Darling, NO!" The Earth queen ran and pulled
back the king's hand.
	The king glared furiously at his son's lowered
midnight head a moment, then snarled and turned away.
"Your kingdom at home was attacked this afternoon," he
said flatly. "While we were here trying to improve our
ties with the moon, hundreds of our warriors were
killed when an enemy force rushed the palace."
	Endymion's head jerked up. His generals, too, went
tight with surprise. "What?" Endymion breathed.
	The king whipped to his son. "That's right! Did you
hear me? We were attacked!" He threw his arm out, as if
to engulf the moon. "While you were acting selfishly here, 
our palace soldiers at home were killed by a new enemy!"
	Silence. Endymion's mouth opened, but no sound
came out. By the wall, Malachite dared to speak.
	"Attacked by whom, my king?"
	The king snorted. "We have no idea. The messengers
said the enemy force came a hundred strong, killed several
hundred of our guards and soldiers, then left with hardly
a casualty. The attacking warriors carried no banner."
	Endymion covered his mouth. His father strode up
to him, looming over the youth. 
	"Now you see what you've done. At a time when 
we need all the support we can get from friendly planets,
you make the Earth kingdom seem a violent, uncivilized
land with no respect for kindness." His eyes burned. "You
may have ruined the bond we've been trying to establish 
with the moon for countless years!"
	The king raised his huge finger. "You have failed me
as a prince and as a son, Endymion. You are hereby forbidden
from returning to the moon. Gather your things; you're going 
back to Earth tonight."
	Endymion fell to his knees. As the king stormed to the
opposite side of the room, the queen followed him, worriedly 
trying to speak with him, as Jedite watched Endymion
sadly, Zoycite watched Endymion sympathetically, and Nephlite 
watched Endymion unreadably. Malachite glanced at the double
doors of the room.
	Just as Princess Serenity ran from the tiny crack between 
them.

To be continued....

-The milk-sibling thing is based on a real Islamic law
(no kidding--my father has a pair of twins as milk brothers),
though I'm not sure I had it accurate. In other words, it
works for the story, but look up the real law if you want to 
know about it. ^_^ Part 6 will be out Christmas Day. Bye!
-Lianne (liannesentar@hotmail.com)
*insert standard disclaimers*