Of Warriors And Kings

Three days later, we stood on the surface of the Earth’s moon, ready to stare down the forces of the Moon Kingdom. Kunzite and our soldiers were on one side, including Klein and Naruko, and Jadeite and Nephrite and their men were on the other side of Queen Beryl. Tens of thousands of soldiers flooded the outer boundaries of the castle. The guards around the perimeter were doing their best to fend us off, and I saw many faces that I recognized look at me with disbelief as I mowed them down one by one.



“King Zoicite…” I heard one of them gasp as he lay dying. “Why have you done this?”



“What do you mean?” I said, turning around briefly.



“Instead of killing us, you should have asked us for help…” he rasped. “Many of us were faithful only to the former King of the Dark Kingdom. When he died, Queen Serenity threatened to kill us if we attempted to leave. We have always hated her!” My eyes widened, realizing he was right. I ran back to his side, helping him to sit up as I fed enough healing energy into his body that he was able to stand. “Thank you, Majesty.” Others followed suit, using some of their energy to heal those who were faithful to Queen Beryl.



“Uncle, Naruko and I will steal to the throne room and infiltrate them,” Klein said. “They do not know us, so they will suspect nothing of us when we arrive in masks.”



“Yes, go,” Kunzite said. “Have fun.” As they ran off, they changed their clothes so that they weren’t soiled with dirt and blood, and I found myself envying them. That was to have been OUR job, but Kunzite hadn’t given his words a second thought. The way was clear for a great while, and I wondered where all of the palace guards were. Then I realized… All of those who were actually still faithful to Queen Serenity were in the throne room with her. Most of the guards had belonged to King Amethyst, and all of them who hadn’t were now dead.



I heard voices from the balcony above us, and when I recognized who it was, I was very glad that I was completely out of sight.



“Princess, I am sorry that I couldn’t come with better news,” Endymion said. “My father has been completely unable to stop Queen Beryl’s forces from almost completely taking over the Earth, and now they are on their way here.”



“Oh, Endymion, I am just glad that you are alive,” said Princess Serenity. “When our scouts reported that the Earth had been attacked, I was afraid that you had been killed.”



“Queen Beryl knew that I was there,” he said. “I honestly believe that, because I have been so faithful to her in the past, she spared me, delaying her attack until she knew that I was not going to be there.”



‘ENDYMION!’ I seethed in my head. ‘IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU BETTER KNOW THAT I AM HERE TO GET YOU BACK!’ If Endymion had been about to say something, he stopped, and I felt a vibe of slight fear course through the link, followed by warmth and a slight feeling of endearment.



‘I can hear you, My King, and thank you for coming to see me,’ Endymion said. ‘If this were under better circumstances, I would introduce you to Princess Serenity. I am willing to give her up to be with you, but not if you are going to kill her.’



‘Meet us in the courtyard as soon as you can, Endymion,’ Kunzite said. ‘And be sure that you are not followed, or they will be killed.’



‘Create a diversion for me,’ he said. ‘I know that King Amethyst’s guards are on your side, but if they are seen chasing me they will not be suspected.’ We nodded, looking to a few of the guards, who nodded to us and took chase of Endymion.



“Prince Endymion…” I heard the princess mutter as she watched him running. I enjoyed hearing the pain in her voice as she seemed to realize that she would never have his entire heart.



As soon as I saw Endymion, his eyes locked on mine and he smiled. I handed my sword off to one of the guards and began approaching him. It didn’t take long for him to break into a run, and I threw my arms around him as he uttered my name.



“Oh, I’ve missed you, Endymion,” I said, kissing his neck. “That letter you sent me… Did you mean it? Have you really fallen in love with the bastard child of the Moon Queen?”



“I do adore her,” he said, pulling back slightly. “We are very close, but I would never consider her as a consort or queen. You and Kunzite are the only two who will ever hold my heart that way. That letter was a cover to please my father, to show him that I was loyal to the Universe of Light.”



“I knew it,” Kunzite said, and my eyes widened. “I didn’t want to say anything to you, Zoi-chan, but I had a feeling that he was trying to fool King Endymion into believing that he had betrayed us.” I felt Endymion’s grip on my waist tighten slightly in confirmation of what Kunzite was saying. I kissed him, my eyes drifting shut as I gave into the passion for a few moments.



“Join us at the party,” Endymion said. “Disguise yourselves. It probably won’t be very long before those two cats that call themselves the guardians smell the blood of the dead and alert Queen Serenity. Enjoy your time here at least for a little while, please.”



“We will try,” I said. With a wave of my hand over my face and down the front of my suit, I changed not only my clothes, but also my hair and some of my facial features. My eyes and hair turned silver, and my suit transformed into an elaborate silver and white suit with a sheer white cape. Similarly, Kunzite’s silvery white hair changed to deep black, partially held back in a half-ponytail, his suit turning just as deep black as his hair. We each donned masks and turned toward the prince, who smiled warmly.



“I am almost tempted to say that we forget the party and return to the Earth,” he said. “But that is not possible now.” He lifted my chin and looked into my eyes as well as he could with the mask covering my face. “You have always been so beautiful to me, My King. I wish that this was not ending so quickly.” Not being able to stop myself, I pressed my lips to his again, for what I knew would be our last kiss.



A few hours later, the kingdom was in chaos. Queen Beryl had overtaken the palace, and thousands of Lunarians were now dead, as were hundreds of Dark Kingdom soldiers. I was just glad that Kunzite, Jadeite, Nephrite, Naruko, and Klein were alive and still able to fight. There we stood, Queen Beryl at our head. Prince Endymion’s father was now dead, so he was now the King of Earth. As such, he had taken over command of his father’s army. I was not at all surprised by this, but I was not happy with it either. Now, he stood between Queen Beryl and his beloved Princess Serenity.



“Well, well, well,” Queen Beryl sneered. “Prince Endymion has betrayed his beloved kings to play with the daughter of the man who once betrayed me, has he? You realize that she is not as pure as she seems, don’t you, Endymion?”



“I once respected you, Beryl, but now you have turned into a bitch who needs to be put down!” Endymion snapped.



“Endymion!” Serenity screamed as Queen Beryl struck him with a power bolt, sending him up into the air. The moon’s gravity was not enough to pull him back down to the ground, and when Serenity jumped to try to catch him and grab hold of him, she too stayed in the air.



“Princess, no!” Endymion cried. Had I not known that this was how it had to be, I would have helped him. My heart was breaking as it was, and as he was struck again by a blast large enough to kill both of them, Kunzite had to hold me closely to him to keep me from screaming his name.



“No, not the princess, no!” the black cat, Luna, wailed as she watched.



“King Endymion!” the white cat, Artemis, howled. He lowered his head, tears pouring from his eyes, and said “Farewell, King of Earth. May the gods of the Moon keep your soul near that of our princess.”



“Saraka octu shimishi, Endymion,” I heard Kunzite mutter, praying for his soul to the gods of the Dark Kingdom. The rest of the battle was a blur. I vaguely remember watching as Klein and Naruko were killed, and the rage the Queen Beryl flew into when she saw that her daughter was dead. The next thing I knew, Queen Serenity had taken the Silver Crystal in her hand, the source of her power, and was calling on it to come and trap us. My skin felt like it was burning, and Kunzite’s hand was grasping at my shoulder, his scream loud in my ear. Then, as light engulfed us, everything went quiet…



“My King,” I heard a strangely hollow voice resonate in my head. “King Zoicite, please wake up.” My eyes drifted open, and I saw a transparent image of my beloved Prince Endymion in front of me.



“Where am I?” I said groggily.



“We are inside the power of the Silver Crystal,” he said. “You are still alive, but all of us who have died are being reborn. Even your nephew and his wife will be reborn in the same time as we will be. You and Kunzite and the others will be trapped in the Dark Kingdom until the day that I am reborn in the future. From that day, you will be able to move outside of the Dark Kingdom, but I am begging you not to attack my people until they have a defender.”



“I cannot make any promises of Queen Beryl, Endy-kun, but I will do my best,” I said. In thanks, he kissed me, and the kiss felt like the touch of feathers on my skin. “May the god of Earth keep you in his thoughts until we meet again. Goodbye.”