AN: When in their guises I will only refer to Wise Man and Diamond by their aliases. Wise Man=Samuel Sage, wealthy business man who has raised his grandson since his parents died when he was still just a little boy. Prince Diamond=Erik Sage, an aspiring magician at the tender age of 18, plays the part of the dutiful grandson, caring for his wheelchair-bound grandfather.
Chapter 7 Party
Erik pushed his grandfather’s wheelchair, wanting to be sure to have control on these crowded streets. Serena and Reenie were leading the way, at a rapid pace.
“It’s this way,” she indicated the stairs (and ramp) to the shrine.
“It was very kind of your friends to invite us, Miss. Serena,” Mr. Sage told her.
Serena giggled. “Well I told them about Erik and they all want to meet him. And I thought you might like someone else to talk to. Raye’s grandpa will like some new company too.”
Reenie slipped by Erik, “Can I help push? The ramp’s a little steep,” she said with a little smile.
Erik made enough room for Reenie to grip the lower part of the bars. This little rabbit was very sweet, he decided. And adorable.
“Hey Serena!” Chad greeted as he swept the pathway. “Who are your new friends?”
Serena waved in reply to his greeting. “Hi Chad. This is Erik Sage, and his grandfather...”
“Samuel Sage,” Mr. Sage finished.
**********
Darien sat alone at Crown Arcade and Cafe. Anyone who saw him would know just from his posture that he was completely miserable. He hadn’t even ordered anything, couldn’t bring himself to order anything. He wasn’t hungry or thirsty, or aware of any physical needs. He wasn’t even sure how he’d ended up at there to begin with. But here he was, just staring into the glass table feeling as though his heart might spill out all over it. He only knew that his heart was breaking. It was awful.
“Darien?” A voice cut through his misery. “What’s wrong buddy, you look totally bummed out,” Andrew said.
“It’s nothing, Andrew. I don’t want to talk about it,” Darien replied. Talking about it would mean acknowledging this was really happening and not just another nightmare.
Andrew looked out the window, “You know, Lizzie told me something happened the other day when you took her home. She said you passed this pretty girl with unusual pigtails who seemed to know you very well and yet you just said she was ‘some girl you know.’ I happen to know only one girl with pigtails like that. What's going on with you and Serena that you would say something like that?”
“Andrew it’s…”
“Darien, it is my business. You and Serena are both my friends.” Andrew stated. “And I don’t like seeing either of you like this. Now what’s wrong?”
Darien sighed and gave him a very brief version. He left out being Tuxedo Mask or Prince of the Earth of course. But he did tell him about the nightmares.
Andrew scratched his chin. “Okay, let me get this straight. You’ve been having dreams telling you that if you stayed with Serena, she would be hurt?”
Darien nodded, realizing how stupid it really did sound. He had let some bad dreams come between him and his princess. He sounded like a five-year old insisting that the boogey man in his closet was real and would come out and eat him. “It was stupid, I know. But…I’ve been having them every day for a few months now and I just couldn’t bring myself to take the risk. I love her so much.”
“Darien it really sort of sounds like you were afraid of hurting her yourself,” Andrew said. “I'm not a psychologist, but as the local juice bar 'bartender,' let me offer some observations." He wiped the counter with a rag and gave an slanted grin acknowledging the irony. "I’ve known you since middle school, and I know the hardships you faced. None of this can be easy for you because you haven't learned to trust anyone, especially yourself. Serena got close for awhile, but eventually the fear of being hurt again just got to be too much and you've pushed her away too, even though you really don't want to.”
Darien realized Andrew made a lot of sense. He ran fingers through his mussed hair with frustration, eyes focused on an arbitrary spot before him, “And now it’s too late," he muttered. "She’s given up on us. I tried explaining to her about the nightmares but that just made her even angrier." He finally looked up into his friend's eyes. "Andrew, what if I’ve lost her forever?”
********************
As Serena had predicted, her girlfriends, barring the more subtle Ami, were totally drooling over her hot new neighbor. She couldn’t really blame them. He was kind of cute.
She could see Mr. Sage out of the corner of her eye. He and Grandpa Hino were already embroiled in conversation about the temple.
Raye was the only one not getting into the fun. She was sitting off on her own glaring daggers at Erik. Sometimes she would shift her gaze outside and glare hotly at the old man in the wheelchair. It was a wonder he didn't spontaneously combust.
Serena sat down next to her. “What’s wrong Raye? You said you wanted to meet them.”
“Serena,” Raye whispered. “I think you need to be very, and I mean extremely, careful around them. I don’t know why but I'm sensing some seriously negative energy coming from both of them.”
Serena shook her head. “From them? Come on, Raye. You’re not really saying you think they’re a threat. I mean look at Mr. Sage. He’s in a wheelchair. What’s he gonna do, run us over?”
Raye sighed. “Well, I have to admit they look and act harmless enough. But Serena, we’ve been burned too many times to just be flippant about this. Please, be careful.”
“Alright Raye.” Serena agreed. “I will be careful around them, I promise.”
Reenie started bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Show them your magic Erik!” she pleaded. “Show them, show them! Please!” She looked up at him with her saddest puppy-dog eyes.
Erik laughed. “Alright. Would you girls like to see some magic?”
Raye looked at Serena suspiciously. “Magic? What kind of magic?” she hissed, loudly enough for Erik to hear.
Erik came over, “Why so troubled young priestess? I see, it must be this…” he put his finger just inches behind her ear and began tugging at something. He pulled out a blue scarf, a red scarf, a green scarf and a yellow scarf each knotted together. “I can see how that would be uncomfortable. Especially with…” he rolled up the scarves and twisted his hand slightly. “A dove hidden in them.” A small pure white dove sat in his palm.
Serena laughed at Raye’s face at being the unwitting magician's assistant. “That kind,” Serena giggled.
All of the girls clapped and even Raye couldn’t hold back a grin. Seeing good old-fashioned magic tricks like that was refreshing, especially after all of the other, less benign magic they had encountered, but she still couldn’t shake that feeling. Maybe she was just being overly paranoid, but either way, she would watch both of her guests closely, especially when they were around their princess.
“Hey ladies,” Grandpa’s voice broke into their fun. “There’s someone here who wants to talk to Serena. I can’t remember his name for the life of me.” The old man laughed. "Just getting old, I guess."
Serena sighed. There was only one man who would both want to talk to her and know where she was. She bet Reenie had let slip where they would be.
Raye had already stood and went to the door to look out. “Darien Chiba, Serena does not want to see you and you are not welcome here.”
Darien held a bunch of roses in his hand. “Raye please, I’ve got to talk to her. I made a terrible mistake, I know that. I was stupid, I was an idiot, but I love her.”
“That doesn’t make any difference! You hurt her, and we won’t let you do it anymore. Now go or I get Chad to escort you off the premises.” Raye snapped.
Samuel and Erik each smirked to themselves. This man was in some deep trouble by the sounds of it.
“I won’t leave until I get the chance to talk to Serena.” Darien stood his ground.
“There’s nothing more to say Darien.” Serena interrupted, standing right in the doorway, her arms crossed. “You said you didn’t want me anymore, well, you don’t get to change your mind right after I decide to move on." Behind her stood a white-haired stranger.
Darien held out the roses. “Serena, please. I’ll do better, I won’t hurt you anymore. I was wrong and I know that and I’m sorry. Please…I need you.”
Serena swallowed the lump forming in her throat. “No Darien, I’ve got a new boyfriend now anyway.” she looked behind her to see Erik conveniently standing there. He had the sweetest "concerned" look on his face.
“No you don’t…” Darien called her bluff.
“Erik is really such a sweet, wonderful guy, I know he’ll never do me wrong.” Before anyone could say anything, Serena leaned up and kissed the unexpecting, unsuspecting blonde full on the mouth.
Erik didn’t know what to do. He had never expected this at all. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and did what he had been longing to do since he could remember. He returned her kiss with one of his own, passionately savoring the taste of her lips.
Nearly a full minute passed before they parted. Serena looked back at Darien as if to say, “convinced?” Brokenly, Darien lost hold of the roses, sending them to the ground in his shock.
“Serena….” He didn’t even know what to say to that. How could she have replaced him so quickly. “Serena….” His mouth was dry, his heart felt stabbed to the core. Defeated, he did the only thing he could do. He left, his feet leaden with each step.
*******************
In the future, where the inhabitants barely remembered him, Endymion felt a stabbing pain in his chest. He fell to his knees, gripping his chest against the pain. “Serenity…please…” he pleaded inwardly. Why? Why had he done it? It was stupid, so stupid. He couldn’t even think of the reason he had done it in the first place. To test the strength of their love? He’d known how strong their love was, had been. All his little stunt had done was force Serenity away from him. Now she was in the arms of another man, his own child denied to him even through blood. He had even been denied his rightful kingdom, now only getting half of the Earth.
“I have to do something about this!” he declared to no one in particular as he sat on the throne of the rebuilt Elysian Palace. He remembered waking up in this strange palace not that long ago, without a clue as to how he had come to be there. He should have been in the Crystal Palace, worrying over the fate of his beautiful queen and the safety of their daughter. “No, I cannot let this be my fate. Our fate."
His frustration grew to the point that he knew he must turn to the only allies he still had. "Malachite, Nephrite, Zoisite, Jadeite, I require your aid!” he called into the air.
Instantly, without so much as a puff of smoke or a jingling noise, the four stood before him. Malachite knelt down.
“How may we serve you master?” he asked, the spokesperson of their little group.
Endymion stood and gestured out the window towards the direction of the Crystal Palace. “You see this picture, that palace over there, and we over here. I can tell you now that is not how it should be. Serenity and I were destined to wed and rule the Earth together as husband and wife, king and queen. But things have gone terribly wrong. An enemy has gone to the past and driven apart our past selves. If this is allowed to continue, I fear our entire planet will be taken from us, Serenity ultimately destroyed, and our world in the hands of a tyrannical monster.”
Malachite frowned. For days his master has been going on about how things weren’t the way they should be, insisting that he should be king of the entire Earth, not just half, with Serenity as his wife. “What would you have us do Master?” Despite reservations, the Shitennou lived to serve their king.
“Sailor Pluto refuses to aid in changing things back to how they ought to be, the enemy seems to have brainwashed her. So I will send you four to the past myself and your mission is to get Serena Tsukino and Darien Chiba back together, at all costs.”
******************
When he was gone, Serena whispered up to Erik. “Sorry, I didn’t know what else to do to get him to take a hint. I hope you’re not offended or anything.”
Erik shook his head, “No no, no offense taken, I assure you. You can kiss me anytime you like fair maiden.”
Raye grabbed Serena’s arm, “Will you excuse us for a minute. Just a minute.” She dragged Serena off to a deserted corner of the room. “What were you doing? I just finished asking you to be careful with them and there you are kissing him! In front of Darien for crying out loud!”
“I’m sorry Raye, but I couldn’t help it, I had to do something to get it through Darien’s head.” she protested.
Raye hugged her friend. “Hey, it’s alright, and I do think Darien finally got the hint. But really Serena, you barely even know this guy yet and you’re just getting over Darien. A relationship right now really isn’t the best idea for you, don’t you think?”
“I guess not.” Serena acquiesced. “Although…that Erik is one heck of a kisser.” She touched her lips and looked in his direction. He was gazing right back at her with a look she couldn’t describe but it made her chest feel light and warm.
