A fan fic by Caleyndar. Rating: PG. Notes: The characters Diamond and Sapphire in this chapter are of course Prince Diamondo and Safiru of the Black Moon family. Ruby and Emerald are adapted from the characters in the television series, and they will have a larger part later in the story. Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me; only the few I make up. The story, however, is mine. The Name Endymion... Part One: Innocent Life... Chapter Four... "Do you really think this IQ competition is necessary?" Nick asked me at the front gate while we waited for our loves to arrive. "The question is, what is really necessary?" I replied. "But no, I think it's a waste of time. On another topic; are you and Dawn going out now?" I asked, grinning at him. He blushed, and answered in such a small voice I did not hear him. "What? I didn't hear you," I said, enjoying his embarrassment. "Yes," he said, a little louder this time. I laughed, and he reddened even more. "Well, looks like you finally won her heart. Now, just don't loose her," I said, looking seriously at him. The bus which Dawn and Serena caught pulled up then, and Nick and I stopped our chatter. We watched with happy expressions on our faces as the students got off the bus. But a frown suddenly appeared on my face as I felt a presence. A dark presence. Nick left my side as Dawn got off the bus. He greeted her in a friendly manner, all childish tactics gone and replaced by a much more mature nature. Dawn smiled at him, and they waited by the bus for Serena to get off. I walked up to them, looking at the stream of people getting off the bus. "She was talking to these two boys when I got on the bus," Dawn was saying to Nick. "They're new. The strange thing is, they are brothers, but they look so different." Serena finally came off the bus, looking rather uncomfortable. I helped her off the last step, smiling up at her face, telling her with my eyes that I had missed her. She gave me a soft smiled, but glanced back behind her, as if she was afraid. I looked past her, and into icy cold pale blue eyes. They glared at me with a hatred I did not understand. How could anyone hate me so much when we had only just met? Framing his pale face was longish white hair, tinged with blue. His whole expression was cold. In his ears, he wore an earring, a diamond, which sparkled in the sunlight like an ice crystal. He stepped off the bus, and stood opposite me, watching me with his glacier blue eyes. For a moment, I felt hate from him. And jealously? I did not have time to consider it, for the last person came off the bus. It was his brother. Dark blue hair, almost to the point of black, and dark blue eyes, which were cold as well. He wore a pair of sapphire earrings, small studs in his pale ear lobes. He looked past me, to Serena. He glared at her, but did not let his brother see this. The bus pulled away, leaving the six of us standing on the side walk. I seemed unable to look away from the cold gaze of the first boy, who stood there, his slender white arms crossed over his chest. Nick and Dawn stood there too, wondering what they should do. Serena finally spoke up. "This is Diamond," she said in a small voice. "He's an old friend," she gestured to the boy with the bluish white hair. "And this is his brother, Sapphire." The two brothers bowed, but it was mocking. "Darien, I think Dawn and I will be leaving now. They are just a little too weird for us," Nick whispered in my ear, and walked off quickly with Dawn by his side, either of them looking back. "Serena, we can go if you want. We don't have to stay here and suffer this," I said to her softly, taking her hand in mine. "Serena? Is that what you call yourself here?" Diamond said, glaring at our touching hands. Sapphire placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, warning him. "But then, I suppose you real name would be a little strange on this planet," he said, smiling at me evilly. "You can talk with your names. Just leave her alone," I said, stepping in front of her. "She is my girlfriend, so you two can just go to hell," I said, feeling angry. "You don't know who we really are, do you, human?" Diamond asked, holding up his pale hand, palm up. A small ball of energy grew there, silvery white, lightning running over it. "No, I don't," I admitted. "But I don't care for your petty tricks." "Diamond, stop this. You know the rules!" she said harshly to Diamond. "Serenity, what does it matter to you? He is just a human. He isn't worth your attention. Let me kill him, since he has seen my power," Diamond said softly to her. "No!" she said, loudly. "It's alright, Serenity," I said, calling her by her real name. "I can defend myself." I held up my own hand, palm up, and gathered my energy there. A blue ball of power grew there, matching Diamond's. "You see, I am not a human. I don't know who I really am. But my name is Endymion." Sapphire let out a small gasp as he recognised the name. "The great Prince Endymion. Well, it is an honour to meet you. Everyone thought you were dead," Diamond said sarcastically, looking up at me and letting his hand drop. "I should fight you here and now, Endymion. If it was not against the laws. But one day, those laws will not matter. Then, I will destroy you, and take from you what you most treasure." Diamond turned and walked off, his brother following him, two menacing figures in the early light. I turned back to Serenity. "Are you alright?" I asked her, holding her close. She nodded, looking up at me with her large blue eyes. "Who are they, really?" I asked softly. "Prince Diamond, and Sapphire is really is brother. Diamond is the prince of the Black Moon Kingdom," she replied, her head on my chest, my arms wrapped around her small frame. "And you?" I asked. "I would rather not tell you," she said softly. "Alright, Serena," I said, holding her tighter. "It doesn't matter. I love you, and that all that counts. Come on, let's go inside. You knew who I was all along, didn't you?" "Yes, ever since we first kissed," she replied, blushing. It made me blush too. "And I suppose we tell none of this to our friends." "Yes. No human must know of our powers, of our existence. Only when they are ready, are we to show ourselves," she said. "Then why is Diamond and Sapphire here?" I asked, leading her through the school. "Diamond has a, well, what humans would call a crush, on me. He likes to follow me where ever I go, and serves as a protector for me. I hated the idea, but it was the only way my Mother allowed me to travel. I slipped through his grasp a few weeks ago and came here. He found me just yesterday. And he doesn't like you because I do," she said. "And Sapphire? I noticed earlier that the two of you didn't exactly get along," I said as we came to the oval. I looked across it, seeing our little group sitting under our tree. "He is devoted to his brother, and accompanies him whereever he goes. He dislikes me because he thinks I have bewitched his brother," Serena said seriously. "I understand that. You've bewitched my heart. And as for Diamond, he doesn't frighten me. I'll fight him, and defeat him, if he ever tries to take you away," I said, brushing my lips on her forehead. "Anyway, on a lighter note, what do you think of Nick and Dawn? They're finally going out." "Nick must be happy," Serena said as we walked into our group's area. "After all, I'm going out with you, and I feel as if I had died and gone to heaven." Everyone else had already arrived, and Luke and David did not look happy. "Why the long faces?" I asked as Serena and I sat down on a bench underneath the tree. "All the girls are talking," David started. "About the cute guys in our grade," added Luke. "Well, shouldn't you be happy about that?" I asked. "After all, aren't you considered as the 'cute' guys in our grade?" I mocked, grinning at them. "Not anymore," Luke said mournfully. "They think the two new guys are way hotter than us," David finished. "Diamond and Sapphire?" Dawn spoke up. "Well, they are beautiful. In a dangerous sort of way. And some girls do like that in men. But they are so cold!" "Dangerous is right," I muttered under my breath. "I bet they are rich too. For heaven's sake, they're wearing real diamond and sapphire earrings to school!" David exclaimed unhappily. "Even their names say they are filthy rich!" Serena and I looked on, raising our eyebrows. "Money isn't everything," Serena said, attempting to sooth them. It didn't work. "Tell that to all the girls swooning over them! Even Claudia is over there!" Luke cried, pointing over to a large group of girls across the oval. "It's too bad their sisters didn't come too. Then we wouldn't have to put up with this complaining," Serena whispered in my ear whilst everyone was looking at the group of girls. "Who are they?" I asked, looking at her with my blue eyes. "Ruby and Emerald. And their beauty has made many powerful men in the galaxy fall at their feet," she replied in a hushed tongue. "But they are only our age!" I said, a little shocked. "You are so naive," she said, standing up on her toes and kissing me. I closed my eyes, loving every second her lips were pressed against mine. We were interrupted by the bell. I pulled back, even though I hated doing so. We said goodbye and walked to our roll call classes. The student news said that year ten were to report to the hall after roll call for their IQ competition. I inwardly groaned at the thought of sitting in a hall for hours. Having Diamond glaring at me throughout the whole thing dampened my spirits ever more. The few year tens in my roll call class walked down to the hall when the bell rang. No one was chatting happily. And the sky was overcast too. Talk about setting the mood to a scene. When all of year ten had gathered in front of the hall, the teachers directed us in, seating us in single chairs at single tables. Diamond was sitting behind his brother across the hall from me. What really maddened me was that Diamond was sitting next to Serena. The competition started, and since it was under test conditions, silence reigned over the hall. There was the sound of wind blowing outside, cars passing by on the street, and the annoying ticking of the clock. Otherwise, nothing. Not even the rise and fall of breath, or the occasional sneeze or cough. Three long boring hours passed. The competition was quite hard, but since the answers were multiple choice, it was not too difficult to deduct the answer from the given information. When the teachers said we could talk again, the roar of conversation was almost deafening. Nick turned around from his seat in front of me, looking bored, but happy now that the competition was over. "Well, that was a waste of time," he said, packing up his things. "So true, so true," I said, sighing. "But now, it's clear sailing to the camp." "Yeah! It should be great fun! We'll have a welcoming party on the first night, and then a two day horse trek for the second and third day. Then it's a games day on horses on the fourth, with a dance party at night! It should be absolutely cool!" he said, stars in his eyes. I smiled at my friend. "Yes, it should be cool. And hopefully, I'll enjoy it. But I won't if I lose my only love," I said, looking over at Diamond and Serena. They were talking, and Sapphire was listening in, but did not contribute to it. Serena seemed to be telling him off, which brighten my spirits a little. "You and Dawn still going strong?" I asked, turning back to look at him. "Yeah. She says that Diamond and Sapphire and totally suck up. I think they are too. They must think they are royalty or something!" Nick said with anger in his voice. I wanted to say to him he wasn't far off when he said that. We were let our after everyone's paper had been collected. Nick and I walked down to the oval, finding everyone there except for Serena and Claudia. I was immediately concerned, and went off to find Diamond. Nick tried to ask me what was wrong, and I merely replied I needed to go to the toilet, which was a very lame excuse, even for me. I ran off to the canteen area, where I had seen alot of girls heading before I had gone down to the oval. I was a quick learner; where ever Diamond and Sapphire was, there were always a lot of girls to mark it. When I reached the canteen, I was rather disappointed to find no trace of either Diamond or Sapphire. Yes, there were alot of girls there, but no cold eyed boys with unusual coloured hair. I turned to go, but a flash of dark blue light in the corner of my eyes made me stop. Sapphire stood there, leaning up against the wall, his tall lean body shown off to advantage. He eyed me coldly, and we stood there, looking at each other for a moment, assessing each other. "Diamond asked me to speak with you. You are looking for Serenity, are you not? Don't be concerned about her. Diamond would rather die than hurt her. They just need some time to clear the tension between them," Sapphire said to me, his voice as cold and emotionless as his expression. "Does Diamond really love her?" I asked him suddenly. The question surprised both of us. Sapphire was silent for a moment, but then his expression softened. "He thinks he does. I think he is merely captivated by her beauty, her power. That doesn't really concern me though. If it is what he truely wants, and if he is happy, then so am I." "Do you love anyone?" I asked, seeing him open up to me. He smiled at me, turning his hard cold face warm, like a flower opening up after winter. "No. I am not so foolish as to fall in love. It only hurts you," he said strongly. "Haven't you heard the expression 'it is better to have loved, and lost love, than to never have loved at all'?" I asked, quoting what David had said to me awhile ago. He shook his head slightly. "You are an unusual being, Endymion. But I suppose growing up on this planet is the reason for it. It is a pity we are enemies. Otherwise, I think we would have been great friends. Perhaps, when the war is over, and if we are still both alive, we can continue with our conversations." With that, he turned and walked away. I stared after him, regretful also. I knew then that I had made a friend, and then lost one. The rest of the week passed in uneasy peace. Diamond and Sapphire kept to themselves, leaving Serena and me alone. When the weekend came, I invited Serena to go riding with me, and Nick did the same with Dawn. Serena had never been on a horse before, and the three of us agreed that she would need to practice if she wanted to have a good time at the camp. At the riding school, I showed her how to tack up her own horse, as she would need to know on the two day trek, and then how to mount by herself. I showed her other various things, like picking stones out of her horse's hooves, grooming, rugging and washing. She seemed to enjoy herself, and loved riding right away. In the afternoon, we went on a mountain trail. I pointed out the native animals we saw, and the birds. Serena was delighted at seeing them. The three of us also showed her the joy of bolting up the hills in a wild gallop. The next school week was uneventful as well. Except for the time David and Luke got into a fight with Diamond and Sapphire. Luckily, Serena and I was there, so Diamond and Sapphire used nothing more than their human powers; none of the power Diamond had displayed to me when we had first met. Unfortunately, Luke and David got the worst of it. Serena told me afterwards that they were trained in martial arts, and that they had gone easy on Luke and David. After the riding lesson with Tom on Saturday, Nick, Dawn, Serena and I rode over to Luke's place so that I could show Serena how to jump. Luke and David where there, but either was riding. Luke had a sprained ankle and a sore arm, as well as alot of bruises. David's shoulder had been dislocated, and it was still sore now after it had been put back. Neither of them was too happy. I rode Wild Spirit over the course, and we were great, as we had been the first time. I even let him jump a six foot fence again, showing off. Serena was quick to pick up on jumping, and she did quite well on the course herself. There was only two more weeks to the camp, and every one was exited. That was what everyone talked about at school. Well, besides from the constant glossip of who Diamond or Sapphire liked, or was going out with. The truth was, they weren't going out with anyone, and Serena said that either of them were the kind to take advantages of their looks. In the last week of school before the camp, we had two meetings. One was for the camp, telling us that everyone had to be at the front gate of the school by eight in the morning, and those who were taking their own horses were to met the rest of the year at the camp site at nine. It also told us what to bring and so forth. The second meeting concerned our results for the IQ competition. Once again, everyone was in the hall. At least this time, I was sitting next to Serena and Diamond and Sapphire were way over the other side of the hall. There was a representative from the IQ competition. He was dressed in a black uniform with an insignia on the front of it. It looked like a black dragon outlined in silver, but from so far away, I was unsure. Our year adviser was up on stage, saying he was very pleased with our results, and that some of use had scored highly enough to receive prizes. A few names were called out. I heard Dawn's and Nick's and two other's I did not know. And then mine. I was too shocked for a moment, but Serena pushed me up and towards the stage. I was given a certificate that said I had scored in the top one percent of all the participants, and a prize, which was a very expensive looking watch. I half heartedly wondered just how many people took part in this competition. Serena congratulated the three of us when we came off stage, but she seemed distracted. Nick and Dawn at once put their watches on, and I did the same, having forgotten mine this morning. It looked nice, sitting on my wrist, with it's black leather band and silver watch face with the golden hands, and small fake jewels set into where the numbers should have been. When we were outside the hall, Serena left my side, and it was a few moments before I realised she had gone to talk with Diamond and Sapphire. I walked up to them, forcing the strange feeling of jealously from my body. Nick and the others did not follow. Luke and David had learnt not to cross Diamond's and Sapphire's path. I came up beside Serena, and stood there, listening to the conversation. "We should leave, Serenity," Diamond was saying in a serious voice. No sign of coldness; only uneasiness. "That representative was from the Dark Dragon Kingdom. You saw the insignia on his uniform. If they know we're here, we have to leave." "They don't. I am sure of that, Diamond. And I have no intention of leaving yet. I dislike that fact that we are always running away from that accursed kingdom! We are as strong as they. Why do we run as if they are a wolf and we nothing more than mere prey?" Serena demanded. "We can't risk up setting them. You know that. We can't risk angering them into another battle. After the last one, even with our two kingdom's power combined, we could not beat them! Until we have a truce or an alliance with the Earth Kingdom, we do not have the power to stand up to them!" Diamond said, sounding almost desperate, unlike his usual cool self. He glanced at me when he mentioned the name of my kingdom. "I thought the Earth Kingdom was destroyed," I said softly. "It was weakened badly at the beginning of the war. After that, it split into two. One is neutral, the other is at war with us," Serena told me. "And what of my parents?" I asked. "No one has heard from your parents since you supposedly died," Diamond said sharply. I did not reply. "It is your choice, Serenity. If you wish to stay, I will protect you. But I have warned you of the danger. If they find out we are here, they will not hesitate to eliminate us. That would deal a deadly blow to both our kingdoms," Diamond said, and then walked away with his brother. "I hope you stay, Serena," I said softly, taking her hand and walking down to the oval. "I would miss you terribly if you leave me. But if you know you'll be in danger if you stay, please go. It would hurt me more if you were hurt because of me." "I shouldn't be hurt, Darien. Don't worry about me. You should be happy that you scored so highly, even if the organisation who ran it is at war with my kingdom. And at least you got a watch," she said, smiling happily up at me. I smiled back. "Yes, at least I got a watch." The rest of the week and the weekend passed with agonisingly slowness. Though I always loved riding, the ride on Saturday was annoying. It seemed to last forever, and to make things worst, Serena did not come as she had to do some last minute shopping for the camp. Sunday was just as bad. I took Michelle to see a movie, but she fell asleep in it, and I was left to watch a child's animated movie all by myself. What's more, it was a very unexciting one. When Monday came, I could hardly get up when my alarm went off at six in the morning. The night before, I had been unable to get to sleep, and I was dead tired still in the early hours of the day. Never the less, I got up and changed into my riding cloths, and then ate a quick breakfast. Only my Mother was up at that hour. She helped me make sure I had everything, and carried my bag to the front door to wait for Nick's parents to pick me up. They arrived at six thirty, and I kissed my Mother goodbye, and asked her to say goodbye to my Father and to Michelle. With that, I climbed into the car, only to be greeted by a sleeping Nick. The float was already attached to the car, and we drove off, the two horse trailer rattling behind us. When we arrived, I shook Nick awake, and the two of us got out of the car and walked to the stables. We gave out horses a biscuit of hay each whilst we loaded all their tack into the back of the car. I packed a double saddle bag with a body brush, hoof pick, a few first aid items, and a few sugar cubes. I pulled on my gloved then, and put my hard hat in the car. While we waited for our horses to finish their breakfast, we took off their rugs and gave them a groom. Since the whether was quite warm now, we only packed a light, water proof rug with hoods for each of them. Once they were finished, we led them with their halters and lead ropes onto the float. Both didn't give us too much trouble, so by a quarter to eight, we were ready to head out to the camp site. The ride there took an hour. Nick and I talked about various things along the way, but mostly we talked about our girlfriends, and the activities at the camp. "I only hope the food is nice," Nick said as we drove along the road with the trees flashing by. "For heaven's sake, Nick, food does not matter! Rather, I hope it doesn't rain. That would really dampen our spirits," I said, looking up at the sky which was spotted with clouds. "Please don't try to make a joke again! That one was pathetic!" Nick said in a disgusted voice. "What?" I asked him, confused. "Never mind, Darien. Some people just don't have a sense of humour," Nick replied, looking out his window. "But you're right. I hope it doesn't rain. Well, here we are," Nick said as we turned off the road and swung into the camp site. We both got out, unloaded our things and then our horses. "Thanks for the ride, Dad. We'll see you of Friday afternoon," Nick said as the car drove off. It was only quarter to nine then, so we tacked up our horses. Wild Spirit could hardly stand still; he was looking around with interest at his new surrounding, ears pricked and liquid bronze eyes wide. I finally finished tacking him up, finishing with wrapping the bandages around his strong but slender black legs. I kissed his nose, and hugged him. "I hope you'll enjoy this camp as much as I will," I whispered into his velvet black ears. "When I am gone, I hope you fine someone who will love you. I hope you'll have a happy life." End of Part One, Chapter Four.