A fan fic by Caleyndar. Rating: PG Notes: This chapter sets the scene for the next chapter. It does not introduce any new characters; it merely expands on those already defined in the previous chapters. Also, thanks to those who have e-mailed me. I really enjoy receiving them; they let me know that people are reading what I write, and that I'm not just wasting me time. Please write to me if you've read me fan fic, even if you disliked it. I vow to reply to every one of them. If you've looking for a good fan fic, read Brickgirl's "A Soul Reclaimed". I think it's very well done, and is original. Disclaimer: None of the character belong to me; only the few I make up. The story, however, is mine. The Name Endymion... Part One: Innocent Life... Chapter Five... Others who were taking their own horses were starting to arrive. A camp organiser directed us to tether our horses up to the fence and to take our bags to a grass area which was out of the way. We would be appointed our cabins when the others arrive. David, Luke, Dawn and Claudia arrived soon after, and we helped them get their horses ready and to put their luggage aside. The bus with our peers arrived fifteen minutes late. That was nothing unusual, since the school was always running late. The bus driver got off first, who started to unload all the bags. He was followed by the teachers, and then the students. Everyone was wild, with people yelling to each other, someone shrieking, from a prank, no doubt. Serena got off near the end, and I ran up to meet her. Diamond and Sapphire came off next, and I heard Diamond say something under his breath. "I have never known such noisy fifteen year olds," he said, walking swiftly past me. "I think I am going to throw up," Sapphire said, sounding rather weak. "They aren't use to travelling on bus for so long," Serena said, smiling up at me. I laughed, just thinking about how they were going to handle riding horses for two whole days. Serena elbowed me, and I shut up. We walked to the grass area, where every one was gathered with their bags. The teachers assigned us to our cabins, with four in each. David, Luke, Nick and I formed one, and we quickly grabbed our bags and vanished into our new home for the next five days. We each claimed our own beds, with Nick and I sharing a bunk. I took the bottom whilst Nick took the top. We unpacked our few belongs, and had a few moments to spare before the whistle blew and called us back outside to the grass area with our riding hats and gloves. The teachers said that for the rest of the morning, before lunch, we would be getting to know the horses that we were to ride for the remainder of the camp. Those who brought their own horses could ride as well, or help some of the others. I went off with Serena to pick her own horse, while Wild Spirit looked on with puppy eyes. I smiled, and gave him a kiss on the nose when I passed by and promised that we would ride soon. Serena and I picked out a gelding with a chocolate coat and flaxen mane and tail, who was named appropriately 'Chocolate'. They got along great, and I helped her tack up and mount. She waited for me to get Wild Spirit, and join her in the large paddock. I vaulted on Wild Spirit, showing off a little, and then asked him to rear. Unlike the first time, this one was under control, and looked rather spectacular, with both Wild Spirit and I enjoying it. He pawed the air, and arched his neck, looking much like a wild stallion in a movie. When we landed, everyone was looking at us, and I could not help but grin. Wild Spirit threw up his handsome head, showing off his silky silver mane as it was displayed in the light breeze. Nick rode up to me, White Angel prancing like a young filly. We galloped around the outside of the paddock, regardless of everyone else. I soon sped away from White Angel as Wild Spirit extended his long legs and flew on the wind. I halted him when we got back to Serena and Chocolate, who were getting use to each other's signals and paces. Wild Spirit pawed the ground, restless to go again, his energy hardly spent. "Come on," I called out to her, trying to hold Wild Spirit back. "Let's go and see what every one else is doing," I said, though all I really wanted to go was see how Diamond and Sapphire was suffering. I grinned at my thought and cantered off on Wild Spirit, with Serena following on Chocolate. I spotted David and Luke first, since Wolfkiller was not hard to miss, being so tall. Both of them was merely sitting on their horses, watching every one else. The rode off before I reached them, heading over to the gate. I followed at a slow canter, keeping pace with Chocolate. I saw who they were heading towards. No doubt they thought the same as I did about Diamond and Sapphire. "What are David and Luke doing?" Serena asked me. It was faint, for the wind snatched her voice away as we cantered through the paddock. "Going to mock Diamond and Sapphire," I replied. "I would think them foolish to do that," was Serena's reply. We halted our horses some distance away from the four of them. David and Luke had arrived at the gate, where Diamond and Sapphire were mounting their horses, a grey gelding with dark points, and a blue roan mare respectively. >From such a distance, we could not hear what they were saying to each other, but it wasn't hard to guess. David and Luke seemed to be laughing at the two brothers, who promptly ignored them and mounted their horses with ease. Their horses were behaving very well, which lead me to think the they were using mind control. Diamond finally shot something back at Luke and David, to which they laughed even more. And then suddenly, Skywalker and Wolfkiller took off, and Diamond just gave a cold smile after the two riders fell on the ground, unable to stop their mounts. "Mind control, right?" I asked Serena. "Yes. You had better tell David and Luke to leave Diamond and Sapphire alone," Serena said. "I would have thought they learned that after Diamond and Sapphire beat them up," I replied. We rode after Skywalker and Wolfkiller and brought them back to the dazed Luke and David. They took a moment before remounting; they had taken a pretty hard fall. I merely shook my head, smiling a little at their immature behaviour which had lead to this. A little before lunch time, everyone dismounted and untacked their horses and gave them a quick hose off. We stored our tack back in our cabins and took our horses out into a large paddock with a lot of grazing and left them alone to do as they wished. We quickly cleaned up ourselves and went to the mess hall for our lunches. Nick and I waited for Luke and David, who were quite stiff for their fall. Nick could only laugh when he had found out what had happened. The food at lunch wasn't too bad, for Nick's sake, and since everyone was starving, no one much minded what the food tasted like. After the lunch, the teachers called a quick meeting on the grass area to tell us that we had free time for the afternoon, before we had dinner and then the welcoming party. They suggested we pack our bags for the two day trek tomorrow, for which we had to rise at five in the morning to ready our horses, as we were leaving at five thirty. Breakfast would be eaten at a break along the trail. I could just see Diamond and Sapphire pale. My three friends and I returned to our cabin to pack, and then change into our swimmers to go for a dip in the creek. The day was rather hot, and I could hardly wait for the cool waters to cover my body. The four off us left our cabin and ran towards the creek like little boys, at which I couldn't stop grinning at. We dived in, creating a huge splash at which many of our peers complained. The girls all stopped, however, when Diamond and Sapphire appeared on the scene, which made David and Luke look as if they were going to explode. I laughed at them, and dove under the water as they splashed water at me. Nick had disappeared when I surfaced, having swam over to where Dawn was about to get into the creek. He got out and pushed her in, which brought him only a scream and then a beating. I couldn't help but grin. This was how life was meant to be. Serena came in the creek, and I swam up behind her underwater, and surprised her with a kiss on the cheek. She blushed, but turned around and kissed me full on. I practically melted, and wrapped my arms around her, never wanting it to end. We finally pulled away, smiling at each other. But nothing good every lasts long. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Diamond glaring at me with such hatred that I was beginning to believe that looks could kill. Sapphire, for once, was enjoying himself, floating on his back, eyes closed. Well, that was until Claudia dived on top of him and almost drowned him. Everyone laughed at that; even Diamond couldn't keep from smiling. Someone organised a game of water tag, and everyone enjoyed the afternoon, including Diamond and Sapphire, who joined in after he had recovered. Of course, Diamond and Sapphire were still cold to me and my friends, but at least we didn't get into any fights. But we all knew the only reason was because Serena, Serenity to Diamond and Sapphire, was always around to keep the peace. We all showered and changed before dinner, which was rather nice: fish and chips. After that, we all went into a hall, much smaller than the one at school, and had a party. We had some junk food there, and drinks. It was nothing like Luke's party, for which I was silently grateful. A band from our grade even played a few song, but mostly, people just enjoyed themselves and chatted. At one time, Diamond and Sapphire got up on the stage and did a 'magic' show with their powers, creating colourful illusions in the air. The people who ran the camp was stunned; they knew there wasn't any trick lighting in it. Of course, they never wondered why after Diamond and Sapphire got off the stage; Diamond made sure of that. Serena only shook her head, having seen their little tricks before. The other girls were impressed, which made most of the boys depressed. Too bad Diamond only had eyes for Serena, and Sapphire didn't even want to consider falling in love, or even liking a girl. It was eleven at night before the teachers were able to force us to go to bed. I fell asleep dreaming of riding in the mountains on Wild Spirit with Serena by my side, and no care in the world. I awoke to someone hitting my face with a pillow. I struggled, swinging my arms around in front of my face to get the pillow away from me. "Time to wake up, Darien. It's ten to five! Come on! Up! Get dressed; we've got to be tacking up our horses by five," Nick was saying to me. "God, it's not even light yet!" I complained, but got out of bed anyway, and hitting my head on the bunk above. This was not a good start to the day. With me up, Nick turned his attention to David and Luke. I washed my face and cleaned my teeth before packing my tooth brush in my saddle bag along with a comb for my hair. After changing into my riding cloths, and rolling up my bed roll as tight as it would go, I carried all my tack, back pack and bed roll out to the paddock. A few others were already out there, catching their horses. Giving a long whistle, I called Wild Spirit over to me, giving him a sugar cube for being so cooperative. I gave him a quick once over with the brush I had packed in the saddle bags, and then cleaned out his hooves. Nick soon arrived, followed by Luke and David who still looked as if they were asleep. I tacked Wild Spirit up, attaching the double saddle bag to the saddle, and my bed roll behind it. By the time I was finished, it was twenty passed five, as my new watch told me. Serena had finished, and was giving Diamond and Sapphire a hand, whilst talking about something with them. I decided not to interfere, since they were most probably talking about their kingdoms and the war. That confused me. The war. How many kingdoms were there? And who was with war with whom? There was the Earth Kingdom, my kingdom, which had been partly destroyed soon after I had been born. It had then been split up into two, and my parents had not been heard from since. Then there was the Moon Kingdom, who supposedly destroyed the Earth Kingdom. Neither Diamond, Sapphire or Serena had mentioned it as of yet. The Black Moon Kingdom, to whom Diamond was Prince, was on the same side of the war as Serena's Kingdom was, but she won't tell me what her kingdom was. Then there was the Dark Dragon Kingdom, which sided with one of the remaining parts of the Earth Kingdom, and fought against the Black Moon Kingdom and Serena's kingdom. And that was only who was fighting who. I still had no idea why. Pushing the confusing problem from my mind, I untied Wild Spirit's reins and pulled them over his head. Making sure his girth was tight, and my hard hat was securely strapped to my head, I mounted him and walked him over to Nick, who was just mounting White Angel. "The weather looks fine," Nick commented once he was astride White Angel. "Yes. But I've brought a set of water proof jodhpurs and rain coat, just the same," I said, pointing to my back pack. "I never under estimate the weather." "So did I, but I hope I don't have to use it," Nick said. "Still, it would be most amusing to see some people caught without it." I grinned. "Yes, indeed." The teachers blew out a whistle, and had a roll call. We all yelled out names back, and once they had established that everyone was present, they mounted their horses and the camp guide started off on the trail which would occupy the next two days of our lives. Once on the trail, I cantered Wild Spirit to catch up with Serena. Nick remained behind, since Dawn was there. When we neared Serena and Chocolate, I slowed him to a walk so I kept pace. "Good morning, my princess," I said, handing her a flower I had just picked as I cantered by. She smiled at me and took it, tucking it up into her hard hat. "Yes, it's a lovely morning, Darien. I see you and Wild Spirit are having a lovely time." "Yes. I enjoy it more, though, because you are riding me with," I answered, smiling. I looked up at Diamond, who was riding in front of Serena. He looked disgusted. "And what of you, Prince Diamond? Are you enjoying the ride? The scenery is wonderful in this area." He glared at me. "Well, Endymion, I would enjoy it more if you were burning in hell," he said darkly, his icy blue eyes burning into my own. "There is no reason to be uncivil, Diamond," I replied, smiling at him. "At least for the next two days, surly we can get along, for Serenity's sake." Diamond glanced at Serenity. "Very well. Until this 'trek' is over, we have a truce, Endymion," he replied, his voice as could as ice, yet burning with hatred. With that, he rode up further, his brother following, until he was out of my sight. "Well, how are you enjoying this camp so far?" I asked. "It's like nothing I've known before. Most unusual, but I love it. It's so relaxing, so peaceful," she replied, looking up at the tree and the birds that perched in them. "Yes, it is, isn't it. You just sit back and relax, and let your horse do all the work," I said. Wild Spirit snorted, and pigrooted, almost unseating me. "Alright! I'm sorry, Spirit. I didn't really mean it! You mean alot to me. Please don't be mad. Forgive me, please! I'll give you a sugar cube," I said, grabbing onto the saddle and taking a sugar cube from my saddle bag. Wild Spirit stopped of a moment and turned his head around to take it from me. Serena laughed. I smiled; her laughter was like the sweetest music I had ever heard. We stopped at eight to let the horses have a rest and a drink, and so we could eat our breakfast. It wasn't a three course breakfast, but at least it was filling. Soon after, we were once again on the trail, and as it began to climb, we picked up our paces, going at a trot on the flat, and cantering up the small rises. By the time we reached the summit of the mountain, it was lunch time. We stopped at ate lunch for an hour, admiring the wonderful view. We gave our horses some of our water, since there was no stream or pool as there was at our last stop. The view was tremendous, spanning to the horizon an endless stretch of dark green. Below us was the valley in which we were to camp for the night, and I could see the river running through it, a tiny line of sparkling blue in the mass of green. The view made me smile, and I froze it in my mind, knowing that I may never see it again. "You look sad," a voice said from behind me, surprising me. It was Sapphire's. "The view. It is so beautiful. Yet I may never see it again," I said softly, without turning around to face him. "Do you feel the power of it? Looking at something so extensive, so immense?" "Yes. But the emptiness of space, the view of an entire planet hanging in it; that makes you feel even less important. It really makes you consider why you are alive at all," Sapphire replied. "What you say is true," I answered. "But why do you say you may never see it again?" he asked, his voice soft, unusually caring. "I fear that I will be taken away from this world soon. I don't belong here, as much as I wished I did, as much as I love Earth. And one day, I will have other duties to complete. My destiny is not here. Fate will not let me have that," I said. "Unfortunately, you're right. One day, you will have to leave, and take your rightful place as Prince of the Earth Kingdom. Perhaps you can end the war, and reunite your people," he said. "And then perhaps, as you said so long ago to me, we can be friends." His footsteps started to walk away from me, but stopped. "But you know, you may not be taken away by force as you think," he added before leaving me alone to stare out at the ocean of trees. During my fifteen years of life, I had only met four people from these kingdoms and not from this world. First it was Armand, who taught me these powers, and who told me my life on this world would soon end. And then I had met Serenity, Diamond and Sapphire. They ruled their own kingdoms, and knew of mine. And Sapphire agreed I need to leave this world and live out my destiny. I was beginning to consider asking Serenity to take me with her when she leaves, for that was what Sapphire had implied before he left. But then, I didn't know if that was the right thing to do; I was confused about a lot of things in my life right now. When our lunch hour was at an end, we set off once again on the trail. We descended the mountain at a slower pace, walking most of the way. After what seemed like hours, we finally came to the floor of the valley and to our camp site next to the river I had seen from the top of the mountains. I think everyone was glad to be off their mounts. Going down hill for so long was not comfortable. Everyone took care of their horses and hobbled them, which Wild Spirit was not too pleased with. When that was done, we set up our two man tents, with Nick and I sharing one. We carried our tack and our bags into them, so that it would be out of the rain if the weather decided to taunt us. The teachers and our camp guide built up a large bon fire in the middle of a large ring of logs, and let all the students sit around it while they cooked our dinner of sausages and buttered bread. Unlike the meals we had back at the camp, this food was not good. Nick made a face with the first taste, but ate it anyway, like everyone else, for we were all starved. The horses were even worst off than us. They had to graze to get their dinner, since bringing their feed would have been too hard. Never the less, I was very happy. A warm fire crackling in front of me, my love sitting next to me, and the clear sky above me studded with stars. "You see that bright cluster there," Serena whispered into my ear as we ate. "That marks the edge of your once powerful Kingdom. It's neutral now, but perhaps one day, you can rebuild your Kingdom and become king of it." I smiled at her, but inside, I was saddened, thinking back to my thoughts earlier that day. I led her away from the camp fire when we had finished our dinner. We stood in the middle of a little clearing, with the stars and the moon shining down on us. "I want to ask you something, Serenity," I said, calling her by her real name. "I know you mean to leave soon after this camp is over, and I know it is for the best. You can not afford to endanger yourself when you know the Dark Dragon Kingdom is on Earth. But I was wondering if I could go with you when the time comes for you to leave." She was silent for a moment, looking up into the night sky, as if all the answers to the timeless questions were written there. "I was going to offer," she finally whispered to me. "You and I both know who you really are," she continued, and waved her hand over my forehead. A blue light flashed, and my symbol once again shone brightly there. "And you can not really remain on this world with the power you possess. "I would be honoured to bring you home with me. Perhaps we can finally have an alliance with your kingdom. And I'm sure my Mother would love to met you, Prince Endymion." I smiled down at her. "I hope so, Princess Serenity," I whispered, and bent down and kissed her sweet, soft lips. "Another thing I wish for is to be forever in your arms," I added when we parted. "As do I," she replied, and kissed me again. A sudden noise in the bushes made us both pull back. "What are you two doing out here?" a very angry teacher demanded of us. "Get back to camp right now, or I will see to it that you are both on detention when this camp is over!" Serena and I ran back to camp, laughing when we were out of hearing range. I kissed her again in the bushes before we walked back to the camp fire, hand in hand. I slept well that night, with a smile on my face, and a clear future ahead of me. Nick fell asleep as soon as we retired to our tents after the sing-a-long the camp guide had forced on us. She didn't care that we were fifteen years old. Diamond and Sapphire turned out to have lovely singing voices, full of warmth and passion. Serena told me later that it was a tradition in the Black Moon Kingdom, and everyone loved to sing and had great singing voices, even if their normal voices were cold. The beeping of my new watch awoke me. It was six in the morning, but the light was still dark. As my senses tuned in, I realised there was the dull roar of rain falling. I sighed, realising the ride back today would not be pleasant. In fact, nor would be our breakfast. I imagined our breakfast bars, all soggy from the rain, and wet and cold. I made a face at the thought, and proceeded to wake up Nick, who groaned when he heard the rain, complaining that the sky had been crystal clear the night before. We both got dressed and put on our rain coats. When we left our tents, we were greeted by bone chilling winds, and teachers trying to get everyone up. Of course, no one wanted to leave their nice warm and dry tents for a terrible breakfast and a cold dreary ride. Nick and I walked with our heads down to where we had left our horses the afternoon before. They had all taken shelter in the trees, so we had to go in after them. Under the canopy of thick leaves, the light was almost nought, and the two of us kept tripping over unseen tree roots. I suddenly head voices speaking up ahead, and stopped Nick with a gesture in front of his face. "Wait a second. There's people up ahead," I whispered to him. He nodded, and we crept up to them, hiding behind the thick trunks of the trees to listen in on their conversation. There were two people, both not wearing rain coats. Still, it took me a moment to recognise who they were, for the darkness and the rain made it hard to see. It was Diamond and Sapphire, standing in a small clearing in the thick forest, talking in hushed tones. "This planet is driving me insane, Diamond," Sapphire said, his tone annoyed. "We never had to deal with such weather back home. I can not believe you followed her all the way out into such a back water planet!" Sapphire continued disgusted, gesturing to their surrounding with his arms. "You did not have to accompany me, brother. And if this weather really bothers you so much, then," Diamond replied, lifting both his hands into the air, and looking up into the over cast sky, shot a brilliant beam of silver white light up into the clouds, which immediately dispersed them. The rain stopped, and the sun shone down into the little clearing. "Happy?" he asked, lowering his arms and looking at his brother with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, but Serenity is not going to be. You know she does not like you breaking the rules," Sapphire replied, gazing back at Diamond with is cool dark sapphire blue eyes. "I may love her, Sapphire, but she does not rule me. Yes, I would give her anything she wants, I would even die for her, but hell, she does not control me!" Diamond turned his back to his brother, angered by his words. His eyes locked on mine, and he mentally directed his thoughts to me. 'What do you want, Endymion? And you have a friend there? Well, make sure he doesn't remember any of this. You don't want to upset Serenity like I have, do you?' I walked out into the clearing. Nick tried to ask me what I was doing, but I knocked him out and erased his recent memory with my powers. "Of course not, Diamond. Well, I must thank you on making this day bearable for everyone," I said, looking up at the clear blue sky. "But may I ask, how will you explain what happened to everyone who saw it?" "Easy. I won't." He closed his eyes, and his body glowed with his power for a moment. "None of them even remembers ever seeing anything out of the ordinary," he said, smiling coldly at me. End of Part One, Chapter Five.