Destiny Thwarted Part 7 By Charma & Jana As Anna and Serena reached the entrance to the ballroom, their steps faltered and stopped. Anna, and even Serena, gazed at the dancing couples in the ballroom with slight trepidation. Serena felt a quick nervous thrill run through her body as she began to wonder what would happen if her mother recognized her. Her sensible self argued that no one could possibly recognize her, her entire appearance was changed so dramatically; her apprehensive self questioned what kind of mother Queen Serenity would be if she couldn't recognize her daughter. Startled from these nervous thoughts by a squeeze on her arm by Anna, Serena was able to calm herself down. "Ok. This is going to be fun," Anna whispered to her. Serena smiled warily at Anna, but then shrugged. "Well, now we have to go in, I guess. People are starting to stare at us-we're just standing in the middle of the doorway!" Anna grinned and then transformed her entire posture and started to walk regally into the room, her head held high. Serena smothered a laugh at Anna's antics, but then quickly followed her example, walking quickly into the ballroom to catch up with her friend. The beautiful pair practically floated past admiring guests, although they didn't really have any direction. "Uh, Serena? What are we going to do now? We don't know anybody here!" "Well, it looks like things are in full swing here. Maybe someone will ask us to dance!" Serena hypothesized enthusiastically. "Hi!" A high voice interrupted Anna's and Serena's whispered conversation. "I heard you're the girls from the Market Fair!" Serena whipped her head around at the sound of that familiar voice and then grinned when she found herself facing Princess Rei of Mars, black hair and all. "You heard correctly. I'm Serena and this is Anna. Might we have the pleasure of knowing your name?" Serena asked politely, with a teasing glint in her eyes. "I'm... ah... Princess Mars," Rei said cautiously, realizing that there could be a big problem if Anna found out that all the princess' names were the same as the names of the girls who stayed at her house! Anna's eyes widened and she stared at Rei in awe, until she realized that the proper thing to do was probably to curtsey. Serena did the same, laughing inwardly at the expression on Anna's face. "Is this the young woman who ran the gauntlet?" Another voice entered the three girls circle. Serena gasped at the sound of the voice and silently prayed that she wouldn't get caught in her charade as she turned her head to meet the gentle, interested eyes of Queen Serenity. Serena and Anna (who didn't have to be told that this newcomer was Queen of the Moon), curtseyed deeply, before Serena answered the Queen's question. "Yes, it was me," she squeaked, disguising her voice as much as she could. Anna glanced at her curiously and then continued, "She was wonderful! She went through with it, even though there were a lot of people in the crowd who didn't want her to." "I can imagine. And you beat the Prince besides! I was very impressed when I heard about that. Do you know of the Sailor Scouts?" Queen Serenity inquired. "Ah, yes, but only vaguely," Serena said nervously. "Judging from what you did today, you could probably join us! Or maybe even become leader!" Rei commented with exaggerated pep. Serena shot Rei the evil eye and then replied, "Oh, I could never leave Earth! Nor could I join the Sailor Scouts, as nice as it sounds. I could never reach the level of Sailor Moon, Venus, Flower, Mercury, Jupiter, Callisto, and Europa!" "I think you're forgetting one," Rei said with a slight frown. "Oh yes, what was the last one? Sailor M-something, I'm sure. I haven't heard much about that one, though. Perhaps you know, your highness," Serena said to Rei, her voice sugary sweet. "You must mean Sailor Moon!" Rei shot back in as polite a voice as she could muster. "No, your highness," Serena said with a trace of sarcasm in her voice. "You're mistaken; I already said Sailor Moon." "You are probably thinking of Sailor Mars, am I correct?" Queen Serenity intervened easily. Serena's nerves jumped and then she smiled tensely. "Yes, that was it!" "I'm sorry, but I never had the pleasure of knowing your names," Queen Serenity said, smoothly changing the subject. "My name is Anna, and this is Serena," Anna responded, in a bit of wonderment over how Serena treated the Princess of Mars just then. "Serena? That is my daughter's name too. I must tell you, you remind me so much of her. Not particularly in appearance, although you do have the same figure, but in your whole manner and demeanor. Serena couldn't attend the ball tonight, due to a sudden illness, but I would have enjoyed introducing you to here. You probably would have hit it off wonderfully," Queen Serenity speculated. "It was very nice meeting you, Anna, Serena, and I would like to spend some more time talking with you, but I fear that business calls." With that, Serenity gracefully exited the girls' presence. Watching Serenity go, Serena gave herself a mental kick in the butt. Rei shot her a knowing look, and Serena wiped some nervous sweat off her brow with her finely stitched handkerchief. "That was close!" she blurted out. "What? What was close?" Anna asked in confusion. "Oh! Well, I meant, I was close to ahh... clutzing out in her majesty's presence!" Serena quickly ad-libbed. "You know how I am-that would have been so embarrassing!" "Okay," Anna said warily. "So, Princess Mars," she began, feeling a slight thrill at being on such personal terms with an actual princess, "are the other Sailor Scouts here?" "Yes, are they?" Serena added eagerly, wanting to see the others again. "Oh, they're around here somewhere. Probably dancing with some handsome but brainless guys. You know how they are, Sere-OW!" Rei was stopped mid-sentence by a very heavy stomp on her foot. "What do you mean, Serena knows how they are?" Anna asked, a sense of suspicion creeping into her veins. "No!" Rei half-shouted in slight panic. Aware of her disarray, she quickly composed herself. "I'm sorry. Some dancing fool just stepped on the back of my heel and I was flustered for a moment. What I was saying, before I was so rudely cut off, was: ''You know how they are,' Serena would say.' And when I say Serena, I mean the Princess of the Moon." At the end of her hurried explanation, Rei could hear Serena letting out an almost inaudible sigh of relief. "That's so funny that I have the same name as the Princess of the Moon!" Serena giggled awkwardly, silently thanking her stars that Rei had saved her. "Rei! We were looking for you! Fickle Mina's actually been dancing with the same guy for the past three songs! Can you believe it? Usually she dances with three different guys during one song! Anya thinks that Mina might actually really like this guy," Lita chirped, entering the girls' circle, with Jana and Ami following her. "Rei... Mina... Anya... wait a second... Serena, what's going on?" Anna asked abruptly. Ami moaned, burying her head in her hands. "You guys! I told you this was going to happen!" "What was going to happen? And why are you all dressed up like princesses?" Anna demanded. "Uh, what are you talking about?" Lita asked, desperately trying to recover her composure. "You guys, I want to know why all of you are here and why you look so different! And I think that I have a right to know," Anna said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Um, well, you see, we're not really gypsies..." Serena began reluctantly. At Anna's look of pure disbelief, she held her finger up to her lips to signify silence. "We should probably talk about this somewhere else," she said, looking around. "How about out on the terrace? No one's out there, and we can talk freely." "Okay...," Anna agreed slowly, allowing herself to be dragged out to the terrace by the other girls. They stepped out into the cool night, and Serena began again. "Well, we really aren't gypsies. Queen Serenity is my mother, and I am Princess Serena of the Moon Kingdom." Anna gasped. She covered her mouth with her hand, asking, "All this time, I have been so informal with real royalty? Why didn't you guys tell me?" "Give me a break!" Rei scoffed. "What's so wrong with being informal with us?" "Yeah," Ami said softly. "We're your friends, right?" Flustered, Anna couldn't do anything for a moment but nod her head effusively. "Of course you are!," she finally sputtered. "It's just that... Princesses of entire planets...! It's kind of overwhelming... and unbelievable... and... and... and how on Earth can you expect me to be calm about this?" Looking at Anna's tense form warily, Jana began, "We're not expecting anything of you-" "It's not even that you're princesses!" Anna interrupted heatedly. "It's that you couldn't trust me enough to tell me the truth! You lied, all those months, to me, my friends, my family! You say we're friends, but how can you mean that when you obviously can't be bothered to tell me the truth?" "It was a matter of security," Serena explained seriously. "We couldn't tell anyone-not even our closest friend. And that's what you are, truly." Anna looked down at her delicate dancing slippers for a second and then looked up, her eyes flashing. "So that's how you won the gauntlet, huh, Serena? You're one of those Sailor Scouts. And that's why you snuck away once and awhile with that computer thing, right Lita? Probably to call up your royal parents, am I correct?" Noticing the expression of surprise on the princess' faces, Anna continued, "Yes, I noticed that. Not to worry, though, I don't think anyone else did. But wait. Which one of you is Lita? Or is she not even here? It's like you're totally different people. Oh, that's right! You are." She quickly curtseyed, almost a little sarcastically, and, walking out into the night, quickly disappeared into the darkness of the palace gardens. Serena made a motion to run after her, but Ami stopped her. "Let her cool off for a little while. It was a lot to take in. This may not seem like a big deal to us, but it is to her. She probably needs some time alone to think about all of this. She'll be okay eventually." "Thank you for that amazing piece of insight, Dr. Ami," Lita teased with a slight smile. "Don't worry, Lita. One day you'll be saying that for real," Ami shot back good naturedly. "I guess we should go back in. Our public is waiting," Rei commented. She slowly led the way back into the ballroom. Serena was the last to leave the terrace. "Anna, we're sorry," she murmured to the seemingly empty black night. As soon as she entered the crowded ballroom, Serena felt a hand catch hold of hers. "Would you bestow upon me the honor of having this dance with you, milady?" Serena's sparkling green eyes met the deep blue ones of her gallant. "But Prince Endymion, I believe we've already had too much together," she protested, touching her lips suggestively with a secret thrill in the remembrance of their afternoon encounter. The Prince smiled slightly. "I agree-but too much is sometimes not enough," he countered. Serena blushed at the indirect compliment and accepted his arm. The pair fell into rhythm with the stately waltz. Serena smiled at Darien as he led her across the floor. "You're not a bad dancer," she understated, in reality feeling like a graceful prima donna in the prince's arms. At that comment, Darien grinned and a mischievous glint came into his eye. "Wait until you see my really impressive moves," he drawled melodramatically. The regal waltz soon turned to a fast paced tango. Serena tried to extract herself from the Prince's embrace, but he tightened his hold on her. "Um, Your Highness, I don't think that we should be doing this. I mean, I'm tired, and there are so many other noblewomen that you are obligated to dance with, and..." Serena trailed off. "Oh, Serena, I do think that one more dance is fine. In fact, I rather believe that you owe it to me," he said. Before she could ask about his logic on his last sentence, he continued. "And anyway, it's the tango." Darien placed the most emphasis on the last word. At that, Serena started. Her eyes widened, but she kept hold of her composure. "Your Highness, I don't believe that I'd be very good at the tango." "Of course you are," he said, smoothly. "I've seen you dance before, and you are quite the ballerina." "Just because I've had luck with dances before this one doesn't mean that I'd be good at the tango." Serena backed out of his arms. "Oh, you must have misunderstood me. I meant that I've seen you dance the tango before," Darien said, his eyes meeting hers. Serena looked away, and weakly replied, "I don't know what you're talking about." "Yes you do, Princess." "Uh, sir, I am inclined to believe that you've had too much punch, and I don't think that I want to be in the presence of a man who is drunk," Serena adlibbed. She continued to look everywhere but the Prince's eyes. "And just why do you think that I've been drinking?" Darien asked, with a crooked grin. "Because you called me Princess." Serena met his eyes in a silent challenge. Unfortunately for her, he accepted. "My dear Princess Serena of the Moon Kingdom, how else would you have me address you?" he whispered gallantly. He kept a strong hold on Serena's waist. "I don't understand you. I demand that you let me go!" Serena exclaimed. "Not until you admit it. I know that you are who you are," Darien cajoled. "I am only a gypsy of Earth." Serena stuck to her story like super glue. "I heard you tell your friend Anna out on the terrace." At Serena's astonished look, he continued. "Don't worry. I was alone. And I won't tell." Serena narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Why are you being so nice now? What do you expect in return?" "Nothing. I just wanted you to know that I knew," Darien said, shrugging his broad shoulders. "The arrogant beast that took us to the castle earlier today would never have such pure motives. Now, out with it! If you want something, tell me," Serena ordered. When Darien didn't reply, her eyes filled with dismay. "Prince Endymion. I'm serious! If someone else finds out that I'm really from the Moon, I'm gonna be in so much trouble!" she pleaded. "First of all, call me Darien, all right? Second, I told you already. I don't want anything. You don't have to buy my secrecy. Why can't you trust me?" Darien looked a little hurt. "Because..." Serena sought for an answer. When she couldn't come up with one, she changed the subject. "You don't seem to realize how serious this is, Darien. If my mother finds out that it's me, and that I came here without permission, I could be banned from Earth. Do you know what that would mean to me?" Darien inexplicably felt somewhat unsettled at that thought. "Yes, I understand how you feel. That's why I will not let your secret escape my lips. And, even though you think me a beast, I have only the purest of motives. For a Princess from a Prince, I give you my word." Serena stared dubiously into his beautiful dark blue eyes; eyes which she thought could inspire even the most dimwitted twit to genius. "But this afternoon... " she began slowly, confused about how Prince Endymion-Darien-was making her feel, and torn between her first impressions of the sour monarch and this gorgeous knight in shining armor dancing besides her. Before she could say another word, the music stopped and the dance was over. Serena extricated herself from Darien's grasp and took a step back, her eyes holding his. They bowed to each other in customary fashion and before another word could be exchanged between the pair, Serena found herself be swept away into another man's arms as a new waltz began. "What-who?" Serena began in confusion, watching Darien's look of surprise and-was it hurt she saw?--as she drifted farther and farther away from him in the arms of a stranger. "Hello, Serena," the man said quirkily. Serena finally tore her eyes away from Darien and, for the first time, beheld her new dancing partner. She laughed when she realized that she was with her favorite of Anna's brothers. "Will! You look so different, I hardly recognized you!" The sight of Will's strong frame in a tuxedo combined with his appealing boy-next-door-like handsome face made Serena blush slightly because of the less-than-pure thoughts running through her head. "You're pretty changed yourself-you look beautiful," Will complimented sincerely. Serena's face wore a wounded look. "And what did I look like before? A cow?" she teased. "Well, I always did think you bore a strong resemblance to Bessie," he jested, naming one of the cows on the Wickam farm. Serena punched Will in the arm playfully. "Get serious. Or I will refuse to dance with you any longer." "You know I'm only kidding, Serena. Truthfully, you look like a princess, and you always have." Serena winced. Not noticing, Will continued, "And dancing with royalty! I am very impressed." "Oh, well, it wasn't anything special. By the way, what are you doing here? How did you get in?" Serena asked, quickly changing the subject. "You know the old man who lives in the big house in our village? And how I help him out every once and awhile with odd jobs and things? Well, it turns out that he's a nobleman and he received an invitation to this thing. He couldn't go, not in his condition, and he offered the invitation to me. Normally, I wouldn't have accepted; I really don't have any reason to be at these things, but once I found out you and Anna were going, I decided to come too. Where is Anna anyway?" "She's around here somewhere," Serena answered vaguely, quickly scanning the room in hope that Anna had returned to the ball. "I hope she's not having too much fun. We'd never be able to get her out of here," Will joked. "I don't think you're going to have to worry about that," Serena mumbled. "Sorry?" "I dare say that cat is furry and likes bats...?" "What cat?" Will asked, confusion written all over his face. "Uh, nothing. I was just talking to myself," Serena said. She smiled charmingly and asked, "So, how have you liked all this royalty so far?" "It's very different from life on the farm, but it isn't half bad," he allowed. "Actually, I'm impressed with all the grandness and splendor of the place. Anyone else probably would have been intimidated, but I-" "Oh yeah, you and all your macho-ness," Serena interrupted, rolling her eyes. Deftly, she stuck one of her feet out, causing him to trip. Before he fell onto the floor, however, Serena caught him in her strong grasp. "You," Will accused, laughing. "Okay, I'll admit it, I was in slight awe-" Serena kicked him lightly in the shin. "Let me rephrase. I was intimidated when I first got here," he acknowledged with mock reluctance. "I'm glad you can own up to your insecurities," Serena said blithely, flashing a triumphant smile. "You know, you're pretty strong," Will said, changing the subject. "I'm surprised that you caught me so easily-no offense of course," he added hastily with laughing eyes. "Oh, and I would ask you if you were intimidated by the ball, but first of all, you would be even less willing than me to admit it, and second, for some reason you seem to fit here perfectly. It's like you're in your element. Maybe you're the long lost daughter of the Earth Queen," he speculated with a grin. Serena felt her throat tighten, but before she could answer, a blue head appeared next to the couple. "May I cut in?" Jana asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she glanced at the man who was her favorite of Anna's brothers also. Remembering her situation, Serena bowed respectfully and said, "Of course, Princess-ah-Europa." Will looked at her in surprise, but Serena just nodded her head in encouragement. She walked away from them, laughing as she remembered Jana's previous infatuation with Will. Her laughter turned into a gasp of surprise as someone ran into her. "Oh, excuse me!" Serena's attacker apologized. "I wasn't watching where I was going." Serena tilted her head slightly upwards to meet her new companion's gaze and her eyes widened in surprise. "Lady Beryl! How nice to see you again." "I'm sorry, but have we met?" Beryl asked distractedly as her eyes darted around the room. Reddening, Serena replied, "Well, yes, but just in passing. I'm not surprised you don't remember me. Our meeting was at some rather insignificant royal banquet... I believe." Serena pressed her lips together to keep the little white lies from escaping her mouth. I've got to stop slipping up here. If I'm not careful-and if Darien doesn't keep his word, Serena thought cynically, someone will find out about me. Dragging her thoughts out of her own predicament, Serena finally noticed with curiosity how distressed Beryl looked and how she seemed to be urgently searching for someone. "Forgive me if I'm being nosy, but is something wrong, Lady Beryl?" Serena asked in concern. Beryl gave her a strange look. "I suppose I don't look very well, do I?" She laughed bitterly as she stared at the bloodshot eyes and slightly disheveled hair of her reflection that was mirrored in Serena's concerned green eyes. "Something is wrong, actually, and I would be deeply indebted to you if you could possibly point Prince Endymion out to me so I might see him." Looking instinctively towards the crowd near the thrones in the ballroom, Serena spotted Darien. "Dar-Prince Endymion is at the far side of the ballroom," she said, gesturing towards the thrones. Beryl made a quick move to approach the Prince, but Serena gently held her elbow before she escaped. "I hope everything goes well," she wished sincerely, for Serena didn't want harm to come to anyone, much less a woman who was likeable and seemed genuinely friendly. Something flickered briefly in Beryl's eyes as she surveyed Serena closely for the first time. "Yes, I do believe we have met," she said slowly. "You don't appear familiar to me at all, but your voice... yes, your voice I know. Thank you for your help..." Before Beryl rushed off to Prince Endymion, Serena could have sworn that she saw Beryl mouth the words "Princess Serena." Utterly astonished, Serena could do nothing but stand where Beryl left her for a couple of seconds, trying to process in her mind what had just happened. Beryl was in complete disarray and she seemed to be having a serious problem that was somehow connected to Darien. But she knew about Serena's disguise-she knew! How could she know? Who could have told her but Darien? But Darien? He had promised her-he had been so sincere. He had seemed so sincere. Serena's mind was reeling with confusion, with shock, with fear, and with the slowly diminishing hope that Darien hadn't betrayed her after all. "Hey, what's with Serena?" Lita asked Charma and Mina, after observing Serena's perplexing encounter with Beryl. "She was just with that Lady Beryl-do you remember her?--and now Serena looks like she found out her mother died." Mina gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "What?" she exclaimed in shock. Lita looked at Mina with bewilderment. "What what?" "Her mother-Queen Serenity--!" Mina stammered. Charma shot Mina an exasperated look. "Mina, it was just an analogy, okay? Queen Serenity is just fine," Charma explained with condescending patience. "Oh." Mina giggled slightly, relief apparent in her eyes. "I think she's just a little wound up from dancing practically all night with that guy..." Lita trailed off. "Malachite," Charma supplied. "Yes, that's it. With Malachite. Anyway! Back to our original subject. Serena's looking pretty wacked out. Maybe we should go see what the problem is," Lita suggested, looking back to where she saw Serena last. "But where...?" "She's gone!" Charma observed in surprise. Serena walked slowly towards the terrace, reflecting on the large mess that she had gotten herself into these past couple of months. She hadn't realized how complicated and problem-causing the whole scheme of coming to Earth would've turned out to be. She sighed and leaned on the balcony railing, breathing in the fresh Earth air. "At least I got to finally visit Earth," she whispered to a lone firefly resting near her on the rail. "Doesn't that make all this worth it?" The firefly's light flashed almost in response to Serena's question. But instead of staying to keep the lonely girl company, it flew away at the sound of loud voices echoing from the other side of the terrace. Serena frowned at the disturbance, and then attempted to see what the commotion was, but a tall climbing rose bush blocked her view of the arguing couple. Then, a loud exclamation hung in the air, followed by an unexpected silence. Serena recognized the voice as belonging to Lady Beryl. Overcome by curiosity, Serena stealthily made her way to the end of the rosebush so that she could peek around it and possibly see what was going on. She was surprised to behold Beryl heatedly arguing with Darien, and guiltily jumped back behind the rosebush when she thought that Darien saw her spying on them. She fearfully held her breath, waiting for Darien to call her name, but nothing happened. She relaxed, letting out a breath of relief. "Beryl, you know there's nothing I could have done about this." Serena's hearing perked up involuntarily at the sound of Darien's voice. "Damn you! You were supposed to be my friend. What's happened to you? To us?" she asked heatedly, tears wrenching her words. "What is that supposed to mean? Don't you know that your situation has nothing to do with me? I've apologized before, and I truly am sorry, but I had no part in this," Darien shot back. "My situation? Is that what this is to you? Good God, Darien. I had hoped-I had prayed-that you would be different than the rest of them. That you would help me. But I guess I was wrong," Beryl whispered with hurt. "Thanks for your understanding my side of this, Beryl. You're not being much of a friend to me either," Darien stated coldly. "Your home is still intact. Your safety is guaranteed. Your parents are still here, alive! Think about that and then tell me who needs a friend more: you or me?" Beryl finished shrilly. "I can't take it, Darien. You're all I have now, and I don't even know you anymore! Why did you let the Negaverse take away everything that matters to me?" Pulling away from Darien as he attempted to reach out to her, Beryl turned on her heel and stumbled away, choking back anguished sobs. Before she could stop herself, Serena gasped in horror at what she heard. Darien snapped his head in her direction at the sound, and Serena could feel tears fill her eyes as her stare locked with Darien's. Who are you, Darien? Can I trust you or not? Are you good or evil? Serena silently asked Darien's beautifully cold eyes with infinite confusion written in her own. To be continued...