Title:  A Day in the Circle
Author:  Dissident
Rating:  PG
Disclaimer:  I own neither Serenity,
    Endymion, Rae, Crystal Tokyo, nor
    the song ?Fiend? by Orgy.  On the
    other hand, Aeryn, Cere, and
    Lucian are my characters, as is
    the content of this story.

*****

	?We caught this...girl lurking in
the palace gardens, Your Majesty.?  The
guard shoved the girl forward.  Unable to
maintain her balance, she crashed to the
marble floor in front of Queen Serenity.
?She was mumbling to herself, saying ?End
it, end it?.  She?s obviously a terrorist
of some kind.?  She lifted her chin,
bringing her eyes to meet the Queen?s.
They were green, and they were wild.
Everything else about her, from her waist-
length shiny black hair to her bare feet
and even her gaunt frame seemed normal
and calm compared to the turmoil in her
eyes.

	?Stand her up,? the Queen ordered.
The two guards reluctantly hoisted her to
her feet.  ?Tell me, who are you?? Serenity
gently asked.

	The girl?s reply started out as a
whisper, but quickly grew in volume, ?It?s
coming to an end, all of it.  They?ll
destroy everything, every damn thing and
you can not stop them.  You can not win!?
As soon as she said the last word she
collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

	?Take her to the infirmary.  Restrain
her, but only as needed.  Be very careful
with her,? the Queen said.  Without much
effort one of the guards was able to lift
the girl off the floor.

	?What do you think that was about??
Serenity asked Endymion after the guards
had left.

	?I don?t know.  It?s probably nothing.?

	?Mmm, probably.?

*****

	The rest of the day was busy and so
went quickly for Serenity.  Most of it,
actually, was just greeting all of the
dignitaries arriving to represent the
different districts of Crystal Tokyo and
the surrounding countryside in the
upcoming Meeting of Minds.  The Meeting
was an annual gathering with the purpose
of bringing forth the major problems and
ideas of the people.  It functioned much
like a senate, but for the fact that
they met only for a week each year and
in the midst of emergency.

	The sun had already set when
Serenity finally found time to make her
way to the infirmary.  As she strode
through the palace?s halls, and as the
cacophony of the crowd faded away,
several questions presented themselves
to her.  Who was this girl?  What had
she meant when she?d said ?They?ll
destroy everything??  Who were ?they??
The questions were still coming when she
entered the infirmary.  The girl was in
a corner of the room.  Half a dozen
tubes ran from her body to a bank of
machines.

	?How is she doing?? Serenity asked
the doctor in charge of the girl?s
recovery, a tall, confident young woman
named Catherine, who didn?t look nearly
old enough for the job.

	?All of our tests show her only
injury is a recently healed cut on her
back.?

	?Then why did she collapse??

	?It was something like a
Spontaneous Plane Transition.  I?ve seen
it before.  Suddenly, without
explanation someone finds themself on
another plane.  It?s easy enough to cure
if you have the right person.
Unfortunately, at the moment we don?t
have anyone who can do it, and until we
do she won?t be able to answer any of
your questions.?

	?What do you need??

	?We need someone who has the
power to move between planes of
existence.  Specifically to the plane
where nightmares exist.?

	?Hmm.  I may know just the
person.?  With that the Queen turned
and left.

*****

	Aeryn smiled.  She loved these kinds
of days.  The blue sky had been swept
clean by the fresh, flower-scented
breeze, the birds were chirping and
singing happily as they played, and the
sun was warm on her back as she did her
favorite chore.  Sweeping the courtyard
always gave plenty of time to think.

	It was her third year being
apprenticed to Rae, the Mars Priestess,
and she hadn?t had much time lately for
unguided thoughts.  Usually she was
meditating on something specific and
important, not letting her mind wander.
This morning, however, Queen Serenity
had come to speak with Rae, leaving
Aeryn free to ponder what she chose.

	The sound of rustling fabric and
of light footsteps on the hard
courtyard surface was almost inaudible,
but Aeryn heard Rae and Serenity long
before they reached her.

	?Aeryn, I must go with Queen
Serenity.  I think you?ll be fine here
by yourself.?  Aeryn nodded and the two
women left.

	Ten minutes later they were
standing around the bed in the infirmary.
Rae sat down next to the girl and closed
her eyes.  Serenity and Catherine waited
tensely.  They?d just begun to lose hope
when the girl?s green eyes fluttered open.

	Like someone scared out of their
wits by a dream, she quickly sat up.
Her eyes darted around like those of a
frightened animal desperately
searching for a way to evade its
captors.  She gasped, drawing air, then
screamed at the top of her lungs.
?Doomed!  You?ve-  Your fate is sealed!?
With that, like as before, she fell back
onto the bed, completely unresponsive.

*****

	?Excuse me, could you help me??

	Aeryn looked up, startled out of
her thoughts by the question.  What she
saw made her gasp.  The young man
standing there, waiting for an answer
to his question, was, in her opinion,
gorgeous.  Sun-bleached hair, layered
and shaggy, nearly hid his bright,
lively green eyes.  His smile was warm
and friendly.

	?Miss??

	?Oh!  Sorry.  Um, I?ll do my best.?

	?Great.  Could you direct me to the
Palace infirmary??

	Not sensing anything but the best
of intentions from him, she consented.
?Sure, follow me.?  As they walked Aeryn
found she was unable to contain her
curiosity.  ?May I ask why you?re
looking for the infirmary when you seem
in perfect health??

	He chuckled, making her spine
tingle.  ?True, my health is fine, but
there is someone there I must...reunite
with.?

	?A girlfriend?? Aeryn replied, her
disappointment obvious.

	He held the doors to the infirmary
open for her as he answered.  ?Not
exactly.?

	?Then what??

	But the young man wasn?t listening.
He was hastily making his way to the
girl?s bed.  After a quick assessment
of her condition he muttered, ?I knew
it.  I told her not to do it, that it
would put her in danger, but of course
she had to be headstrong.?  He didn?t
even notice Rae or Serenity until the
Priestess spoke.

	?Who are you??

	?Forgive me.  I am Lucian,
Guardian of this obstinate, opinionated,
strong willed little girl here.?

	?What are the two of you doing
here?  And what was she talking about??

	?I can?t answer that without
talking to her first, sorry.?  With
that he focused his attention back on
the girl in the bed.  He placed a hand
tenderly on her cheek.  Watching him
leaning over her, his face only a few
inches from hers, Aeryn felt a pang of
jealousy.  Until she?d seen the two of
them together and how he acted towards
the girl she hadn?t fully realized how
lonely she was.

	?Cere,? he said quietly.  Rae
immediately became livid and even
gentle Serenity was ready to berate
him for his use of King Endymion?s
pet name for his Queen.  Then they
realized he was speaking to the girl.
?Cere,? he said again.  The girl?s
eyelids fluttered, then opened.

	?Lucian!? she happily cried.  She
sat up and threw her arms around him.
?I?m so glad you?re here!?

	?When I?d found out what you?d
done I knew I had to come after you
and drag your stubborn butt home.?
Cere leaned back and stuck her tongue
out at him.

	?Pardon if we?re interrupting
anything, but we?d like an
explanation,? Serenity said.

	Cere pulled her tongue back into
her mouth and turned around sheepishly
to find the Queen and Aeryn watching
her.  Rae was straight out glaring.  She
let go of Lucian and repositioned
herself so she was sitting cross-legged
on the bed.  Though she appeared calm
meeting their gazes, she played anxiously
with the silver ring she?d been wearing.

	?Why so nervous?? Rae asked
suspiciously.

	?Nervous?  Who said I was nervous??
Cere said, slipping the ring back on her
finger.  She laughed, then said, ?No, I
just find this whole situation amusing.?
The confused looks on Serenity?s, Rae?s,
and Aeryn?s faces made her crack up again.

	?Cere, hurry it up, we?ve got to get
back.  Tell them if you?re going to.?
Lucian?s voice had a hint of warning in it.

	?Ok, ok.?

	?Tell us what?? Aeryn asked.

	Cere glanced at Lucian.  He rolled his
eyes.  ?Keep it in the brain dead circle,?
she said to him, then turned to the women.
She motioned them forward, closer to her.
?You create a new fantasia ?cause it beats
hating yourself,? she whispered.  She
laughed again at their blank stares, then
continued in a low voice.  ?Your society
is...screwed, doomed.  There?s no way you
can save it.  It?s already going down hill
and eventually it?s going to crash.?



	?Wha- What?? Aeryn asked.  All three
of them were shocked.  Cere giggled.

	?Society is too stupid, too
close-minded to last long.  People ask the
wrong questions, get the wrong ideas.
They focus on the wrong things, jump in
the wrong directions, fight for the wrong
causes.  And there?s nothing that can be
done about it either,? Lucian said,
expanding on what Cere had said.

	?There must be something that can be
done,? Serenity said.

	Cere shook her head.  ?Nope, there?s
not.?

	?They why tell us?? Rae inquired
indignantly.

	?Just to see how you react.  I wanted
to see if you would actually try to fix.
Or, of course, if you would just do what
people usually do and think about it for a
while, then just forget about it.?  Cere
started glancing around, looking and
acting bored.

	?Let?s go home Lucian, you know
there?s nothing we can do here.?

	?We can?t do anything anywhere, can
we??  Seeing Cere?s glum look, he added,
?Maybe, eventually, we?ll find someone
who will listen.?  Cere nodded, still
disappointed.  ?Was there anything else
you wanted to do?  Anymore lives you
wanted to disrupt??

	?It?s only a disruption because
they can?t handle it, can?t comprehend
the dead end they?re collectively racing
down.  It?s very frustrating.?

	?I know.  Come on.?  Lucian helped
Cere out of the bed, then together they
faded away, going back to wherever
they?d come from.



	A couple days later, in a rare
quiet moment after lunch, Kind
Endymion asked Serenity, ?So how did
that whole thing with that crazy girl
go??

	?Oh, fine.  She did have some
weird things to say, though.?

	?About what??

	?Um....  Well, it must not have
been important because I don?t really
remember.?

	?Ok.?

	Endymion slid his arm around
Serenity?s waist and the two walked
off into the Palace gardens together.


FIN

*****

All question, comments, rants and flames  can
be sent to blumune103@hotmail.com, and most will
be promptly answered.  }=oP
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