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      Against All Odds

   A Sailormoon Fanfiction
   by dejanatalis@aol.com

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       Chapter Seven

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	The Earth was just beginning to wane, slowly succumbing to the 
swelling darkness of the Moon's shadow as it did month after month. 
Surrounding the blue-green planet, the stars twinkled and shone as the 
endless dance of the cosmos spiraled onward. On the gray-white pearl 
that was the Moon, a young couple sat together on a bench and gazed up 
at the tapestry of the universe that was laid out above them, but most 
of their thoughts were focused on each other.
	There were so many memories here in the small garden on the edge 
of the Moon Castle property. Although they were closer to discovery 
within the castle's inner walls, the young couple felt safer here in 
this secluded hideaway than they felt anywhere else on the grounds. The 
sky was clear and the stars shone brightly upon them as they relaxed on 
the stone bench beside the marble fountain, enjoying the evening and 
the company of their love.
	"Delphi, the Light-Bringer," Princess Serenity recited, her eyes 
fixed on three bright stars surrounded by an arrangement of dimmer 
ones. "Talpha, Health and Heart," she continued as her gaze roamed over 
to another cluster of lights off to the right. "Tell me, what 
constellations do you know?"
	Endymion's head drooped and he turned his glance away from the 
star-speckled heavens. "None," he muttered, averting his eyes in shame. 
"Astronomy is not considered an important field of study for servants. 
We are taught nothing more than what is deemed essential to our work."
	"When I am Queen, I will make sure all classes have the 
opportunities they deserve," Serenity said softly. She reached over 
with her left hand to take her lover's right, weaving her soft smooth 
fingers among his rough, calloused ones, and leaned her back into the 
firm muscular flesh of his shoulder. "For now, I shall just have to 
teach you myself." She lifted her free arm to point at the dark skies, 
and the stable hand followed her gesture.
	"The images of the Ancients are inscribed in the stars to remind 
us of our origins," the Princess explained, feeling a touch of pride in 
her new role as teacher. "At least, that's what the philosophers say."
	Endymion smiled brokenly as his beloved pointed out the 
constellations. He was interested, but at the same time the lesson was 
a bitter reminder of his inferiority. Not only was he being educated by 
someone younger than himself, solely because his class prevented him 
from learning these things years before, but the stories of the 
Ancients were the very essence of the fundamental difference between 
the peoples of the Moon and the Earth. While Endymion was the product 
of eons of common evolution on a rural, primitive planet, the young 
woman holding his hand was decended from an ancient and enlightened 
race of interstellar travelers. No matter how hard he tried to forget 
it, so many things reminded him that he was little more than dirt 
beneath her glass slipper.
	"Actually, there is one heavenly body I can recognize easily," 
Endymion interrupted, desperate to distract his mind. "Serenity, the 
Goddess."
	"But Selene is over there - oh." The Princess stopped and blushed 
as she realized the stable hand was not looking at the sky, but at her. 
She let her arm fall to her side and gazed into his dark eyes, feeling 
them reach into her and explore the depths of her soul. "Serenity is 
nothing without her guiding light, her companion constellation, the one 
who makes her complete," she said softly, squeezing her lover's hand. 
"Her valiant knight, Endou."
	She angled her chin upward for a kiss - but once again she 
noticed it: the brief flicker of her beloved's face before he followed 
suit, the momentary tension that passed through his body. Before their 
lips could touch, she pushed away from him and straightened up on the 
bench.
	"All right, what is it?" she asked, a slightly demanding hint 
invading her usual gentle tone. She had hoped he would tell her 
himself, given time, but enough was enough.
	"What? I don't understand." Endymion blinked, momentarily caught 
off-guard by Serenity's words and the sudden loss of her warmth against 
him.
	"Lately, whenever I mention your name, you flinch," the Princess 
explained quietly. "What is bothering you?"
	A flash of terror consumed Endymion's features, but in an instant, 
it faded, and he sagged, defeated. There could be no more hiding this. 
"I had hoped-"
	"What, that I wouldn't notice?" Serenity interrupted. "How could 
I not notice? I love you, with everything I am. No matter how hard you 
try to hide your feelings, I will see through it."
	Endymion was silent, hanging his head. He was caught. Serenity's 
eyes bored into him as she patiently waited for his answer. He could 
not delay this moment any longer.
	"I have not been completely honest with you, Serenity," he 
admitted quietly, staring down at his hands in his lap.
	"What do you mean?" The Princess struggled to remain calm while 
every fiber of her being erupted into fear. What if he said it was all 
a lie, that he did not love her? Tendrils of cold snaked across her 
skin and she could barely keep herself from shaking.
	Summoning all his willpower, Endymion forced himself to raise his 
head and look into Serenity's eyes. He could see her fright plainly 
even though her expression was calm, and he knew then that he had been 
a fool to think he could hide anything from the woman he loved.
	"My name is not Endou," he said, quivers of dread rolling into 
the pit of his stomach. "It is Endymion."
	Princess Serenity blinked. Her face contorted with confusion, and 
she searched the stable hand with her eyes momentarily to make sure he 
was not the Earth Prince in disguise. She was caught between relief 
that it was not the man's feelings that were false and puzzlement over 
the meaning of his confession. Her mind reeled with possibilities and 
then went blank.
	"What is the meaning of this?" she stammered, unsure of how to 
proceed. "Is this some sort of jest?"
	"Not at all," the distressed stable hand replied hurriedly, her 
wary expression making him ill with worry. "When the Earth Prince was 
declared our future King, it was suggested that I change my name."
	"I am not amused," the Princess replied, narrowing her eyes. "I 
love you; do you think it's funny to claim the name of a man who hurts 
me?" Her mind was spinning, and her voice wavered with brewing tears. 
She did not want there to be any connection between her treasured 
beloved and her lifeless fiance.
	"I am telling the truth," Endymion insisted in a pleading tone. 
"Everything else about me is genuine, I swear it." He reached out for 
Serenity, but the young woman recoiled from his touch, leaning back on 
the bench as she stared at him in befuddled disbelief. Frustrated, the 
stable hand ran his fingers through his hair and turned away.
	"This is exactly why I did not tell you sooner," he muttered, 
cursing himself for not revealing his secret before the Princess 
discovered it on her own. "I was afraid this would happen. I had to 
wait until you trusted me, until you believed in me as a person and not 
a name or position." Turning back to the Princess, he stared into her 
troubled eyes, unblinking. "If you love me, Serenity, you will believe 
me."
	"This has gone on long enough," Serenity replied in an irritated 
tone, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't know what you're 
trying to do, but it's foolish to argue this further. I have studied 
Earth's history extensively and I know that the name of Endymion is 
reserved for the Golden Kingdom's royal line. It can't possibly be 
yours." She glared at the stable hand - and softened as she watched his 
face change into uneasy confusion.
	"What?" the young man whispered hoarsely with widened eyes. "How 
- how can that be? Through my entire life, that name was all I had to 
hold on to, my only memory, the only relic of my past. How could it be 
a lie?" His voice cracked and his words became more frantic, and he 
quaked on the bench and buried his face in his hands. After all this 
time, all these years of believing, had his own name truly been a 
mistake? "No, it can't be!"
	"You're not joking, are you?" the Princess breathed, pressing one 
hand to her mouth in horror as her normally reserved and confident 
lover approached the verge of tears. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She slid back 
to his side and wrapped her arms around the shaking man, holding him 
firmly against her.
	"I remember that name, I am certain," Endymion said numbly. "You 
are mistaken, Serenity. If I know nothing else in this universe, I know 
my own name, and it is Endymion. No royal house or social law can take 
that away from me."
	"I may be wrong," the Princess conceded as her beloved calmed in 
her arms. "I have never been the best at memorizing names and facts, as 
Sailor Mercury is always quick to remind me."
	The stable hand straightened up and looked directly into Princess 
Serenity's blue eyes, his own smooth midnight gaze as calm and sincere 
as it had always been when he spoke to her. He took both of her hands 
in his, gently caressing her smooth skin. "My name," he said, "is 
Endymion. Will you believe me?"
	"Yes," the young woman whispered, although her heart was still 
discontented.
	"Then, say it." Endymion lifted her hands to his lips and kissed 
them again and again, longing to hear the clear dulcet tones of his 
beloved's voice speaking his true name at last. "Please."
	"En - Endy -" Serenity choked on the word, the sour taste it 
brought to her mouth undeniable. Tears welled up in her large eyes. 
This name only brought one image to her mind, that of a cold, heartless 
shell of a man with auburn hair and a bitter soul. "I can't!" she 
wailed, her beloved's pleading expression driving daggers of regret 
into her chest. "How can I assign the name of one who hurts me so badly 
to one I love so much?"
	Endymion stared at his lover, stricken, his dark eyes begging to 
hear that one precious word fall from her lips, and he saw the pain 
clearly in her face. His was a name she had assigned to a man she 
disliked. There was no longer any hope that she might be able to speak 
it with tenderness. Sorrow overtook the young man's heart. He had 
finally confessed his one secret, and the Princess would still be 
unable to address him by his true name.
	"Endy," Serenity suggested desperately, eager to ease the agony 
in her beloved's face. "That is not a false name, but it is not his 
either. May I call you that?"
	The stable hand nodded slowly. Endy. It was a start. At least, it 
was not a lie. Perhaps someday she would find the courage to overcome 
her aversion to his full name. Still, he could not prevent 
disappointment from settling over his spirits. Serenity slid toward him 
and leaned against his body once again, wrapping both arms around one 
of his as she laid her head on his warm shoulder.
	"It's a term of endearment, really," she rationalized aloud, 
sensing that the man was still not quite happy with the arrangement. 
"An affectionate nickname, Endy." The couple fell into an uneasy 
silence, both of them troubled by their own thoughts.
	For the moment, the Earth-born orphan swallowed his bitterness at 
being left with half a name, rationalizing that after lying to Serenity 
he was lucky she was still by his side. He was, however, immensely 
disturbed by her words. Searching what little memories he had of his 
early childhood, he was certain that the name he had been born to was 
Endymion - but if that was a royal name, then it couldn't be so. Had he 
been wrong about his name this entire time? That would explain why Miss 
Amaris was never able to locate his parents, but the thought of having 
no clue to his origins at all was unsettling.
	Princess Serenity was quite unsettled herself. She was relieved 
that the stable hand's secret had not been more serious. In the grand 
scheme of things, a name was a relatively minor detail. At the same 
time, she could not ignore the fact that he had lied to her. Yes, it 
was a small untruth, but how could she be certain he was not hiding 
more from her? Her lover's body seemed to have lost some of its warmth, 
and she shuddered. How well did she really know the man she had given 
her heart to?
	There was also the matter of the name itself. Even if he had been 
born on the Moon, all Earth people were aware of the traditions of the 
Golden Kingdom; until recent decades there were very few of their race 
living off their home planet. Certain names were of special significance
and were only to be used by the royal family. It was impossible that an 
Earth-child of common blood would be named Endymion. Obviously, her 
lover was mistaken about his name, but Serenity had not the heart to 
insist that was the case. Yet, she had heard him addressed by that name 
before, although it had not made sense.
	"I had a dream about you," she said quietly, staring off into the 
shadows of the garden. "In the dream, your name was 'Endymion'." She 
heard the man suck in his breath.
	"It was?" A shred of relief penetrated Endymion's worry. He had 
not heard of any Lunarians having prophetic dreams, but perhaps it was 
a royal gift. In any case, it was evidence that his memory was not 
flawed.
	"You called me 'Sere'," the Princess continued. "We had a child, 
a little girl. Our daughter."
	Endymion smiled and wrapped his arm around his young lover's 
waist. If only it could be true. "What was she like?"
	"Sweet, and full of energy," Serenity sighed, trying to relax 
into his embrace. "A beautiful child with a loving heart."
	"She would have to be, with you for a mother," Endymion 
whispered, kissing one of the buns of crystal hair at the top of her 
head. "Tell me more, Sere."
	The nickname sent tingles down Serenity's spine, bringing back 
memories of the dream and the little rose-haired girl whom she had held 
in her arms. Small Lady. An impossible child of dreams who could not 
possibly exist. A lump rose in the woman's throat.
	"It was all very unreal, really," she muttered, feeling tears 
beginning to prick at the corners of her eyes. "We lived in a palace, 
and the Sailor Soldiers were there, but we were on Earth. It was quite 
strange. That could never happen, obviously," she added bitterly.
	Endymion sighed his agreement. A life with the Princess was a 
definite impossibility. He loved her with all his heart, but here on 
the Moon, such emotions mattered only within one's own class. Their 
days together were certainly numbered. Even if they tried to run away 
from their destiny, the Moon was not as big and open as the Earth. 
There were only a few cities, and outside those the surface was 
uninhabitable. It would be hopeless to try to disappear. He looked down 
at the lovely young woman in his arms and could not imagine going back 
to a life without her, nor did he want to. It was a pity, really, that 
they were not on Earth.
	Earth. By all accounts it was a primitive, animal place, a 
backward world whose people were locked in an endless struggle for 
survival. Still, with its large size and vast population, the lovers 
could be free there. Endymion felt he would gladly embrace such a life 
if it meant he and Serenity could be together.
	"Sere?"
	"Yes, Endy?"
	"Do you ever think about going to Earth?" he asked carefully, 
idly stroking his beloved's hair with one hand.
	"Why?" Serenity replied, puzzled. "It's a dreadful place," she 
said automatically, before remembering her fiance's rather pleasant 
description of his home world.
	"If we went to Earth, your dream could come true," Endymion said 
quietly, gently rocking the Princess in his arms. "We could start a new 
life together, raise a family..."
	"If only that were possible," Serenity sighed. The stable hand 
stopped rocking her.
	"Why isn't it?" His heart was trembling in his chest with budding 
excitement. It could really work. This blissful time with his beloved 
would never have to end, would never become a mere wistful memory. 
Serenity sat up and turned to face him.
	"Surely you must be joking," she said, but the stable hand's face 
was more serious than she had ever seen it. He gazed at her with 
earnest intensity and fire in his dark eyes.
	"Think of it, Sere," he urged, leaning toward her. "We could be 
free of all this, free of the sleepless nights and secrets, free to be 
together and live our lives the way we choose."
	"Leave the Moon? Endy, I couldn't," the Princess protested, 
anxiety filling her face. How could he ask this of her? It was a lovely 
dream, but it could not be more than that.
	"Why not?" Endymion demanded, his voice becoming louder than he 
meant it to. "I know it's a strange, cruel world, but I would be with 
you. We could find our way together." He reached toward her, but 
Serenity left the space between them.
	"How could we get to Earth, anyway?" she argued. "The public 
teleportation stations won't be reconnected to Earth until after the 
wedding."
	"You have access to the royal facilities, do you not?" Endymion 
reminded her. The more he thought about it, the better the idea 
sounded. It would be hard for them on Earth, but not as hard as living 
without Serenity.
	"Endy, what you're asking me to do is...is...ludicrous," she 
burst out, shaking her head in disbelief. "I have responsibilities. I 
can't just walk out on my role as Princess."
	"What other options do we have?" Endymion shot back, growing 
frustrated. This was the perfect solution, why wouldn't she even 
consider it? "We can't go on like this forever. You will be married to 
the Earth Prince within months. Is that what you want?"
	"No! You know that is not what I want." Princess Serenity wrung 
her hands in her lap, wishing she could tell her beloved what he wanted 
to hear, but it was unthinkable. Every moment of her life so far had 
been dedicated to her future role as Queen. Without that, she was 
nothing, and the thought of going to Earth frightened her more than 
anything. "I love you, Endy, and I want to be with you, but-"
	"Well, what then?" the stable hand interrupted, his frustration 
sowing the seeds of anger. "After your wedding day, we never see each 
other again? Or did you plan to keep me as your secret lover when you 
are Queen, just another servant at your beck and call?" Endymion did 
not know where these cruel words came from, but there they were. Had 
these doubts been lurking inside him the entire time?
	"Now you're simply being unfair." Unlike her engagement, there 
were no rules of propriety governing this relationship. This man was 
closer to her than even the Sailor Soldiers, and Serenity was free to 
act and speak as she pleased around him. For once in her life, she did 
not have to take the heat lying down. "I have an entire world depending 
on me to become its Queen. I can't just ignore that. I would never 
treat you like an object, Endy. You mean too much to me."
	"You mean everything to me. Everything." Unable to bear her 
crystal blue gaze any longer, Endymion got up from the bench and 
wandered over to a nearby rosebush, staring down at the soft red blooms 
whose petals enfolded and embraced one another. "What are your plans 
for our future, then, Princess?" he asked bitterly. Going to Earth was 
their only chance for happiness and she had dismissed it so easily.
	"I don't know!" Serenity glared at the man's back as she rose to 
her feet herself. She wasn't ready to make decisions like this. She 
just wanted to be with her lover and forget about reality for a while. 
Why did he have to bring up the difficulties of their relationship?
	"I know what I want," Endymion said, caressing a rosebud with his 
fingertip. "Why don't you?"
	"I have more to think about than what I want!" the Princess 
protested, clenching her fists at her sides in irritation. "You don't 
understand what it's like to be trapped from the day you were born!"
	"Don't I?" Endymion whirled around to face her, and Serenity 
gasped in spite of herself under the withering fire of his glare as 
his eyes flashed in anger. His entire body tensed, and an icy cold 
rolled off of him, spreading in all directions. "Why, because I'm a 
stable hand? Or because I'm an Earth-child? As far back as I can 
remember, my entire life has been determined by those two things! What 
I would do, where I would live, who my friends would be, everything!"
	He was shouting now. He hadn't meant to say so much, but now that 
the gates were opened, the words flowed out of him in a flood, and he 
could not hold them back. "No matter how much I learn, no matter how 
skilled I am, I can never escape what my birth has decided for me! I 
have no future! What does a pampered Princess, with the right and power 
to do anything she pleases, know of that?"
	"Yours is the life of freedom, when compared to mine," Princess 
Serenity hissed, quaking with an unreleased anger that continued to 
grow. "From the moment of my birth, I have shouldered the responsibility 
of someday becoming Queen, of being accountable for the health and 
safety of every Lunarian who breathes, balancing the Silver Alliance 
and protecting the entire solar system from outsiders! Do you have any 
idea how much I've wished for a life free of that anxiety?" She 
recalled many sleepless nights of worry, and several incidents during 
her adolescence when she burst into tears for seemingly no reason at 
all. At the moment, however, she was too irritated to show such a 
weakness to the stable hand. How arrogant of him to assume that only 
the lower classes suffered!
	"My days are planned by a team of advisors," she snarled, glaring 
up at the tanned man. "Everything I do, everything I study, even the 
man I will marry is decided by someone else! What power I have exists 
only to serve the Moon Kingdom. My cage may be prettier than yours, but 
it is still a cage!"
	"Then why not escape that cage and go to Earth with me?" Endymion 
demanded. "If you hate it so much, then leave!"
	"Do you have so little love for the Moon, the world that raised 
you and provided for you?" the Princess said accusingly. "You would so 
easily leave everyone and everything you ever knew?"
	"I thought our love was more important than that." The Earth 
child sagged slightly, the fire in his eyes fading to a flicker. For a 
moment, the fury and tension in the air ebbed, and they stared at each 
other with pained and sorrowful expressions.
	"It's not so simple for me," Serenity muttered, hanging her head 
to gaze at the smooth stones beneath her feet. "I have the needs of an 
entire race and the future of an entire world to consider. Would you 
tell me our love is more important than that? More important than all 
of them?"
	Endymion opened his mouth. He wanted to tell her it was, that 
their love was a gem that should not be shattered, but his mind was 
filled with the joyous faces of his fellow servants as they celebrated 
the betrothal of the Princess, and he could not speak the words. There 
was a painful moment of silence.
	"So," the man said slowly, "what do we do?"
	"I don't know!" Serenity's head snapped up, and she whirled 
around, turning away from Endymion. Why did he insist on continuing to 
ask a question for which there was no answer? Why did they have to 
solve such a painful problem now?
	"Well, we have to do something!" Endymion stared at his beloved's 
back, the smooth curves of her shoulder blades running toward the 
border of silver circles lining her dress, her twin streams of crystal 
hair flowing down beside fists clenched in frustration. He loved her so 
dearly, so much that even now his arms ached to hold her, his lips 
longed for hers...and yet the seething anger would not go away. "We 
can't ignore the issue forever!"
	Serenity swung around to face him, her blue eyes sharp as she 
reached the breaking point.
	"If it's such a problem," she raged, "we should just end it now!"
	"Fine!" The word exploded past Endymion's lips before he had a 
moment to consider it.
	Fine?
	A single innocent syllable, but it hit the two lovers like a rush 
of cold, sobering water, jarring them out of their anger and back to 
the reality of what had just been said. An expression of utmost shock 
and fright overcame the faces of both Serenity and Endymion, but the 
words had been spoken. The Princess looked at her beloved, who was just 
as startled as she, his dark hair hanging into his wide eyes. Her heart 
cried out for her to run to him, to bury herself in his arms and forget 
everything in the light of his love...but there would always be a time 
when she would have to let go and remember reality again. Serenity 
swallowed hard.
	"Fine," she whispered. Without another word, the Princess turned 
and hurried out of the garden, gathering her skirts in her hands as she 
went. She was around the corner into the hedge maze before the tears 
came, silent at first, flowing relentlessly down her cheeks as her 
heart was torn asunder and half of it left behind. Endymion did not 
follow her.
	By the time she neared the castle itself, she was running, 
sobbing aloud, not caring if anyone heard or saw her. Her feet screamed 
as her shoes rubbed hard against her tender skin, but she did not stop 
until she reached the rope hanging from the balcony. Oddly, she did not 
encounter any guards.
	As she reached out her arms for the rope, Serenity realized she 
was carrying the rough brown cloak that had belonged to Endymion. She 
had probably picked it up from the bench out of habit; she did not even 
remember taking it. With trembling hands, the Princess pressed the 
scratchy cloth to her face and breathed deeply. The man's scent was 
still there, the mysterious aroma of roses. Serenity shuddered 
violently with grief and dropped to her knees, clinging to the rope as 
she sobbed in anguish. She had thought he loved her. How could he end 
it this way?
	When she found the strength to stand again, the miserable young 
woman fastened the cloak around her throat and seized the rope. She 
hauled on it, but her feet stayed firmly on the ground. Serenity was 
light, but the education of a Princess contained little strength 
training. It took all the strength she could muster to lift herself 
even the smallest amount.
	She struggled for what seemed an eternity, weeping and sobbing as 
the rope cut into her hands and the evening's ordeal cut into her 
heart. Bit by bit, she pulled herself toward the balcony above, her 
thin arms trembling, her vision clouded with tears. The tempest of 
emotion raging within her soul gave her the strength she needed, and at 
long last, she hauled her weary, aching body over the balcony railing. 
By the time she dragged herself, the rope, and the cloak into her 
chambers, Serenity was so exhausted that she collapsed on her bed and 
fell asleep instantly.

	After watching Princess Serenity rush away from him and out of 
sight, Endymion wrapped his heart in anger so he would not feel it 
breaking. Turning around, he stormed out of the garden and slammed the 
old wooden door behind him. Fine, then. If it had to end, better it did 
so now. By the sound of things, they would never have been able to see 
eye-to-eye anyway. The stable hand stomped across the castle grounds, 
fuming. After all this, all the love they had shared, their 
relationship still broke apart so easily. What was the point of it all?
	When he reached his hut, Endymion kicked the door open so that it 
banged against the inside wall and rebounded. As he plunged into the 
darkness within, a flash of color caught his eye. There on the small 
table, where it had stood for years, was the perfect blood-red rose his 
beloved had given him before they even knew each other's names.
	Endymion clenched his fists. It all came down to names. He had 
risked everything to reveal his only secret to the woman he loved, and 
thus planted a seed of doubt that fanned the flames of their argument. 
And now, he had found out where Serenity's loyalty truly lay.
	In an eyeblink, Endymion snatched up the flower in its crystal 
vase and flung it against the opposite wall with all his strength. The 
transparent receptacle shattered, fragments of sharp crystal exploding 
in a burst of glittering shards that scattered across the bare wood 
floor. The rose, a tender blossom of dark red surrounded by sparkling 
crystal, tumbled into the shadows at the base of the wall and 
disappeared from view.
	With this impulsive act, Endymion felt as if all the life had 
drained from his body. Breathing heavily, he slumped against the nearby 
wall. His knees weakened under him as the walls of anger crumbled, and 
Endymion sank to the floor, buried his face in his hands and cried.

	There was a strange, irregular pounding. It ceased for a while, 
then began again, erratic, insistent, a loud thumping sound that 
refused to leave the world in peace. There was also someone shouting.
	"Endou," a voice called. Then, louder: "Endymion!"
	The stable hand in question forced his heavy eyelids open, but 
his body felt numb and refused to move. The room was at a strange 
angle; he was lying on the floor. All he could manage was a feeble 
groan. The door opened and a flood of sunshine came cascading into the 
dim hut.
	"What, did you drink too much Moon Nectar aga..." Prien's voice 
trailed off as he stepped inside the one-room dwelling and noticed the 
empty bed. The broken crystal scattered across the floor. The barely-
conscious young man lying motionless at his feet.
	"Great Selene, Endymion, what happened?" The blond-haired 
Lunarian quickly shut the door behind him and knelt at his friend's 
side, taking Endymion by the shoulders. "Are you hurt?"
	"Prien," the Earth man muttered heavily. As the feeling began to 
flow back into his body, so did the memories of the previous night. 
Endymion rolled onto his back and his friend helped him to sit up. 
"It's all over. I've lost her."
	Prien's heart sank. Endymion had had a falling-out with his 
mystery woman. It was a pity; he had seemed so happy. "Do not worry so. 
Whatever it is, I am sure you can work it out."
	"No," Endymion replied, letting his head loll limply from side to 
side. "It is really finished. Ended. Gone." He felt utterly empty, as 
if his heart and soul had been torn out of him. "I'll never see her 
again. Never...touch her again," he sighed, bending one knee up to his 
elbow and burying his head in his arm. "Never hear her voice again, 
never kiss her again."
	The Lunarian stable hand sat down heavily on the floor beside his 
friend, unable to prevent his mouth from gaping open. As a sociable 
man, he had soothed his share of broken hearts, and even nursed one of 
his own, but he had never seen an ended relationship change someone 
this badly. Endymion was a mess. His cool, collected demeanor had 
vanished, and he had become a broken man with disheveled hair, the 
flesh of his face and arms imprinted with the grain of the wood he had 
slept on in yesterday's clothes. It had been a bad enough sign that he 
had been late for work. Endymion was never late. Whatever love affair 
he had been engaged in, it was serious.
	"Who was she?" Prien asked gently, hoping he might have a chance 
at mending relations with the woman. Endymion blearily looked up at him 
through cloudy charcoal eyes. He blinked. Then he shrugged and sighed.
	"Princess Serenity."
	Prien smiled sadly and shook his head. "I know, they all seem 
like princesses, don't they? Tell me her name; I might be able to-"
	"No," Endymion interrupted. "She's Princess Serenity, the real 
one. We ran into each other by chance a few months back and..." He 
trailed off as he felt a lump beginning to form in his throat and 
swallowed it.
	His friend stared at him for a long moment, waiting for the 
Earth-born man to crack a smile and confess it was all a joke, but 
Endymion just stared right back, his miserable dead expression never 
flickering. Prien took a deep breath.
	"All right, Endou, I'll go and tell Miss Amaris to fetch the 
healers," he said carefully. "Just wait here." Prien started to get up, 
but Endymion swiftly seized his arm to stop him, suddenly desperate for 
someone, anyone, to believe him and share his secret.
	"I am not insane, Prien," Endymion said in a voice filled with 
fierce intensity. "By the Goddess Selene, I swear it. I am in love with 
the Moon Princess and she is - was - in love with me." Prien flopped 
down on the floor again, his mind reeling, and his friend released his 
arm.
	"Look, Endou," Prien said after a moment, "I want to believe you. 
You know I do, but you have to admit the odds are against you here. The 
world of the Royal Family is completely separate from ours. It is 
unthinkable that you would even catch a glimpse of the Princess!"
	"Nevertheless, I did," Endymion insisted. "We've spent countless 
hours together. Look, she gave me this." Reaching into his pocket, the 
dark-haired man pulled out the gold star locket, which felt smooth and 
cool against his palm. "It's a music box," he explained as he handed it 
to Prien, whose eyes widened when he felt the object's weight. As the 
blond man's fingers moved to lift the circular lid in the center of the 
star, Endymion closed his eyes and turned his face away, bracing 
himself to hear the music that would remind him of the woman he had 
loved and lost.
	There was only silence.
	Endymion's eyes snapped back open, and he jerked his head up. 
There sat Prien, an arm's length away, looking at his friend with a 
confused expression. The locket lay in the palm of the man's hand, 
open, the cover fully raised on its golden hinge. It was completely 
silent and dark, a lifeless paperweight.
	"No," the Earth man whispered, his voice trembling. His arm 
darted out reflexively, and he snatched the star out of his friend's 
hand, horrified that it might be broken. To his relief, as soon as the 
locket touched his skin, it revived, the lovely light melody bursting 
forth as the shifting beam of light emanating from the heart of the 
star blazed to life. The dim hut was filled with a warm glow as the 
locket sparkled and shone, and Prien's face lit up as the peaceful 
music reached his ears.
	"Was I not holding it right?" The Lunarian took the device back 
from Endymion, but the music immediately ceased and the soft lights 
vanished. Prien stared at the gold star in his hands. "It only plays 
for you," he breathed. "There is magic in this locket." 
	That sealed it. Such a treasure was too valuable to come from 
anyone but the top of the nobility and too precious to be given away 
for anything less than true love. It could not have been stolen, 
either, or its mysterious charms would not work for Endymion. Prien had 
no choice but to believe his friend's story.
	Suddenly, he threw the locket back into Endymion's startled hands 
and leapt to his feet, pacing the floor of the small hut as he 
struggled to come to terms with what he had just learned. The star 
locket began to play its melody again, but Endymion quickly snapped the 
cover shut.
	"She's the Princess," Prien muttered incredulously, running his 
hands through his wheat-colored hair as he walked.
	"Yes, I know," his friend answered from the floor, his voice 
echoing the mind-boggling fact.
	"She is engaged!" the Lunarian continued, his steps increasing 
their pace.
	"Yes, I know!" Endymion burst out, irritated. "Unfortunately, the 
heart doesn't pay much attention to matters like arranged marriages! I 
did not choose to fall in love with her, Prien, it just happened. And 
could you please stop that pacing? You're making me dizzy."
	"This...this is... What are we going to do?" Prien wondered 
aloud, the vast array of consequences running through his mind.
	"We don't have to do anything," the Earth man replied wretchedly, 
tightening his grip on the star locket. "It's over, remember? We had an 
argument." Now Prien stopped and looked over at his friend with a touch 
of sympathy.
	"Couples fight," he said gently.
	"Not like this." All the light and life had gone from the man 
sitting on the floor. Prien turned to gaze down at the rose lying among 
the scattered shards of crystal against the far wall.
	"Wasn't that a gift from the Princess?" he asked. "Now that I 
think about it, even as children you had a connection, almost like 
destiny."
	At that, Endymion jumped to his feet and hurried over to the 
fallen flower, as if remembering it for the first time. Bending down, 
he tenderly brushed the remains of the vase away from the blood-red 
petals and lifted the blossom in his hands. Miraculously, the rose was 
slightly wilted but otherwise unharmed. Prien thought it strange that 
such a fragile flower would survive such violence without the loss of a 
single petal, but he attributed the event to the magic of the Princess 
and said nothing as Endymion carefully placed the rose in a mug of 
water. Was it only his imagination, or did the flower regain some of 
its health when Endymion touched it?
	"Miss Amaris can not know about this," the Earth-born man 
muttered as he surveyed with dismay the remains of the vase spread 
across the floorboards. "That gift was worth a fortune."
	"Well, she'll be in here herself in a moment if we don't show up 
in the stables soon." Prien strode over to Endymion and clapped an arm 
around his shoulders. "What do you say we get to our chores? Some hard 
work will take your mind off of things, at least for a while." Endymion 
nodded gloomily.

	"Serenity?"
	"Go away." The Princess barely lifted her face from her pillow 
long enough to say those words before burying her head in the feathers 
again to block out the light of the sun. Nevertheless, she heard a 
slight rustling as the chiffon curtain that separated the sitting room 
of her suite from the bedroom was moved aside and someone entered her 
presence.
	"Are you not feeling well, Princess? You've missed half your 
morning appointments." The voice was familiar, but thankfully not the 
Queen's. Serenity was not ready to face her mother yet. She turned her 
head on the pillow to see an orange-suited Sailor Soldier standing at 
the top of the steps leading to her bedroom. Venus. The blonde 
soldier's expression was relaxed, neutral, but Adele, the Princess' 
attendant, was standing just behind her with a face full of 
apprehensive worry. Serenity squinted in the sunlight.
	"Adele, the curtains," Sailor Venus instructed. The red-haired 
girl nodded and hurried to close the drapes, and Serenity followed her 
with her eyes as far as she could without turning her head. How many 
years had Adele been faithfully serving her mistress, yet the Princess 
had never before noticed how pretty the young girl was, how eagerly and 
efficiently she tackled every task she was assigned? Despite her 
constant presence in Serenity's chambers, Adele had always been just 
another servant. No longer. For the first time the Princess found 
herself wondering what the attendant's hopes and dreams were, if she 
had a lover, if she had ever been to Selene's Blessing...
	"Serenity, you have not been yourself lately," Sailor Venus said 
gently. She moved closer and sat down on the edge of the bed, absently 
arranging the short orange skirt around her thighs. "If you need 
someone to talk to, I am always here to listen."
	Serenity's heart felt dreadfully heavy under the burden of her 
secret. The offer was tempting, but impossible. She could not tell the 
leader of the Sailor Soldiers that she was in love with a common stable 
hand. Venus sighed.
	"You know I have the ability to sense emotions," said the 
soldier. The Princess tensed. She had forgotten that Venus could see 
more than what was on her face. A gloved hand began to caress 
Serenity's back lovingly, but she dared not look up at the soldier's 
eyes. After a moment of silence, the hand paused.
	"Leave us," Venus instructed Adele. The young servant dipped her 
head and left the two women alone in the bedroom.
	"Serenity, I am your friend," Sailor Venus began, and the 
Princess was shocked to hear her voice break on the verge of tears. "I 
can not understand why you would refuse to trust me, especially with 
something like this."
	"I don't understand," Serenity said in what she hoped was an 
innocent tone, but her heart was pounding in her chest, and it was a 
struggle to keep her breathing regular. She'd been so careful. Venus 
couldn't possibly know. It had to be something else.
	"You are in love, and not with your fiance," the soldier said 
quietly. Serenity's heart skipped a beat.
	"That is ridiculous," she forced herself to say, although her 
mouth was dry and her tongue was like stone. The blonde soldier sighed 
in exasperation.
	"Please, stop hiding!" she begged, leaning over the Princess. "I 
- I saw you together!"
	At this, Serenity sucked in her breath, rolled over on her back - 
and was greeted by a sharp onslaught of pain as every muscle in her 
body protested the movement. She had strained her tissues to the limit 
pulling herself up to the balcony the previous night and now it felt 
as if her entire body was bruised. There were blisters on her feet and 
dried blood on her palms where the rope had cut into them. Although she 
bit her lip, she could not prevent a whimpering groan of suffering from 
escaping as she fell back stiffly against the pillows. Not only that, 
but she had fallen asleep in her dress, and in her exhaustion, she had 
neglected to hide away the brown cloak and length of rope, which now 
lay on the bed beside her.
	"You spied on me?" Serenity managed to hiss through clenched 
teeth as her muscles throbbed.
	"I was worried about you, so I watched your balcony," Sailor 
Venus confessed. "It's taken me two days to gather the courage to speak 
of it to you. Goodness, how were you injured so? I will tell Adele to 
fetch the healers." The soldier tried to get up, but Serenity caught 
her by the arm.
	"If you do that, Mother will want to know how I was hurt." Her 
eyes narrowed as she studied the blonde woman's face. "Or have you 
already told her?" Venus sank down on the bed again.
	"I wanted to speak to you privately first," she said in a voice 
bitter with irritation. "I may be a Sailor Soldier, Serenity, but I am 
also your friend. I have not even told the other soldiers."
	"Thank you," the Princess muttered, releasing the blonde's arm. 
"I apologize." The anger and panic she had been feeling ebbed and the 
sadness and despair came rolling back. "Did you follow us?" she asked 
quietly.
	"No." Sailor Venus readjusted herself on the edge of the bed, 
reached over, and began massaging the sore muscles of Serenity's legs. 
"Those moments are your own." The Princess winced in pain, but breathed 
deeply until she was able to relax as the orange-suited soldier eased 
the tension out of her calves.
	"Serenity," Venus said carefully, "you know that I have to report 
anything that threatens the stability of the Moon Kingdom to the 
Queen."
	"There is no need," the Princess said bitterly, although every 
word sent a dagger of pain straight into her heart. "It is finished 
between us." She squeezed her eyes closed and clenched her fists, but 
the tears still came, overcoming her willpower as they welled up 
beneath her eyelids and choked her throat closed. Venus paused in her 
ministrations.
	"Why?" she asked quietly. "Did he not make you happy?"
	"He did," Serenity squeaked, wishing the blonde would stop 
talking, hoping she could keep fighting the sobs that were threatening 
to burst out of her chest, longing to run out of the room and never 
look back as the pain kept growing inside her. "We were just too 
different. We believe in different things. He's so selfish, really, and 
stubborn, and...and...oh, Venus, I love him so much!"
	"I know, Serenity, I know." Sailor Venus seized the Princess by 
the shoulders, pulled her into a sitting position and wrapped her arms 
around the crystal-haired girl as she cried, quaking and sobbing into 
the orange and white uniform. Venus held her like that for quite a 
while, rocking Serenity gently and trying not to cry herself from the 
echoes of the young woman's pain. When the Princess finally calmed, the 
soldier drew a basin of water and helped her get herself in order for 
what remained of the day.
	"It's for the best, you know," Venus said kindly as Serenity 
rolled the rope into the brown cloak and stashed it away behind the 
wardrobe. "Imagine me, born on a planet famous for its legendary love 
stories, saying something like that!" She laughed halfheartedly.
	"You're right, though," the Princess sighed. "It was destined 
from the beginning to end in heartbreak." She drew herself up, trying 
to stand properly despite her protesting muscles. "I am the heir to the 
Moon Kingdom. I have a responsibility to my people." 
	Marching boldly over to the dressing table, Serenity picked up 
the engagement pendant and hung it in its rightful place around her 
neck. It was beautiful, the smooth blue stone complimenting her eyes, 
sparkling in the thin rays of sunlight that peeked through the curtains 
covering the windows...
	Princess Serenity stared at her reflection and saw a slave in 
chains. She burst into tears.

	So began Serenity and Endymion's first day devoid of the promise 
of love. It seemed unreal, like a nightmare they could not wake up 
from, and it had all happened so suddenly that it was almost easy to 
forget.
	On an errand for Miss Amaris in the city, Endymion caught sight 
of a star chart in a shop window. It showed the outlines of all the 
Ancients in the heavens, along with a paragraph of information about 
each one. Buying it would cost him what was a small fortune for a 
stable hand, but Serenity would be pleased if he were to study - then 
he remembered.
	A merchant driving a cart along the road had to rein in his 
horses quickly to avoid running down the young man who had stopped 
suddenly in the street, his purchases falling out of his limp arms and 
scattering forgotten on the ground around him.
	As she sat in the private library studying the founding of the 
Silver Alliance, a page approached Princess Serenity bearing a folded 
message. Sailor Mercury took the note from the servant and opened it, 
absorbing its contents with a practiced eye.
	"Your voice lesson after dinner tonight has been canceled," the 
blue-haired soldier reported. Serenity nodded casually, hiding her 
pleased smile. That was her last appointment of the day. She would have 
plenty of time to unwind before meeting with End - then she remembered.
	Serenity's vision wavered, but she blinked her tears away. 
Mercury was in the room. She waited until she was certain the soldier 
wasn't looking before carefully shifting her weight in the chair. It 
didn't help. Despite Venus' morning massage, Serenity still ached from 
her neck to her ankles, and huddling over books all afternoon had only 
made matters worse. She spent the entire day hiding her suffering, 
forcing her agonizing muscles to move normally, and the physical pain 
coupled with the emotional trauma she was bottling inside made her weak 
with nausea. Every smile was a lie, every word a false tone of 
brightness sculpted by years of training for a life in the public eye. 
Serenity hated it, but she had no choice. This was the best path for a 
woman in her position.
	Endymion did not fare much better. Everything reminded him of the 
Princess, even when it did not make sense. The hay in the stables was 
golden and coarse, but it still reminded him of her silky pale hair. 
The sky was a deep royal blue with a few stars shining through the 
sunlight, but it still reminded him of her bright cerulean eyes. And, 
of course, he had to work all day in the shadow of the Moon Castle 
where she lived, so close but forever lost to him.
	Throughout the day he forced himself to repeat the thought that 
it was better this way, however painful the separation was. A life on 
Earth would have been difficult, full of uncertainty and struggle; that 
was not the kind of life Endymion wanted for his beloved. Their 
relationship had been doomed to pain and sorrow. Of course ending it 
was the best decision for all involved.
	Wasn't it?


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

    End of Chapter Seven

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Against All Odds" fanfiction copyright 2004 by dejanatalis@aol.com
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and its associated characters and canon 
belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. The text of this creative work 
was created by dejanatalis@aol.com and is her exclusive property. Not 
to be used without permission.  Sailor Moon Says: Don't steal! ^.^