I Will Still Love You
Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion walked through the Royal Crystal Tokyo Garden, admiring the flowers. The garden was a public place, but the king and queen of the Earth had rented it for the day, just to be alone together.
Serenity sighed happily as Endymion grabbed her hand. He quickly bent down and grabbed a rose, and handed it to his wife.
"Oh Endymion," Serenity said. She looked at her husband and smiled. "I don't think anyone on the earth is as happy as I am right now."
"Serenity. . ." Endymion murmured in reply as he wrapped his arms around her small waist and bent down for a kiss.
Neo-Queen Serenity stood on the tip of her toes, as she was still about five inches shorter than Endymion, and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and still clutching the rose.
~*~*~
It was very late at night now. The moon was high and full, shining over the bustling city of Crystal Tokyo. Serenity and Endymion really had spent all day in the garden, and the king was eager to get to bed.
"Oh, you go on Endymion," Serenity said. "I want to smell the roses some more. I'll go inside in a little while."
"My rose isn't good enough for you?" Endymion winked. Serenity smiled her beautiful, playful smile. "Well, in case you decide to spend all night out here or something. . ." Endymion trailed off as he gave the queen of the earth another perfect kiss.
"See you later," he winked as he spun around, causing his cape to swish around him, and walked inside.
Serenity kept smiling as she walked along the cement path, smelling the flowers and twirling the rose her husband had given her in her hands. Her long gown flowed around her, and complemented her figure perfectly.
He really is the only man for me, Serenity thought.
Just then, the queen hear a rustle. It seemed to be coming from the lily bushes. . .
"Who's there?" Serenity demanded to know.
"The man of your dreams," the voice answered.
"Endymion?" Serenity asked with question in her voice. It couldn't be her beloved husband. This man's voice was deeper and gruffer. Besides, Endymion probably wouldn't hide in the lily bushes. He'd probably hide in the rose bushes.
"No. . ." the voice said. A man jumped out of the bush. Serenity all at once recognized him and screamed.
"You are mine for the night, Neo-Queen Serenity!" he yelled.
~*~*~
The side door that lead to the ballroom of the palace creaked open. Luckily, there were no guards around this entrance, so Serenity didn't have to explain why she looked the way she did.
The queen leaned against a wall. She was short of breath. Her hair was rumpled and one of her 'meatballs' were undone. Most of her dress was torn, and she could already see several bruises on her arms and legs. Her face felt painful, and she guessed her face had been scratched.
Serenity sank down to the floor and hugged her knees. She didn't cry. She couldn't. She was. . .stunned. She was the queen of the earth! Nothing like this was supposed to happen to her. . .if only she had gone inside with Endymion, everything would be safe and all right.
But nothing was all right.
Serenity suddenly heard footsteps coming into the ballroom. She attempted to get up, because she didn't want to explain herself, but she was in too much pain. So she curled herself into a ball and hoped whoever was coming wouldn't see her.
"Is anyone here?" a voice called. Serenity's head jerked up. It was Endymion!
She tried to call out his name, but all she made was a croaking sound. It was enough for the king, though, because he immediately heard her and rushed over.
"Serenity!" he cried when he bent down saw her all bruised and cut. "What happened to you?!"
"I. . .he. . ." she started, but broke into sobs and buried her face into her knees.
"Shhhhh. . ." Endymion whispered as he put her arm around her, trying to sooth her. He noticed she winced as he touched her.
"Now Serenity," he started when he felt she had calmed down. "What happened? I thought you were going to just smell the flowers then come inside. Did you. . .trip or something?" he asked, praying that was all that happened.
"No," Serenity whispered. She had stopped sobbing, but tears were still streaming down her cheeks. "It was. . .it. . .was. . ."
This was so frustrating. She knew what she wanted to say, but it wouldn't come out. She couldn't decide how to make it sound so Endymion would hate her so much.
"I don't know if I can tell you," she finally said after a long silence.
"You're my wife. You can tell me anything," Endymion said.
"But this. . ." she started, and more tears came down.
Endymion stared at his wife. She no longer seemed like the graceful, beautiful Neo-Queen Serenity. She seemed like the twentieth century, clumsy, air-headed Serena.
"Endymion," she started again, taking a deep breath. Her husband took his thumb and wiped the tears away from her face. She didn't even smile.
"Endymion. . ." she started again. "I. . . I was raped."