Hola, Sailor fans! After this, two chapters left, and hopefully I double posted so you can go read chapter four. Oooooh, I'm almost done, I'm almost done! DISCLAIMERS AND NEWS: 1) All original no-infringement-intended disclaimers apply, because that's just bad. 2) Lianne's got a series going TOO! I was thrilled to hear it, and recommend to everyone who stops by to go read it. After this. And read everything else she's written, and Amethist's too, and then bombard them with fanmail. 3) Bunny Annyla (I hope I spelled your name right) rights some of the most beautiful, loving Mamo/Usa fic out there! It's great. Read it. All of it. And then, as above, bombard will loads of fanmail. 4) Priam is hiding a lot more in his closet then it seems any of us know. The scene between him and that other person was written while I was searching KOLLL(Karl's Overly Long Link List) for Pic Archives. If ANYONE KNOWS WHERE I CAN FIND PICS OF THE SAILOR R MOVIE, MAIL ME AT: jkc1984@niia.net which is again my address, thanks to the server kicking back into shape. This, by the way, is also the place to send questions/comments/concerns/flames to me. 5) Above all, please enjoy, even if I do use overused plot devices and cliches. THE FOUR LOVERS: DEEP IN THE HEART ninx CHAPTER THREE Deja Vu and Nasties, Too Endymion raised his head, and groaned. he thought to himself. The explosion had thrown both he and Serenity to the ground, and into a crumbling mass of rock. He'd managed to hastily erect around her and him a shield before they'd fallen...fallen...fallen to where they were now. He pushed himself off the ground and looked up; wherever they were now, they were far from the surface. It appeared to be some sort of cavern of dark, rough, unfinished rock, dully gleaming at him in the darkness. "Serenity?" he whispered suddenly, wondering aloud where the Princess could be. There was no answer, and for some seconds he thought she was buried somewhere in some rubble. Again he called out, a little louder now, "Serenity! Where are you?" No answer. He moved slightly, eyes lighting blue in an attempt to see in the cave. However, the effort was unnecessary, for within a few inches of himself he bumped into something dusty and warm. He let his hand unconciously walk up her arm, and his fingers splayed over the familar features of her face, stroking through her long hair. The movements seemed to bring her awake, and she gave a little gasp at the darkness. "Shhhhh," he said quietly. "It's all right, Serenity. You're alive." "Endymion? Ion?" she whispered quietly. "Yes, Princess." "Where are we?" He let out a small sigh, and then said, "I'm not sure, Princess. In some underground caverns...do you know of any?" "No...no, I don't recall," she replied, her voice slightly worried. "I didn't pay much attention in class." He smiled in the darkness, unsurprised; he never thought of her as an academic. Yet unknown to both, Serenity would've never learned of these tunnels, buried in the moon; they were remnants of something long before the Moon Kingdom, and only the ancient had faint glimmerings of their legend. "Is there anyway we can get out of here?" she asked then, voice drawn and quiet. "Walk, I suppose, once we get some light." She gave what sounded like a sob, and he sighed to himself. he thought. Within hours, he found out just how much worse it could be. Unlike their last time spent together under such a situation, she was formal, aloof, and nearly cold to him. He found himself almost disgusted with her, and overly puzzled. he wondered to himself as they walked along, her locket providing their only light, Serenity, for her part, was not enjoying her performance in the least. It was TOO good, TOO easy for her to be this cold towards Endymion, almost as if she'd been born this way and had to learn to be warm and cheerful; as if this was reverting back to type. she wondered to herself. a dark inner voice would reply, * * * * It had taken a little time to get an investigations into the explosion organized; after all, it was late at night, and most people had put their energies into planning for the wedding celebration. Quickly, the leaders of the investigation were deemed the Senshi and the Generals; the Knights and the two Seers would journey out to the site in order to find clues, pinpoint the Princess and Prince, check for any enviromental breaches, and clean up the mess. The investigation's first volunteer was a calmly distraught Prince of the Sea, Priam. Now, as the final dawn mist whisked away, they gathered in the Library in order to try and see what they could come up with. They knew this: both Serenity and Endymion had made trips to the Gardens unexpectedly, and therefore the time chosen for the explosion was probably not the appointed time. So they were checking out people's stories for who had been in and around the Gardens sometime before the wedding for reasons OTHER than to plan for it. The first names to come up were the Senshi and Generals. Their covert picnic attracted attention immediately, and Priam was asking questions; that is, until Selenity whisked through, destroying his doubts. "I asked them to," she said cooly. "I wanted them to discuss security and the future." He'd bought it. Soon--much sooner than you'd think--they'd narrowed down their list. Most recognized the names; they were nobles, mostly of the Moon, a scattered Earth, and even a Sea party of Priam's friends that had come up for the wedding. One, though, no one except Priam knew. "Who's Thren Orndike?" asked Kunzite, his finger tapping the name. "Who?" Mars asked, looking up from where she and Jaedite hunched over their section of the names list. "Thren Orndike," he repeated. "It sounds familar, but..." he shrugged. "Are Venus and Zoicite back from their check yet?" "No," Mercury reported. "Neither are Jupiter and Nephrite." "I guess that leaves us," said Jaedite, eyes flashing. "I'll go," came the sudden, quick silk of Priam's voice. Kunzite turned to the Prince, who was jotting down notes in a soft colored, brownish ink. thought Mars and Jaedite in near unison, glancing at each other. Priam had been a desk jockey all day, preferring to cross out names then go check them out. "I know him. He's a personal friend of mine," replied Priam quietly, scooting out from the desk and standing. "He's a bit jumpy, so it'd be for the best." "I'll go with," Mercury volunteered, curiosty piqued by the mention of this strange man. He shook his head, flashing her a brilliant smile. "You'd better not. As I said, he's a bit jumpy, and tends to say the wrong sorts of things when pressured." Before anyone else could ask, he turned, walking toward the door, a purple outline appearing around him. In a starburst of sea foam green he vanished, leaving only Kunzite to stare, grey eyes hard, after him. The Prince reappeared inside the chambers of one Thren Orndike. Who needed doors? They gave people privacy, and Priam had never, in twenty years of life, respected someone's privacy. "Your highness," replied the young man, sliding from his seat on the small bed to a kneel. He was two years younger than the Prince, and lean as a corn stalk, with a bright flowing of corn silk blond hair running to his shoulders and lively amber eyes. His mind wasn't totally keen, and unlike most he was more prone to emotion, and emotional outbursts, then stolid intelligence. It wasn't as if he was dumb; he could out talk a philospher when he was in the mood. It was just that everything and anything relied on his moods, which swung the way a pendulum does. He worked as Priam's aide, and sometimes his secretary, earning the post through his fierce devotion to the Sea Prince and his kingdom. The two had been lovers for a few years. "What have you been up to, Thren?" replied Priam, stepping fully into the room. "What in the world have you been doing of late?" "Why nothing, your highness, but waiting for you," replied Thren. It hasn't been mentioned (though it should be) that he could grovel with the best of them, and beat them all senseless with his obsequious words. "Liar," replied Priam, angry eyes turning to his face. "What did you do last night?" "Slept, your highness, until that awful explosion woke me up," he replied. His eyes seemed to glow as his face remained motionless, and he asked, "Have they found the Princess and Prince yet?" Priam dropped into a chair, putting a hand to his head, and sighed. "No, they haven't." "I suppose it means you won't have any free time," Thren sighed sadly. Priam rubbed his forehead, trying to erase away all the stress. The room was silent for a moment, and Thren tried again to predict his master's moods. he thought. Thren had not thought too highly of Priam when he'd proposed to Serenity. He'd sulked for a week as his master tried to explain what the attraction to her was, and exactly why he was marrying the hideous, meatballed princess. Finally, he'd given up explaining it at all. "You did it, didn't you?" This was not at all what Thren was expecting. "Excuse me, master?" "You set the bomb, trying to kill Serenity, didn't you? You had one of your fits when I didn't come see you last night, so you decided to kill her at the wedding. However, when you saw her out, you decided then and there was the right time. So you tried to kill her." Thren remained silent, looking at Priam, who still held a hand on his forehead. "Well?" came the voice of his impatient Prince. He still remained silent. Usually, if Thren had been accused of something wrong, he would valiently defend himself to the end. When the evidence was damning, though, he just shut up. And Priam knew he was right. "YOU FOOL!" he exploded. "I can't believe you...how could you go and mess up my marriage?" Silence. "I can't believe this! Of all the stupid, brainless, boneheaded things you've ever done, this takes the cake. You stupid, insignificant, worthless piece of.." and on and on he raged, for nearly five minutes, telling him EXACTLY how low he was. Finally he added, "And now you try to ruin my marriage." By this time Thren was quite a bit into the sulky stage, and said, "You don't even love her, though." "Love? Who needs love?" Priam replied. "I don't. I never have. Why do think I look down upon Endymion? Not only is he Earth, he falls in love. Did you see the way he looked at my bride?" "No." His voice was low and sulky and troubled, but Priam, who by now was on his feet and pacing, was on a rampage and didn't notice. "It was as if he owned her. Owned her! I own her, I'm going to marry her!" By now he was rambling, and not making much sense to anyone except himself. Even Thren, who could usually find some sense in his rambles. "So?" "SO! He's my cousin, my enemy, my life long rival. I know he's in love with her, it has to be true, I can sense it with my intuition! And if I can do anything to slight Endymion, I will." Now his violet eyes raged, and it almost seemed like a wind had picked up in the room, swirling in Priam's hair, whipping it up like wind tossed waves. "That's very petty." Priam stopped, and looked down at him, a smile forming slowly, cruely on his face. "That's very interesting to hear from you, Thren, since you tried to destroy Serenity!" "I don't understand why you're taking this so hard. You have me," he replied. Priam's eyes swirled into mysterious dimensions of purple color, and he laughed. "Oh yes, dear Thren, I have you. Why should I care that I also had Serenity...clutched in my fist! She loved me, and all was good. The Moon Kingdom and the entire Solar System were NEARLY mine! But no, I shouldn't worry...I have you." Thren suddenly turned pale, and whimpered, "But master..." "No but's, Thren," replied Priam, sweeping toward the doorway. "I'm going to go back and help the investigation. Oh, I won't turn you in....consider it a parting present." "What do you mean?" Thren asked, lower lip trembling. "We're finished, Thren. Over with. And that's all I need to say!" And with that, he disappeared in a lavender starburst. Thren's mood swung toward anger, and he clenched his fist. "I thought Serenity was the problem," he whispered to himself. "I though she corrupted him, turned his love away from me to her. Now, though....I think I know who the corrupted one is!" Mars and Jaedite arrived a slim two minutes later; they were the last pair to come in. Kunzite looked expectantly at them, and Jaedite nodded. "He's the man," Mars said. "Priam forced a confession from him. However, the Sea Prince has declined to turn him in." "But there's more than that," Jaedite replied. "Much more." "How much?" Venus asked. "Sit down, Venus," Mars said. "We have a story to tell." ----------------------------------------------------- Pre o' Ch Four, THE LAST PIECES: The ENDING! I think. The Four Lovers go to settle things with Thren; Serenity and Endymion resolve their differences; and then, that final, ending scene for Priam. Stay tuned!