A NEW SONG
-by: the Yarnspinner-
the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com
A Sekkushiaru Roman
featuring characters from the anime "Sailor Moon"
Rated: H

**********
NOTE: This yarn is different from my others.  It is intended as a follow-
up to Sexylyon's "Interlude", probably one of the best sekkushiaru roman
yarns ever written about Serena and Darien.  On her website, Sexylyon
says she is still getting requests about further installments to her
story, but said if there is to be any more to it, someone else should
write it.  Feeling inspired, I am taking on the challenge.  One should
not infer, however, that Sexylyon has endorsed this work.  Because this
is a follow-up, I will adhere to her format for names and scenario.
Readers are encouraged to read "Interlude" first, if you are among the
deprived few who haven't already done so. Otherwise, you may be somewhat
confused.  Additionally, if you haven't caught on by now, this story does
contain some graphic sexual content.  Reader discretion is advised.

Finally, good gentles, the requisite disclaimer: a yarnspinner works from
and within existing legends and stories.  The characters of "Sailor Moon"
belong to others.  In spinning my yarns, I do not seek to infringe on
their rights of ownership, but merely to join with other fans to spread
the legend still further.  "The moonlight carries a message of love."
Enjoy.
**********

> Chapter 1 - Everything New <

     That Monday morning, Serena sat at her school desk, a dreamy
expression on her face. In her mind, she was reliving the incredible,
fantastic, wonderful, amazing weekend she had just enjoyed. Occasionally
a cloud drifted across her reverie as fears for the future again sought
to intrude. She refused to tolerate the intrusion, however. Having
endured plenty of anguished thoughts earlier that morning and now
determined to enjoy the positives, she chased the clouds away with the
new song of pure, unrestrained joy singing in her heart.
     It was still hard for her to fully comprehend that Darien Chiba,
usually so grumpy, teasing, and from time to time even downright mean to
her, had turned out to be her prince charming, sweeping her completely
off her feet and, her dreamy smile growing still larger, right into his
bed. She was certain they had both learned that weekend what love truly
was.
     The warmth of true love made everything seem new and fresh. The sky
looked different to her, the songs of the birds brighter and cheerier,
the clouds in the sky whiter, the flowers more colorful. All this was
because of the young man with the black hair and blue-gray eyes whose
face was now a happy vision in her mind's eye.
     From her desk Molly looked over at Serena with sharp, perceptive
eyes. It was extremely rare for Serena to actually be early to class, and
Molly had never seen such an expression on her face. Molly remembered
seeing that expression on someone else, however, beginning to consider
this puzzle in front of her.
     "So, Serena, have a good weekend?" Molly asked quietly, leaning over
next to her.
     "Uh hunh," Serena answered, still staring dreamily into space.
     "Anything special?"
     "Mmmm."
     "Must be a guy, right?" Molly asked.
     "Hunh? What makes you say that?" Serena asked, only half paying
attention.
     "Well, because of that expression on your face, Serena," Molly
whispered in her ear, pausing to make sure she wasn't being overheard.
"It's almost exactly the same one Miss H has the morning after a really,
*really* hot date."
     Serena's eyes shot open wide and she blushed almost beet-red as she
turned to look at Molly.
     "I thought so!" Molly declared quietly, but triumphantly. "So, give
me details. Who is he?"
     "Uh, you, ah, you don't know him, Moll," Serena stammered, knowing
that an outright denial was now out of the question.
     Molly didn't believe her friend, seeing the look in her eyes. An
inspiration occurred to her, knowing of just one person who could arouse
really strong emotions in Serena. "Is it Darien?"
     Serena's heart jumped into her throat. Was she really that much of
an open book? She quickly seized on her swell of emotion for a more in-
character response. "As if!" she sputtered. "How could you possibly think
I'd like that jerk?! I mean, really!"
     "OK. OK. Sorry," Molly said, backing off.
     The arrival of Miss Haruna kept Molly from pressing her questioning
any further.
     Serena took a slow, deep breath, realizing that this had been much
too close a call. She had to keep her new relationship with Darien
absolutely secret, at least until she was older. It chilled her to the
bone that Molly had guessed the truth right away. Of course, she had
seriously underestimated Molly's power of perception once before, when
Molly had been the only one to see the goodness in Neflite. Clearly,
Serena was going to have to be much more careful. Just thinking of
Darien, however, was enough to remind her that she would do anything to
be with him.
- - - - - - - - - -
     As classes broke for lunch, Molly hurried outside, looking for
Serena.
     Molly had been considering her earlier exchange with Serena. She was
certain Serena had become involved in quite a serious relationship over
the weekend, possibly even going all the way, although she had only
suspicions on that point. Darien Chiba remained her prime candidate for
the guy in the relationship, strongly suspecting that Serena and Darien's
continued sniping was either camouflage or denial of strong feelings of
attraction for each other. If she was right, however, then it was crystal
clear to Molly why Serena would not want to talk about it, since Darien
was legally an adult and Serena was not. 'Whoever the guy is, if he hurts
Serena, I'll scratch his eyes out,' Molly thought.
     Serena was sitting under a tree, obviously waiting for Ami and Lita.
Molly was pleased to find Serena alone. What she had to say was only for
Serena.
     "Hey, Serena," Molly called, sitting down beside her.
     "Uhm, hi, Molly," Serena answered, shifting nervously. "Ah, look.
About what happened earlier..."
     Molly held up her hand. "Please, Serena. Just let me say something.
I think I've got a pretty good idea what happened over the weekend, and
even who the other person probably is."
     "Now, wait..."
     "No, don't interrupt. I need to get this out," Molly said. "You
don't need to tell me anything. So long as you're happy, that's all I
care about. And if I'm right that the guy is a college student then I
understand that you have to keep it quiet. I just want you to know that
I'm here for you as your friend, that I will keep your secret, and that
I'm happy for you if you're happy."
     Serena simply stared at Molly, then leaned forward and embraced her.
"Thank you, Molly. You're a really great friend."
     Molly smiled as Serena sat back. "I'm just glad I could help.
Sometimes it's really nice just to have someone you can share it with."
     "Hi, guys," Lita called, as she and Ami walked toward them.
     "What are you talking about?" Ami asked.
     "Just filling Serena in on the latest gossip," Molly said, brightly.
     "Join us for lunch?" Lita asked Molly.
     "Sorry, but I can't. I have to go drag Melvin off the computer,"
Molly replied. "Friday, the dweeb-meister skipped lunch entirely, then
nearly passed out during the last period. Gotta run. Duty calls."
     "Bye, Moll," Serena said.
     Lita and Ami sat down next to Serena.
     "So, are you feeling better from yesterday?" Ami asked Serena.
     "Hunh? Oh, yeah. I'm doing fine, thanks," Serena replied.
- - - - - - - - - -
     Darien stopped in at the cafe. Thankfully, Serena wasn't there. He
wasn't ready to test himself in a public encounter with her. Dropping
into a seat, he ordered coffee, black. He had spent the whole day in a
daze, and needed the caffeine to get him through his job that evening.
After daydreaming about a certain girl with long blond pigtails through
his entire first period, he realized he wasn't going to get much more out
of any of his later classes either. Fortunately, he carried a small
micro-cassette recorder with him. He made a quick stop at the campus
bookstore to purchase several more cassettes, allowing him to record the
day's lectures. This would work as a stop-gap, but he would have to pull
himself out of this soon, or his grades were going to suffer.
     As he sat drinking his coffee, he glanced at one of his notebooks.
On the margin, he had done some doodling. One was a very crude sketch of
Serena. As he looked at it, he was again reminded of the resemblance
between Serena and the princess in his dreams. 'Could Serena possibly be
the one?' he wondered. In just the last forty-eight hours he had
discovered there was far more to her than had ever met the eye. Now the
possibility, which he had previously considered and rejected as nonsense,
didn't seem quite so outrageous. Next to the sketch of Serena was an
image of a crescent moon, also like that in his dreams. He tried to
remember. Had he been thinking of his dreams, or was the moon image just
a play on Serena's family name, Tsukino, "of the moon"?
     "Hey, Darien. How's it going?" Andrew called.
     'Oh, brother. I don't need this,' Darien thought, hastily closing
his notebook. "Fine, Andrew," he replied. "How're you?"
     "Doing good," Andrew answered, sitting down across from Darien. "But
I've heard you've been practically a zombie all day. What gives?"
     "Oh, nothing. Really."
     Andrew raised an eyebrow, and studied his friend's face closely. "I
bet it's a woman," he said matter of factly.
     Darien rolled his eyes with an exaggerated sigh. "Not again! You and
Rita have been trying to set me up for at least the last six months. I
know you mean well, but you're just going to have to let things happen
for me all in good time. Clear?"
     Andrew glanced down at the table, looking chastened. "OK," he said.
"I'm your friend, Darien. And I just want to see you happy. You deserve a
little happiness."
     "Thanks. But now I've got to get going. Some of us don't have the
luxury of a cushy job with the family firm," Darien said.
     "Cushy?" Andrew protested, as Darien paid his check.
     Walking along the street, Darien thought about what Andrew had said,
that he deserved a little happiness. In Serena he knew he had found
someone who could make him exquisitely happy, if only he could hold the
rest of his world at bay. Suddenly, he hated all thoughts of the
nijizuishou, the ginzuishou, the Negaverse, Tuxedo Kamen, and even the
mysterious princess of his dreams, except for the faint hope that the
princess might somehow prove to be his beloved Serena. All these things
sought to pull him away from her. They all demanded pieces of his life
that his heart now told him should go to Serena alone. Before, as an
orphan with no memory of his past, he hadn't minded going into battle as
Tuxedo Kamen; he'd had nothing really to lose. Now, in Serena, he had
found something infinitely more precious than a past. If the fates would
allow it, Serena was his future.
- - - - - - - - - -
     Darien was late returning home. He had been in no real hurry to go
back to his apartment. His mood had grown increasingly gloomy as the
elevator rose to his floor. As he opened the door, his ears strained for
any sound from someone he knew was not there. Walking to his bedroom, he
realized the apartment had never seemed so empty before. He knew that, in
truth, it was his entire life that had been empty before he discovered
his love for Serena. He also knew that their separation was absolutely
necessary, at least for the time being, but that didn't make it any
easier to bear. This apartment, where he had lived for just over a year,
would no longer seem completely like home to him without her there with
him.
     He spent an hour idly channel surfing, hardly paying attention to
the images that flickered across the screen. A part of him almost prayed
for that special alert from his psychic senses that would mean Sailor
Moon was facing some threat and that Tuxedo Kamen was needed. Going into
action to rescue the klutzy but well-meaning Sailor Senshi would at least
get his mind off his longing for Serena. But even his thoughts of Sailor
Moon betrayed him, as he recalled that Sailor Moon also had the same
meatball head hairstyle as did the princess and his darling Serena.
Suddenly, his heart and his libido ganged up on him, assailing him with
vivid fantasies in which Serena was both the princess and Sailor Moon.
'If it were only true,' he thought. 'I could be the happiest man in the
universe.' With the fantasies and the unfulfilled longing for her, the
ache in his heart grew. He hurriedly stripped off his clothes, then made
himself take a long, cold shower before going to bed. It didn't help
much.
     As he lay in bed, tossing and turning, it suddenly occurred to him
that he hadn't had the dream of the princess either last night, when
Serena slept beside him, or the night before. Could it be that his love
for Serena had chased the dream princess out of his subconscious? He had
mixed feelings about this prospect, for while he knew he could never love
anyone like he loved Serena, the princess seemed to be leading him toward
understanding who he was and why he was Tuxedo Kamen. With that
knowledge, perhaps the evil forces could finally be beaten, allowing him
to claim his reward, a lifetime of happiness with Serena.
     Finally, knowing he needed sleep, Darien resorted to a meditation
exercise. Laying flat on his back, his arms and legs spread slightly, he
let his mind drift free. All thoughts faded easily away, except for the
naked, enticing image of a certain blond, her long golden hair down, her
eyes ablaze with love. Ignoring for a moment the sexual desire he felt
for her, Darien focused himself on the love in their hearts. Suddenly, a
golden glow began to wash through his consciousness, coming not from
Serena, but himself. The glow grew more intense as the image of Serena
came closer to him until, as they touched, it was as bright as the sun.
The warmth of the glow spread through every fiber of his being, driving
away all fears, doubts, and concerns. As he ultimately surrendered to
much needed sleep, there was a smile of purest bliss on his face.
- - - - - - - - - -
     Sometime later, the dream hit Darien once more. As usual, he was
standing outside the mysterious palace, with the princess calling to him
from the balcony. After that, however, things began to go differently.
     "You must find the crystal. Don't let the ginzuishou fall into the
hands of evil!" the princess cried.
     "But who are you?" he asked again.
     "Please, my prince. You've found me, but without the crystal you
cannot truly set me free, and we can never know peace."
     "Princess, please!" he cried.
     As his heart swelled with emotion, the golden glow returned, washing
away all shadows. Suddenly, he was on the bank of a river. An object hung
in the evening sky, but its blue-and-white coloration made it look more
like the earth than the moon. Ahead of him, the princess in her flowing
white gown was standing on a log that lay across the river.
     "Please, be careful," he called to her.
     She responded with a smile and a dismissive wave of her hand. The
action was enough to upset her balance, and with a shriek she tumbled
into the water.
     "Serenity!" he cried.
     Immediately a lifetime of training in the ways of chivalry and of
warriors took over. He tossed aside his hat, party mask, cape and jacket
all in one smooth motion, while the same time sprinting toward the river
bank. His stride measured just right, he pitched forward and dove cleanly
into the water, his momentum carrying him straight to his princess. She
had already surfaced, and seemed to be holding herself afloat despite the
added weight of her now wet gown and undergarments. He took her in a
rescue hold, his own arm wrapped gently across her breasts. She sighed
happily.
     "Endymion," she whispered. "My brave, gallant protector."
     "I could never let anything happen to you," he said.
     Reaching the side of the river, they climbed back up onto dry land.
Her gown clung tightly to her body, with the top portion being almost
completely transparent.
     "I'm afraid your gown may be ruined," he said.
     "Oh, no. My servants are very talented," she replied.
     Just then, he drew her into his embrace and kissed her long and
hard. She reciprocated in full measure. Holding her this close, she
looked, felt, and smelled just like Serena.
     "You know," she said, with a grin. "Making such advances on a royal
princess is a punishable offense."
     "Your pardon, my lady," he replied, stepping back and bowing deeply
and formally. "I can assure you, my intentions are purely honorable."
     "Oh, really?" she asked, disbelievingly.
     "Why, of course, your royal highness. You've just fallen into a
river and could now quite possibly develop a serious illness from
exposure. Chivalry demands that a gentleman and knight do whatever is
necessary to protect a lady's well being."
     "I see," she said, beginning to giggle. "And what do you propose?"
     "Well, first, we must get you out of your wet clothes," he told her.
     "Mmmm. I think I like the sound of that." She waved her hand in a
regal gesture, a stark contrast to the bright grin on her face and the
playful sparkle in her eyes. "You may proceed."
     He kissed her again, his tongue sliding into her and caressing her
own. At the same time, his hands ran over her inviting curves before
coming together on her back. The fastenings on her dress came loose and
it fell quickly to the ground. Moving down, he pressed his lips to one of
her bare breasts.
     "Oh, my prince," she moaned as he suckled her nipple.
     His hands slid down her ribs to her waist, taking hold of her
underpants and pulling them down. He drew away from her breast to bend
down and help her step out of her underpants.
     "So beautiful, my princess," he said, softly and adoringly.
     She blushed, but only at the compliment.
     "You have done your duty to me, my prince. But what about you? You
are just as soaked as I."
     With a slow, deliberate gesture, she placed her hand on his chest
and the rest of his clothes simply vanished. Immediately, her regal air
disappeared as well. A youthful, excited squeal came from her as she
threw her arms around his naked body, pressing her own tightly against
him. His own arms folded around her. Bringing his hands up, he unfastened
her hair, letting it fall free in a golden cascade down her back. She
pressed her lips to his chest, licking and then sucking his nipples.
     "Serenity!" he gasped.
     She kissed her way very slowly down across his abdomen. Reaching his
erect manhood, she looked at it for a moment, then stroked it with
several strands of her hair. Moaning with raw pleasure, he felt ready to
explode. She paused for another moment, then kissed his tip. After
brushing her tongue along the full length of his penis, she rose to her
feet again and kissed his lips.
     He scooped her up in his strong arms, setting her down on his
discarded cape. Sitting down beside her, he placed his hand along the
inside of her thigh and slowly slid it up toward her soft, wet folds. He
could feel the warm glow growing within him. As it grew brighter, his
senses became clearer and clearer, as if it was no longer quite a dream.
- - - - - - - - - -
     Serena too had had a hard time getting to sleep. Images of Darien
drifted through her uneasy slumber. Gradually, a faint golden glow began
to filter into her dreams. With it came a scene of Tuxedo Kamen with a
strangely familiar looking woman, apparently a princess, walking along a
river. The glow didn't seem to be coming from anywhere in particular, but
to be surrounding her, giving her a feeling of warmth she had only felt
in Darien's arms. The glow became brighter, and she could see the
princess fall in the water and Tuxedo Kamen dive to her rescue. As he and
the princess kissed, Serena could vaguely feel the pressure of lips on
her own, and a tongue slipping into her own mouth. Serena had only
minimal awareness of the pair's repartee. The glow increased just as his
hands swept over the princess. Serena could distinctly feel hands
sweeping over her, and as Tuxedo Kamen peeled away the princess' gown, it
felt like it was her pajamas that were being plucked away. When he
pressed his lips to her breast, Serena was startled to hear her own voice
passionately moan, "Oh, my prince." In an instant, Serena could see the
princess, who looked just like her. Suddenly, Serena looked down to find
Tuxedo Kamen, looking exactly like Darien, hungrily feasting on her own
breast. As he did so, his hands swept lovingly down over her body, gently
pulling away her undergarments and leaving her completely naked.
     "So beautiful, my princess," he said, love showing through in his
voice.
     She felt her face flush at his comment, but knew she had not the
slightest objection to her present state of undress.
     "You have done your duty to me, my prince." The words of the
princess seemed to just appear in Serena's head. "But what about you? You
are just as soaked as I."
     With a slow, dignified movement, she held up her hand on his chest,
causing his clothes to simply fade away to nothingness. The regal
pretenses came to an end with that, as she squealed excitedly while
pressing her own body tightly against his. As he took down her hair, she
kissed and sucked his nipples, enjoying the sound and feel of his
response. Serena was surprised to find herself so casually licking and
stroking his manhood. Evidently this princess was quite bold, at least
where he was concerned.
     As soon as she stood back up, Tuxedo Kamen, or was it really Darien,
scooped her up in his arms, setting her down on his cape. His hand moved
up along her thigh, with his fingers slipping in through her soft, wet
folds.
     "Endymion," she sighed, as his probing fingers slid deeper inside
her.
     Bending down over her, he kissed her lips. "My dearest Serenity," he
breathed into her softly.
     She was now certain that this was truly Darien, merely playing the
role of the prince, Endymion, just as it was now Serena playing the role
of Serenity.
     Just then, her senses were completely overwhelmed with pleasure as
his fingers pressed into her hot, aroused jewel. Before she could do more
than gasp, he withdrew his hand, drawing his fingers up over her abdomen,
leaving a trail of her own wetness.
     The passion in his eyes alone was almost enough to make her lose it.
He obviously felt the same way. As he reached down again for her thighs,
she opened herself to him invitingly.
     "With your highness' permission?" he requested.
     "Your highness has had my permission for quite some time," she
replied.
     The tip of his manhood spread open her folds, then slid deep inside
her. His every touch was magical, taking her higher and higher with love
and sexual pleasure. Everything about it, his movements within her, the
way his kisses teased her then filled her with more passion, the feel of
his strong body, his sure touch bringing her exquisite pleasure, the
light blazing in his eyes, even the scent of his body, was all intensely
familiar to the depths of her soul.
     Time had no meaning for the princess as she made love to her prince.
It could have been just minutes as easily as it could have been hours.
Their entire surroundings were bathed in the intense glow, which seemed
now to be from their love-making. Suddenly and magnificently, it was
over, two bodies made one even climaxing as one.
     "Find the crystal, my prince, and we can be together, always," she
whispered.
- - - - - - - - - -
     Darien awoke, dripping with sweat, and quickly discovering that the
intensity of the dream had caused him to ejaculate. He had never
experienced so vivid a dream before. The usual dream about the princess
was nothing compared to this. The names 'Endymion' and 'Serenity' kept
ringing in his mind. The princess had called him 'Endymion', while he had
addressed her as 'Serenity'. The names seemed to mean something to him,
but he couldn't come up with what it was.
     At the same time, this dream had shown him that the princess,
Serenity, did indeed look incredibly like Serena. The way she had felt
when joined with him was so exactly like Serena as to be uncanny, and
during that time, the glow inside him seemed to equally infuse both of
them. Serenity had even said something in the dream about his having
found her. Could the dream princess be referring to Serena? The
mysterious ginzuishou was the key. If it could open for him the
possibility of a happy, peaceful life with Serena, then he would brave
any hazard for it.
- - - - - - - - - -
     Serena felt her heart racing, and could feel the considerable
wetness between her legs. Slipping out of bed, she removed her pajama
pants and panties which were both soaked. Only making love to Darien had
been more intense than this.
     She was also appalled at herself for dreaming of Tuxedo Kamen,
having thought that finding true love with Darien would have been the end
of her fantasy crush on Tuxedo Kamen. In the past, she had had dreams of
the masked man, but on awaking she could remember very little if anything
of them.
     The strange golden glow was completely unique. She'd never known
anything like it. As the glow had increased, the principals in the dream
had become herself and Darien, but apparently playing the parts of the
princess and Tuxedo Kamen, 'Endymion'. Suddenly, the thought struck her.
Could Darien actually be Tuxedo Kamen? It still seemed hard to believe.
And if he was, did that mean that she was actually the princess? That was
an even harder one to swallow. Darien was certainly a prince as far as
Serena was concerned, but as for seeing herself as a princess, that was
an entirely different matter.
- - - - - - - - - -
     Tuesday afternoon found Darien in the language department of the
university. Though his own interest was in genetics, he found a knowledge
of foreign languages to be helpful. He participated in several science
groups over the Internet, with few of the other members speaking
Japanese. Additionally, visiting foreign instructors were often easier to
engage in conversation if one had some knowledge of their language.
     Just now, Darien was looking over examples of some ancient runic
symbols. A visiting professor, Neils Oscarsson, from Stockholm, was
researching these very rare symbols.
     "It appears to be from a lost civilization," Oscarsson explained.
"We've found a few isolated traces of it, but in widely separated
locations. Whoever they were, they certainly got around."
     Darien was about to leave the professor to his work when Oscarsson
mentioned finding a text which seemed to describe a prince in love with a
princess somehow connected with the moon.
     "It sounds like it's telling an ancient legend. I believe there is a
Japanese version of the story," Oscarsson said. "This text seems to be
about a thousand years old or so, which would be just before the
civilization apparently vanished." Oscarsson went on to explain that a
'Rosetta stone' of sorts had been found. It was actually in two
fragments, both hidden in very deep caves; one in the Andes mountains,
and the other in Australia. "Our 'rosetta stone' doesn't tell us much,
other than giving us a key to translate the language. It seems mostly to
be some sort of farming almanac that, for some reason was also done in
Latin. There's very little else that's more than a sentence or two, but
if the few longer stories we've been able to put together weren't
legends, the history books would have to undergo a major rewrite."
     "Really?" Darien asked.
     "Yes. The stories seem to suggest a much more unified world than
what we've all been taught, with a large number of nations joined
together under a single monarch, at least a titular one at any rate. The
really bizarre part, which makes me think we're just reading fragments of
legend, is that it hints at life on other planets in the solar system,
including the moon."
     Darien glanced over the symbols. "Professor. I have a friend who
would probably find the idea of this sort of legend really interesting,"
he said, choosing his words carefully. "Would you be able to show me how
to form her name in these symbols? She might like it as a gift."
     "I could at least try," he said. "What's her name."
     "Serena Tsukino."
     "Tsukino? That's 'of the moon', isn't it?" he asked. Darien nodded.
"Well, that one is easy. Simply a crescent moon, then with a circle
around it to make it possessive. The given name is a little trickier. If
you want to be exact, it can be done out in what we think is a phonetic
alphabet. And when I say 'exact', I mean as exact as possible given that
we don't have a full understanding of this yet." He drew out four symbols
in a row on the paper. "We know more about the ideogram side of it, kind
of like Japanese kanji. For that, I have to approximate your friend's
name." He drew the second symbol after that of the moon, then below he
drew it slightly differently, with the moon symbol second.
     "How close?" asked Darien.
     "Well, if you read it verbatim, this first one would be 'the moon's
serenity', and the second, probably a more accurate form for a proper
name would be 'Serenity of the moon'."
     Darien stared at the symbols the older man had drawn as the words
'Serenity of the moon' rang in his head over and over and over.
     "Mr. Chiba? Are you alright?" Oscarsson asked.
     "Hunh? Oh, yes. Sorry. I was just recalling that old moon princess
legend you had mentioned," Darien said. "Professor, do mind if I keep
this paper? I think my friend will like it."
     "Go right ahead." he told Darien. "And might I suggest you have it
carved on a piece of wood or quartz or something like that? That would
have been customary. Oh, and it's done horizontally, not vertically like
Japanese."
     "Thank you, Professor. I'll keep that in mind," Darien said. "Now,
if you'll excuse me? I must get to my next class."
     "Certainly, Mr. Chiba. Have a nice day."
- - - - - - - - - -
     Darien spent the rest of the day deep in a renewed haze. When
classes finally ended, he sat for a while on the steps outside the front
entrance of the science building. He was still too out of it to drive
home. As he sat there, he continued to study the symbols Professor
Oscarsson had made to roughly form Serena's name: 'Serenity of the moon'.
     The only thing that could have stunned him more, he concluded, would
be finding one of those legends spelling out the story of the prince and
his moon princess using the names 'Endymion' and 'Serenity'. What had
been found did not offer anything approaching that sort of detail.
     Again, as he considered the similarity of the names, he wondered if
it was a coincidence. Could Serena Tsukino be the Serenity of the moon
from his dreams? Finally, he dragged himself to his feet, knowing that
the answers he sought weren't there.
     As he started walking, he decided to head over to the trade school.
He knew an upperclassman who often worked in the shops who might be able
to help him make something for Serena incorporating these symbols.

< To be continued >

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