Teaser: Ever since he was a small boy, Darien Chiba has felt a strange connection to the moon. Now, after years of hard work, he's finally going to make the journey there, alongside his partner, the seasoned astronaut Cray Anderson. She assures him it will only be a routine mission... boy is she ever wrong! Author's Notes: Hey Minna-chan, yet another twisted fic hath poured fourth from my brain. This is an alternate reality fic, in which only Darien was reincarnated. It is a Serena/Darien romance, though. Just wait and see. Thanks to everyone who emailed me about the last fic, you are all absolutely wonderful! Legal Disclaimer: SM by any other name still wouldn't be mine. Personal Disclaimer: I'm a hopeless romantic, though sometimes not a very nice one. You have been warned. Child of the Moon Prologue by Meredith Bronwen Mallory mallorys-girl@cinci.rr.com The cold December wind danced lazily down the street, picking up the few brown leaves that still remained on the ground and tossing them about playfully as it scuttered along. It waltzed down the lane, turning the corner and rounding the bend, slipping through the wrought iron gates of Grey Stone Orphanage and skipping into the gloomy play yard. That same wind teased the lose locks of a few girls, all dressed in the same plain black dress and blue smock uniforms, with long black stalkings, that branded them as orphans. Stephanie, on such girl, caught the red rubber ball and tossed it to her friend, Jane. There was a circle of four or five girls tossing the ball back and forth as they waited for recess to end. It was too cold out to really enjoy it, but Miss Gunkino would send them outside for recess well into January, that is, unless it snowed. ³Did you hear about the outing?² Jane asked as she tossed the ball to Katie, who caught the little sphere with ease. ³No, I didnıt, is it soon?² Rena, asked as she passed the ball back to Stephanie. ³Yes, next week. Weıre getting new coats,² Jane said with baited breath, eager to pass on the news. The orphanage had fallen on hard times, and the promise of new coats was something truly amazing to the four motherless, fatherless children. ³I canıt wait,² Stephanie said softly, bouncing the ball off the cobble stone before trusting it towards Katie. It never reached the blond girl. Instead, Ronnie, a taller boy, a year or so older, snatched the ball away as he pushed his way through the barrier of girls. His playmates laughed and joked as they headed towards the make-shift basketball hoop at the end of the courtyard. The girls watched their plaything disappear with some amount of dispassion. They really werenıt interested in playing with it any way. Jane raised her eyes to the seamless gray sky that seemed to go on forever. Then something caught her eye. Out from one of the black windows on the second story gazed a little face, with black hair and stormy blue eyes. The childıs name was Darien, and that was about all anyone, even the children, knew of him. ³Look,² Jane nodded towards their observer. All four girls focused their gazes on the boy, who, having been noticed, turned away and disappeared, enshrouded by the darkness of the room. ³Heıs cute,² Stephanie sighed. She was a pretty blond, with sad brown eyes and a pale complexion. Several of the orphan boys liked her, but she was not the most popular. ³He seems so sad,² Jane stated, green eyes still on the window as the wind tousled her mousy brown locks. ³Heıs stuck up, that Darien,² Rena put in, ³Why my Granna used to say that a man should treat a lady, any lady, real nice. Heıs so quite, and he donıt answer none of our questions or even say hi.² The other girls rolled their eyes, Rena had only been orphaned when her Granna died, and more often than not, the red-head rubbed the fact that sheıd HAD a parent of some sort in all the other girlsı faces. ³If the other boys wouldnıt beat him up, I bet heıd talk more,² Katie offered, looking at the ground. As if in answer to her comment, a shout came from the other side of the play yard, as the boys erupted into a small fist fight. The red ball rolled away from them, returning to the girls. Indiscriminately, Stephanie picked it up and tossed it to Jane. ³Whenıs spring coming?² Jane asked, previous conversation forgotten. In reply, the wind blew hard against the girls, making them shiver. --------- Darien turned away from the window, half with disgust. He didnıt know why he ever watched them at play period anyway. Heıd stopped going to recess a long time ago, if he did, he knew the boys would only beat him up. Of course, heıd learned early on how to fight back, but he did not enjoy hurting other people. So, instead, Darien watched them, if only for a little while most of the time. Now he turned away from the cold December day and back to his deary little room. He didnıt know that it was deary, for he had never had a brightly colored room... that he remembered. The room was bare, just a bed, with a worn quilt tucked over it, a small desk and chair and a little nightstand. But the walls, the walls made it special. Not long after coming to Greystone, Darien had discovered a box of colored pencils in the storage room, and after asking permission, had been given them. Now on sheets of brown butchers paper he scrawled little scenes, and adorned his bare walls with them. Most of them were childish representations of an angelic princess. Early on in his drawings, Darien had used up his little yellow pencil, which was used only for the princessı hair, but he had managed to weedle another out of Ms. Gunkino. The boys had made fun of him when they saw one of his precious drawings, but they didnıt understand. In fact, no one did, this Darien knew. But one day, some one would. Some one, his Princess, the one who visited his dreams each night. He was always much older, dressed clean and neat in a uniform, and she always wore the same white dress and worried expression. She would lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, as if even in her pain and worry, she could not stand to see him burdened also. And in the end of the dream, they would both be surrounded by darkness, and with long black tentacles the shroud of night would reach out, to steal his Princess away. Always she would beg him, as he reached out for her in vain, Œbring me the silver crystal, Endymion. Set us free.ı He used to wake up screaming, but Ms. Guniko scolded him repeatedly, so he learned to stop. The Princess was the only constant in the lonely boyıs life. The other children at the orphanage never offered any friendship anyway, and most didnıt stay for long. Some one would come and adopt them and the child would go away. They would gain what Darien lacked and wanted most. Parents, a home, some one to love him. Darien thought stubbornly, Some day, he vowed, he would find his Princess, and then, he knew, all would be right. Because only the Princess could love him for who he was, a lost soul with no real memories, and only she could understand his pain. The small boyıs thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the bell signaling recessı end. With another sigh, he opened the door and hurried down stairs to join the rest of the children. Later that night, Darien knelt by his window and looked out at the luminous orb of light that was the moon. For some strange reason, he felt drawn to it. Like he was a part of it. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, a small voice whispered; Darien looked at the full moon, hanging in the sky and looking down on the world, and felt, as much as a seven year old can feel, a sudden burst of clarity. The answers were on the moon, all he had to do was get there. Just before turning to bed, he chanted a little rhyme. He did not know where he had learned it from, perhaps it was a scrap of memory from his shadowed little past, or perhaps he had picked it up from one of the other children. ³I love the moon, the moon loves me. God bless the moon, God bless me,² Darien smiled and touched the window where the moon was, ³Good night moon.² And then he went to find his rest, and his princess in his dreams. ------- 2 years later. ³Ms. Holt?² the fourth grade teacher looked up from her paper work to see Darien, one of the smartest students in her class, waiting patiently. She saw the usual curiosity in his eyes and knew he had a question. He usually stayed after, waiting until all the other children had hurried off the recess before coming up to ask her the question of the day. Ms. Holt was very well educated, and could have found a position teaching anywhere, but, truth be told, she loved working with the orphan children. She had an easier time connecting with them, and Darien was one of her favorite students. ³Yes, Darien?² she asked. ³I had a question about the moon,² the little boy said. The teacher nodded, with a little smile. The moon, the topic of that dayıs lesson. Darien had seemed much more animated then usual during the discussion. ³You said there arenıt any people on the moon. Is that true?² ³Well, as far as anyone knows, no, there arenıt any people on the moon,² she replied carefully. Darien made it sound so important, as if he was hoping against hope that she had been lying. ³Are you sure? No people at all, not even any princesses?² he asked again, his tone a little more desperate. Ms. Holt thought, She knew Darien was not a boy given to fancy. While many of the other boys enjoyed spinning tales of great deeds and heroes, Darien had always been rather down to earth. Princesses, of all things! ³Well, I suppose that a princess would need subjects to reign over, so if there WERE people on the moon, then there might be a princess or two,² the teacher replied carefully. Darien nodded, his eyes thoughtful. ³I want to go to the moon,² he told her, ³Do people go to the moon?² ³Astronauts go to the moon,² Ms. Holt informed him, ³Though one day regular people might go to the moon every day.² Again Darien was thoughtful. ³I think Iıll be an astronaut then,² he replied. Ms. Holt smiled, the little boy reminded her somewhat of her own children. ³You really do like the moon, donıt you, Darien?² she asked. The little boy looked at her, blue eyes very earnest. ³Yes, Maıam, very much so,² and then he turned and trotted towards the door, ³Bye, Ms. Holt!² he said. ³Goodbye, Darien,² the teacher smiled, and went back to her paper work. ---------- 15 years later The alarm clock went off at 4:59 am, but Darien Chiba was already up, sitting at his window and looking out at the moon. Today, after years of hard work and training, he was going to the moon. Though he had long ago put away thoughts of ever finding his dream-princess there, he still held a fascination and special love for the pale orb. Fifteen years ago, he had informed his teacher he would be an astronaut, and true to his word, he did just that. Though many of the kids from Greystone got jobs and married after High school, Darien received a scholarship to college, and used it to his advantage. Now, he was going to the moon. ³Hey, Dar,² Cray Anderson greeted her partner as he entered the room. She was a tall woman, with brown hair cut in a short bob and rather boyish features. She too, was going to the moon. ³Hello, Cray,² Darien said, excitement in his eyes. She chuckled a little. She had been to the moon a few times before, and though each experience was unique, she held no special love for the rock that orbited her world. For her, the adrenaline rush of being in space was her motivation. But Darien, now there was a guy who was dedicated. She knew he wasnıt interested in space, or adventure, or adrenaline Since the day sheıd met him, he had been interested only in the moon. she thought. Darien was a great guy, but he was a total work-aholic. Many of the lady secretaries and scientists were interested in dating him, but he never showed any interest in settling down. It was always the moon. ³Well, Darien, looks like you get your wish today,² Cray said as she pulled on the heavy space suit over her light weight body suit. ³Yeah, great isnıt it?² he said, looking out the window at the launch pad where the shuttle waited. Cray smiled a dry smile and shook her head. Let the guy enjoy himself, after all, sheıd never seen anyone as hard working and dedicated as Darien Chiba. But, she knew this was bound to be just another boring mission, nothing special She didnıt know how wrong she was.